Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2017 December 31

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December 31

You are worth the struggle.

What does "you are worth the struggle" mean here? Thank you. The context is "One year is enough to prove to yourself that you are worth the struggle that you undertake just to reap a momentary fruit of that labour." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.249.208.40 (talk) 10:15, 31 December 2017 (UTC)

This is the opposite of being told that you are wasting your time - a proverb familiar in many languages (the Portuguese version is Não vale a pena!) 2A00:23C0:79B9:9100:C902:53EB:7D93:D534 (talk) 11:20, 31 December 2017 (UTC)

1) Someone asked the same question on the wordreference.com forum a couple of days ago, then disappeared when asked for further details. 2) The phrase is nonsense; it can be worth the struggle to do something, but someone is not worth the struggle. 3) The phrase comes from one Adhish Mazumder, who self-publishes on Amazon. Apparently not a native speaker of English. Henry^Flower 13:45, 31 December 2017 (UTC)

The phrase is not nonsense, and the meaning is perfectly clear (certainly a lot clearer than the covfefe that comes out of a certain person's demented head). Life, college and even "cute sports bras are worth the struggle, so why not you? Clarityfiend (talk) 18:40, 31 December 2017 (UTC)

The phrase that the OP gives for context is nonsense. It should be "One year is enough to prove to yourself that it is worth the struggle that you undertake just to reap a momentary fruit of that labour." Akld guy (talk) 18:59, 31 December 2017 (UTC)

Well, the poster does geolocate to Beijing and self-identify as a native Chinese speaker on the other forum where they asked this question. But it only shows up here, at that forum, and at a dead link. As for the soon to be one-year struggle over making America great again, I would point Clarityfiend to Eminem's lyrics: "A wise man told me that holdin' a grudge is like lettin' somebody just live inside of your head rent-free." μηδείς (talk) 01:16, 1 January 2018 (UTC)

Am I missing something? To me the sentence is grammatical and makes sense. Also, hopefully the Orange One will soon have other free accommodations. Clarityfiend (talk) 21:53, 1 January 2018 (UTC)

Yes, the topic is not the only thing you are off of. μηδείς (talk) 22:00, 1 January 2018 (UTC)

I take the meaning of "you are worth the struggle" as referring to one's self-worth or self-esteem and how one's particular struggle affect's that... as opposed to referring to the worth of the struggle itself or its reward (as I think is being misinterpreted with the straw-man). --Modocc (talk) 04:42, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

See what User:Henry Flower said. I agree with him. Akld guy (talk) 06:09, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

Yes you both believe the statement should mean something that it doesn't which is that it should state that the struggle is worth something when it does not mean that at all. It is the person who is to convince themselves (as in "prove to yourself") that they are worth undertaking a struggle or burden or whatever. With respect to reading comprehension, I'm not sure what grade level this is though. --Modocc (talk) 06:25, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

The version that you are insisting is correct would mean literally that the person's life is worth the struggle. Clearly not what is meant, and in sentences in which it does mean that, it would be explicitly spelled out, as in "you would give your life..." Akld guy (talk) 10:53, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

This could all be cleared up if the OP were to come back and tell us where that quote came from. Since that's the OP's only edit, I wouldn't bet on it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:57, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

It does not mean one's life necessarily, although that is possible, but one's self-worth which is self esteem a much studied human trait to which I linked to an article about and it's an opinion of oneself that can vary over time and situations. It can be the difference between an experienced and confident player of a game who is recognized as such and who knows that they are capable of playing well and someone that is not for various reasons. Traits such as arrogance and narcissism can arise from an exaggerated sense of self regard. According to the quote, a year suffices to assess one's worth regarding some struggle. The quote most certainly says that and that might be true, nor does it state what it applies to, but proverbs tend to be abstract and nonspecific that way. Is the person talented at the task they struggle with? Or are they an incompetent failure? Perhaps another year is needed or will help resolve any doubts. --Modocc (talk) 14:55, 2 January 2018 (UTC)

A concern here is whether one year is a sufficient amount of time to figure out if you are wasting your time pursuing something or if you would be better off using your time differently. While there are incremental rewards, presumably paychecks, the question is whether the overall pursuit is a good one or a waste of time in the bigger picture. This is comparable to a dead-end job versus a job that serves as a springboard to advantageous job possibilities, given one's opportunities at the outset. This is only a comparable analogy. One can envision the quoted phrase being used in other senses as well. Bus stop (talk) 15:38, 2 January 2018 (UTC)