--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there's no game, isn't winning a…" description: "\"If there's no game, isn't winning a pretty meaningless concept?\" — Lois McMaster Bujold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_concepts_if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-prett_1114387.jpg" --- # If there's no game, isn't winning a pretty meaningless… ![“If there's no game, isn't winning a pretty meaningless concept?” quote by Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_concepts_if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-prett_1114387.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_concepts_if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-prett_1114387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_concepts_if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-prett_1114387.jpg) > “If there's no game, isn't winning a pretty meaningless concept?” [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Winning loses meaning without a challenge or context to define it. **In simple terms:** Winning feels empty without a game. Key Takeaway Seek purpose, not just victory. Themes meaning purpose competition Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - sports - career goals - personal achievements Key Concepts Existentialism motivation Questions to Reflect On - What defines a meaningful win for you? - How do you create challenges when none exist? A Different Perspective Winning without effort can feel hollow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/game/) [Game Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/game-isn-378675/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Isn Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isn-winning-980063/) [Meaningless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless/) [Meaningless Concept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningless-concept-747516/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > ["Value added" is a meaningless concept for a retail business , for a bank, for a life insurance company, and for any other business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/value-added-is-a-meaningless-concept-for-a-retail-business-for-a-bank/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The game isn't over till the clock says zero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/the-game-isn-t-over-till-the-clock-says-zero/) [Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/) > [The game isn't over till it's over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-berra/the-game-isn-t-over-till-it-s-over/) [Yogi Berra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-berra/) > [If you aren't playing well, the game isn't as much fun. When that happens I tell myself just to go out and play as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-aren-t-playing-well-the-game-isn-t-as-much-fun-when-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Having the attitude of just playing the game isn't my strength. I have to be productive. That's my responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-edmonds/having-the-attitude-of-just-playing-the-game-isn-t-my-strength-i-have/) [Jim Edmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-edmonds/) > [“My dear fellow, I don’t think you’ve the gift of seeing very far. 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Cmdr. William Riker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/star-trek-the-next-generation-episode-guide-team/the-game-isn-t-big-enough-unless-it-scares-you-a-little-cmdr-william/) [Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Guide Team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/star-trek-the-next-generation-episode-guide-team/) > [My game isn't defined by points, it's more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-mills/my-game-isn-t-defined-by-points-it-s-more/) [Patty Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-mills/) > [The game isn't the same when we're apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markieff-morris/the-game-isn-t-the-same-when-we-re-apart/) [Markieff Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markieff-morris/) > [If your No. 1 priority isn't winning, and people can tell? That's the battle. Now there's a problem between people, because that guy's No.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-butler/if-your-no-1-priority-isn-t-winning-and-people-can-tell-that-s-the/) [Jimmy Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-butler/) > [Life is a game. In order to have a game, something has to be more important than something else. If what already is, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-erhard/life-is-a-game-in-order-to-have-a-game-something-has-to-be-more/) [Werner Erhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-erhard/) > [All the backs in the history of this game are the same when there isn't any hole to run through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-parcells/all-the-backs-in-the-history-of-this-game-are-the-same-when-there-isn/) [Bill Parcells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-parcells/) ## More by Lois McMaster Bujold > [What you are is a question only you can answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/what-you-are-is-a-question-only-you-can-answer/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Never do yourself, what you can con professionals into doing for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/never-do-yourself-what-you-can-con-professionals-into-doing-for-you/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“It reminded him of that definition of his father's. A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind. The mind was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/it-reminded-him-of-that-definition-of-his-father-s-a-weapon-is-a/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“I was imagining the most bizarre things befalling you.” “Did they include a six-hundred-pound ice bear and a pirate poet?” “No…” “Then they weren’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-was-imagining-the-most-bizarre-things-befalling-you-did-they/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [There is a sad disconnectedness that overcomes a library when its owner is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/there-is-a-sad-disconnectedness-that-overcomes-a-library-when-its/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“No, amusing me only, I wonder if they realize how they are used?" "Not a bit. They think they are the emperors of creation."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/no-amusing-me-only-i-wonder-if-they-realize-how-they-are-used-not-a/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“You bastards are on the top of Imperial Lord Auditor Miles Vorkosigan's very own shit list now, you bet. But under what name? Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/you-bastards-are-on-the-top-of-imperial-lord-auditor-miles-vorkosigan/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“Anyway, if the Cetagandans really wanted to assassinate you, they'd hardly do it here. They'd slip something subtle under your skin that wouldn't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/anyway-if-the-cetagandans-really-wanted-to-assassinate-you-they-d/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Endure pain, find joy, and make your own meaning, because the universe certainly isn't going to supply it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/endure-pain-find-joy-and-make-your-own-meaning-because-the-universe/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Your Reverence, I do not hate any man in this world enough to inflict the results of my prayers upon him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/your-reverence-i-do-not-hate-any-man-in-this-world-enough-to-inflict/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“I always thought my parents could fix anything. Now it's my turn. Dear God, how did this happen?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-always-thought-my-parents-could-fix-anything-now-it-s-my-turn-dear/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“I think it is not so much the growth of virtue, as simply the replacement of prior vices with an addiction to one’s god.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/i-think-it-is-not-so-much-the-growth-of-virtue-as-simply-the/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“Mark’s ideas tended to the bland, and there was no point in asking Miles, whose embittered suggestions all ran to things like Vomit Vanilla…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/mark-s-ideas-tended-to-the-bland-and-there-was-no-point-in-asking/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/the-dead-cannot-cry-out-for-justice-it-is-a-duty-of-the-living-to-do/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [“Gardens were meant to be seen, smelled, walked through, grubbed in. A hundred objective measurements didn't sum the worth of a garden; only the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/gardens-were-meant-to-be-seen-smelled-walked-through-grubbed-in-a/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) [Explore all 392 Lois McMaster Bujold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) ## More Concepts quotes > [Capability is just a concept of what is it we're looking at. 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A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I do like talking with friends about big concepts, you know, the stuff that will ruin a party. To me, the party hasn't begun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/i-do-like-talking-with-friends-about-big-concepts-you-know-the-stuff/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [You imagine that I look back on my life's work with calm satisfaction. But from nearby it looks quite different. There is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/you-imagine-that-i-look-back-on-my-life-s-work-with-calm-satisfaction/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [For a physicist mathematics is not just a tool by means of which phenomena can be calculated, it is the main source of concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/for-a-physicist-mathematics-is-not-just-a-tool-by-means-of-which/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [All significant concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized theological concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/all-significant-concepts-of-the-modern-theory-of-the-state-are/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) [Christy Nockels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-nockels/) > [ I don't think in national categories. For me it \[policy\] is about concepts and substance. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/i-don-t-think-in-national-categories-for-me-it-policy-is-about/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/) [Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/) > [To pray without expectation is to misunderstand the whole concept of prayer and relationship with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/to-pray-without-expectation-is-to-misunderstand-the-whole-concept-of/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) [Browse all 2,468 Concepts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If there's no game, isn't winning a pretty meaningless concept?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lois McMaster Bujold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-pretty-meaningless-concept/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Concepts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-pretty-meaningless-concept/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_concepts_if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-prett_1114387.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_concepts_if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-prett_1114387.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f29/lois-mcmaster-bujold-716_concepts_if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-prett_1114387.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If there's no game, isn't winning a pretty meaningless concept?” — Lois McMaster Bujold", "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": "Lois McMaster Bujold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If there's no game, isn't winning...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-pretty-meaningless-concept/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/if-there-s-no-game-isn-t-winning-a-pretty-meaningless-concept/#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 } } ] } ```