--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is the great truth life has to teach…" description: "\"This is the great truth life has to teach us ... that gratification of our individual desires and expression of our personal preferences without consid..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/hortense-odlum-27979_consideration_this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teac_43088.png" --- # This is the great truth life has to teach us ... that… ![“This is the great truth life has to teach us ... that gratification of our individual desires and expression of our personal preferences without consideration for their effect upon others brings in the end nothing but ruin and devastation.” quote by Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/hortense-odlum-27979_consideration_this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teac_43088.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/hortense-odlum-27979_consideration_this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teac_43088.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/hortense-odlum-27979_consideration_this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teac_43088.png) > “This is the great truth life has to teach us ... that gratification of our individual desires and expression of our personal preferences without consideration for their effect upon others brings in the end nothing but ruin and devastation.” [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuing personal gratification without regard for others leads to personal and societal collapse. **In simple terms:** Selfishness harms all. Key Takeaway Consider others' impact before acting. Themes ethics interdependence consequences self-control societal health Mood thoughtful cautious reflective Type advice philosophical moral When to use this quote - making decisions at work - choosing personal goals - interacting with family - participating in community projects Key Concepts personal desire social responsibility moral philosophy human flourishing Practical Applications - ethical leadership training - community impact assessments Questions to Reflect On - How does my behavior affect those around me? - What balance can I strike between personal wants and collective well‑being? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consideration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consideration/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Devastation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devastation/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Gratification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratification/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Personal preferences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-preferences/) [Preference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preference/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [I have learned a great truth of life. We do not succeed in spite of our challenges and difficulties, but rather, precisely because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/i-have-learned-a-great-truth-of-life-we-do-not-succeed-in-spite-of/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [He liked to think that Heaven was what each person wanted it to be. He could see no future in lying around on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-kelton/he-liked-to-think-that-heaven-was-what-each-person-wanted-it-to-be-he/) [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) > [I am puzzled that Conway Morris apparently doesn't grasp the equally strong (and inevitable) personal preferences embedded in his own view of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-conway-morris/i-am-puzzled-that-conway-morris-apparently-doesn-t-grasp-the-equally/) [Simon Conway Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-conway-morris/) > [We're all human and bound to have personal preferences. The key is to make sure that we can still see what's really going on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-tarlov/we-re-all-human-and-bound-to-have-personal-preferences-the-key-is-to/) [Jessica Tarlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-tarlov/) > [These days, meals are more open to personal preferences. People like to serve themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yotam-ottolenghi/these-days-meals-are-more-open-to-personal-preferences-people-like-to/) [Yotam Ottolenghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yotam-ottolenghi/) > [Those of us who have been very fortunate have a duty to give back. Whether one gives a lot as one goes along as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/those-of-us-who-have-been-very-fortunate-have-a-duty-to-give-back/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Diet is a matter of personal preference, but if you're interested in the advanced states of meditation, eating mammals should be avoided. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/diet-is-a-matter-of-personal-preference-but-if-you-re-interested-in/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I guess it's a personal preference. Me, personally, I like to be able to tell the stories that I want to tell and do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mekhi-phifer/i-guess-it-s-a-personal-preference-me-personally-i-like-to-be-able-to/) [Mekhi Phifer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mekhi-phifer/) > [Everyone bowed to that unwritten law of family life which ordains that, in the long run, everyone submerges his personal preference in the effort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-canfield-fisher/everyone-bowed-to-that-unwritten-law-of-family-life-which-ordains/) [Dorothy Canfield Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-canfield-fisher/) > [In the end, color combinations come down to our personal preferences, which we must discover through observation and experiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-don/in-the-end-color-combinations-come-down-to-our-personal-preferences/) [Monty Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-don/) > [I was living, growing up in a very traditional household and yet at the same time I was going to school in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/i-was-living-growing-up-in-a-very-traditional-household-and-yet-at/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Peace is one of the most obvious earmarks of the authority of Christ. A sense of peace will virtually always accompany His will and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/peace-is-one-of-the-most-obvious-earmarks-of-the-authority-of-christ/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [When social forces press for the rejection of age-old Truth, then those who reject it will seek meaning in their own truth. These truths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/when-social-forces-press-for-the-rejection-of-age-old-truth-then/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [A garden full of sweet odours is a garden full of charm, a most precious kind of charm not to be implanted by mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-wilder/a-garden-full-of-sweet-odours-is-a-garden-full-of-charm-a-most/) [Louise Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-wilder/) > ['Dark Souls' is my life's work; everything I came up with for 'Dark Souls III' is based on my personal preferences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hidetaka-miyazaki/dark-souls-is-my-life-s-work-everything-i-came-up-with-for-dark-souls/) [Hidetaka Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hidetaka-miyazaki/) ## More by Hortense Odlum > [It is not serving, but servility, that is menial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/it-is-not-serving-but-servility-that-is-menial/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [A completely indifferent attitude toward clothes in women seems to me to be an admission of inferiority, of perverseness, or of alack of realization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/a-completely-indifferent-attitude-toward-clothes-in-women-seems-to-me/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [Oh, if I had only known, if I had only been ready, our lives can really be the great adventure we so passionately want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/oh-if-i-had-only-known-if-i-had-only-been-ready-our-lives-can-really/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [... a business career for a woman and her need for a woman's life as wife and mother, are not enemies at all, unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/a-business-career-for-a-woman-and-her-need-for-a-woman-s-life-as-wife/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [The home is a woman's natural background… From the beginning I tried to have the policy of the store reflect as nearly as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/the-home-is-a-woman-s-natural-background-from-the-beginning-i-tried/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [As unmarried business women we must constantly use our opportunities in business in such a way that we are prepared for the marriage which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/as-unmarried-business-women-we-must-constantly-use-our-opportunities/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [Our chaotic economic situation has convinced so many of our young people that there is no room for them. They become uncertain andrestless and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/our-chaotic-economic-situation-has-convinced-so-many-of-our-young/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [If a person goes to his job with a firm determination to give of himself the best of which he is capable, that job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/if-a-person-goes-to-his-job-with-a-firm-determination-to-give-of/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [It seemed pathetic and terrible to me and it still does, that men and women work eight hours a day at jobs that bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/it-seemed-pathetic-and-terrible-to-me-and-it-still-does-that-men-and/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [No life, if it is properly realized, is without cosmic importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/no-life-if-it-is-properly-realized-is-without-cosmic-importance/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [With only one life to live we can't afford to live it only for itself. Somehow we must each for himself, find the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/with-only-one-life-to-live-we-can-t-afford-to-live-it-only-for-itself/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [No life if it is properly realized is without its cosmic importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/no-life-if-it-is-properly-realized-is-without-its-cosmic-importance/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [Not rarely, and this is especially true of wives and mothers, the motive behind assuming a disproportionate share of work and responsibility is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/not-rarely-and-this-is-especially-true-of-wives-and-mothers-the/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/business-training-in-early-life-should-not-be-regarded-solely-as/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) > [Living each day as a preparation for the next is an exciting way to live. Looking forward to something is much more fun than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/living-each-day-as-a-preparation-for-the-next-is-an-exciting-way-to/) [Hortense Odlum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) [Explore all 20 Hortense Odlum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/) ## More Consideration quotes > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [As far as I'm concerned, the sexiness, the sex symbol, it's not a consideration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-craig/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-the-sexiness-the-sex-symbol-it-s-not-a/) [Daniel Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-craig/) > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [There are two famous labyrinths where our reason very often goes astray. One concerns the great question of the free and the necessary, above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-leibniz/there-are-two-famous-labyrinths-where-our-reason-very-often-goes/) [Gottfried Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-leibniz/) > [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/) > [My decision to destroy the authority of the blacks in Saint Domingue (Haiti) is not so much based on considerations of commerce and money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/my-decision-to-destroy-the-authority-of-the-blacks-in-saint-domingue/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [You think if you work hard enough, you can fix the precious things you've broken - rather than being careful with them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/you-think-if-you-work-hard-enough-you-can-fix-the-precious-things-you/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [Anyone who commits an act of violence to themselves or others is worth consideration in the sense that there must be something that brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-hall/anyone-who-commits-an-act-of-violence-to-themselves-or-others-is/) [Rebecca Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-hall/) > [Actually, when I look at my old notebooks, I think I have been a bit self-indulgent and have given myself too much time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/actually-when-i-look-at-my-old-notebooks-i-think-i-have-been-a-bit/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [The first major issue you need to consider when focusing on today's workers: You have to know what motivates them. If you think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-rottenberg/the-first-major-issue-you-need-to-consider-when-focusing-on-today-s/) [Linda Rottenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-rottenberg/) > [After much consideration, I am moving onward with a combination of disappointment at leaving behind a character I have loved playing for seven years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-edelstein/after-much-consideration-i-am-moving-onward-with-a-combination-of/) [Lisa Edelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-edelstein/) > [That which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it. Every one thinks chiefly of his own, hardly at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/that-which-is-common-to-the-greatest-number-has-the-least-care/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The idea of freedom can never be disassociated from real Prussia. The real Prussian spirit means a synthesis between restraint and freedom, between voluntary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-von-tresckow/the-idea-of-freedom-can-never-be-disassociated-from-real-prussia-the/) [Henning von Tresckow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-von-tresckow/) > [I do think we should be provided with a new body about the age of thirty or so when we have learnt to attend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-do-think-we-should-be-provided-with-a-new-body-about-the-age-of/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) [Browse all 1,171 Consideration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consideration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is the great truth life has to teach us ... that gratification of our individual desires and expression of our personal preferences without consideration for their effect upon others brings in the end nothing but ruin and devastation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hortense Odlum" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teach-us-that-gratification-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consideration" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teach-us-that-gratification-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/hortense-odlum-27979_consideration_this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teac_43088.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/hortense-odlum-27979_consideration_this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teac_43088.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/hortense-odlum-27979_consideration_this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teac_43088.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is the great truth life has to teach us ... that gratification of our individual desires and expression…” — Hortense Odlum", "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": "Hortense Odlum", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hortense-odlum/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This is the great truth life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teach-us-that-gratification-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hortense-odlum/this-is-the-great-truth-life-has-to-teach-us-that-gratification-of/#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 } } ] } ```