--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No living being is held by anything so…" description: "\"No living being is held by anything so strongly as its own needs.\" — Epictetus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/epictetus-413_life_no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-s_2561402.jpg" --- # No living being is held by anything so strongly as its own… ![“No living being is held by anything so strongly as its own needs.” quote by Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/epictetus-413_life_no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-s_2561402.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/epictetus-413_life_no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-s_2561402.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/epictetus-413_life_no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-s_2561402.jpg) > “No living being is held by anything so strongly as its own needs.” [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are most constrained by their own desires and needs, which dictate behavior more than external forces. **In simple terms:** Own needs dominate freedom. Key Takeaway Examine and moderate personal desires. Themes self‑control philosophy freedom Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - stress management - decision making - personal finance Key Concepts Stoicism desire management Questions to Reflect On - Which needs drive your choices? - Can you balance need and restraint? A Different Perspective Desires can be essential for motivation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Held Strongly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/held-strongly-1233771/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living Held](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-held-1610013/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Strongly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strongly/) [Strongly Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strongly-needs-1610012/) ## Related quotes > [“Strong Women Need To Be Held Strongly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tia-walker/strong-women-need-to-be-held-strongly/) [Tia Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tia-walker/) > [No living being is held by anything so strongly as by its own needs. Whatever therefore appears a hindrance to these, be it brother,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-strongly-as-by-its-own-needs/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [I believe strongly that everyone needs to do a year in retail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-coughlan/i-believe-strongly-that-everyone-needs-to-do-a-year-in-retail/) [Nicola Coughlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-coughlan/) > [The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-strong-man-holds-in-a-living-blend-strongly-marked-opposites/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I believe very strongly in paid sick leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-maloney/i-believe-very-strongly-in-paid-sick-leave/) [Carolyn Maloney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-maloney/) > [I am married to a writer, and this - writing - is an odd enterprise. It's something we both support very strongly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-am-married-to-a-writer-and-this-writing-is-an-odd-enterprise-it-s/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [Anything to make a difference and to seek consensus on an issue is something that I feel strongly about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-bush/anything-to-make-a-difference-and-to-seek-consensus-on-an-issue-is/) [George P. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-p-bush/) > [I strongly believe in the saying that hard work always pays off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shehnaaz-gill/i-strongly-believe-in-the-saying-that-hard-work-always-pays-off/) [Shehnaaz Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shehnaaz-gill/) > [I know a lot of artists say this, but it's hard to put myself in a box. 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It was not written into the Constitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-buck/i-disagree-strongly-with-the-concept-of-separation-of-church-and/) [Ken Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-buck/) > [When I joined Ford, in the late 1970s, I felt strongly we could not forever be a huge user of natural resources without there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-joined-ford-in-the-late-1970s-i-felt-strongly-we-could-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Honduras is strongly anti-Communist, maintains no diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and has provided vital support for United States-backed rebels fighting to overthrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/honduras-is-strongly-anti-communist-maintains-no-diplomatic-relations/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) ## More by Epictetus > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. 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If I were a nightingale, I would do the nightingale's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/what-else-can-i-do-a-lame-old-man-but-sing-hymns-to-god-if-i-were-a/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [People are disturbed not by things, but by the view they take of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them-2/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Small-minded people blame others. Average people blame themselves. The wise see all blame as foolishness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/small-minded-people-blame-others-average-people-blame-themselves-the/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [All philosophy lies in two words, sustain and abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/all-philosophy-lies-in-two-words-sustain-and-abstain/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) [Explore all 577 Epictetus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) ## More Life 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/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No living being is held by anything so strongly as its own needs.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Epictetus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-strongly-as-its-own-needs/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-strongly-as-its-own-needs/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/epictetus-413_life_no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-s_2561402.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/epictetus-413_life_no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-s_2561402.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/epictetus-413_life_no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-s_2561402.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“No living being is held by anything so strongly as its own needs.” — Epictetus", "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": "Epictetus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "No living being is held by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-strongly-as-its-own-needs/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/no-living-being-is-held-by-anything-so-strongly-as-its-own-needs/#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 } } ] } ```