--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The more we desire for that which is…" description: "\"The more we desire for that which is superfluous, the more we meet with difficulties; our strength and possessions are spent in unnecessary things, and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/maimonides-2639_desire_the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-sup_702040.png" --- # The more we desire for that which is superfluous, the more… ![“The more we desire for that which is superfluous, the more we meet with difficulties; our strength and possessions are spent in unnecessary things, and are wanting when required for that which is necessary.” quote by Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/maimonides-2639_desire_the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-sup_702040.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/maimonides-2639_desire_the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-sup_702040.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/maimonides-2639_desire_the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-sup_702040.png) > “The more we desire for that which is superfluous, the more we meet with difficulties; our strength and possessions are spent in unnecessary things, and are wanting when required for that which is necessary.” [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desiring excess leads to hardship; focusing on essentials preserves strength and resources. **In simple terms:** Excess creates problems; essentials sustain. Key Takeaway Prioritize needs over wants. Themes moderation wisdom resource management Mood thoughtful balanced Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - budgeting - time management - health choices Key Concepts philosophical ethical living Questions to Reflect On - What excess can you reduce? - How do you balance need and desire? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on essentials can limit growth and enjoyment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) ## Related quotes > [I was thinking that I should be content to kiss him until the break of day. 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Quiet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luna/which-baby-are-you-february-baby-abstract-thoughts-loves-reality-and/) [Luna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luna/) > [Be careful to not haul around in our lives so many nice but unnecessary things that we are distracted and diverted from the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/be-careful-to-not-haul-around-in-our-lives-so-many-nice-but/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) > [Life goes on, time stops for no one. Stop wasting time on unnecessary things and people. You'll be better off and more successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/life-goes-on-time-stops-for-no-one-stop-wasting-time-on-unnecessary/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [When you drop your unnecessary things, you finally can swoop and fly in vast space. It is so blue, so bright, and so nice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/when-you-drop-your-unnecessary-things-you-finally-can-swoop-and-fly/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) ## More by Maimonides > [The so-called evils are evils only in relation to a certain thing, and that which is evil in relation to a certain existing thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-so-called-evils-are-evils-only-in-relation-to-a-certain-thing-and/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Hear the truth from whomever says it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/hear-the-truth-from-whomever-says-it/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/it-is-better-and-more-satisfactory-to-acquit-a-thousand-guilty/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [God cannot be compared to anything. Note this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/god-cannot-be-compared-to-anything-note-this/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Even the existence of this corporeal element, low as it in reality is, because it is the source of death and all evils, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/even-the-existence-of-this-corporeal-element-low-as-it-in-reality-is/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [WHEN reading my present treatise, bear in mind that by "faith" we do not understand merely that which is uttered with the lips, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/when-reading-my-present-treatise-bear-in-mind-that-by-faith-we-do-not/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [The philosophers likewise assume that in Nature there is nothing in vain, so that everything that is not the product of human industry serves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-philosophers-likewise-assume-that-in-nature-there-is-nothing-in/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [That which is produced with intention has passed over from non-existence to existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/that-which-is-produced-with-intention-has-passed-over-from-non/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [No form remains permanently in a substance; a constant change takes place, one form is taken off and another is put on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/no-form-remains-permanently-in-a-substance-a-constant-change-takes/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Further, there are things of which the mind understands one part, but remains ignorant of the other; and when man is able to comprehend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/further-there-are-things-of-which-the-mind-understands-one-part-but/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Now, we occupy a lowly position, both in space and rank in comparison with the heavenly sphere, and the Almighty is Most High not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/now-we-occupy-a-lowly-position-both-in-space-and-rank-in-comparison/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [If men possessed wisdom, which stands in the same relation to the form of man as the sight to the eye, they would not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/if-men-possessed-wisdom-which-stands-in-the-same-relation-to-the-form/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [If one avoids haughtiness to the utmost extent and is exceedingly humble, he is termed a saint, and this is the standard of saintliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/if-one-avoids-haughtiness-to-the-utmost-extent-and-is-exceedingly/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Know that the difficulties which lead to confusion in the question what is the purpose of the Universe or of any of its parts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/know-that-the-difficulties-which-lead-to-confusion-in-the-question/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [You will find that there is no other difference of opinion as regards any portions of the Universe, except that the philosophers believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/you-will-find-that-there-is-no-other-difference-of-opinion-as-regards/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) [Explore all 156 Maimonides quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The more we desire for that which is superfluous, the more we meet with difficulties; our strength and possessions are spent in unnecessary things, and are wanting when required for that which is necessary.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maimonides" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-superfluous-the-more-we-meet/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-superfluous-the-more-we-meet/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/maimonides-2639_desire_the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-sup_702040.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/maimonides-2639_desire_the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-sup_702040.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c06/maimonides-2639_desire_the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-sup_702040.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The more we desire for that which is superfluous, the more we meet with difficulties; our strength and…” — Maimonides", "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": "Maimonides", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The more we desire for that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-superfluous-the-more-we-meet/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-more-we-desire-for-that-which-is-superfluous-the-more-we-meet/#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 } } ] } ```