--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must conserve our strengths for the…" description: "\"“We must conserve our strengths for the battles we can win.”\" — David Henry Hwang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/david-henry-hwang-12258_conserve_we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-b_3101679.png" --- # We must conserve our strengths for the battles we can win. ![“We must conserve our strengths for the battles we can win.” quote by David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/david-henry-hwang-12258_conserve_we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-b_3101679.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/david-henry-hwang-12258_conserve_we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-b_3101679.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/david-henry-hwang-12258_conserve_we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-b_3101679.png) > ““We must conserve our strengths for the battles we can win.”” [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preserve energy for achievable conflicts rather than exhausting yourself on impossible ones. **In simple terms:** Save strength for winnable fights. Key Takeaway Focus on realistic goals. Themes strategy resilience prioritization Mood determined pragmatic Type advice motivational When to use this quote - workplace negotiations - personal relationships - political campaigns - sports competitions Key Concepts resource management goal selection Questions to Reflect On - Which challenges are truly winnable? - How can you allocate resources wisely? A Different Perspective Neglecting smaller battles may let larger issues grow unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Strengths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strengths/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Never try those battles you can't win. If you dare, Get ready to stand at might whether its death or a win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniyal-butt/never-try-those-battles-you-can-t-win-if-you-dare-get-ready-to-stand/) [Daniyal Butt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniyal-butt/) > [Extremely strong, effective, tenacious, and powerful political networks can be built when you fight losing battles as well as when you win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-ireland/extremely-strong-effective-tenacious-and-powerful-political-networks/) [Patricia Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-ireland/) > [“It's better to lose a few battles, so that you can win the war…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-s-smith/it-s-better-to-lose-a-few-battles-so-that-you-can-win-the-war/) G.S. Smith > [Life is like a war some battles you win, some you lose but you never stop fighting for what you believe in!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gustas/life-is-like-a-war-some-battles-you-win-some-you-lose-but-you-never/) Peter Gustas > [We had to play the hand we were dealt, all of us. Fighting the battles we could win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/we-had-to-play-the-hand-we-were-dealt-all-of-us-fighting-the-battles/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [You gotta choose what battles you can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-scarborough/you-gotta-choose-what-battles-you-can-win/) [Joe Scarborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-scarborough/) > [Choose battles that you can win without losing your heart and your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choose-battles-that-you-can-win-without-losing-your-heart-and-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is not fair. And you have to choose your battles, because there are some that you cannot win. If you're passionate about something,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/life-is-not-fair-and-you-have-to-choose-your-battles-because-there/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [“You play the hand you're dealt just like everyone else in this bloody world. You have gifts people would kill for, no matter that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/you-play-the-hand-you-re-dealt-just-like-everyone-else-in-this-bloody/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Everyone always wins I love you more battles with me, but you will never win I miss you more;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel/everyone-always-wins-i-love-you-more-battles-with-me-but-you-will/) [Rachel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel/) > [“Be smart! Fight the battles you can win and accept the ones you can’t. That’s how you survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/be-smart-fight-the-battles-you-can-win-and-accept-the-ones-you-can-t/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [I don't expect to win every battle but I think Fred Pierce has enough respect for me that I can go fight my battles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roone-arledge/i-don-t-expect-to-win-every-battle-but-i-think-fred-pierce-has-enough/) [Roone Arledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roone-arledge/) > [Those who are victorious plan effectively and change decisively. They are like a great river that maintains its course but adjusts its flow...they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/those-who-are-victorious-plan-effectively-and-change-decisively-they/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [You hold the ones you love close and fight the battles you can win, and that, Kitten, is how it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/you-hold-the-ones-you-love-close-and-fight-the-battles-you-can-win/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [We as a nation have no choice but to conserve fuel to the best of our abilities or be prepared for harsh measures like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veerappa-moily/we-as-a-nation-have-no-choice-but-to-conserve-fuel-to-the-best-of-our/) [Veerappa Moily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veerappa-moily/) ## More by David Henry Hwang > [I felt pretty good growing up. I didnt feel a lot of prejudice or racism. But I do remember, if there was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-felt-pretty-good-growing-up-i-didnt-feel-a-lot-of-prejudice-or/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [I visited a new cultural center in Shanghai in 2005 that was pretty much perfect, except for the really badly translated Chinglish signs: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-visited-a-new-cultural-center-in-shanghai-in-2005-that-was-pretty/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [My first plays were amazingly bad, but I had a teacher who thought I had promise, and he kept working with me. I finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/my-first-plays-were-amazingly-bad-but-i-had-a-teacher-who-thought-i/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [I think that plays are probably the most personal, because it's just me in charge, but sometimes it's just really - I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-think-that-plays-are-probably-the-most-personal-because-it-s-just/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [“And you wonder, what's wrong with me? Will anyone beautiful want me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/and-you-wonder-what-s-wrong-with-me-will-anyone-beautiful-want-me/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [As Asian-Americans, the charge that is often lobbed against us is sort of the least original: the idea that somehow we're perpetual foreigners, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/as-asian-americans-the-charge-that-is-often-lobbed-against-us-is-sort/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Death with honor is better than life... life with dishonor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/death-with-honor-is-better-than-life-life-with-dishonor/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Chinese culture in general is not very religious. Confucianism is more a code of ethics than a religion, and ancestor worship is a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/chinese-culture-in-general-is-not-very-religious-confucianism-is-more/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [My new play 'Chinglish,' which will go to Broadway, is about a white American businessman who goes to a provincial capital in China, hoping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/my-new-play-chinglish-which-will-go-to-broadway-is-about-a-white/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [. . . I felt I was finally in a position to affect not only the artistic content of the American theatre, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/i-felt-i-was-finally-in-a-position-to-affect-not-only-the-artistic/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Yes, I am one of those people who feels that most of my work is adaptation of one sort or another. For me, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/yes-i-am-one-of-those-people-who-feels-that-most-of-my-work-is/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Time flies when you’re being stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/time-flies-when-you-re-being-stupid/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [If I do a play, it's my vision, and everybody else is working on the production to support that. If I do an opera,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/if-i-do-a-play-it-s-my-vision-and-everybody-else-is-working-on-the/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [Why, in the Peking Opera, are women's roles played by men?...Because only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/why-in-the-peking-opera-are-women-s-roles-played-by-men-because-only/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) > [There's something about China and its rush to capitalism that I find confusing. At the same time, we live in an America where capitalists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/there-s-something-about-china-and-its-rush-to-capitalism-that-i-find/) [David Henry Hwang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) [Explore all 55 David Henry Hwang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/) ## More Conserve quotes > [We as a nation have no choice but to conserve fuel to the best of our abilities or be prepared for harsh measures like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veerappa-moily/we-as-a-nation-have-no-choice-but-to-conserve-fuel-to-the-best-of-our/) [Veerappa Moily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veerappa-moily/) > [On the field, aggression can sometimes be a positive emotion. It boosts performance and can lift your game. But over the years, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virat-kohli/on-the-field-aggression-can-sometimes-be-a-positive-emotion-it-boosts/) [Virat Kohli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virat-kohli/) > [There are many things in America worth conserving. But I am one of those conservatives who believes the most important of those things is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyn-nofziger/there-are-many-things-in-america-worth-conserving-but-i-am-one-of/) [Lyn Nofziger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyn-nofziger/) > [Great books conserve time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holbrook-jackson/great-books-conserve-time/) [Holbrook Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holbrook-jackson/) > [“Preserve, Conserve, Inspire, Teach. Empowering children to be planet-citizens; to care about the planet, themselves and eachtother! Breath-of-fresh-air books that speak to the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-lisa-tara/preserve-conserve-inspire-teach-empowering-children-to-be-planet/) Stephanie Lisa Tara > [Let's all try to conserve water. But it's OK to shower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-evangelista/let-s-all-try-to-conserve-water-but-it-s-ok-to-shower/) [Allen Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-evangelista/) > [Actually, I never really look at myself as a real radical activist; I am more the conservative. I mean, the conservatives are trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/actually-i-never-really-look-at-myself-as-a-real-radical-activist-i/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [Perhaps it matters little whether the international community chooses to celebrate crop diversity, but it profoundly matters that the international community takes action to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fowler/perhaps-it-matters-little-whether-the-international-community-chooses/) [Cary Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fowler/) > [A living countryside is not a luxury but a necessity for the human population; if you let conservation go hang until your pockets are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-barnes/a-living-countryside-is-not-a-luxury-but-a-necessity-for-the-human/) [Simon Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-barnes/) > [We must conserve our environment and pass it on to our children in as good or better condition than it was passed to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kennedy/we-must-conserve-our-environment-and-pass-it-on-to-our-children-in-as/) [Mark Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kennedy/) > [When you dance you need an awful lot of energy. Off stage, you learn to conserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyd-charisse/when-you-dance-you-need-an-awful-lot-of-energy-off-stage-you-learn-to/) [Cyd Charisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyd-charisse/) > [Conserve Water, Shower with me. ^\_^](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhat/conserve-water-shower-with-me/) [Zhat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhat/) > [That's something I have to work on: to separate what really matters, to conserve energy by not worrying about what other people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/that-s-something-i-have-to-work-on-to-separate-what-really-matters-to/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Now, the downside to conservation is that so much is done for the public, which almost always mars the environment that one wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-jacobsen/now-the-downside-to-conservation-is-that-so-much-is-done-for-the/) [Arne Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-jacobsen/) > [We need to do more to conserve fuel or face tougher choices such as steep price increase or even quantitative restrictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veerappa-moily/we-need-to-do-more-to-conserve-fuel-or-face-tougher-choices-such-as/) [Veerappa Moily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veerappa-moily/) Browse all 42 Conserve quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We must conserve our strengths for the battles we can win.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Henry Hwang" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-battles-we-can-win/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conserve" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-battles-we-can-win/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/david-henry-hwang-12258_conserve_we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-b_3101679.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/david-henry-hwang-12258_conserve_we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-b_3101679.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ce/david-henry-hwang-12258_conserve_we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-b_3101679.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We must conserve our strengths for the battles we can win.” — David Henry Hwang", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Henry Hwang", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-henry-hwang/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We must conserve our strengths for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-battles-we-can-win/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-henry-hwang/we-must-conserve-our-strengths-for-the-battles-we-can-win/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```