---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The time-state of attainment eliminates…"
description: "\"The time-state of attainment eliminates so accurately the time-state of aspiration, that the actual seems the inevitable, and, all conscious intellectu..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/samuel-beckett-365_appreciate_the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates_218136.png"
---

#  The time-state of attainment eliminates so accurately the…

![“The time-state of attainment eliminates so accurately the time-state of aspiration, that the actual seems the inevitable, and, all conscious intellectual effort to reconstitute the invisible and unthinkable as a reality being fruitless, we are incapable of appreciating our joy by comparing it with…” quote by Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/samuel-beckett-365_appreciate_the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates_218136.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/samuel-beckett-365_appreciate_the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates_218136.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/samuel-beckett-365_appreciate_the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates_218136.png)

> “The time-state of attainment eliminates so accurately the time-state of aspiration, that the actual seems the inevitable, and, all conscious intellectual effort to reconstitute the invisible and unthinkable as a reality being fruitless, we are incapable of appreciating our joy by comparing it with our sorrow.”

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Achieving a state of fulfillment makes aspirations feel inevitable, rendering intellectual effort to force outcomes futile; joy is best felt without comparison to sorrow.

**In simple terms:** When fulfilled, goals feel natural and comparison loses its power.

Key Takeaway

Accept fulfillment and avoid forced comparisons.

Themes

fulfillment inevitability comparison effort

Mood

reflective balanced thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- goal setting
- creative work
- personal growth
- mental health

Key Concepts

Existentialism psychology mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you recognize when comparison is helpful versus harmful?
- What practices help you appreciate joy without reference to sorrow?

A Different Perspective

Comparisons can still subtly influence perception, and striving may be necessary for progress.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Aspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aspiration/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/)

## Related quotes

> [“They were evidently people on a low, material plane of existence, and quite incapable of appreciating the symbolic value of sensuous phenomena.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/they-were-evidently-people-on-a-low-material-plane-of-existence-and/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [“An impression of love is out of proportion to the other impressions of life, but when it is lost in their midst we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/an-impression-of-love-is-out-of-proportion-to-the-other-impressions/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“Nature understands no jesting; she is always true, always serious, always severe; she is always right, and the errors and faults are always those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nature-understands-no-jesting-she-is-always-true-always-serious/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [“It makes me wretched, Wilhelm, to think that there should be men incapable of appreciating the few things which possess a real value in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-makes-me-wretched-wilhelm-to-think-that-there-should-be-men/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [I was born, for instance, incapable of appreciating music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mitchell/i-was-born-for-instance-incapable-of-appreciating-music/)

[Maria Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mitchell/)

> [“It's funny: one starts off thinking one is shrinkingly sensitive & intelligent & always one down & all the rest of it: then at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/it-s-funny-one-starts-off-thinking-one-is-shrinkingly-sensitive/)

[Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/)

> [in reality we are one and all from the unthinkable first to the no less unthinkable last glued together in a vast imbrication of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/in-reality-we-are-one-and-all-from-the-unthinkable-first-to-the-no/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [But sometimes it's good to dare yourself to do the unthinkable. And rather than stand in front of an audience with no clothes on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-davis/but-sometimes-it-s-good-to-dare-yourself-to-do-the-unthinkable-and/)

[Evan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-davis/)

> [You don't think of yourself as your external representation, or even your national origin or anything like that. You don't reduce yourself to that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/you-don-t-think-of-yourself-as-your-external-representation-or-even/)

[Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/)

> [ \[Humans'\] capacity to intervene, to compare, to judge, to decide, to choose, to desist makes them capable of acts of greatness, of dignity, and,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/humans-capacity-to-intervene-to-compare-to-judge-to-decide-to-choose/)

[Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/)

> [Each person is a temporary focus of forces, vitalities, and values that carry back to an immemorial past and that reach forward into an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/each-person-is-a-temporary-focus-of-forces-vitalities-and-values-that/)

[Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/)

> [“When life hands you the unthinkable you must find new ways to see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-sharp/when-life-hands-you-the-unthinkable-you-must-find-new-ways-to-see/)

Nancy Sharp

> [Some were paid solely for their ability to dream up the unthinkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olen-steinhauer/some-were-paid-solely-for-their-ability-to-dream-up-the-unthinkable/)

[Olen Steinhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olen-steinhauer/)

> [Once you decide that mediocrity is unthinkable, your only choices are excellence and quitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-murray/once-you-decide-that-mediocrity-is-unthinkable-your-only-choices-are/)

[Nick Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-murray/)

> [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

## More by Samuel Beckett

> [“It was December, I had never felt so cold, the eel soup lay heavy on my stomach, I was afraid I'd die, I turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-was-december-i-had-never-felt-so-cold-the-eel-soup-lay-heavy-on-my/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [“To be always what I am - and so changed from what I was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-be-always-what-i-am-and-so-changed-from-what-i-was/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [To what will love not stoop!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-what-will-love-not-stoop/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [With all this darkness round me I feel less alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/with-all-this-darkness-round-me-i-feel-less-alone/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [“You may say it is all in my head, and indeed sometimes it seems to me I am in a head and that these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-may-say-it-is-all-in-my-head-and-indeed-sometimes-it-seems-to-me/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [“Here he stood. Here he sat. Here he knelt. Here he lay. Here he moved, to and fro, from the door to the window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/here-he-stood-here-he-sat-here-he-knelt-here-he-lay-here-he-moved-to/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-shall-state-silences-more-competently-than-ever-a-better-man/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [It is useless not to seek, not to want, for when you cease to seek you start to find, and when you cease to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-is-useless-not-to-seek-not-to-want-for-when-you-cease-to-seek-you/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [We are not saints, but we have kept our appointment. How many people can boast as much?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-are-not-saints-but-we-have-kept-our-appointment-how-many-people/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [The new light above my table is a great improvement. With all this darkness around me I feel less alone. (Pause.) In a way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-new-light-above-my-table-is-a-great-improvement-with-all-this/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-lay-down-across-her-with-my-face-in-her-breasts-and-my-hand-on-her/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [Women are all the bloody sameyou can't love for five minutes without wanting it abolished in brats and house bloody wifery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/women-are-all-the-bloody-sameyou-can-t-love-for-five-minutes-without/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [“ESTRAGON: Do you think God sees me? VLADIMIR: You must close your eyes. Estragon closes his eyes, staggers worse. ESTRAGON: (stopping, brandishing his fists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/estragon-do-you-think-god-sees-me-vladimir-you-must-close-your-eyes/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

> [Deplorable mania, when something happens, to inquire what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/deplorable-mania-when-something-happens-to-inquire-what/)

[Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

[Explore all 609 Samuel Beckett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/)

## More Appreciate quotes

> [All I hear is the people that appreciate me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-hardy/all-i-hear-is-the-people-that-appreciate-me/)

[Greg Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-hardy/)

> [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/)

[Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/)

> [Time is really gold,spent it wisely with the people around you.Spread love,appreciate the beauty around you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jglargosta/time-is-really-gold-spent-it-wisely-with-the-people-around-you-spread/)

[Jglargosta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jglargosta/)

> [Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/because-there-are-three-classes-of-intellects-one-which-comprehends/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [Eventually the consumer will come to appreciate the editorial point of view of every different brand. User-generated content without editorial oversight will simply be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eisner/eventually-the-consumer-will-come-to-appreciate-the-editorial-point/)

[Michael Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eisner/)

> [The connoisseur of art must be able to appreciate what is simply beautiful, but the common run of people is satisfied with ornament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-connoisseur-of-art-must-be-able-to-appreciate-what-is-simply/)

[Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/)

J. Willard Gibbs

> [This time, there were no drugs involved. The hours were completely normal daytime hours. I think we were able to appreciate the interplay, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-buckingham/this-time-there-were-no-drugs-involved-the-hours-were-completely/)

[Lindsey Buckingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-buckingham/)

> [I would like beautiful gymnastics to be recognized as the best. I want the judges to appreciate things that are not necessarily winning points.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kohei-uchimura/i-would-like-beautiful-gymnastics-to-be-recognized-as-the-best-i-want/)

[Kohei Uchimura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kohei-uchimura/)

> [One of the most important rules for success is this: Every great success is the result of hundreds and thousands of small efforts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/one-of-the-most-important-rules-for-success-is-this-every-great/)

[Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/)

> [It's great at this stage in my life to still be in the running, that people appreciate you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/it-s-great-at-this-stage-in-my-life-to-still-be-in-the-running-that/)

[Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/)

> [The sectaries of a persecuted religion, depressed by fear, animated with resentment, and perhaps heated by enthusiasm, are seldom in a proper temper of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-sectaries-of-a-persecuted-religion-depressed-by-fear-animated/)

[Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/)

> [Love is too wonderful for us but why we often times do not ever appreciate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamad-idrus/love-is-too-wonderful-for-us-but-why-we-often-times-do-not-ever/)

[Mohamad Idrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamad-idrus/)

> [I think the most important thing is to stay hopeful, to believe wonderful things are possible and do your best. Basically, to not give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irena-a-hoffman/i-think-the-most-important-thing-is-to-stay-hopeful-to-believe/)

[Irena A. Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irena-a-hoffman/)

> [“Admire and appreciate your man and he will be happy on your side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-alfiori/admire-and-appreciate-your-man-and-he-will-be-happy-on-your-side/)

[Linda Alfiori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-alfiori/)

Browse all 3,873 Appreciate quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The time-state of attainment eliminates so accurately the time-state of aspiration, that the actual seems the inevitable, and, all conscious intellectual effort to reconstitute the invisible and unthinkable as a reality being fruitless, we are incapable of appreciating our joy by comparing it with our sorrow.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Samuel Beckett"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates-so-accurately-the-time-state/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Appreciate"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates-so-accurately-the-time-state/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/samuel-beckett-365_appreciate_the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates_218136.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/samuel-beckett-365_appreciate_the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates_218136.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/samuel-beckett-365_appreciate_the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates_218136.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The time-state of attainment eliminates so accurately the time-state of aspiration, that the actual seems…” — Samuel Beckett",
                "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": "Samuel Beckett",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The time-state of attainment eliminates so...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates-so-accurately-the-time-state/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-time-state-of-attainment-eliminates-so-accurately-the-time-state/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```