"I learned early that you only have so much energy to give. You have to spend it correctly"
About this Quote
The genius is in "spend". Gabor turns a supposedly natural resource into an economic one, implying scarcity and consequence. You don't simply have energy; you invest it, waste it, get taxed on it by other people's expectations. For an actress famous for elegance and comic sophistication, this is a quiet correction to the public image: poise isn't effortless, it's managed. There's also an immigrant's pragmatism embedded here (Gabor arrived from Hungary and rebuilt her life in a new cultural market). Scarcity isn't theoretical when you're starting over.
"Spend it correctly" carries a loaded moral edge. Correctly for whom? The industry? Your family? The version of yourself the audience buys tickets to see? The subtext is boundary-setting before that language was trendy: don't confuse being available with being valued. In an era when women's ambition was often punished as "difficult", Gabor offers a socially acceptable way to assert control - not through confrontation, but through strategy. The quote works because it sounds like advice and reads like survival.
Quote Details
| Topic | Self-Care |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Gabor, Eva. (n.d.). I learned early that you only have so much energy to give. You have to spend it correctly. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-learned-early-that-you-only-have-so-much-energy-82320/
Chicago Style
Gabor, Eva. "I learned early that you only have so much energy to give. You have to spend it correctly." FixQuotes. Accessed February 1, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-learned-early-that-you-only-have-so-much-energy-82320/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I learned early that you only have so much energy to give. You have to spend it correctly." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-learned-early-that-you-only-have-so-much-energy-82320/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.










