--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ten thousand times I've done my best and…" description: "\"Ten thousand times I've done my best and all's to do again.\" — A. E. Housman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/a-e-housman-8360_best_ten-thousand-times-i-ve-done-my-best-and_265566.png" --- # Ten thousand times I've done my best and all's to do again. ![“Ten thousand times I've done my best and all's to do again.” quote by A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/a-e-housman-8360_best_ten-thousand-times-i-ve-done-my-best-and_265566.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/a-e-housman-8360_best_ten-thousand-times-i-ve-done-my-best-and_265566.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/a-e-housman-8360_best_ten-thousand-times-i-ve-done-my-best-and_265566.png) > “Ten thousand times I've done my best and all's to do again.” [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Repeated attempts at effort lead to endless cycles of trying without progress. **In simple terms:** Trying many times but still failing. Key Takeaway Recognize when effort becomes futile. Themes perseverance frustration repetition failure Mood melancholic reflective determined Type poetic philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal projects - career goals - creative endeavors - habit formation - self-improvement Key Concepts existential futility human striving resilience Questions to Reflect On - Is persistence always virtuous? - When should you change strategy? A Different Perspective Continuous effort without reflection can waste resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excellence/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“A thousand times a coward and not once a dead man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suad-amiry/a-thousand-times-a-coward-and-not-once-a-dead-man/) Suad Amiry > [I don't want to see you again! - Then I said it a thousand times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-urlanda/i-don-t-want-to-see-you-again-then-i-said-it-a-thousand-times/) [Yvonne Urlanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-urlanda/) > [“But, overall, I concluded the young-hack-versus-corporate-corruption thriller had potential. (The Ghost of Sir Felix Finch whines, "But it's been done a hundred times before!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/but-overall-i-concluded-the-young-hack-versus-corporate-corruption/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Being a bad writer a thousand times first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-simone/being-a-bad-writer-a-thousand-times-first/) [Gail Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-simone/) > [“In my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-richie/in-my-dreams-i-ve-kissed-your-lips-a-thousand-times/) [Lionel Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-richie/) > [“Your life has been lived a hundred times. A thousand times. It's not all that great, really. Don't take it so seriously. Don't handle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/your-life-has-been-lived-a-hundred-times-a-thousand-times-it-s-not/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times, And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you. But the reason why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercy-me-homesick/you-re-in-a-better-place-i-ve-heard-a-thousand-times-and-at-least-a/) Mercy Me - Homesick > [We must visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament a hundred thousand times a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-francis-de-sales/we-must-visit-jesus-in-the-blessed-sacrament-a-hundred-thousand-times/) [Saint Francis de Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-francis-de-sales/) > [“I could tell you a thousand times, How much I love you, It still would not do justice on how much I love you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-chillemi/i-could-tell-you-a-thousand-times-how-much-i-love-you-it-still-would/) [Stacey Chillemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-chillemi/) > [Sometimes you need to try a thousand times just to win](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-ramkran/sometimes-you-need-to-try-a-thousand-times-just-to-win/) [Christine Ramkran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-ramkran/) > [There are often some hundred times, a thousand times, before you can really see it for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-morgenstern/there-are-often-some-hundred-times-a-thousand-times-before-you-can/) [Christian Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-morgenstern/) > [“Life was always ten thousand times more complicated than it seemed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-t-vargus/life-was-always-ten-thousand-times-more-complicated-than-it-seemed/) [L.T. Vargus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-t-vargus/) > [The idea of doing something that you've seen a thousand times before doesn't appeal to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-phillippe/the-idea-of-doing-something-that-you-ve-seen-a-thousand-times-before/) [Ryan Phillippe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-phillippe/) > [“It's better to practice one thing a thousand times, than practice a thousand things one time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-c-wilson/it-s-better-to-practice-one-thing-a-thousand-times-than-practice-a/) Glenn C. Wilson > [But I'm thinking about 12 things at once, a hundred thousand times a day. Most people do, I would imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/but-i-m-thinking-about-12-things-at-once-a-hundred-thousand-times-a/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) ## More by A. E. Housman > [I think that to transfuse emotion - not to transmit thought but to set up in the reader's sense a vibration corresponding to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/i-think-that-to-transfuse-emotion-not-to-transmit-thought-but-to-set/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Clay lies still, but blood's a rover; Breath's aware that will not keep. Up, lad: when the journey's over then there'll be time enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/clay-lies-still-but-blood-s-a-rover-breath-s-aware-that-will-not-keep/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Housman is one of my heroes and always has been. He was a detestable and miserable man. Arrogant, unspeakably lonely, cruel, and so on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/housman-is-one-of-my-heroes-and-always-has-been-he-was-a-detestable/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [On occasions, after drinking a pint of beer at luncheon, there would be a flow into my mind with sudden and unaccountable emotion, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/on-occasions-after-drinking-a-pint-of-beer-at-luncheon-there-would-be/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [To justify God's ways to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/to-justify-god-s-ways-to-man/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Here dead lie we because we did not choose to live and shame the land from which we sprung. Life, to be sure, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/here-dead-lie-we-because-we-did-not-choose-to-live-and-shame-the-land/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [A moment's thought would have shown him. But a moment is a long time, and thought is a painful process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/a-moment-s-thought-would-have-shown-him-but-a-moment-is-a-long-time/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [His folly has not fellow Beneath the blue of day That gives to man or woman His heart and soul away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/his-folly-has-not-fellow-beneath-the-blue-of-day-that-gives-to-man-or/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [On Wenlock Edge the wood's in trouble;His forest fleece the Wrekin heaves;The wind it plies the saplings double, And thick on Severn snow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/on-wenlock-edge-the-wood-s-in-trouble-his-forest-fleece-the-wrekin/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Into my hear an air that kills through yon far country blows what are those blue remembered hills what spires,what farms are those? that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/into-my-hear-an-air-that-kills-through-yon-far-country-blows-what-are/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > ['Tis spring; come out to ramble The hilly brakes around, For under thorn and bramble About the hollow ground The primroses are found. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/tis-spring-come-out-to-ramble-the-hilly-brakes-around-for-under-thorn/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [If a man will comprehend the richness and variety of the universe, and inspire his mind with a due measure of wonder and awe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/if-a-man-will-comprehend-the-richness-and-variety-of-the-universe-and/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Malt does more than Milton can to justify God's ways to man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/malt-does-more-than-milton-can-to-justify-god-s-ways-to-man/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [I am not a pessimist but a pejorist (as George Eliot said she was not an optimist but a meliorist); and that philosophy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/i-am-not-a-pessimist-but-a-pejorist-as-george-eliot-said-she-was-not/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [Loveliest of trees, the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/loveliest-of-trees-the-cherry-now-is-hung-with-bloom-along-the-bough/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) [Explore all 81 A. E. Housman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) ## More Best quotes > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [It's no wonder Pep is one of the best coaches in the world. When I knew I could work with him I was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ederson/it-s-no-wonder-pep-is-one-of-the-best-coaches-in-the-world-when-i/) [Ederson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ederson/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-want-to-be-perceived-as-a-guy-who-played-his-best-in-all-facets-not/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-feel-like-i-m-the-best-but-you-re-not-going-to-get-me-to-say-that/) [Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/) > [Life is where you love people and use things not use people and love things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/life-is-where-you-love-people-and-use-things-not-use-people-and-love/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [The human element should be the two players on the court, not the officials. The best officials are the ones you never notice. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-scott/the-human-element-should-be-the-two-players-on-the-court-not-the/) Gene Scott > [I'm looking to fight the best guys in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yair-rodriguez/i-m-looking-to-fight-the-best-guys-in-the-world/) [Yair Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yair-rodriguez/) > [Batley and Spen has a high proportion of people working in manufacturing, and we can boast the full range of industries, including high-skilled, precision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-cox/batley-and-spen-has-a-high-proportion-of-people-working-in/) [Jo Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-cox/) > [It is no secret that I have read 'The Da Vinci Code' several times. I genuinely believe that 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/it-is-no-secret-that-i-have-read-the-da-vinci-code-several-times-i/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [Any position I was going to be in, I was going to make the best of it. I always do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bledsoe/any-position-i-was-going-to-be-in-i-was-going-to-make-the-best-of-it/) [Eric Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bledsoe/) Browse all 21,674 Best quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ten thousand times I've done my best and all's to do again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A. E. 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