Quote of the day by George Michael: 'Sometimes you do deserve things without having to put yourself through agony.' Pop icon on why happiness need not always be a struggle

From childhood, many of us are often conditioned to believe that true happiness must always be earned through overcoming obstacles, sacrifice, and severe suffering. We carry this exhausting mindset like a badge of honour, assuming that if happiness comes to us without even trying, it must be temporary or that we do not actually deserve the joy. However, pop icon George Michael disagrees with the thought. Today’s quote of the day by the late English singer-songwriter echoes a similar sentiment as he teases that happiness might not always be a struggle as we make it out to be.

George Michael quote: 'Sometimes you do deserve things without having to put yourself through agony.'

Quote of the day by George Michael: Context

George Michael’s quote comes from his 1988 conversation with Interview magazine. Back then, Michael was just 25 years old, basking in the success of his debut solo album Faith. When host Joseph Perkins asked Michael, ‘Do you feel obliged to suffer in some way? Do you go for the unattainable?’ the pop icon had a rather interesting answer.


As per George Michael, suffering is part of his artistic expression. He recalled that someone once pointed out how the pop icon believed that if he wanted something in life, he had to go through pain to attain it. Michael admitted he had this attitude for a long time and often felt he did not deserve something unless he fought hard for it.

Michael, however, acknowledged that this mindset was not a sensible way of thinking. He called his past ideology stupid and wrong, reflecting on the fact that sometimes people certainly deserve good things without having to put themselves through the agony to achieve them.

George Michael on fame, control and finding himself

Elsewhere in the interview, Michael admitted that he was a ‘control freak’ and a ‘perfectionist’, although it was not something he wanted to be. ‘I am not at all into the power play that’s involved in it,’ he had said back then.

Michael further noted that he skyrocketed to fame so early in life that it didn’t give him time to understand and realise what he actually wanted to be in life. ‘The years between leaving school and actually becoming an adult are very important years. You make a lot of choices as to the type of life you want to lead and what type of person you want to be,’ Michael had shared.

The pop icon, however, added that since so many people had varied opinions about him, with some being unflattering, it was hard for him to decide who he was supposed to be.

More about George Michael

George Michael was just 17 when Wham!, also featuring Andrew Ridgeley, signed its first record deal. 3 years later, he and Ridgeley’s first album, Fantastic, reached number one in the U.K. album charts.

Some of Michael’s hit songs include Careless Whisper, Faith, Freedom! '90, Father Figure, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Last Christmas. He passed away on Christmas Day (2016) at his home in Goring-on-Thames, a village in Oxfordshire, England. Michael was 53.