---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At that level, every goal is like a knife…"
description: "\"At that level, every goal is like a knife in the ribs.\" — Gordon Banks"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/523/gordon-banks-104397_every_at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife_1228406.jpg"
---

#  At that level, every goal is like a knife in the ribs.

![“At that level, every goal is like a knife in the ribs.” quote by Gordon Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/523/gordon-banks-104397_every_at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife_1228406.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/523/gordon-banks-104397_every_at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife_1228406.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/523/gordon-banks-104397_every_at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife_1228406.jpg)

> “At that level, every goal is like a knife in the ribs.”

Gordon Banks

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Goals can feel as painful and relentless as a knife lodged in ribs, emphasizing difficulty and discomfort.

**In simple terms:** Goals may hurt like a rib‑piercing knife.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge goal pain and persevere.

Themes

goals pain challenge resilience

Mood

determined reflective

Type

metaphorical motivational

When to use this quote

- personal ambition
- sports training
- career planning

Key Concepts

metaphor psychological strain

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you soften the pain of pursuing goals?
- What strategies reduce goal‑related stress?

A Different Perspective

The metaphor may overstate difficulty for some goals.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/)

## Related quotes

> [If you try putting a woman on a horse when she does not want to go, she may put a knife in your ribs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/if-you-try-putting-a-woman-on-a-horse-when-she-does-not-want-to-go/)

[Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/)

> [It cut me like a knife, when you walked right out of my life, but no matter what, you'll never see me cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-cut-me-like-a-knife-when-you-walked-right-out-of-my-life-but-no/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone's back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/religion-is-like-a-knife-you-can-either-use-it-to-cut-bread-or-stick/)

[Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/)

> [God created the world just like a knife and left it up to us to take it by the handle or the blade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-langenhoven/god-created-the-world-just-like-a-knife-and-left-it-up-to-us-to-take/)

[C.J. Langenhoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-langenhoven/)

> [A knife, it felt like a knife, and I'd discovered that despite everything that's happened, I still had an endless untapped potential for getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/a-knife-it-felt-like-a-knife-and-i-d-discovered-that-despite/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [I can offer you only: this world like a knife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berryman/i-can-offer-you-only-this-world-like-a-knife/)

[John Berryman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berryman/)

> [“Religion is like a knife. If you use it the wrong way you can cut yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/religion-is-like-a-knife-if-you-use-it-the-wrong-way-you-can-cut/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [“The word is “like a knife” because it can be used as a tool or weapon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/the-word-is-like-a-knife-because-it-can-be-used-as-a-tool-or-weapon/)

[Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/)

> [I really feel like knife skills - not just in the kitchen, but in life - are really critical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/i-really-feel-like-knife-skills-not-just-in-the-kitchen-but-in-life/)

[Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/)

> [“God made the world like a knife. We have the choice to take it by the handle or the blade.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-langenhoven/god-made-the-world-like-a-knife-we-have-the-choice-to-take-it-by-the/)

[C.J. Langenhoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-langenhoven/)

> [“In this love you are like a knife with which I explore myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/in-this-love-you-are-like-a-knife-with-which-i-explore-myself/)

[Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/)

> [Someone once told me that religion is like a knife: You can stab someone with it, or you can slice bread with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-farmiga/someone-once-told-me-that-religion-is-like-a-knife-you-can-stab/)

[Vera Farmiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-farmiga/)

> [It cuts like a knife, but it feels so right...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-adams/it-cuts-like-a-knife-but-it-feels-so-right/)

[Bryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-adams/)

> [“Power is like a knife. It can be used to cut bread to share with your neighbor or stab you in the back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiqua-hamdan/power-is-like-a-knife-it-can-be-used-to-cut-bread-to-share-with-your/)

[Sadiqua Hamdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiqua-hamdan/)

> [“dogged perseverance toward a top-level goal requires, paradoxically perhaps, some flexibility at lower levels in the goal hierarchy. It’s as if the highest-level goal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/dogged-perseverance-toward-a-top-level-goal-requires-paradoxically/)

[Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/)

## More by Gordon Banks

> [That save from Pele's header was the best I ever made. I didn't have any idea how famous it would become - to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-banks/that-save-from-pele-s-header-was-the-best-i-ever-made-i-didn-t-have/)

Gordon Banks

Explore all 2 Gordon Banks quotes

## More Every quotes

> [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/)

[Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/)

> [If you look at the charts every year, there may be five or ten memorable songs from each year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-jackson/if-you-look-at-the-charts-every-year-there-may-be-five-or-ten/)

[Randy Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-jackson/)

> [“Everywhere is home, let is go home”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzuco-hu-nh/everywhere-is-home-let-is-go-home/)

Dzuco Huỳnh

> [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/)

[Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/)

> [I have to justify my job every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-silva/i-have-to-justify-my-job-every-day/)

[Marco Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-silva/)

> [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/)

[Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/)

> [Every time the U.S. government makes a low-cost loan to someone, it's investing in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/every-time-the-u-s-government-makes-a-low-cost-loan-to-someone-it-s/)

[Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/)

> [You learn from every bout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-jr/you-learn-from-every-bout/)

[Chris Eubank Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-jr/)

> [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/)

[Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/)

> [Every orchestra has its own sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rattle/every-orchestra-has-its-own-sound/)

[Simon Rattle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rattle/)

> [We are surrounded every day by people who do thankless but important work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-kilmeade/we-are-surrounded-every-day-by-people-who-do-thankless-but-important/)

[Brian Kilmeade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-kilmeade/)

> [I would think every organization has pitchers who have good talent but just don't have what it takes to make it with what they've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-niekro/i-would-think-every-organization-has-pitchers-who-have-good-talent/)

[Phil Niekro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-niekro/)

> [Most importantly, I strive for function above all in every house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-farr/most-importantly-i-strive-for-function-above-all-in-every-house/)

[Hilary Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-farr/)

> [Every day, I read about new ideas and research that could help someone I care about live a longer and healthier life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/every-day-i-read-about-new-ideas-and-research-that-could-help-someone/)

[Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/)

Browse all 7,934 Every quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "At that level, every goal is like a knife in the ribs.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gordon Banks"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-banks/at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife-in-the-ribs/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Every"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-banks/at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife-in-the-ribs/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/523/gordon-banks-104397_every_at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife_1228406.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/523/gordon-banks-104397_every_at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife_1228406.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/523/gordon-banks-104397_every_at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife_1228406.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“At that level, every goal is like a knife in the ribs.” — Gordon Banks",
                "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": "Gordon Banks",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-banks/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "At that level, every goal is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-banks/at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife-in-the-ribs/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-banks/at-that-level-every-goal-is-like-a-knife-in-the-ribs/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
