--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you think about the contexts in which…" description: "\"If you think about the contexts in which we talk about things being fun, often there's a certain kind of misery or effort that's involved with it. The ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/ian-bogost-9716_adversity_if-you-think-about-the-contexts-in-which_2564206.jpg" --- # If you think about the contexts in which we talk about… ![“If you think about the contexts in which we talk about things being fun, often there's a certain kind of misery or effort that's involved with it. The difficulty of travel, getting all your bags packed and your work done and navigating the airports and all that. That sort of struggle.” quote by Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/ian-bogost-9716_adversity_if-you-think-about-the-contexts-in-which_2564206.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/ian-bogost-9716_adversity_if-you-think-about-the-contexts-in-which_2564206.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/ian-bogost-9716_adversity_if-you-think-about-the-contexts-in-which_2564206.jpg) > “If you think about the contexts in which we talk about things being fun, often there's a certain kind of misery or effort that's involved with it. The difficulty of travel, getting all your bags packed and your work done and navigating the airports and all that. That sort of struggle.” [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fun often masks underlying effort and inconvenience, highlighting that enjoyment can coexist with hardship. **In simple terms:** Fun can hide effort. Key Takeaway Recognize effort behind enjoyment. Themes effort joy perception travel Mood reflective analytical Type observational critical When to use this quote - planning trips - organizing events - designing games - marketing campaigns Key Concepts psychology experience design Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging effort change your view of fun? - What hidden struggles do you overlook? A Different Perspective Effort may be downplayed, leading to unrealistic expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest difficulty of Travel is that one is forced to take oneself along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-greatest-difficulty-of-travel-is-that-one-is-forced-to-take/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I am simply a fairly typical product of a movable sensibility, living and working in a world that is itself increasingly small and increasingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/i-am-simply-a-fairly-typical-product-of-a-movable-sensibility-living/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [I went to the airport, I put my bag in the x-ray machine, I found out my bag has cancer. It only has six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-went-to-the-airport-i-put-my-bag-in-the-x-ray-machine-i-found-out/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Pack the one bag. Unpack it, pack it, unpack it, pack it: passeport, ticket, book, taxi, airport, check-in, beer, announcement, stairs, airplane, fasten seat-belt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/pack-the-one-bag-unpack-it-pack-it-unpack-it-pack-it-passeport-ticket/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [I don't like waiting in airports for my bags. Even worse, I don't like waiting in airports when my bags are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-waugh/i-don-t-like-waiting-in-airports-for-my-bags-even-worse-i-don-t-like/) [Steve Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-waugh/) > [What you must understand is oppression does not end with the niggers. It does not end with the poor people, it doesn't end with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florynce-kennedy/what-you-must-understand-is-oppression-does-not-end-with-the-niggers/) [Florynce Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florynce-kennedy/) > [I love computers. I love writing on them. I love gadgetry. The thing is: I am a slow reader. So, if I am going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-sondheim/i-love-computers-i-love-writing-on-them-i-love-gadgetry-the-thing-is/) [Stephen Sondheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-sondheim/) > [When his (the good ruler's) task is accomplished and his work done, The people all say, "It happened to us naturally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-his-the-good-ruler-s-task-is-accomplished-and-his-work-done-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [There are actresses who've had expensive work done and look great, so I'm not holier-than-thou about it. But it wouldn't be for me, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-imrie/there-are-actresses-who-ve-had-expensive-work-done-and-look-great-so/) [Celia Imrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-imrie/) > [Never do any work for free or get any work done for free if you are good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mazher/never-do-any-work-for-free-or-get-any-work-done-for-free-if-you-are/) [Mazher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mazher/) > [I am making my television debut with 'Dream Girl,' and hence, this role is very important for me. The uniqueness of my character prompted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-dutta/i-am-making-my-television-debut-with-dream-girl-and-hence-this-role/) [Nikita Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-dutta/) > [Most celebrities are not going to admit they had work done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-nassif/most-celebrities-are-not-going-to-admit-they-had-work-done/) [Paul Nassif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-nassif/) > [“For some employers, there is no more glorious work than work done for free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/for-some-employers-there-is-no-more-glorious-work-than-work-done-for/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [God doesn't love me any more or less because I had some work done on my face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/god-doesn-t-love-me-any-more-or-less-because-i-had-some-work-done-on/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“I hope we're not intruding,' she croons, sweetly. "Well, I say, "I was trying to get a little work done." I give T.J. a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-grunwald/i-hope-we-re-not-intruding-she-croons-sweetly-well-i-say-i-was-trying/) [Lisa Grunwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-grunwald/) ## More by Ian Bogost > [I think the most important way to understand play is that it's this property that's in things. Like there's play in a mechanism. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/i-think-the-most-important-way-to-understand-play-is-that-it-s-this/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Once you get yourself on that path where you're willing to find something delightful in laundry and in dishwashers, it means that you train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/once-you-get-yourself-on-that-path-where-you-re-willing-to-find/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Our ideas of happiness, gratification, contentment, satisfaction, all demand that those feelings come from within us. If you flip that on its head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/our-ideas-of-happiness-gratification-contentment-satisfaction-all/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [When we use this word fun, it sort of bangs up the ordinary and the extraordinary altogether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/when-we-use-this-word-fun-it-sort-of-bangs-up-the-ordinary-and-the/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [We think we want enjoyment, and that enjoyment is incompatible with work, and somehow we have to import the pleasure into these miserable experiences.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/we-think-we-want-enjoyment-and-that-enjoyment-is-incompatible-with/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [You can experience play at work, not because you're messing around or wasting time or something, but because you're looking really deeply and seriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/you-can-experience-play-at-work-not-because-you-re-messing-around-or/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Actually a lot of the supposedly serious and meaningful and worthwhile content on the podcast or on the television is no more or less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/actually-a-lot-of-the-supposedly-serious-and-meaningful-and/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [I think a lot of the misery that people experience comes from that sensation of boundlessness, of infinite possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/i-think-a-lot-of-the-misery-that-people-experience-comes-from-that/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [There's just an enormous vast universe of possible intrigue out there and why not pay attention to it? Because then you're not burdened with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/there-s-just-an-enormous-vast-universe-of-possible-intrigue-out-there/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Generally speaking, when people use the word fun, it's like a placeholder. You know, "How was your evening?" "Oh it was fun."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/generally-speaking-when-people-use-the-word-fun-it-s-like-a/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Wouldn't we all rather have the possibility of finding pleasure and delight in literally anything we might encounter? Instead of assuming that actually there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/wouldn-t-we-all-rather-have-the-possibility-of-finding-pleasure-and/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Fun has to do with habitual activities but then also terrifically novel or unusual ones. It works as a sort of strange milkshake of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/fun-has-to-do-with-habitual-activities-but-then-also-terrifically/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [“Irony keeps reality at a distance. It has become our primary method for combatting the external world’s incompatibility with our own desires. Today’s irony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/irony-keeps-reality-at-a-distance-it-has-become-our-primary-method/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Play isn't you being clever, or finding a trick, or finding a way of covering over your own misery, or persuading someone to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a-trick-or-finding-a-way-of/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [To me, being able to find gratification in more venues, rather than greater gratification in a few, seems like a much more sane way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/to-me-being-able-to-find-gratification-in-more-venues-rather-than/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) [Explore all 70 Ian Bogost quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Just because she doesn't talk about it, doesn't mean she isn't feeling it. She hurts, but she won't wear it on her sleeve. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) James Buckham Kennedy > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) S.E. SEVER > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you think about the contexts in which we talk about things being fun, often there's a certain kind of misery or effort that's involved with it. The difficulty of travel, getting all your bags packed and your work done and navigating the airports and all that. 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