--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is the true joy in life, the being…" description: "\"“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_happiness_this-is-the-true-joy-in-life-the-being-u_3222882.png" --- # This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose… ![“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my…” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_happiness_this-is-the-true-joy-in-life-the-being-u_3222882.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_happiness_this-is-the-true-joy-in-life-the-being-u_3222882.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/george-bernard-shaw-68_happiness_this-is-the-true-joy-in-life-the-being-u_3222882.png) > ““This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” to me. It is a sort of splendid torch, which I have got hold for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One finds purpose by serving the larger community, working hard, and living fully for others. **In simple terms:** Serve others, work hard, live fully. Key Takeaway Live for the community, not self. Themes purpose service community Mood inspirational thoughtful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - volunteering - career dedication - personal growth - legacy building Key Concepts selflessness meaning legacy Questions to Reflect On - What does “being used up” mean to you? - How can you balance personal needs with community service? A Different Perspective Self‑sacrifice can lead to burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Force Of Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force-of-nature/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Joy In Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-in-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [True joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-joy/) ## Related quotes > [“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/this-is-the-true-joy-in-life-the-being-used-for-a-purpose-recognized-3/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [This is the true joy in life: Being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, being a force of nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/this-is-the-true-joy-in-life-being-used-for-a-purpose-recognized-by/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/this-is-the-true-joy-in-life-the-being-used-for-a-purpose-recognized-2/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The joy in life is to be used for a purpose. I want to be used up when I die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-joy-in-life-is-to-be-used-for-a-purpose-i-want-to-be-used-up-when/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [This is the true joy of life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/this-is-the-true-joy-of-life-the-being-used-up-for-a-purpose-2/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [This is the true joy of life-the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, the being thoroughly worn out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/this-is-the-true-joy-of-life-the-being-used-for-a-purpose-recognized/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“This is the true joy of life: the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/this-is-the-true-joy-of-life-the-being-used-up-for-a-purpose/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“This is the true joy in life — being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/this-is-the-true-joy-in-life-being-used-for-a-purpose-recognized-by-2/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gorge-bernard/this-is-the-true-joy-in-life-the-being-used-for-a-purpose-recognized/) Gorge Bernard > [“George Bernard Shaw said in Man and Superman: “This is the true joy in life: the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-burgess/george-bernard-shaw-said-in-man-and-superman-this-is-the-true-joy-in/) Dave Burgess > [I love to be with my twins. They are my true joy in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-grace/i-love-to-be-with-my-twins-they-are-my-true-joy-in-life/) [Nancy Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-grace/) > [I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-want-to-be-thoroughly-used-up-when-i-die-for-the-harder-i-work-the-2/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-want-to-be-thoroughly-used-up-when-i-die-for-the-harder-i-work-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [If you're not having a good time, find something else that gives you some joy in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-marshall/if-you-re-not-having-a-good-time-find-something-else-that-gives-you/) [Penny Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-marshall/) > [The joy in life is his who has the heart to demand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-joy-in-life-is-his-who-has-the-heart-to-demand-it/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Happiness quotes > [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/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [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/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. 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