--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My greatest enemy is reality. I have…" description: "\"My greatest enemy is reality. I have fought it successfully for thirty years.\" — Margaret Anderson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/margaret-anderson-36983_enemy_my-greatest-enemy-is-reality-i-have-foug_679309.jpg" --- # My greatest enemy is reality. I have fought it… ![“My greatest enemy is reality. I have fought it successfully for thirty years.” quote by Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/margaret-anderson-36983_enemy_my-greatest-enemy-is-reality-i-have-foug_679309.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/margaret-anderson-36983_enemy_my-greatest-enemy-is-reality-i-have-foug_679309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/margaret-anderson-36983_enemy_my-greatest-enemy-is-reality-i-have-foug_679309.jpg) > “My greatest enemy is reality. I have fought it successfully for thirty years.” [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote expresses a cynical view that reality is an adversary that can be resisted and even defeated over time. **In simple terms:** Reality is seen as an enemy that can be fought. Key Takeaway Recognize when reality is harmful and set boundaries. Themes cynicism resistance self‑preservation Mood defiant reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - long‑term personal struggle - creative projects - political activism - personal relationships Key Concepts existentialism psychological defense personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of reality do you avoid? - How does fighting reality affect your wellbeing? A Different Perspective The statement may ignore the benefits of confronting reality and can lead to isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [Thinking can really be the enemy of action, and thinking can be the enemy of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/thinking-can-really-be-the-enemy-of-action-and-thinking-can-be-the/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [“We always seek to find the enemy when in reality, the enemy is really us".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdulazeez-henry-musa/we-always-seek-to-find-the-enemy-when-in-reality-the-enemy-is-really/) [Abdulazeez Henry Musa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdulazeez-henry-musa/) > [“Our greatest enemy lives within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saad-jatoi/our-greatest-enemy-lives-within-us/) Saad Jatoi > [A comedy can actually get funnier and funnier. Even though you know the joke, you enjoy it so much, it's the facial expression, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/a-comedy-can-actually-get-funnier-and-funnier-even-though-you-know/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [The only President who clearly died of overwork was Polk, and that was a long time ago. Hoover, who worked intensely and humorlessly as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/the-only-president-who-clearly-died-of-overwork-was-polk-and-that-was/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [I love fashion because it's plugged into the zeitgeist, so it's always changing. Thirty years ago, I could never have predicted I'd be where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kors/i-love-fashion-because-it-s-plugged-into-the-zeitgeist-so-it-s-always/) [Michael Kors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kors/) > [For thirty years I sought God. But when I looked carefully I found that in reality God was the seeker and I the sought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayazid-bastami/for-thirty-years-i-sought-god-but-when-i-looked-carefully-i-found/) [Bayazid Bastami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayazid-bastami/) > [Anything with the power to make you laugh over thirty years later isn’t a waste of time. I think something like that is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/anything-with-the-power-to-make-you-laugh-over-thirty-years-later-isn/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [You take a look at the history of African Americans in the US. There's been about thirty years of relative freedom. There was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/you-take-a-look-at-the-history-of-african-americans-in-the-us-there-s/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Dr Dean Burk, who has spent more than fifty years in cancer research, mainly at the National Cancer Institute states: 'More people have died…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-burk/dr-dean-burk-who-has-spent-more-than-fifty-years-in-cancer-research/) [Dean Burk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-burk/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [In 1986, I was asked by the then-Dean of Science at the University of British Columbia, Dr. R.C. Miller, Jr., to establish a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-smith/in-1986-i-was-asked-by-the-then-dean-of-science-at-the-university-of/) [Michael Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-smith/) > [For me, the most relevant factor in my ability to perform well on the rock has to do with my love of climbing. After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-hill/for-me-the-most-relevant-factor-in-my-ability-to-perform-well-on-the/) [Lynn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-hill/) > [ \[When her daughter suggested the President refer in his conversation with foreign dignitaries about lawn care to 'fertilizer' instead of to 'manure':\] But remember,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bess-truman/when-her-daughter-suggested-the-president-refer-in-his-conversation/) [Bess Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bess-truman/) > [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Margaret Anderson > [“As I look at the human story I see two stories. They run parallel and never meet. One is of people who live, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/as-i-look-at-the-human-story-i-see-two-stories-they-run-parallel-and/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [Self-preservation is the first responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/self-preservation-is-the-first-responsibility/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [“Paris is the city in which one loves to live. Sometimes I think this is because it is the only city in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/paris-is-the-city-in-which-one-loves-to-live-sometimes-i-think-this/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [It is rarely that you see an American writer who is not hopelessly sane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/it-is-rarely-that-you-see-an-american-writer-who-is-not-hopelessly/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [I was as repelled by the French as I was attracted by their country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/i-was-as-repelled-by-the-french-as-i-was-attracted-by-their-country/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [Intellectuals are too sentimental for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/intellectuals-are-too-sentimental-for-me/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [I defied nothing at all. I ignored the law because I didn't know it existed. It didn't occur to me that anyone would want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/i-defied-nothing-at-all-i-ignored-the-law-because-i-didn-t-know-it/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [... laws haven't the slightest interest for meexcept in the world of science, in which they are always changing; or in the world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/laws-haven-t-the-slightest-interest-for-meexcept-in-the-world-of/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [Life for me has been exactly what I thought it would be, a cake, which I have eaten and had too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/life-for-me-has-been-exactly-what-i-thought-it-would-be-a-cake-which/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [“I believe in the unsubmissive, the unfaltering, the unassailable, the irresistible, the unbelievable — in other words, in an art of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/i-believe-in-the-unsubmissive-the-unfaltering-the-unassailable-the/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [I have always fought for ideas - until I learned that it isn't ideas but grief, struggle, and flashes of vision which enlighten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/i-have-always-fought-for-ideas-until-i-learned-that-it-isn-t-ideas/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) [Explore all 12 Margaret Anderson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) ## More Enemy quotes > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? 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The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. Everything else is rubbish!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/in-this-business-you-find-the-enemy-then-go-after-and-destroy-him/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) [Browse all 7,981 Enemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My greatest enemy is reality. 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