--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Work is its own cure. You have to like it…" description: "\"Work is its own cure. You have to like it better than being loved.\" — Marge Piercy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/marge-piercy-2610_being-loved_work-is-its-own-cure-you-have-to-like-it_85584.png" --- # Work is its own cure. You have to like it better than… ![“Work is its own cure. You have to like it better than being loved.” quote by Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/marge-piercy-2610_being-loved_work-is-its-own-cure-you-have-to-like-it_85584.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/marge-piercy-2610_being-loved_work-is-its-own-cure-you-have-to-like-it_85584.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/marge-piercy-2610_being-loved_work-is-its-own-cure-you-have-to-like-it_85584.png) > “Work is its own cure. You have to like it better than being loved.” [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Work provides intrinsic fulfillment that surpasses external validation; true satisfaction comes from loving the activity itself. **In simple terms:** Find joy in the work itself, not in praise. Key Takeaway Self‑driven purpose beats external approval. Themes self‑actualization intrinsic motivation purpose fulfillment autonomy Mood determined reflective Type aphor advice When to use this quote - career choice - daily tasks - creative projects - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts meaning of work psychological well‑being values Practical Applications - career counseling - personal development workshops Questions to Reflect On - How does your current work align with your inner values? - What would change if you stopped seeking external approval? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-loved/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Every need brings in what's needed. Pain bears its cure like a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/every-need-brings-in-what-s-needed-pain-bears-its-cure-like-a-child/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [If anybody had that cure out there like so many people swear to me they do, you'd be two things: you'd be very rich,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-swayze/if-anybody-had-that-cure-out-there-like-so-many-people-swear-to-me/) [Patrick Swayze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-swayze/) > [Work cure is the best of all psychotherapy, in my opinion… As well might we expect a patient to recover without food as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-clarke-cabot/work-cure-is-the-best-of-all-psychotherapy-in-my-opinion-as-well/) [Richard Clarke Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-clarke-cabot/) > [Work could cure almost anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/work-could-cure-almost-anything/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Work will cure your grief. Serve others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/work-will-cure-your-grief-serve-others/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [“there's no such thing as a fuck cure. a fuck cure is like the adult version of santa claus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-fuck-cure-a-fuck-cure-is-like-the-adult/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Being stuck on love was a real bitch to cure. Like cancer, I think. Just when you think you’re over it, it comes back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/being-stuck-on-love-was-a-real-bitch-to-cure-like-cancer-i-think-just/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [Unfortunately, the administration's plan is an ounce of cure for a pound of problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/unfortunately-the-administration-s-plan-is-an-ounce-of-cure-for-a/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [The highest ideal of cure is the rapid, gentle and permanent restoration of health; that is, the lifting and annihilation of the disease in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-hahnemann/the-highest-ideal-of-cure-is-the-rapid-gentle-and-permanent/) [Samuel Hahnemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-hahnemann/) > [The cure for the greatest part of human miseries is not radical, but palliative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cure-for-the-greatest-part-of-human-miseries-is-not-radical-but/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Despair is the only cure for illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lowen/despair-is-the-only-cure-for-illusion/) [Alexander Lowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lowen/) > [Ink is the great cure for all human ills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/ink-is-the-great-cure-for-all-human-ills/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“to cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-cure-sometimes-to-relieve-often-to-comfort-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The cure is in the house, not brought by other hands from distant places, but by its own, in agony and blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-cure-is-in-the-house-not-brought-by-other-hands-from-distant/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## More by Marge Piercy > [Shared laughter is erotic too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/shared-laughter-is-erotic-too/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [The anger of the weak never goes away, Professor, it just gets a little moldy. It molds like a beautiful blue cheese in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-anger-of-the-weak-never-goes-away-professor-it-just-gets-a-little/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [“The people I love the best jump into work head first without dallying in the shallows and swim off with sure strokes almost out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-people-i-love-the-best-jump-into-work-head-first-without-dallying/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Every poet has a certain amount of "stuff." That's what you draw from for imagery. The more stuff you know well, not simply intellectually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/every-poet-has-a-certain-amount-of-stuff-that-s-what-you-draw-from/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [the body is simple as a turtle / and straight as a dog: / the body cannot lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-body-is-simple-as-a-turtle-and-straight-as-a-dog-the-body-cannot/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [We must shine with hope, stained glass windows that shape light into icons, glow like lanterns borne before a procession. Who can bear hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-must-shine-with-hope-stained-glass-windows-that-shape-light-into/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Remember that every son had a mother whose beloved son he was, and every woman had a mother whose beloved son she wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/remember-that-every-son-had-a-mother-whose-beloved-son-he-was-and/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [We live in a media soup and are constantly being programmed or are fighting that programming. Thus any truthful account of a life, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-live-in-a-media-soup-and-are-constantly-being-programmed-or-are/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [The moon is always female and so am I although often in the vale of razorblades I have wished I could put on and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-moon-is-always-female-and-so-am-i-although-often-in-the-vale-of/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Sometimes when a character in a novel is difficult for me to enter, I sue something in myself or in my own life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/sometimes-when-a-character-in-a-novel-is-difficult-for-me-to-enter-i/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Doorways are sacred to women for we are the doorways of life and we must choose what comes in and what goes out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/doorways-are-sacred-to-women-for-we-are-the-doorways-of-life-and-we/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [“Writing sometimes feels frivolous and sometimes sacred, but memory is one of my strongest muses. I serve her with my words. So long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/writing-sometimes-feels-frivolous-and-sometimes-sacred-but-memory-is/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing well done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-work-of-the-world-is-common-as-mud-botched-it-smears-the-hands/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [We're herded into schools and terrified into behaving. Taught how we're supposed to pretend to be, taught to parrot all kinds of nonsense at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-re-herded-into-schools-and-terrified-into-behaving-taught-how-we/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Whatever is not an energy source, is an energy sink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/whatever-is-not-an-energy-source-is-an-energy-sink/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) [Explore all 158 Marge Piercy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) ## More Being loved quotes > [I want everyone to meet you. Youre my favorite person of all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercy-pheona/i-want-everyone-to-meet-you-youre-my-favorite-person-of-all-time/) [Mercy Pheona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercy-pheona/) > [At least with pets, and for all I know, people too, intelligence and quick-wittedness have nothing to do with a talent for being loved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baxter/at-least-with-pets-and-for-all-i-know-people-too-intelligence-and/) [Charles Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baxter/) > [When you are in real love; you forget about any bills or problems that may have for a minute, because all that matters that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/when-you-are-in-real-love-you-forget-about-any-bills-or-problems-that/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [He said that in a way being loved is like being told you never have to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-findley/he-said-that-in-a-way-being-loved-is-like-being-told-you-never-have/) [Timothy Findley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-findley/) > [How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways-i-love-thee-to-the-depth-and/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Love is a strong emotion. We are willing to throw our lives away even if it means only being loved a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-strong-emotion-we-are-willing-to-throw-our-lives-away-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There cannot be a sense of abundance or the experience of prosperity without appreciation. You cannot find beauty unless you appreciate beauty. You cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-r-miller/there-cannot-be-a-sense-of-abundance-or-the-experience-of-prosperity/) [William R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-r-miller/) > [Mature love is loving, not being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mature-love-is-loving-not-being-loved/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [I used to think being loved was the greatest thing to think about, but now I know love is never satisfied just thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/i-used-to-think-being-loved-was-the-greatest-thing-to-think-about-but/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [You can never love a girl who isn't being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-never-love-a-girl-who-isn-t-being-loved/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/love-is-willing-self-sacrifice-for-the-good-of-another-that-does-not/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/but-to-be-fully-known-and-truly-loved-is-well-a-lot-like-being-loved/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [You cannot experience the fullness of your authentic self or life when you live to avoid hurt. You will never know the joy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/you-cannot-experience-the-fullness-of-your-authentic-self-or-life/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [I'm tired of living unable to love anyone. I don't have a single friend - not one. And, worst of all, I can't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-tired-of-living-unable-to-love-anyone-i-don-t-have-a-single/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Top managers love people and they want to be loved - it turns out being loved is good for your career, especially if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chade-meng-tan/top-managers-love-people-and-they-want-to-be-loved-it-turns-out-being/) [Chade-Meng Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chade-meng-tan/) [Browse all 209 Being loved quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-loved/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Work is its own cure. 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