--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: try to picture yourself becoming more…" description: "\"“try to picture yourself becoming more like this—like Sisyphus pushing a rock up a hill only to see it fall back down, knowing you will do this for ete..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be1/elizabeth-hyde-stevens-42422_hope_try-to-picture-yourself-becoming-more-li_1324331.jpg" --- # try to picture yourself becoming more like this—like… ![“try to picture yourself becoming more like this—like Sisyphus pushing a rock up a hill only to see it fall back down, knowing you will do this for eternity. Learn to work without hope of reward. That is, learn to push for the sake of pushing.” quote by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be1/elizabeth-hyde-stevens-42422_hope_try-to-picture-yourself-becoming-more-li_1324331.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be1/elizabeth-hyde-stevens-42422_hope_try-to-picture-yourself-becoming-more-li_1324331.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be1/elizabeth-hyde-stevens-42422_hope_try-to-picture-yourself-becoming-more-li_1324331.jpg) > ““try to picture yourself becoming more like this—like Sisyphus pushing a rock up a hill only to see it fall back down, knowing you will do this for eternity. Learn to work without hope of reward. That is, learn to push for the sake of pushing.”” [Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Endless effort without reward teaches intrinsic motivation and resilience. **In simple terms:** Work for the sake of work, not for payoff. Key Takeaway Find purpose in the process. Themes resilience purpose effort Mood determined reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative projects - daily chores - fitness routines - long‑term goals Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you sustain motivation? - What does “reward” mean to you? A Different Perspective May lead to burnout if hope is absent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Learn Push](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-push-4422165/) [Like Sisyphus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-sisyphus-4422164/) [Pushing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushing/) [Pushing Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushing-rock-4422163/) [Sisyphus Pushing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sisyphus-pushing-4422162/) [Without hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-hope/) ## Related quotes > [I think at a certain point the book develops a certain weight, or pressure. You've been pushing the rock up the hill for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-think-at-a-certain-point-the-book-develops-a-certain-weight-or/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Hope is the fuel of the ship of dreams. Without hope you can't even get out of the harbor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dyan-sheldon/hope-is-the-fuel-of-the-ship-of-dreams-without-hope-you-can-t-even/) [Dyan Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dyan-sheldon/) > [All of us, poor & rich alike, have been conditioned by our upbringings. Impoverished men & women may become lulled into a state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/all-of-us-poor-rich-alike-have-been-conditioned-by-our-upbringings/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Ladies and gentlemen, I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work - a life's work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/ladies-and-gentlemen-i-feel-that-this-award-was-not-made-to-me-as-a/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Emily Dickinson did not like was one of the stated purposes of the college - to convert young women to the Christian cause, finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-benfey/emily-dickinson-did-not-like-was-one-of-the-stated-purposes-of-the/) [Christopher Benfey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-benfey/) > [Fear is vision without hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/fear-is-vision-without-hope/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [“amazing? If it is, then you are not without hope. Hope is not gone.       Faith that Stands   It’s not easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherie-hill/amazing-if-it-is-then-you-are-not-without-hope-hope-is-not-gone-faith/) [Cherie Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherie-hill/) > [We may live without poetry, music and art; We may live without conscience, and live without heart; We may live without friends; we may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-may-live-without-poetry-music-and-art-we-may-live-without/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you stop hoping you start settling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valorie-burton/when-you-stop-hoping-you-start-settling/) [Valorie Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valorie-burton/) > [“Did hope help us to survive, or not? Too many families clung to it all through the war, thus falling into the enemy's trap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-hope-help-us-to-survive-or-not-too-many-families-clung-to-it-all/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“And so. And so I choose to go on serving it. I choose to go north, even though like every other direction, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/and-so-and-so-i-choose-to-go-on-serving-it-i-choose-to-go-north-even/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The upshot here is that Gil Scott-Heron is still a warrior, even if the front lines have moved. He's made a record not without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hermes/the-upshot-here-is-that-gil-scott-heron-is-still-a-warrior-even-if/) [Will Hermes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hermes/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [“Here is a man who by all conventions should have been a denizen of the lower depths of society: ignored, illiterate, disfigured, limping, penniless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sugich/here-is-a-man-who-by-all-conventions-should-have-been-a-denizen-of/) [Michael Sugich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sugich/) ## More by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens > [“Play and experimentation loosens our grip on life and allows for more chance luck to surprise us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/play-and-experimentation-loosens-our-grip-on-life-and-allows-for-more/) [Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) > [“Though it sounds vulgar, selling something that should be a gift is precisely what prostitution is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/though-it-sounds-vulgar-selling-something-that-should-be-a-gift-is/) [Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) > [“Don’t let your day job take over your life simply because it has a more immediate payoff.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/don-t-let-your-day-job-take-over-your-life-simply-because-it-has-a/) [Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) > [ “\[Henson:\] I didn’t call him a frog. \[Interviewer:\] Right, he was just Kermit the thing. \[Henson:\] Yeah, all the characters in those days were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/henson-i-didn-t-call-him-a-frog-interviewer-right-he-was-just-kermit/) [Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) > [“We intuitively reject art when the cost to make it is less than the cost to buy it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/we-intuitively-reject-art-when-the-cost-to-make-it-is-less-than-the/) [Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) > [ “The feeling of accomplishment is more real and satisfying than finishing a good meal or looking at one’s accumulated wealth.”\[28\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/the-feeling-of-accomplishment-is-more-real-and-satisfying-than/) [Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) > [“Don’t listen to your friends who tell you they like leaving their work at work. They don’t have the same dream you do. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/don-t-listen-to-your-friends-who-tell-you-they-like-leaving-their/) [Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) > [“What ambitious story could you turn your life into? You can’t start over. You have to use only what’s in the toolbox—and make art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/what-ambitious-story-could-you-turn-your-life-into-you-can-t-start/) [Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) > [“For art to truly affect us, it needs to be, in a sense, “given.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/for-art-to-truly-affect-us-it-needs-to-be-in-a-sense-given/) [Elizabeth Hyde Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) [Explore all 10 Elizabeth Hyde Stevens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hyde-stevens/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) [Simone Abou Samra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-abou-samra/) > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“try to picture yourself becoming more like this—like Sisyphus pushing a rock up a hill only to see it fall back down, knowing you will do this for eternity. 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