--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I used to think that prizes were damaging…" description: "\"I used to think that prizes were damaging and divisive, until I got one, and now they seem sort of meaningful and important.\" — Bill Nighy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/bill-nighy-4521_meaningful_i-used-to-think-that-prizes-were-damagin_2250340.jpg" --- # I used to think that prizes were damaging and divisive… ![“I used to think that prizes were damaging and divisive, until I got one, and now they seem sort of meaningful and important.” quote by Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/bill-nighy-4521_meaningful_i-used-to-think-that-prizes-were-damagin_2250340.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/bill-nighy-4521_meaningful_i-used-to-think-that-prizes-were-damagin_2250340.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/179/bill-nighy-4521_meaningful_i-used-to-think-that-prizes-were-damagin_2250340.jpg) > “I used to think that prizes were damaging and divisive, until I got one, and now they seem sort of meaningful and important.” [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Initially skeptical of awards, personal experience revealed they can hold meaning. **In simple terms:** Awards can be meaningful after experience. Key Takeaway Reevaluate preconceptions through experience. Themes recognition value perspective Mood contemplative balanced Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - career milestones - artistic achievement - public acknowledgment Key Concepts prize psychology social validation personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What changed your view on awards? - Do you think awards are necessary for motivation? A Different Perspective Not all awards hold equal value; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Damaging Divisive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damaging-divisive-5137096/) [Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful/) [Meaningful Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful-important-3145595/) [Prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prize/) [Prizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prizes/) [Prizes Damaging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prizes-damaging-1416318/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Think Prizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-prizes-1416319/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [I used to think that prizes were damaging and divisive, until I got one. And now they seem sort of meaningful and real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-used-to-think-that-prizes-were-damaging-and-divisive-until-i-got-2/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I say you ought to write out 10 outrageous goals that are bigger than you because your life isn't meaningful or important unless you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-victor-hansen/i-say-you-ought-to-write-out-10-outrageous-goals-that-are-bigger-than/) [Mark Victor Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-victor-hansen/) > [That is a real attitude - to see everything as being meaningful, even the less important things, to prove something, even the greater problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/that-is-a-real-attitude-to-see-everything-as-being-meaningful-even/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Life will always remain a gamble, with prizes sometimes for the imprudent, and blanks so often to the wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/life-will-always-remain-a-gamble-with-prizes-sometimes-for-the/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [Congratulations!! You are the 100th person to view my status. To see your prize please click Control + W.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/congratulations-you-are-the-100th-person-to-view-my-status-to-see/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wouldn't it be wonderful if I won a helicopter in a crossword puzzle competition? There is not much hope though I am afraid, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonora-carrington/wouldn-t-it-be-wonderful-if-i-won-a-helicopter-in-a-crossword-puzzle/) [Leonora Carrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonora-carrington/) > [ Maybe it's a little crazy, but it's good to have it, but I just don't like \[prizes or honors\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/maybe-it-s-a-little-crazy-but-it-s-good-to-have-it-but-i-just-don-t/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [On the £20,000 Mercedes prizes for each winner at the World Athletics Championships in Stuttgart- Anyone good enough to win already has one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-johnson/on-the-20-000-mercedes-prizes-for-each-winner-at-the-world-athletics/) [Michael Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-johnson/) > [You don't want to be ungenerous toward people who give you prizes, but it is never the social or political message that interests me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-don-t-want-to-be-ungenerous-toward-people-who-give-you-prizes-but/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I have been very lucky, I have won prizes and I've even won the lottery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erro/i-have-been-very-lucky-i-have-won-prizes-and-i-ve-even-won-the-lottery/) [Erro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erro/) > [Prizes do not mean anything to me. I think it is more important to make a child aware of the existence of a weird…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/prizes-do-not-mean-anything-to-me-i-think-it-is-more-important-to/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [I'm not much interested in prizes, whether from the Arab world or from the Western world. Writing is a very difficult process and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-blasim/i-m-not-much-interested-in-prizes-whether-from-the-arab-world-or-from/) [Hassan Blasim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-blasim/) > [Literary prizes serve a purpose if they allow for discussion of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/literary-prizes-serve-a-purpose-if-they-allow-for-discussion-of-books/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [There are very few institutions that give prizes to people who may not have got to be number one, but are possibly better at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/there-are-very-few-institutions-that-give-prizes-to-people-who-may/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [The effect of prizes on one's career - if that is what to call it - is considerable, since they give one more clout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/the-effect-of-prizes-on-one-s-career-if-that-is-what-to-call-it-is/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) ## More by Bill Nighy > [I don't do plays without jokes anymore. I've retired from those plays. I think it's bad manners to invite people to sit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-don-t-do-plays-without-jokes-anymore-i-ve-retired-from-those-plays/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I speed up past mirrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-speed-up-past-mirrors/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [My dad had a personal style which was very attractive. It was quite reserved and quite elegant, and it was infectious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/my-dad-had-a-personal-style-which-was-very-attractive-it-was-quite/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [When I do a play, it's like agreeing to be ill for a couple of months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/when-i-do-a-play-it-s-like-agreeing-to-be-ill-for-a-couple-of-months/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I'm always happy when actors get rich, because the odds on it are so long!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-m-always-happy-when-actors-get-rich-because-the-odds-on-it-are-so/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I'm not famous for my back story investigations; I'm lucky that I work with good writers and it's usually in the script.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-m-not-famous-for-my-back-story-investigations-i-m-lucky-that-i-work/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I have never owned a computer. I am one of those weirdos. I've never needed a computer. I'm lucky that I have a job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-have-never-owned-a-computer-i-am-one-of-those-weirdos-i-ve-never/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I've always slightly worried the kids who play football around my house. They know I'm an actor, but felt sorry for me because they'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-ve-always-slightly-worried-the-kids-who-play-football-around-my/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I was never a hippy, per se.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-was-never-a-hippy-per-se/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [It's more than usually possible that I won't do a play again. But Skylight is one of the great plays in the English language.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/it-s-more-than-usually-possible-that-i-won-t-do-a-play-again-but/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [When you are in something that you're proud of and it's funny and it's a good night out and all of those things, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/when-you-are-in-something-that-you-re-proud-of-and-it-s-funny-and-it/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I'm one of those weird people who doesn't even own a computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-m-one-of-those-weird-people-who-doesn-t-even-own-a-computer/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [I have a perfectly average skewed perception of myself. We often don't know what we're like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-have-a-perfectly-average-skewed-perception-of-myself-we-often-don-t/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [The degree of notoriety I have is fine and easy. There's nothing hysterical about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/the-degree-of-notoriety-i-have-is-fine-and-easy-there-s-nothing/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [You get older and you see yourself and say, 'God, he's old, who's that?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/you-get-older-and-you-see-yourself-and-say-god-he-s-old-who-s-that/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) [Explore all 110 Bill Nighy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) ## More Meaningful quotes > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. 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It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [It's great when you can write a meaningful song that touches people, but sometimes you just wanna have fun and sing a silly song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/it-s-great-when-you-can-write-a-meaningful-song-that-touches-people/) [Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I don't feel I have to write deep and meaningful songs; they can be light and meaningless. 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