--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man actually needs the striving and…" description: "\"Man actually needs the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him.\" — Joseph Campbell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/joseph-campbell-300_goal_man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-stru_392017.png" --- # Man actually needs the striving and struggling for some… ![“Man actually needs the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him.” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/joseph-campbell-300_goal_man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-stru_392017.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/joseph-campbell-300_goal_man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-stru_392017.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/joseph-campbell-300_goal_man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-stru_392017.png) > “Man actually needs the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him.” [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human fulfillment comes from pursuing meaningful challenges that align with personal values. **In simple terms:** Purposeful struggle gives life meaning. Key Takeaway Seek goals that reflect your deepest values. Themes purpose growth challenge meaning Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - creative projects - personal development - community service Key Concepts Existentialism self‑actualization heroic journey Questions to Reflect On - What goal truly reflects your core values? - How can you measure the worthiness of a struggle? A Different Perspective Not all struggles are healthy; balance effort with self‑care. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goal Worthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal-worthy-3534495/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Mans search for meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mans-search-for-meaning/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Needs Striving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs-striving-3534494/) [Search for meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/search-for-meaning/) [Stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stress/) [Strive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strive/) [Striving Struggling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/striving-struggling-914026/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Struggling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggling/) [Struggling Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggling-goal-3534493/) [Worthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthy/) ## Related quotes > [“What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. —VIKTOR…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-man-actually-needs-is-not-a-tensionless-state-but-rather-the-4/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“No goal is more worthy of such seriousness than reaching heaven by following Jesus and putting God first in all things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnificat/no-goal-is-more-worthy-of-such-seriousness-than-reaching-heaven-by/) [Magnificat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnificat/) > [There are two races of men in this world but only these two: the race of the decent man and the race of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/there-are-two-races-of-men-in-this-world-but-only-these-two-the-race/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task. . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/when-a-man-finds-that-it-is-his-destiny-to-suffer-he-will-have-to/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/we-needed-to-stop-asking-about-the-meaning-of-life/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [We had to learn...that it did not really matter what we expected from life but rather what life expected from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/we-had-to-learn-that-it-did-not-really-matter-what-we-expected-from/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Man's search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a "secondary rationalization" of instinctual drives. This meaning is unique and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-s-search-for-meaning-is-the-primary-motivation-in-his-life-and/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/but-my-mind-clung-to-my-wife-s-image-imagining-it-with-an-uncanny/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being until he loves him. By his love he is enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/no-one-can-become-fully-aware-of-the-very-essence-of-another-human/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world may still know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/i-understood-how-a-man-who-has-nothing-left-in-this-world-may-still/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Why bad things happen to good people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/what-was-really-needed-was-a-fundamental-change-in-our-attitude/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [What will it matter to him if he notices that he is growing old? Has he any reason to envy the young people whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/what-will-it-matter-to-him-if-he-notices-that-he-is-growing-old-has/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/love-is-the-ultimate-and-the-highest-goal-to-which-man-can-aspire/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [If architects want to strengthen a decrepit arch, they increase the load which is laid upon it, for thereby the parts are joined more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/if-architects-want-to-strengthen-a-decrepit-arch-they-increase-the/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) ## More by Joseph Campbell > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The best we can do is lean towards the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-best-we-can-do-is-lean-towards-the-light/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More Goal quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The goal of spiritual practice is full recovery, and the only thing you need to recover from is a fractured sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-goal-of-spiritual-practice-is-full-recovery-and-the-only-thing/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [According to the best research, less than 3% of Americans have written goals, and less than 1% review and rewrite their goals on a daily basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/according-to-the-best-research-less-than-3-of-americans-have-written/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“my role my goal my dream my life not yours -all mine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emi-sisk/my-role-my-goal-my-dream-my-life-not-yours-all-mine/) [Emi Sisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emi-sisk/) > [Eugenic goals are most likely to be attained under another name than eugenics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-osborn/eugenic-goals-are-most-likely-to-be-attained-under-another-name-than/) [Frederick Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-osborn/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Everybody tries to score a great goal, and I am lucky I have netted a few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlatan-ibrahimovic/everybody-tries-to-score-a-great-goal-and-i-am-lucky-i-have-netted-a/) [Zlatan Ibrahimovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zlatan-ibrahimovic/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/if-your-only-goal-is-to-become-rich-you-will-never-achieve-it/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) > [When you look around the room during meetings and practice, you see that everyone has the same goal. It's obvious by the way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kendricks/when-you-look-around-the-room-during-meetings-and-practice-you-see/) [Eric Kendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kendricks/) > [I like to wake up and just feel gratitude. Gratitude for waking up, for my health, for my kids, for my family. A lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-corcoran/i-like-to-wake-up-and-just-feel-gratitude-gratitude-for-waking-up-for/) [Barbara Corcoran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-corcoran/) > [“Dreams will come true as long as you give some effort towards your goal”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayana/dreams-will-come-true-as-long-as-you-give-some-effort-towards-your/) [Dayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dayana/) > [“There are two kinds of people: goal-oriented and ego-oriented. Goal-oriented people work together and get things gone. Ego-oriented people don’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-goal-oriented-and-ego-oriented-goal/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) [Browse all 9,890 Goal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man actually needs the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Campbell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-struggling-for-some-goal-worthy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Goal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-struggling-for-some-goal-worthy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/joseph-campbell-300_goal_man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-stru_392017.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/joseph-campbell-300_goal_man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-stru_392017.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06d/joseph-campbell-300_goal_man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-stru_392017.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man actually needs the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him.” — Joseph Campbell", "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": "Joseph Campbell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Man actually needs the striving and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-struggling-for-some-goal-worthy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/man-actually-needs-the-striving-and-struggling-for-some-goal-worthy/#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 } } ] } ```