--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Better guilt than the terrible burden of…" description: "\"Better guilt than the terrible burden of freedom and responsibility.\" — Ernest Becker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/ernest-becker-7036_burden_better-guilt-than-the-terrible-burden-of_2446140.jpg" --- # Better guilt than the terrible burden of freedom and… ![“Better guilt than the terrible burden of freedom and responsibility.” quote by Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/ernest-becker-7036_burden_better-guilt-than-the-terrible-burden-of_2446140.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/ernest-becker-7036_burden_better-guilt-than-the-terrible-burden-of_2446140.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65d/ernest-becker-7036_burden_better-guilt-than-the-terrible-burden-of_2446140.jpg) > “Better guilt than the terrible burden of freedom and responsibility.” [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom and responsibility can be overwhelming, so some prefer guilt as a simpler burden. **In simple terms:** People may choose guilt over the heavy weight of freedom. Key Takeaway Embrace responsibility rather than hide behind guilt. Themes freedom responsibility guilt Mood anxious thoughtful Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - ethical decision making - leadership - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism psychology moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities are you avoiding? - How can you transform guilt into constructive action? A Different Perspective Guilt can still cause harm and avoid accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-guilt-354644/) [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Burden Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden-freedom-343518/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom and responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-and-responsibility/) [Freedom Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-responsibility-321093/) [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Guilt Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt-terrible-529290/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) ## Related quotes > [Love can only exist where freedom and responsibility are operating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/love-can-only-exist-where-freedom-and-responsibility-are-operating/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [The aim of art, the aim of a life can only be to increase the sum of freedom and responsibility to be found in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-aim-of-art-the-aim-of-a-life-can-only-be-to-increase-the-sum-of-2/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The modern West has been deeply split about freedom and responsibility. On the one hand, it has championed human freedom in many forms -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-ford/the-modern-west-has-been-deeply-split-about-freedom-and/) [David F. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-ford/) > [We cannot learn freedom and responsibility within the confines of our own species. We cannot understand life and death and what they are for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-mills/we-cannot-learn-freedom-and-responsibility-within-the-confines-of-our/) [Stephanie Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-mills/) > [Courage is required not only in a person's occasional crucial decision for his own freedom, but in the little hour-to-hour decisions which place the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/courage-is-required-not-only-in-a-person-s-occasional-crucial/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [Freedom and responsibility aren't interconnected things. They are the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/freedom-and-responsibility-aren-t-interconnected-things-they-are-the/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [The aim of art, the aim of a life can only be to increase the sum of freedom and responsibility to be found in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-aim-of-art-the-aim-of-a-life-can-only-be-to-increase-the-sum-of/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Men must stop being jealous of their power and generously allow freedom and responsibility to others. The reward is harmonious families and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delphine-de-girardin/men-must-stop-being-jealous-of-their-power-and-generously-allow/) [Delphine de Girardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delphine-de-girardin/) > [Guilt's a terrible thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/guilt-s-a-terrible-thing/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [“Funny thing about guilt: There's nothing so bad that you can't add a little guilt to it and make it worse; and there's nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-jay-cox/funny-thing-about-guilt-there-s-nothing-so-bad-that-you-can-t-add-a/) [C. Jay Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-jay-cox/) > [Anger was better than tears, better than grief, better than guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anger-was-better-than-tears-better-than-grief-better-than-guilt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Until you have lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/until-you-have-lost-your-reputation-you-never-realize-what-a-burden/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [There's no way to avoid a burden on your freedom. The costs themselves are a burden on your freedom. The restrictions that are necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/there-s-no-way-to-avoid-a-burden-on-your-freedom-the-costs-themselves/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [The genius writer was correct. In obtaining freedom, man suddenly understands that he has shouldered a heavy burden, because freedom involves responsibility. A person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lukashenko/the-genius-writer-was-correct-in-obtaining-freedom-man-suddenly/) [Alexander Lukashenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lukashenko/) > [Until you lose your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or what freedom really is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/until-you-lose-your-reputation-you-never-realize-what-a-burden-it-was/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) ## More by Ernest Becker > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“the characteristics the modern mind prides itself on are precisely those of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-characteristics-the-modern-mind-prides-itself-on-are-precisely/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“When we are young we are often puzzled by the fact that each person we admire seems to have a different version of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/when-we-are-young-we-are-often-puzzled-by-the-fact-that-each-person/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Relationship is thus always slavery of a kind, which leaves a residue of guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/relationship-is-thus-always-slavery-of-a-kind-which-leaves-a-residue/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“neurosis as a problem of character and have seen that it can be approached in two ways: as a problem of too much narrowness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/neurosis-as-a-problem-of-character-and-have-seen-that-it-can-be/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [When we understand that man is the only animal who must create meaning, who must open a wedge into neutral nature, we already understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/when-we-understand-that-man-is-the-only-animal-who-must-create/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [What is the ideal for mental health, then? A lived, compelling illusion that does not lie about life, death, and reality; one honest enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-is-the-ideal-for-mental-health-then-a-lived-compelling-illusion/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“This is one of the reasons for bigotry and censorship of all kinds over personal morality: people fear that the standard morality will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/this-is-one-of-the-reasons-for-bigotry-and-censorship-of-all-kinds/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“Civilized" society is a hopeful belief and protest that science, money and goods make man count for more than any other animal. In this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/civilized-society-is-a-hopeful-belief-and-protest-that-science-money/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We might say that psychoanalysis revealed to us the complex penalties of denying the truth of man's condition, what we might call the costs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/we-might-say-that-psychoanalysis-revealed-to-us-the-complex-penalties/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“Understanding this, Rank could take a great step beyond Freud. Freud thought that modern man’s moral dependence on another was a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/understanding-this-rank-could-take-a-great-step-beyond-freud-freud/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“The world of human aspiration is largely fictitious and if we do not understand this we understand nothing about man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-world-of-human-aspiration-is-largely-fictitious-and-if-we-do-not/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“If the partner becomes God he can just as easily become the Devil; the reason is not far to seek. For one thing, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/if-the-partner-becomes-god-he-can-just-as-easily-become-the-devil-the/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“every human being is… equally unfree, that is, we… create out of freedom, a prison….”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/every-human-being-is-equally-unfree-that-is-we-create-out-of-freedom/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“The point is that if the love object is divine perfection, then one’s own self is elevated by joining one’s destiny to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-point-is-that-if-the-love-object-is-divine-perfection-then-one-s/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Explore all 95 Ernest Becker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) ## More Burden quotes > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. 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