--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My face set to a grim and determined…" description: "\"“My face set to a grim and determined expression. I speak in all modesty as I say this, but I discovered at that moment that I have a fierce will to li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/yann-martel-395_courage_my-face-set-to-a-grim-and-determined-exp_369684.jpg" --- # My face set to a grim and determined expression. I speak… ![“My face set to a grim and determined expression. I speak in all modesty as I say this, but I discovered at that moment that I have a fierce will to live. It's not something evident, in my experience. Some of us give up on life with only a resigned sigh. Others fight a little, then lose hope. Still…” quote by Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/yann-martel-395_courage_my-face-set-to-a-grim-and-determined-exp_369684.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/yann-martel-395_courage_my-face-set-to-a-grim-and-determined-exp_369684.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/yann-martel-395_courage_my-face-set-to-a-grim-and-determined-exp_369684.jpg) > ““My face set to a grim and determined expression. I speak in all modesty as I say this, but I discovered at that moment that I have a fierce will to live. It's not something evident, in my experience. Some of us give up on life with only a resigned sigh. Others fight a little, then lose hope. Still others - and I am one of those - never give up. We fight and fight and fight. We fight no matter the cost of battle, the losses we take, the improbability of success. We fight to the every end. It's not a question of courage. It's something constitutional, an inability to let go. It may be nothing more than life-hungry stupidity.”” [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes an unyielding, almost constitutional drive to survive, fighting despite odds and exhaustion, suggesting that perseverance is innate. **In simple terms:** He refuses to give up, fighting endlessly. Key Takeaway Cultivate relentless perseverance. Themes survival perseverance willpower Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - adversity - personal crises - long‑term goals - health challenges Key Concepts existentialism human resilience Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your inner drive to keep fighting? - When should one accept limits? A Different Perspective May ignore realistic limits and lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Lose hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-hope/) ## Related quotes > [“We fight and fight and fight. We fight no matter the cost of battle, the losses we take, the improbability of success. We fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/we-fight-and-fight-and-fight-we-fight-no-matter-the-cost-of-battle/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“We fight no matter the cost of battle, the losses we take, the improbability of success. We fight to the very end. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/we-fight-no-matter-the-cost-of-battle-the-losses-we-take-the/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Some of us give up on life with only a resigned sigh. Others fight a little, then lose hope. 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Still others - and I am one of those -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-have-a-fierce-will-to-live-others-fight-a-little-then-lose-hope/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Above all, don't lose hope”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/above-all-don-t-lose-hope/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [ “Some of us give up\[…\] with only a resigned sigh. Others fight a little, then lose hope. Still others—and I am one of those—never… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/some-of-us-give-up-with-only-a-resigned-sigh-others-fight-a-little/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [You may lose faith. You may lose love. You may lose courage. But never lose hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-may-lose-faith-you-may-lose-love-you-may-lose-courage-but-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometime you have to love people from a distance and give them the space and time to get their mind right before you let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s/sometime-you-have-to-love-people-from-a-distance-and-give-them-the/) S > [“Don't let life pull you down let it raise you up”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-roberts/don-t-let-life-pull-you-down-let-it-raise-you-up/) [Allie Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-roberts/) > [“When life gets rough,don't panic! Just let it be! Life is leading you to still waters!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-vivencio-ballano/when-life-gets-rough-don-t-panic-just-let-it-be-life-is-leading-you/) [Dr. Vivencio Ballano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-vivencio-ballano/) > [Thought determines action. Do not let your whole life be a reaction to the things that happen around you each day. Let your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/thought-determines-action-do-not-let-your-whole-life-be-a-reaction-to/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [Life is yours, do not let life's problems have other influences on what you believe. See for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlson-gracie/life-is-yours-do-not-let-life-s-problems-have-other-influences-on/) [Carlson Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlson-gracie/) > [Either you let your life slip away by not doing the things you want to do, or you get up & do them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-von-oech/either-you-let-your-life-slip-away-by-not-doing-the-things-you-want/) [Roger von Oech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-von-oech/) ## More by Yann Martel > [“It’s a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-s-a-big-ocean-crossed-by-busy-ships-i-went-slowly-observing-much/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The word isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/the-word-isn-t-just-the-way-it-is-it-is-how-we-understand-it-no-and/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Remember that your days on this earth are counted and you might as well make the best of those you have left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/remember-that-your-days-on-this-earth-are-counted-and-you-might-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I must say a word about fear. It's is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. 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But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/nothing-beats-reason-for-keeping-tigers-away-but-be-excessively/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Uvek ima onih koji uzmu za pravo da brane Boga, kao da je Poslednja stvarnost, kao da je temeljni ram postojanja nešto slabašno i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/uvek-ima-onih-koji-uzmu-za-pravo-da-brane-boga-kao-da-je-poslednja/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity- its envy. 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Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [Have the courage to go against the tide of current values that do not conform to the path of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/have-the-courage-to-go-against-the-tide-of-current-values-that-do-not/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“There is nothing purer, braver, or more beautiful than the try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-armstrong/there-is-nothing-purer-braver-or-more-beautiful-than-the-try/) Kristen Armstrong > [“One theory on cannibals, of course, is that they eat parts of their slain enemies to benefit from that person's greatest assets - their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/one-theory-on-cannibals-of-course-is-that-they-eat-parts-of-their/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [I have pictures with Morimoto where I'm all embarrassed and he's so serious, it took me 30 minutes to get up the courage to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcela-valladolid/i-have-pictures-with-morimoto-where-i-m-all-embarrassed-and-he-s-so/) [Marcela Valladolid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcela-valladolid/) [Browse all 14,559 Courage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My face set to a grim and determined expression. 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