--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is never easy to demand the most from…" description: "\"It is never easy to demand the most from ourselves, from our lives, from our work. To encourage excellence is to go beyond the encouraged mediocrity of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/audre-lorde-758_capacity_it-is-never-easy-to-demand-the-most-from_2181473.jpg" --- # It is never easy to demand the most from ourselves, from… ![“It is never easy to demand the most from ourselves, from our lives, from our work. To encourage excellence is to go beyond the encouraged mediocrity of our society is to encourage excellence. But giving in to the fear of feeling and working to capacity is a luxury only the unintentional can…” quote by Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/audre-lorde-758_capacity_it-is-never-easy-to-demand-the-most-from_2181473.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/audre-lorde-758_capacity_it-is-never-easy-to-demand-the-most-from_2181473.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/969/audre-lorde-758_capacity_it-is-never-easy-to-demand-the-most-from_2181473.jpg) > “It is never easy to demand the most from ourselves, from our lives, from our work. To encourage excellence is to go beyond the encouraged mediocrity of our society is to encourage excellence. But giving in to the fear of feeling and working to capacity is a luxury only the unintentional can afford, and the unintentional are those who do not wish to guide their own destinies.” [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuing high standards is hard, yet essential; settling for mediocrity is a societal norm that limits personal destiny. **In simple terms:** Excellence demands effort; mediocrity is easy. Key Takeaway Choose effort over comfort. Themes excellence self‑discipline societal pressure destiny Mood determined reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - creative projects - personal development - leadership challenges Key Concepts personal growth resilience authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What mediocrity you accept? - How can you balance ambition and wellbeing? A Different Perspective Not everyone can sustain high pressure; burnout risk. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Luxury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury/) [Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity/) [Our society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-society/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [To encourage excellence is to go beyond the encouraged mediocrity of our society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/to-encourage-excellence-is-to-go-beyond-the-encouraged-mediocrity-of/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [As a society, we somehow encourage the culture of silence. We are scared to rub powerful people the wrong way for fear of repercussions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pulkit-samrat/as-a-society-we-somehow-encourage-the-culture-of-silence-we-are/) [Pulkit Samrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pulkit-samrat/) > [Everyone has their own talent. We should work together and encourage one another and the end results are endless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-has-their-own-talent-we-should-work-together-and-encourage/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For many years quantum physics had been giving indications that there are levels of reality other than the material level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-goswami/for-many-years-quantum-physics-had-been-giving-indications-that-there/) [Amit Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-goswami/) > [Most important, you can have a war room, you can have a war plan, but if your general - in this case, it's Donald…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-walter/most-important-you-can-have-a-war-room-you-can-have-a-war-plan-but-if/) [Amy Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-walter/) > [There are moments when I feel like giving up or giving in, but I soon rally again and do my duty as I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/there-are-moments-when-i-feel-like-giving-up-or-giving-in-but-i-soon/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [The ground submits to the sky and suffers whatever comes. Tell me, is the Earth worse for giving in like that?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-ground-submits-to-the-sky-and-suffers-whatever-comes-tell-me-is/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I never liked the idea of giving interviews. One says many things, but when they are published, they become shortened, condensed. The ideas lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-castro/i-never-liked-the-idea-of-giving-interviews-one-says-many-things-but/) [Raul Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-castro/) > [Wealth is not to feed our egos but to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/wealth-is-not-to-feed-our-egos-but-to-feed-the-hungry-and-to-help/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) > [Collect treasures that have meaning only to you. Put them in a special place, and explain them to no one, except when you're giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-davis/collect-treasures-that-have-meaning-only-to-you-put-them-in-a-special/) [Gwen Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-davis/) > [I'm a writer, so I interview people all the time, and I think of it as being a very creative process. Giving interviews is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-m-a-writer-so-i-interview-people-all-the-time-and-i-think-of-it-as/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [We can give without loving, but we can't love without giving. In fact, love is nothing unless we give it to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/we-can-give-without-loving-but-we-can-t-love-without-giving-in-fact/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Love is not about getting - but giving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/love-is-not-about-getting-but-giving/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [I was burned so many times that I stopped giving interviews. In other words, if my words ended up in print, they were twisted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-garrison/i-was-burned-so-many-times-that-i-stopped-giving-interviews-in-other/) [Jim Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-garrison/) > [Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/having-first-gained-all-you-can-and-secondly-saved-all-you-can-then/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) ## More by Audre Lorde > [Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me-so different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/every-woman-i-have-ever-loved-has-left-her-print-upon-me-where-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [There are many kinds of open. . . Love is a word, another kind of open. . . Take my word for jewel in your open light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-are-many-kinds-of-open-love-is-a-word-another-kind-of-open-take/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Your silence will not protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-can-t-really-define-it-in-sexual-terms-alone-although-our-sexuality/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-once-we-begin-to-feel-deeply-all-the-aspects-of-our-lives-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [the fear of death is that you are dying too soon. Nobody wants to, but at the point that you die you can pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-of-death-is-that-you-are-dying-too-soon-nobody-wants-to-but/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-are-the-words-you-do-not-yet-have-what-do-you-need-to-say-what/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-only-dream-and-vision-it-is-the-skeleton-architecture/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I think that in America there are certain kinds of problems and in Russia there are certain kinds of problems, but basically, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-think-that-in-america-there-are-certain-kinds-of-problems-and-in/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Institutionalized rejection of differences is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people. As members of such an economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/institutionalized-rejection-of-differences-is-an-absolute-necessity/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-psychic-or-intellectual/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I forgot what we were celebrating. Because we were always celebrating something, a new job, a new poem, a new love, a new dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-forgot-what-we-were-celebrating-because-we-were-always-celebrating/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [How a diamond comes into a knot of flame How a sound comes into a word, coloured By who pays what for speaking. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/how-a-diamond-comes-into-a-knot-of-flame-how-a-sound-comes-into-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Explore all 377 Audre Lorde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## More Capacity quotes > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? I've known Emma for a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/and-you-can-t-complain-about-kissing-emma-watson-isn-t-that-what/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I was only operating at about 80% of my capacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lomu/i-was-only-operating-at-about-80-of-my-capacity/) [Jonah Lomu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lomu/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [Disappointment contains an appointment for doing much better. High expectations mean your higher capacity and belief in abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/disappointment-contains-an-appointment-for-doing-much-better-high/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/) [Bruce D. 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