Skip to content

We know what it is to get out of bed on a freezing morning…

“We know what it is to get out of bed on a freezing morning in a room without a fire, and how the very vital principle within us protests against the ordeal. Probably most persons have lain on certain mornings for an hour at a time unable to brace themselves to the resolve. We think how late we…” quote by William James
Download Open image
““We know what it is to get out of bed on a freezing morning in a room without a fire, and how the very vital principle within us protests against the ordeal. Probably most persons have lain on certain mornings for an hour at a time unable to brace themselves to the resolve. We think how late we shall be, how the duties of the day will suffer; we say, “I must get up, this is ignominious,” etc.; but still the warm couch feels too delicious, the cold outside too cruel, and resolution faints away and postpones itself again and again just as it seemed on the verge of bursting the resistance and passing over into the decisive act. Now how do we ever get up under such circumstances? If I may generalize from my own experience, we more often than not get up without any struggle or decision at all. We suddenly find that we have got up. A fortunate lapse of consciousness occurs; we forget both the warmth and the cold; we fall into some revery connected with the day’s life, in the course of which the idea flashes across us, “Hollo! I must lie here no longer” – an idea which at that lucky instant awakens no contradictory or paralyzing suggestions, and consequently produces immediately its appropriate motor effects. It was our acute consciousness of both the warmth and the cold during the period of struggle, which paralyzed our activity then and kept our idea of rising in the condition of wish and not of will . The moment these inhibitory ideas ceased, the original idea exerted its effects.””

William James

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Describes how conscious focus on discomfort hinders action, while a sudden shift in attention enables effortless movement.

In simple terms: Attention determines effort.

Key Takeaway

Shift focus to act.

Themes

motivation psychology willpower

Mood

reflective inspirational

Type

self‑help psychological

When to use this quote

  • morning routines
  • exercise
  • work start
  • study sessions

Key Concepts

consciousness habit formation cognitive dissonance

Questions to Reflect On

  • What triggers your effortless actions?
  • How can you train attention to aid will?
A Different Perspective

Changing focus may be unpredictable.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by William James

Explore all 854 William James quotes

More Cold outside quotes

Browse all 72 Cold outside quotes