--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only failure one should fear, is not…" description: "\"The only failure one should fear, is not hugging to the purpose they see as best.\" — George Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/george-eliot-84_failure_the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not_1250144.png" --- # The only failure one should fear, is not hugging to the… ![“The only failure one should fear, is not hugging to the purpose they see as best.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/george-eliot-84_failure_the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not_1250144.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/george-eliot-84_failure_the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not_1250144.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/george-eliot-84_failure_the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not_1250144.png) > “The only failure one should fear, is not hugging to the purpose they see as best.” [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear of failure stems from abandoning one's true purpose, not from external setbacks. **In simple terms:** Don’t fear failure; stay true to your purpose. Key Takeaway Align actions with core purpose. Themes purpose fear failure authenticity Mood thoughtful determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - creative projects - relationship choices Key Concepts Existentialism self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What purpose guides you today? - How can you stay aligned when obstacles arise? A Different Perspective Purpose can be ambiguous, making alignment challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) ## Related quotes > [In business, I've discovered that my purpose is to do my best to my utmost ability every day. 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I learned early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/in-business-i-ve-discovered-that-my-purpose-is-to-do-my-best-to-my/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Today, everything I do from morning meditation on - eating breakfast, going for a walk, writing, reading, even recreation - is governed by one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eknath-easwaran/today-everything-i-do-from-morning-meditation-on-eating-breakfast/) [Eknath Easwaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eknath-easwaran/) > [Our essential purpose is to become the best version of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/our-essential-purpose-is-to-become-the-best-version-of-ourselves/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [“The purpose is to become the best writer in my category (yes, page for page and pound for pound).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/the-purpose-is-to-become-the-best-writer-in-my-category-yes-page-for/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) > [What I've learned over the years is that focus and singular purpose is the best approach for businesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-diller/what-i-ve-learned-over-the-years-is-that-focus-and-singular-purpose/) [Barry Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-diller/) > [Firmness of purpose is one of the best instruments of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/firmness-of-purpose-is-one-of-the-best-instruments-of-success/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“fear is the most valuable commodity in the universe.” That blew me away. “Turn on the TV,” he’d say. “What are you seeing? People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/fear-is-the-most-valuable-commodity-in-the-universe-that-blew-me-away-2/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-t-bennett/the-one-who-falls-and-gets-up-is-stronger-than-the-one-who-never/) [Roy T. Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/) > [“Your fears are the ones that constantly pull you down, that stop you from achieving what you would have achieved a long time back.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehek-bassi/your-fears-are-the-ones-that-constantly-pull-you-down-that-stop-you/) [Mehek Bassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehek-bassi/) > [“the number one cause of failure in this country is the fear of failure. 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It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the Master Work. Now, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-must-have-no-fear-of-failure-it-was-my-fear-of-failure-that-first/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by George Eliot > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/sane-people-did-what-their-neighbours-did-so-that-if-any-lunatics/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Explore all 1,492 George Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More Failure quotes > [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/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only failure one should fear, is not hugging to the purpose they see as best.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not-hugging-to-the-purpose-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not-hugging-to-the-purpose-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/george-eliot-84_failure_the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not_1250144.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/george-eliot-84_failure_the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not_1250144.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/george-eliot-84_failure_the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not_1250144.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only failure one should fear, is not hugging to the purpose they see as best.” — George Eliot", "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": "George Eliot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only failure one should fear,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not-hugging-to-the-purpose-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-only-failure-one-should-fear-is-not-hugging-to-the-purpose-they/#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 } } ] } ```