--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm very grateful that I had work to do…" description: "\"I'm very grateful that I had work to do. I may have thrown myself off a building.\" — Madonna Ciccone" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/madonna-ciccone-401_building_i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do_50846.png" --- # I'm very grateful that I had work to do. I may have thrown… ![“I'm very grateful that I had work to do. I may have thrown myself off a building.” quote by Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/madonna-ciccone-401_building_i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do_50846.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/madonna-ciccone-401_building_i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do_50846.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/madonna-ciccone-401_building_i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do_50846.png) > “I'm very grateful that I had work to do. I may have thrown myself off a building.” [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expresses gratitude for purpose, implying that having meaningful work can prevent despair and self-harm. **In simple terms:** Purpose protects against self-destruction. Key Takeaway Work gives life meaning. Themes purpose mental health gratitude meaning resilience Mood hopeful reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career crisis - depression - post‑trauma - identity loss Key Concepts psychology existentialism self-worth Practical Applications - career counseling - mental‑health advocacy Questions to Reflect On - What role does purpose play in your well‑being? - How can you cultivate meaning in daily tasks? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“I believe every day should begin and end with gratitude. I practice it every day in my morning meditation. Each morning, focusing on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishen-lakhiani/i-believe-every-day-should-begin-and-end-with-gratitude-i-practice-it/) [Vishen Lakhiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishen-lakhiani/) > [I am extremely grateful for two big gifts from my father. First, my sense of humor - the ability to see the humor in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/i-am-extremely-grateful-for-two-big-gifts-from-my-father-first-my/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [I'm grateful to see my work flourish in my lifetime. Many of the great people in our history were not able to see how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maulana-karenga/i-m-grateful-to-see-my-work-flourish-in-my-lifetime-many-of-the-great/) Maulana Karenga > [I feel so rich in my emotions and in my life and so grateful when I'm home and so grateful when I'm at work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/i-feel-so-rich-in-my-emotions-and-in-my-life-and-so-grateful-when-i-m/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [Be grateful for what you have, work hard for what you don't have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shruti/be-grateful-for-what-you-have-work-hard-for-what-you-don-t-have/) [Shruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shruti/) > [I'm very grateful for work especially in film industry. It's highly competitive and there are a lot of people standing behind me jumping at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/famke-janssen/i-m-very-grateful-for-work-especially-in-film-industry-it-s-highly/) [Famke Janssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/famke-janssen/) > [I think every actor should be always grateful when they work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-knepper/i-think-every-actor-should-be-always-grateful-when-they-work/) [Robert Knepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-knepper/) > [If you think of people, the majority of us, we can't do what we really love. I am really grateful that I can work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarja-turunen/if-you-think-of-people-the-majority-of-us-we-can-t-do-what-we-really/) [Tarja Turunen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarja-turunen/) > [“One thing to which I am most grateful Is that my work slumbers on,sweetly, Not yet discovered, And shall not conjure that most Haunting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wickham/one-thing-to-which-i-am-most-grateful-is-that-my-work-slumbers-on/) Philip Wickham > [We use all the takes that no one would ever use and often the moments before we say action, or before we say cut.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-heidecker/we-use-all-the-takes-that-no-one-would-ever-use-and-often-the-moments/) [Tim Heidecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-heidecker/) > [I'm ready to conquer anything thrown at me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-pritchard/i-m-ready-to-conquer-anything-thrown-at-me/) [A. J. Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-pritchard/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I don't know if it's naivete or just narcissism, but I start out with this notion that I can do anything. It's not until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-pfeiffer/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-naivete-or-just-narcissism-but-i-start-out-with/) [Michelle Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-pfeiffer/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) ## More by Madonna Ciccone > [I would like to see the Pope wearing my T-shirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-would-like-to-see-the-pope-wearing-my-t-shirt/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [In some respects I will never die. Because art is immortal. What we leave behind and what we create - the energy that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/in-some-respects-i-will-never-die-because-art-is-immortal-what-we/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [I had decided that if I was going to be a singer, I had to earn it. I had to learn how to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-had-decided-that-if-i-was-going-to-be-a-singer-i-had-to-earn-it-i/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [The thing I love most about being famous is people listening to me when I have something important to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/the-thing-i-love-most-about-being-famous-is-people-listening-to-me/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [People have no morals, I swear to God. The things that people do for ratings! It's unforgivable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/people-have-no-morals-i-swear-to-god-the-things-that-people-do-for/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [There's no greater power than the power of good-bye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/there-s-no-greater-power-than-the-power-of-good-bye/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross and the Jackson 5, that's what I grew up on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/stevie-wonder-and-diana-ross-and-the-jackson-5-that-s-what-i-grew-up/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [The beast is the modern world that we live in! The material world. The physical world. The world of illusion that we think is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/the-beast-is-the-modern-world-that-we-live-in-the-material-world-the/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [With all the chaos, pain and suffering in the world, the fact that my adoption of a child from who was living in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/with-all-the-chaos-pain-and-suffering-in-the-world-the-fact-that-my/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [Being blond is definitely a different state of mind. I can't really put my finger on it, but the artifice of being blond has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/being-blond-is-definitely-a-different-state-of-mind-i-can-t-really/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [Because I was a dancer, I started going to auditions for musical theater, which forced me to sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/because-i-was-a-dancer-i-started-going-to-auditions-for-musical/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [Some girls they like candy and others they like to grind. I'll settle for the back of your hand somewhere on my behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/some-girls-they-like-candy-and-others-they-like-to-grind-i-ll-settle/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [You took a poison arrow and you aimed it at my heart. It's heavy and it's bitter, and it's tearing me apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/you-took-a-poison-arrow-and-you-aimed-it-at-my-heart-it-s-heavy-and/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [Gay men are perfect men for girls who are tough. They're not threatened by strong women, and they're usually very in touch with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/gay-men-are-perfect-men-for-girls-who-are-tough-they-re-not/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [If you're going to be an artist, real life is your inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/if-you-re-going-to-be-an-artist-real-life-is-your-inspiration/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) [Explore all 593 Madonna Ciccone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) ## More Building quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [Absolutely, you can improve and become better at toughness. It's a talent, but it can be acquired, too. I think of it like building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/absolutely-you-can-improve-and-become-better-at-toughness-it-s-a/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'd like to play Ian Paisley, actually. I'd need building up, though he's very frail now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-d-like-to-play-ian-paisley-actually-i-d-need-building-up-though-he/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some architects have a preconceived notion of what a building should be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-w-fentress/some-architects-have-a-preconceived-notion-of-what-a-building-should/) [Curtis W. Fentress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-w-fentress/) > [As for the forces, electromagnetism and gravity we experience in everyday life. But the weak and strong forces are beyond our ordinary experience. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/as-for-the-forces-electromagnetism-and-gravity-we-experience-in/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [I'm 30. I'm about to hit my prime now. I need to act and keep building.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/i-m-30-i-m-about-to-hit-my-prime-now-i-need-to-act-and-keep-building/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [The essential functions of the mind consist in understanding and in inventing, in other words, in building up structures by structuring reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-piaget/the-essential-functions-of-the-mind-consist-in-understanding-and-in/) [Jean Piaget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-piaget/) > [Practically every time I speak up at a school conference, a political event, or my apartment building association's annual meeting, I'm met with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/practically-every-time-i-speak-up-at-a-school-conference-a-political/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) Browse all 5,974 Building quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm very grateful that I had work to do. I may have thrown myself off a building.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Madonna Ciccone" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do-i-may-have-thrown-myself-off/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Building" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do-i-may-have-thrown-myself-off/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/madonna-ciccone-401_building_i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do_50846.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/madonna-ciccone-401_building_i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do_50846.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/madonna-ciccone-401_building_i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do_50846.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm very grateful that I had work to do. I may have thrown myself off a building.” — Madonna Ciccone", "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": "Madonna Ciccone", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm very grateful that I had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do-i-may-have-thrown-myself-off/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/i-m-very-grateful-that-i-had-work-to-do-i-may-have-thrown-myself-off/#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 } } ] } ```