--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Disappointment and adversity can be…" description: "\"Disappointment and adversity can be catalysts for greatness. There's something particularly exciting about being the hunter, as opposed to the hunted. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c2/cathy-freeman-11281_adversity_disappointment-and-adversity-can-be-cata_2946168.jpg" --- # Disappointment and adversity can be catalysts for… ![“Disappointment and adversity can be catalysts for greatness. There's something particularly exciting about being the hunter, as opposed to the hunted. And that can make for powerful energy.” quote by Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c2/cathy-freeman-11281_adversity_disappointment-and-adversity-can-be-cata_2946168.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c2/cathy-freeman-11281_adversity_disappointment-and-adversity-can-be-cata_2946168.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c2/cathy-freeman-11281_adversity_disappointment-and-adversity-can-be-cata_2946168.jpg) > “Disappointment and adversity can be catalysts for greatness. There's something particularly exciting about being the hunter, as opposed to the hunted. And that can make for powerful energy.” [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adversity can spark personal growth and powerful motivation when one adopts an active, hunter mindset. **In simple terms:** Challenges can inspire greatness and energize action. Key Takeaway Embrace challenges as fuel for achievement. Themes growth motivation agency resilience Mood determined empowered Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - career setbacks - sports competition - creative projects - personal crises Key Concepts psychology self‑efficacy catalyst Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel setbacks into drive? - What does being the “hunter” mean to you? A Different Perspective Energy may wane without clear purpose or support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Adversity Catalysts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity-catalysts-4417236/) [Catalyst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catalyst/) [Disappointment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment/) [Disappointment Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointment-adversity-4417237/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting/) [Exciting Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting-hunter-4417238/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Hunted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunted/) [Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunter/) [Hunters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunters/) [Hunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunting/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) ## Related quotes > [Hunting is now to most of us a game, whose relish seems based upon some mystic remembrance, in the blood, of ancient days when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/hunting-is-now-to-most-of-us-a-game-whose-relish-seems-based-upon/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“Only the cruelest hunters set their traps with terror and trepidation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/only-the-cruelest-hunters-set-their-traps-with-terror-and-trepidation/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“One doesn't need to be taught fear when one is the hunted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/one-doesn-t-need-to-be-taught-fear-when-one-is-the-hunted/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“Predators never expect to be hunted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rose/predators-never-expect-to-be-hunted/) [Kit Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rose/) > [When you're huntin' somepin you're a hunter, an' you're strong. Can't nobody beat a hunter. But when you get hunted - that's different. Somepin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/when-you-re-huntin-somepin-you-re-a-hunter-an-you-re-strong-can-t/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“In order to survive in a world of instinct, its' alternative is to hunt or being hunted. Reject this, then be prepared to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/in-order-to-survive-in-a-world-of-instinct-its-alternative-is-to-hunt/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [This world's divided into two kinds of people: the hunter and the hunted. Luckily I'm the hunter. Nothing can change that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mccrea/this-world-s-divided-into-two-kinds-of-people-the-hunter-and-the/) [Joel McCrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-mccrea/) > [Freedom is nothing but the distance between the hunter and the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bei-dao/freedom-is-nothing-but-the-distance-between-the-hunter-and-the-hunted/) [Bei Dao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bei-dao/) > [“I see thousands of people in the images. They flicker past, but never return. Nothing and no one stays, it’s the loneliest of lonely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mons-kallentoft/i-see-thousands-of-people-in-the-images-they-flicker-past-but-never/) [Mons Kallentoft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mons-kallentoft/) > [Before I was the hunter. Now I'm the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martina-hingis/before-i-was-the-hunter-now-i-m-the-hunted/) [Martina Hingis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martina-hingis/) > [“Now she would become the hunter...and he, the hunted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/now-she-would-become-the-hunter-and-he-the-hunted/) [Kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/) > [Be the hunter, not the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mattis/be-the-hunter-not-the-hunted/) [Jim Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mattis/) > [You can be the hunter, or you can be the hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/you-can-be-the-hunter-or-you-can-be-the-hunted/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [It is much easier to be the hunter than the hunted. When you are the one not expected to do anything, you play better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-payton/it-is-much-easier-to-be-the-hunter-than-the-hunted-when-you-are-the/) [Gary Payton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-payton/) > [Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/everyone-loves-a-witch-hunt-as-long-as-it-s-someone-else-s-witch/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) ## More by Cathy Freeman > [My mind is pretty made up that life for Cathy Freeman will be as an unmarried woman from now on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/my-mind-is-pretty-made-up-that-life-for-cathy-freeman-will-be-as-an/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I don't have a lot of regrets in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-don-t-have-a-lot-of-regrets-in-my-life/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I have time to breathe, time to be myself more often, I am a lot more relaxed and less guarded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-have-time-to-breathe-time-to-be-myself-more-often-i-am-a-lot-more/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I'll just let time happen. I don't have to articulate what may be or what may not be. I don't even do that to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-ll-just-let-time-happen-i-don-t-have-to-articulate-what-may-be-or/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I was running since I was 10. Since grade one at school people looked at me and thought, oh gosh she can really run,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-was-running-since-i-was-10-since-grade-one-at-school-people-looked/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I lie around the floor with my cats Billy and Jazz or watch DVDs with my best friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-lie-around-the-floor-with-my-cats-billy-and-jazz-or-watch-dvds-with/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [Being overseas at the time it all kind of happened was perfect because I had no idea that it was going to attract so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/being-overseas-at-the-time-it-all-kind-of-happened-was-perfect/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I made my first Australian senior team when I was 16, first Olympics when I was 19, and I retired. I'm 32, I retired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-made-my-first-australian-senior-team-when-i-was-16-first-olympics/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [The last sort of really low-key race I ran, I realized with about a hundred metres to go, that my heart just wasn't in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/the-last-sort-of-really-low-key-race-i-ran-i-realized-with-about-a/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I've had my fair share of being dismissed. But I'm only about to turn 30. And when I finish running, I'm going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-ve-had-my-fair-share-of-being-dismissed-but-i-m-only-about-to-turn/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I'd like to see as many sports as I can because I have never had the chance to enjoy the other sports in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-d-like-to-see-as-many-sports-as-i-can-because-i-have-never-had-the/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I do not have any official responsibilities related to the Australian Olympic Committee or the Federation of Athletic Associations since I am too busy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-do-not-have-any-official-responsibilities-related-to-the-australian/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I don't agree with everything Madonna's done but she is fearless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-don-t-agree-with-everything-madonna-s-done-but-she-is-fearless/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [The Athens Olympics will be meaningful even though I cannot participate as an athlete, since I can participate in the flame relay all over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/the-athens-olympics-will-be-meaningful-even-though-i-cannot/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I am very determined and the sport is my passion. I believe I am born for running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-am-very-determined-and-the-sport-is-my-passion-i-believe-i-am-born/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) [Explore all 60 Cathy Freeman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Just because she doesn't talk about it, doesn't mean she isn't feeling it. She hurts, but she won't wear it on her sleeve. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) [James Buckham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buckham-kennedy/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) [S.E. SEVER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-sever/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Disappointment and adversity can be catalysts for greatness. There's something particularly exciting about being the hunter, as opposed to the hunted. 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