--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The individual who has to justify his…" description: "\"The individual who has to justify his existence by his own efforts is in eternal bondage to himself.\" — Eric Hoffer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f60/eric-hoffer-343_bondage_the-individual-who-has-to-justify-his-ex_2545945.jpg" --- # The individual who has to justify his existence by his own… ![“The individual who has to justify his existence by his own efforts is in eternal bondage to himself.” quote by Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f60/eric-hoffer-343_bondage_the-individual-who-has-to-justify-his-ex_2545945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f60/eric-hoffer-343_bondage_the-individual-who-has-to-justify-his-ex_2545945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f60/eric-hoffer-343_bondage_the-individual-who-has-to-justify-his-ex_2545945.jpg) > “The individual who has to justify his existence by his own efforts is in eternal bondage to himself.” [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues that self-justification through personal effort leads to self-imposed bondage. **In simple terms:** Relying solely on personal effort can trap you. Key Takeaway Seek balance between effort and external support. Themes self-reliance bondage existential freedom Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Career advancement - entrepreneurship - creative projects - self-improvement - spiritual practice Key Concepts Existentialism psychology self-identity Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance self-effort with community help? - What freedoms arise from shared purpose? A Different Perspective Too much self-reliance may cause isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bondage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bondage/) [Efforts Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/efforts-eternal-1476463/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Eternal Bondage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-bondage-1476461/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual Justify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-justify-1476462/) [Justify](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justify/) [Justify Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justify-existence-257161/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [When we free ourselves from name and form, especially from a body - when we need no body, good or bad - then only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/when-we-free-ourselves-from-name-and-form-especially-from-a-body-when-2/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The hour when you say, "What does my happiness matter? It is poverty and filth, and a wretched complacency. Yet my happiness should justify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-hour-when-you-say-what-does-my-happiness-matter-it-is-poverty-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I feel worn down as a human being who has to constantly justify their existence to other human beings because I'm a minority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-feel-worn-down-as-a-human-being-who-has-to-constantly-justify-their/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [“An existant can never justify the existence of another existant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/an-existant-can-never-justify-the-existence-of-another-existant/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Fear of serious injury alone cannot justify oppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-d-brandeis/fear-of-serious-injury-alone-cannot-justify-oppression-of-free-speech/) [Louis D. Brandeis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-d-brandeis/) > [We should all be obliged to appear before a board every five years and justify our existence... on pain of liquidation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/we-should-all-be-obliged-to-appear-before-a-board-every-five-years/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [We are all warriors. Each of us struggles every day to define and defend our sense of purpose and integrity, to justify our existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/we-are-all-warriors-each-of-us-struggles-every-day-to-define-and/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [A man who sets out to justify his existence and his activities has to distinguish two different questions. 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Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-hardy/) > [“Every individual concerned to justify his existence feels that his existence involves an undefined need to transcend himself, to engage in freely chosen projects.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/every-individual-concerned-to-justify-his-existence-feels-that-his/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [“...although the reason for the existence of women is obvious enough, nobody has any real idea what point there is in being a man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jones/although-the-reason-for-the-existence-of-women-is-obvious-enough/) [Steve Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jones/) > [To be just, that is to say, to justify its existence, criticism should be partial, passionate and political, that is to say, written from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/to-be-just-that-is-to-say-to-justify-its-existence-criticism-should-2/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Why do we need to justify God's existence? He exists. We need to justify our own existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/why-do-we-need-to-justify-god-s-existence-he-exists-we-need-to/) [Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/) > [“In particular those who are condemned to stagnation are often pronounced happy on the pretext that happiness consists in being at rest. This notion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/in-particular-those-who-are-condemned-to-stagnation-are-often/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [To be just, that is to say, to justify its existence, criticism should be partial, passionate and political, that is to say, written from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/to-be-just-that-is-to-say-to-justify-its-existence-criticism-should/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [“Can you justify your existence then?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/can-you-justify-your-existence-then/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) ## More by Eric Hoffer > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-lie-the-loudest-when-we-lie-to-ourselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The creative mind is the playful mind. 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Compassion alone stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-the-alchemy-of-man-s-soul-almost-all-noble-attributes-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-act-of-self-denial-seems-to-confer-on-us-the-right-to-be-harsh/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-nation-without-dregs-and-malcontents-is-orderly-decent-peaceful-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/compassion-alone-stands-apart-from-the-continuous-traffic-between/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-are-many-who-find-a-good-alibi-far-more-attractive-than-an/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-war-is-not-won-if-the-defeated-enemy-has-not-been-turned-into-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/man-is-the-only-creature-that-strives-to-surpass-himself-and-yearns/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning-man-s-efforts-is-without/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) [Explore all 658 Eric Hoffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More Bondage quotes > [Just a decade after 'Living in Bondage,' Nollywood films, made in some 300 languages, were being watched in both urban and rural areas, distributed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-flock/just-a-decade-after-living-in-bondage-nollywood-films-made-in-some/) [Elizabeth Flock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-flock/) > [The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself - this is called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-awakening-of-the-soul-to-its-bondage-and-its-effort-to-stand-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Too long have the workers of the world waited for some Moses to lead them out of bondage. I would not lead you out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-debs/too-long-have-the-workers-of-the-world-waited-for-some-moses-to-lead/) [Eugene V. Debs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-v-debs/) > [If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation. Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession: "God, preserve my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/if-we-do-not-abide-in-prayer-we-will-abide-in-temptation-let-this-be/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [According to Jains the soul in pure form has infiniteness in terms of its knowledge and power. These faculties are obstructed for its exhibition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virchand-gandhi/according-to-jains-the-soul-in-pure-form-has-infiniteness-in-terms-of/) [Virchand Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virchand-gandhi/) > [The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities of higher education, for the full development of her faculties, forces of mind and body;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-strongest-reason-for-giving-woman-all-the-opportunities-of-higher/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“This is a disturbing fetish, Vin," he says, coming up for air. "Why can't you be into bondage like everyone else?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-manning/this-is-a-disturbing-fetish-vin-he-says-coming-up-for-air-why-can-t/) [Edmond Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-manning/) > [Advanced meditators are not even desirous of liberation anymore - that is just another attachment. There is no liberation. There is no bondage. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/advanced-meditators-are-not-even-desirous-of-liberation-anymore-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Slavery is slavery. The chain of gold is quite as bad as the chain of iron. Is there a way out?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/slavery-is-slavery-the-chain-of-gold-is-quite-as-bad-as-the-chain-of/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Woman has so long been subject to the disabilities and restrictions with which her progress has been embarrassed that she has become enervated, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretia-mott/woman-has-so-long-been-subject-to-the-disabilities-and-restrictions/) [Lucretia Mott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretia-mott/) > [To my mind, the main reason for the Depression in the United States as a whole, is the bondage of debt and the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heber-j-grant/to-my-mind-the-main-reason-for-the-depression-in-the-united-states-as/) [Heber J. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heber-j-grant/) > [Our life is a reflection of what we believe we deserve. 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