--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you take pride in your attainment or…" description: "\"If you take pride in your attainment or become discouraged because of your idealistic effort, your practice will confine you by a thick wall.\" — Shunry..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/shunryu-suzuki-1280_attainment_if-you-take-pride-in-your-attainment-or_2072421.png" --- # If you take pride in your attainment or become discouraged… ![“If you take pride in your attainment or become discouraged because of your idealistic effort, your practice will confine you by a thick wall.” quote by Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/shunryu-suzuki-1280_attainment_if-you-take-pride-in-your-attainment-or_2072421.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/shunryu-suzuki-1280_attainment_if-you-take-pride-in-your-attainment-or_2072421.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/514/shunryu-suzuki-1280_attainment_if-you-take-pride-in-your-attainment-or_2072421.png) > “If you take pride in your attainment or become discouraged because of your idealistic effort, your practice will confine you by a thick wall.” [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pride or discouragement from idealistic effort creates a limiting wall, warning against ego‑driven practice. **In simple terms:** Pride and discouragement block growth. Key Takeaway Practice humility and realistic expectations. Themes ego self‑criticism spiritual practice Mood calm thoughtful Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - meditation - skill learning - personal development Key Concepts mindfulness Buddhist teachings inner obstacles Questions to Reflect On - How does pride affect your practice? - What steps reduce self‑imposed barriers? A Different Perspective Idealism can be paralyzing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Idealistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealistic/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [“Like anything worthwhile, devoting ample time and effort to your practice is important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-t-lusk/like-anything-worthwhile-devoting-ample-time-and-effort-to-your/) [Julie T. 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Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Collaboration, it turns out, is not a gift from the gods but a skill that requires effort and practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-b-reeves/collaboration-it-turns-out-is-not-a-gift-from-the-gods-but-a-skill/) [Douglas B. Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-b-reeves/) > [“Practicing positivity is like brushing our teeth—it doesn’t last, so we have to repeat often. That’s where the effort and practice come in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-hallis/practicing-positivity-is-like-brushing-our-teeth-it-doesn-t-last-so/) [Tina Hallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-hallis/) > [Idealistic reformers are dangerous because their idealism has no roots in love, but is simply a hysterical and unbalanced rage for order amidst their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/idealistic-reformers-are-dangerous-because-their-idealism-has-no/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [“I don't like places or people either that haven't any faults. I think that a truly perfect person would be very uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-like-places-or-people-either-that-haven-t-any-faults-i-think/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Women are treated as unjustly in poetry as in life. 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This is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/an-excessive-preponderance-of-an-idealistic-mood-is-harmful-to/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) ## More by Shunryu Suzuki > [The point we emphasize is strong confidence in our original nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/the-point-we-emphasize-is-strong-confidence-in-our-original-nature/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [If you continue this simple practice every day, you will obtain some wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/if-you-continue-this-simple-practice-every-day-you-will-obtain-some/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [You want to eliminate your evil desires in order to reveal your Buddha nature, but where will you throw them away?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/you-want-to-eliminate-your-evil-desires-in-order-to-reveal-your/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Ego is a social institution with no physical reality. The ego is simply your symbol of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/ego-is-a-social-institution-with-no-physical-reality-the-ego-is/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the experts mind, there are few.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/in-the-beginner-s-mind-there-are-many-possibilities-in-the-experts/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [The seed has no idea of being some particular plant, but it has its own form and is in perfect harmony with the ground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/the-seed-has-no-idea-of-being-some-particular-plant-but-it-has-its/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Whereever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. 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It means to be yourself, always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/so-the-secret-is-just-to-say-yes-and-jump-off-from-here-then-there-is/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Our tendency is to be interested in something that is growing in the garden, not in the bare soil itself. But if you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/our-tendency-is-to-be-interested-in-something-that-is-growing-in-the/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [The world is its own magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/the-world-is-its-own-magic/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. It is not difficult because it is hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/people-say-that-practicing-zen-is-difficult-but-there-is-a/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [Each one of us must make his own true way, and when we do, that way will express the universal way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/each-one-of-us-must-make-his-own-true-way-and-when-we-do-that-way/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) > [The purpose of our practice is just to be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shunryu-suzuki/the-purpose-of-our-practice-is-just-to-be-yourself/) [Shunryu Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) [Explore all 262 Shunryu Suzuki quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shunryu-suzuki/) ## More Attainment quotes > [Life, whether in this world or any other, is the sum of our attainment, our experience, our character. The conditions are secondary. 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Since explanations never really explains, nor are they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daido-loori/in-transmitting-the-dharma-there-is-neither-explanation-nor-teaching/) [John Daido Loori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daido-loori/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The mind of one meditating on a single object becomes one-pointed. And one-pointedness of mind leads to abidance in the self. Real attainment is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-mind-of-one-meditating-on-a-single-object-becomes-one-pointed-and/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [Wisdom can boast no higher attainment than happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/wisdom-can-boast-no-higher-attainment-than-happiness/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [Not merely by rules of conduct and religious observances, nor by much learning either, nor even by attainment of concentration, nor by sleeping alone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-merely-by-rules-of-conduct-and-religious-observances-nor-by-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most important rules that I ever adopted to help me in achieving my goals were those I learned from a very successful man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/the-most-important-rules-that-i-ever-adopted-to-help-me-in-achieving/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [Like myself, all Americans have a deep concern for the well-being of Iran. 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Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/) > [The more clearly defined and keenly desired your goals, the more of your natural creativity will be released for goal attainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/the-more-clearly-defined-and-keenly-desired-your-goals-the-more-of/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Every attainment, every step forward in knowledge, follows from courage, from hardness against oneself, from cleanliness in relation to oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-attainment-every-step-forward-in-knowledge-follows-from-courage/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And only the very courageous will be able to keep alive the spirit of individualism and dissent which gave birth to this nation, nourished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/and-only-the-very-courageous-will-be-able-to-keep-alive-the-spirit-of/) [John F. 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