--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is wrong to expect a reward for your…" description: "\"It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win. Even though you can't expect to defeat t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/phil-ochs-11616_absurdity_it-is-wrong-to-expect-a-reward-for-your_956125.jpg" --- # It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The… ![“It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win. Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's life.” quote by Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/phil-ochs-11616_absurdity_it-is-wrong-to-expect-a-reward-for-your_956125.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/phil-ochs-11616_absurdity_it-is-wrong-to-expect-a-reward-for-your_956125.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/phil-ochs-11616_absurdity_it-is-wrong-to-expect-a-reward-for-your_956125.jpg) > “It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win. Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's life.” [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The value lies in the struggle itself, not in any external reward; effort is its own moral and artistic purpose. **In simple terms:** Struggle is its own reward. Key Takeaway Embrace effort for its own sake. Themes morality art life effort Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - spiritual practice - social activism Key Concepts existentialism intrinsic value humanism Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on effort change your motivation? - What intrinsic benefits do you notice in struggle? A Different Perspective Reward may be intangible and not always recognized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Reward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reward/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/it-is-wrong-to-expect-a-reward-for-your-struggles-the-reward-is-the/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [Expect no reward when you serve the wicked, and be thankful if you escape injury for your pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/expect-no-reward-when-you-serve-the-wicked-and-be-thankful-if-you/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [My whole religion is this: do every duty, and expect no reward for it, either here or hereafter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/my-whole-religion-is-this-do-every-duty-and-expect-no-reward-for-it/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Don’t expect a reward for what you do, from people, rather what matters is how you walk and are valued by God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/don-t-expect-a-reward-for-what-you-do-from-people-rather-what-matters/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [To reach back and help, and expect neither reward nor even thanks. To reach back and help, because that is what spiritual beings do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-weiss/to-reach-back-and-help-and-expect-neither-reward-nor-even-thanks-to/) [Brian Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-weiss/) > [Expect neither reward nor beatitude. Return noble waves for ignoble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/expect-neither-reward-nor-beatitude-return-noble-waves-for-ignoble/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [In serving the wicked, expect no reward, and be thankful if you escape injury for your pains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/in-serving-the-wicked-expect-no-reward-and-be-thankful-if-you-escape/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you-2/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [Happiness is the reward of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-is-the-reward-of-virtue/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Everybody loves to spend money at least some of the time - because everybody loves the stuff you can buy with it. The key…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-kluger/everybody-loves-to-spend-money-at-least-some-of-the-time-because/) [Jeffrey Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-kluger/) > [We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a Thousand Points of Light...We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/we-can-find-meaning-and-reward-by-serving-some-higher-purpose-than/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [Do not expect human beings to reward you, don't even think about it, just LOVE, because you know at the end of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-sanchez/do-not-expect-human-beings-to-reward-you-don-t-even-think-about-it/) [Bo Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-sanchez/) > [The reward is in doing, but doing without expecting anything...doing unselfishly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reward-is-in-doing-but-doing-without-expecting-anything-doing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I'm working on something and I get to the point where I feel it getting interesting, that's my reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-peter-lindstr-m/when-i-m-working-on-something-and-i-get-to-the-point-where-i-feel-it/) [Hans-Peter Lindstrøm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-peter-lindstr-m/) ## More by Phil Ochs > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [You can do right or you can do what you are told. And the prize of the victory will belong to the bold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/you-can-do-right-or-you-can-do-what-you-are-told-and-the-prize-of-the/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [Is there anybody here who thinks that following the orders takes away the blame Is there anybody here who wouldn't mind a murder by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/is-there-anybody-here-who-thinks-that-following-the-orders-takes-away/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [I can spare a dime, brother, but in these morally inflationary times, a dime goes a lot farther if it's demanding work rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/i-can-spare-a-dime-brother-but-in-these-morally-inflationary-times-a/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [God help the troubadour who tries to be a star. The more that you try to find success, the more that you will fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/god-help-the-troubadour-who-tries-to-be-a-star-the-more-that-you-try/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you-2/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [I wonder who I left behind on the other side of fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/i-wonder-who-i-left-behind-on-the-other-side-of-fame/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [In the state of Mississippi, Many Years Ago, a boy of 14 years got a taste of Southern law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/in-the-state-of-mississippi-many-years-ago-a-boy-of-14-years-got-a/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [There is an urgent need for Americans to look deeply into themselves and their actions, and musical poetry is perhaps the most effective mirror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/there-is-an-urgent-need-for-americans-to-look-deeply-into-themselves/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [One legged veterans will greet the dawn, and they're whistling marches as they mow the lawn, and the gargoyles on sit and grieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/one-legged-veterans-will-greet-the-dawn-and-they-re-whistling-marches/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The only possibility in the United States for a humane society would be a revolution with Elvis Presley as leader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/the-only-possibility-in-the-united-states-for-a-humane-society-would/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [Oh you tell me that there's danger to the land you call your own, And you watch them build the war machine right beside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/oh-you-tell-me-that-there-s-danger-to-the-land-you-call-your-own-and/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [Step outside the guidelines of the official umpires and make your own rules and your own reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/step-outside-the-guidelines-of-the-official-umpires-and-make-your-own/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/it-is-wrong-to-expect-a-reward-for-your-struggles-the-reward-is-the/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [And if there's any hope for America, it lies in a revolution, and if there's any hope for a revolution in America, it lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/and-if-there-s-any-hope-for-america-it-lies-in-a-revolution-and-if/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) [Explore all 59 Phil Ochs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) ## More Absurdity quotes > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/) Wendy Farley > [I've always felt that comedy doesn't just come from misery. It comes from an absurdity around that misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-amstell/i-ve-always-felt-that-comedy-doesn-t-just-come-from-misery-it-comes/) [Simon Amstell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-amstell/) > [Unaware of the absurdity of it, we introduce our own petty household rules into the economy of the universe for which the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-herzen/unaware-of-the-absurdity-of-it-we-introduce-our-own-petty-household/) [Alexander Herzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-herzen/) > [“Christianity would be helpless without the idea of free will and the idea of free will would be helpless without incongruity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/christianity-would-be-helpless-without-the-idea-of-free-will-and-the/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/) [A.C. 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