--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For every moment of triumph, there is an…" description: "\"For every moment of triumph, there is an unequal and opposite feeling of despair. Take that iconic photograph of Muhammad Ali standing triumphantly ove..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/charles-krauthammer-1232_despair_for-every-moment-of-triumph-there-is-an_2052804.png" --- # For every moment of triumph, there is an unequal and… ![“For every moment of triumph, there is an unequal and opposite feeling of despair. Take that iconic photograph of Muhammad Ali standing triumphantly over the prostrate, semiconscious wreckage of Sonny Liston. Great photo. Now think of Liston. Do the pleasure/pain calculus.” quote by Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/charles-krauthammer-1232_despair_for-every-moment-of-triumph-there-is-an_2052804.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/charles-krauthammer-1232_despair_for-every-moment-of-triumph-there-is-an_2052804.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/charles-krauthammer-1232_despair_for-every-moment-of-triumph-there-is-an_2052804.png) > “For every moment of triumph, there is an unequal and opposite feeling of despair. Take that iconic photograph of Muhammad Ali standing triumphantly over the prostrate, semiconscious wreckage of Sonny Liston. Great photo. Now think of Liston. Do the pleasure/pain calculus.” [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Triumph and defeat coexist; reflecting on both sides reveals the true emotional cost of victory. **In simple terms:** Victory brings both joy and sorrow. Key Takeaway Acknowledge mixed emotions of success. Themes sports psychology duality Mood reflective analytical Type journalistic philosophical When to use this quote - athlete interviews - post‑match analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts emotional intelligence philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you process triumph and loss? - What does “pain calculus” teach you? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Every moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-moment/) [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Muhammad ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muhammad-ali/) [Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/now/) [Pleasure Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-pain/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [Triumphantly Prostrate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumphantly-prostrate-3877301/) [Wrestling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrestling/) ## Related quotes > [This book, conceived in sorrow, composed in grief, and constructed at the brink of despair, contains my mind's best thoughts, and my soul's triumph…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-mayer-wise/this-book-conceived-in-sorrow-composed-in-grief-and-constructed-at/) [Isaac Mayer Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-mayer-wise/) > [Evan Handler is a man who’s looked into the abyss and laughed. His book, It’s Only Temporary, made me laugh along with him. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/evan-handler-is-a-man-who-s-looked-into-the-abyss-and-laughed-his/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [“So what's the big picture about our lust for sex? We're not trying to acquire something. We want to feel something: Alive. Electrically, intensely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/so-what-s-the-big-picture-about-our-lust-for-sex-we-re-not-trying-to/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Love is a fiend, a fire, a heaven, a hell Where pleasure, pain, and sad repentance dwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-barnfield/love-is-a-fiend-a-fire-a-heaven-a-hell-where-pleasure-pain-and-sad/) [Richard Barnfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-barnfield/) > [“There is some pleasure even in pain. A sweet ecstasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikas-swarup/there-is-some-pleasure-even-in-pain-a-sweet-ecstasy/) [Vikas Swarup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikas-swarup/) > [“Agony and ecstasy, pleasure and pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/agony-and-ecstasy-pleasure-and-pain/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [The individual's right to pursue his own vision of the best ration of pleasure to pain: utterly sacrosanct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-individual-s-right-to-pursue-his-own-vision-of-the-best-ration-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Some will make you Dance, some will make you Smile, and some will make your misery longer than a mile! Pleasure or Pain, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rvm/some-will-make-you-dance-some-will-make-you-smile-and-some-will-make/) [RVM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rvm/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“Are you amongst the ones who find the path to pleasure from pain, or the path to pain from pleasure?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cabrera/are-you-amongst-the-ones-who-find-the-path-to-pleasure-from-pain-or/) [Miguel Cabrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cabrera/) > [For pain is perhaps but a violent pleasure? Who could determine the point where pleasure becomes pain, where pain is still a pleasure? Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/for-pain-is-perhaps-but-a-violent-pleasure-who-could-determine-the/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [If your life is based around your being comfortable, you're not very comfortable. You suffer quite a bit - becuase in the realm of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-your-life-is-based-around-your-being-comfortable-you-re-not-very/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The only way to be a champion is by going through these forced reps and the torture and pain. That's way I call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/the-only-way-to-be-a-champion-is-by-going-through-these-forced-reps/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [Theres a very fine line between pleasure and pain. They are two sides of the same coin, one not existing without the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/50-shdes-of-grey/theres-a-very-fine-line-between-pleasure-and-pain-they-are-two-sides/) [50 Shdes Of Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/50-shdes-of-grey/) > [“Feeling pleasure and pain, a sweet mixture that left you breathless and begging for more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-culbreth/feeling-pleasure-and-pain-a-sweet-mixture-that-left-you-breathless/) [Jennifer Culbreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-culbreth/) ## More by Charles Krauthammer > [Obama and the Democrats were so critical of what Bush did, the interrogations, the secret prisons, Guantanamo and all of that, and even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/obama-and-the-democrats-were-so-critical-of-what-bush-did-the/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“America is the most welcoming, religiously tolerant, philo-semitic country in the world. 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You might have argued that in the thirties when conservatives opposed the New Deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-conservative-idea-is-not-that-government-has-no-role-you-might/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [The war is not going well and it is time to say why. It has been fought with half-measures. It has been fought with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-war-is-not-going-well-and-it-is-time-to-say-why-it-has-been/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“International stability is never a given. It is never the norm. When achieved, it is the product of self-conscious action by the great powers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/international-stability-is-never-a-given-it-is-never-the-norm-when/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Look, I don't mind if the President sends a budget which he knows is not going to achieve anything. But when he prefaces his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/look-i-don-t-mind-if-the-president-sends-a-budget-which-he-knows-is/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“Politics is the moat, the walls, beyond which lie the barbarians. Fail to keep them at bay, and everything burns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/politics-is-the-moat-the-walls-beyond-which-lie-the-barbarians-fail/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Don't touch my junk, you airport security goon--my package belongs to no one but me, and do you really think I'm a Nigerian nut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/don-t-touch-my-junk-you-airport-security-goon-my-package-belongs-to/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“The Russian Revolution and its imitators (Chinese, Cuban, Vietnamese, Cambodian) tried to atomize society so thoroughly--to war against the mediating structures that stand between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-russian-revolution-and-its-imitators-chinese-cuban-vietnamese/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Where religion is trivialized, one is unlikely to find persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/where-religion-is-trivialized-one-is-unlikely-to-find-persecution/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [We must now brace ourselves for disquisitions on peer pressure, adolescent anomie, and rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/we-must-now-brace-ourselves-for-disquisitions-on-peer-pressure/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [Post-Watergate morality, by which anything left private is taken as presumptive evidence of wrongdoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/post-watergate-morality-by-which-anything-left-private-is-taken-as/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [“The largest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy and prosperity,' warns Czech president Vaclav Klaus, 'is no longer socialism. It is, instead, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/the-largest-threat-to-freedom-democracy-the-market-economy-and/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) [Explore all 268 Charles Krauthammer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) [Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For every moment of triumph, there is an unequal and opposite feeling of despair. Take that iconic photograph of Muhammad Ali standing triumphantly over the prostrate, semiconscious wreckage of Sonny Liston. Great photo. Now think of Liston. 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