--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not spoil what you have by desiring…" description: "\"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.\" — Epicurus" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/epicurus-1642_desire_do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-w_1353949.jpg" --- # Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not… ![“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” quote by Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/epicurus-1642_desire_do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-w_1353949.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/epicurus-1642_desire_do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-w_1353949.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/epicurus-1642_desire_do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-w_1353949.jpg) > “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contentment comes from valuing current possessions over unattainable desires **In simple terms:** Appreciate what you have now Key Takeaway Practice gratitude daily Themes contentment desire philosophy Mood calm thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - financial planning - relationship satisfaction - health goals Key Concepts stoicism hedonism ethical living Questions to Reflect On - What are you grateful for today? - How can you balance desire and appreciation? A Different Perspective Desire may still motivate growth ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ## Related quotes > [“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-loechner/do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-what-you-have-not-remember-2/) [Erin Loechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-loechner/) > [We did not hope for the same things, but we all hoped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/we-did-not-hope-for-the-same-things-but-we-all-hoped/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“things hoped for, the assurance of things unseen.” “We must have faith.” Kaaren closed the book in her lap. “Ja, we must,” Ingeborg acknowledged.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauraine-snelling/things-hoped-for-the-assurance-of-things-unseen-we-must-have-faith/) [Lauraine Snelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauraine-snelling/) > [Do not spoil what u hav by desiring wat u dont have but remember that you now have was once among the things you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-spoil-what-u-hav-by-desiring-wat-u-dont-have-but-remember-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't Spoil What You Have By Desiring What You Don't Have... Because What You Have Now, Is One Of The Many Things You Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/don-t-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-what-you-don-t-have-because/) Pacifiersucker > [Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-what-you-have-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dont spoil what you have by desiring what you dont have . . . Bcoz . . . What you have now, is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/dont-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-what-you-dont-have-bcoz-what-you/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [Don't Spoil What You Have By Desiring What You Don't Have. Coz What You Have Now Is One Of The Many Things You Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/don-t-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-what-you-don-t-have-coz-what/) Pacifiersucker > [Now faith is the substance of things hoped' for, the evidence of things not seen., http://bsss.ner.istmein.de/gy2Wezyx.html Losartan 100mg cut in half, xkcjoy, http://csss.ner.istmein.de/hl0Fibut.html Shigellen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xzvtadfp/now-faith-is-the-substance-of-things-hoped-for-the-evidence-of-things/) Xzvtadfp > [Where do you think you’re going?” Dr. Nokes demanded…. “What do you have for directions?” And Dad… said, “I have the substance of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leif-enger/where-do-you-think-you-re-going-dr-nokes-demanded-what-do-you-have/) [Leif Enger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leif-enger/) > [“Second star to the right and straight on till morning, Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-d-hays-gibbs/second-star-to-the-right-and-straight-on-till-morning-faith-is-the/) Linda D. Hays-Gibbs > [Fading, with the Night, the memory of a dead love, and the withered leaves of a blighted hope, and the sickly repinings and moody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/fading-with-the-night-the-memory-of-a-dead-love-and-the-withered/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/but-now-that-i-am-old-moving-every-year-closer-to-the-end-of-my-life/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [Sometimes when I'm with you, I remember things I lost when I was your age. Like I remember the sound of the rain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/sometimes-when-i-m-with-you-i-remember-things-i-lost-when-i-was-your/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I tell my retreat students that they need to remember two things: to eat what they want when they're hungry and to feel what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/i-tell-my-retreat-students-that-they-need-to-remember-two-things-to/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) ## More by Epicurus > [Most beautiful is the sight of those near and dear to us when our original kinship makes us of one mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/most-beautiful-is-the-sight-of-those-near-and-dear-to-us-when-our/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Any man who does not think that what he has is more than ample, is an unhappy man, even if he is the master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/any-man-who-does-not-think-that-what-he-has-is-more-than-ample-is-an/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [“The opinions held by most people about the gods are not true conceptions of them but fallacious notions, according to which awful penalties are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-the-gods-are-not-true/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Death is nothing to us: for that which is dissolved is without sensation; and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/death-is-nothing-to-us-for-that-which-is-dissolved-is-without/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Neither one should hesitate about dedicating oneself to philosophy when young, nor should get tired of doing it when one's old, because no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/neither-one-should-hesitate-about-dedicating-oneself-to-philosophy/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/if-thou-wilt-make-a-man-happy-add-not-unto-his-riches-but-take-away/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Being happy is knowing how to be content with little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/being-happy-is-knowing-how-to-be-content-with-little/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Injustice is not evil in itself, but only in the fear and apprehension that one will not escape those who have been set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/injustice-is-not-evil-in-itself-but-only-in-the-fear-and-apprehension/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Riches do not exhilarate us so much with their possession as they torment us with their loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/riches-do-not-exhilarate-us-so-much-with-their-possession-as-they/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [I have never wished to cater to the crowd; for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/i-have-never-wished-to-cater-to-the-crowd-for-what-i-know-they-do-not/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [The pleasant life is not produced by continual drinking and dancing, nor sexual intercourse, nor rare dishes of sea food and other delicacies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/the-pleasant-life-is-not-produced-by-continual-drinking-and-dancing/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/be-moderate-in-order-to-taste-the-joys-of-life-in-abundance/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [If the gods have the will to remove evil and cannot, then they are not all-powerful. If they are neither able nor willing, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/if-the-gods-have-the-will-to-remove-evil-and-cannot-then-they-are-not/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Of all things which wisdom provides to make life entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/of-all-things-which-wisdom-provides-to-make-life-entirely-happy-much/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/death-does-not-concern-us-because-as-long-as-we-exist-death-is-not/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) [Explore all 209 Epicurus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [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/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Epicurus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-what-you-have-not-remember/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-what-you-have-not-remember/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/epicurus-1642_desire_do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-w_1353949.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/epicurus-1642_desire_do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-w_1353949.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/epicurus-1642_desire_do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-w_1353949.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the…” — Epicurus", "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": "Epicurus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Do not spoil what you have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-what-you-have-not-remember/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/do-not-spoil-what-you-have-by-desiring-what-you-have-not-remember/#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 } } ] } ```