--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Think of and look at your work as though…" description: "\"Think of and look at your work as though it were done by your enemy. If you look at it to admire it, you are lost.\" — Samuel Butler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/samuel-butler-823_admire_think-of-and-look-at-your-work-as-though_720953.jpg" --- # Think of and look at your work as though it were done by… ![“Think of and look at your work as though it were done by your enemy. If you look at it to admire it, you are lost.” quote by Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/samuel-butler-823_admire_think-of-and-look-at-your-work-as-though_720953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/samuel-butler-823_admire_think-of-and-look-at-your-work-as-though_720953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/samuel-butler-823_admire_think-of-and-look-at-your-work-as-though_720953.jpg) > “Think of and look at your work as though it were done by your enemy. If you look at it to admire it, you are lost.” [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Viewing work as if created by an adversary warns against admiration that blinds criticism. **In simple terms:** Treat work like an enemy’s creation to stay critical. Key Takeaway Maintain objective critique of your output. Themes critique self‑assessment perfectionism Mood analytical cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative projects - professional tasks - self‑review Key Concepts objectivity self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance critique with appreciation? - What standards guide your evaluation? A Different Perspective Over‑critical stance can stifle appreciation and motivation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-look-5667250/) [Look Admire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-admire-5667249/) [Look Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-work/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Think Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-look/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-enemy-1470865/) ## Related quotes > [When you ask me who I look up to and who I can admire for their style right now, I have to choose from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/when-you-ask-me-who-i-look-up-to-and-who-i-can-admire-for-their-style/) [T.I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-i/) > [In my line of work, the enemy gets a vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mattis/in-my-line-of-work-the-enemy-gets-a-vote/) [Jim Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mattis/) > [“Work is not your enemy but your friend. How you work, not what you do, determines the course of your life. You may work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/work-is-not-your-enemy-but-your-friend-how-you-work-not-what-you-do/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [We've waged war on work. We have collectively agreed, stupidly, that work is the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/we-ve-waged-war-on-work-we-have-collectively-agreed-stupidly-that/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) > [When I see my work in a gallery I often wonder how I got to this point. Sometimes the process of making the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polixeni-papapetrou/when-i-see-my-work-in-a-gallery-i-often-wonder-how-i-got-to-this/) [Polixeni Papapetrou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polixeni-papapetrou/) > [If you want to know about my politics, the only way to do that is to look at my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee-jones/if-you-want-to-know-about-my-politics-the-only-way-to-do-that-is-to/) [Tommy Lee Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee-jones/) > [I always look at the work of fashion designers as if they were art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zubin-mehta/i-always-look-at-the-work-of-fashion-designers-as-if-they-were-art/) [Zubin Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zubin-mehta/) > [I don't look at my work in a critical or analytical way; I just don't think of myself objectively. It doesn't interest me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-don-t-look-at-my-work-in-a-critical-or-analytical-way-i-just-don-t/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“To love does not mean to look at each other, but to work together in the same direction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/to-love-does-not-mean-to-look-at-each-other-but-to-work-together-in/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I feel very lucky and very privileged that people will look at my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peaches/i-feel-very-lucky-and-very-privileged-that-people-will-look-at-my-work/) [Peaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peaches/) > [I look back on my work and I think, 'Oh, why didn't I do that differently?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-oz/i-look-back-on-my-work-and-i-think-oh-why-didn-t-i-do-that-differently/) [Frank Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-oz/) > [I don't like repeating things and look out for work that could challenge me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-massey/i-don-t-like-repeating-things-and-look-out-for-work-that-could/) [Vikrant Massey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-massey/) > [May posterity show mercy when it look back upon the work we do today. We did what we could with what we had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/may-posterity-show-mercy-when-it-look-back-upon-the-work-we-do-today/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Always seek to excel yourself. Put yourself in competition with yourself each day. Each morning look back upon your work of yesterday and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sheldon/always-seek-to-excel-yourself-put-yourself-in-competition-with/) [Charles Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sheldon/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## More by Samuel Butler > [Is life worth living? This is a question for an embryo not for a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/is-life-worth-living-this-is-a-question-for-an-embryo-not-for-a-man/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific bigwigs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/i-am-the-enfant-terrible-of-literature-and-science-if-i-cannot-and-i/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If you follow reason far enough it always leads to conclusions that are contrary to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-you-follow-reason-far-enough-it-always-leads-to-conclusions-that/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/all-animals-except-man-know-that-the-principal-business-of-life-is-to/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [The advantage of doing one's praising for oneself is that one can lay it on so thick and exactly in the right places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-advantage-of-doing-one-s-praising-for-oneself-is-that-one-can-lay/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Spare the rod and spoil the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Opinions have vested interests just as men have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/opinions-have-vested-interests-just-as-men-have/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“we must judge men not so much by what they, as by what they make us feel that they have it in them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/we-must-judge-men-not-so-much-by-what-they-as-by-what-they-make-us/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [If I die prematurely I shall be saved from being bored to death at my own success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/if-i-die-prematurely-i-shall-be-saved-from-being-bored-to-death-at-my/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism. Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/vaccination-is-the-medical-sacrament-corresponding-to-baptism-whether/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“Having, then, once introduced an element of inconsistency into his system, he was far too consistent not to be inconsistent consistently, and he lapsed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/having-then-once-introduced-an-element-of-inconsistency-into-his/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/brigands-demand-your-money-or-your-life-women-require-both/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [A man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/a-man-who-lets-himself-be-bored-is-even-more-contemptible-than-the/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [It is not sufficiently considered in the hour of exultation, that all human excellence is comparative; that no man performs much but in proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/it-is-not-sufficiently-considered-in-the-hour-of-exultation-that-all/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/the-oldest-books-are-still-only-just-out-to-those-who-have-not-read/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) [Explore all 355 Samuel Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) ## More Admire quotes > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I admire Serena Williams, because, I mean, who doesn't admire Serena Williams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-konta/i-admire-serena-williams-because-i-mean-who-doesn-t-admire-serena/) [Johanna Konta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-konta/) > [How proud I am to be compared to Oprah. I really admire her. She's a minority woman and she's done all this by herself...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-saralegui/how-proud-i-am-to-be-compared-to-oprah-i-really-admire-her-she-s-a/) [Cristina Saralegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-saralegui/) > [I admire President Obama's ability to trust strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-admire-president-obama-s-ability-to-trust-strangers/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [I really admire people's interactions with technology that aren't tech-centric but use it as a tool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-really-admire-people-s-interactions-with-technology-that-aren-t/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [I believe in a world where there are no heroes, and I've read and know humanity a lot. There are moments that I admire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-believe-in-a-world-where-there-are-no-heroes-and-i-ve-read-and-know/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I think it's really good and helpful to have the people you most admire in some other discipline than what you work in. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-it-s-really-good-and-helpful-to-have-the-people-you-most/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [I respect and admire the Premier League.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-koeman/i-respect-and-admire-the-premier-league/) [Ronald Koeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-koeman/) > [“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/) > [“The thing I admire most about you is no matter how hard, or how much the world has tried to beat you, break you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/the-thing-i-admire-most-about-you-is-no-matter-how-hard-or-how-much/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) [Browse all 2,369 Admire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Think of and look at your work as though it were done by your enemy. 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