---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it rather fine, this necessity…"
description: "\"I think it rather fine, this necessity for the tense bracing of the will before anything worth doing can be done. I rather like it myself. I feel it is..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/arnold-bennett-3325_anything-worth-doing_i-think-it-rather-fine-this-necessity-fo_2017635.png"
---

#  I think it rather fine, this necessity for the tense…

![“I think it rather fine, this necessity for the tense bracing of the will before anything worth doing can be done. I rather like it myself. I feel it is to be the chief thing that differentiates me from the cat by the fire.” quote by Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/arnold-bennett-3325_anything-worth-doing_i-think-it-rather-fine-this-necessity-fo_2017635.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/arnold-bennett-3325_anything-worth-doing_i-think-it-rather-fine-this-necessity-fo_2017635.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/235/arnold-bennett-3325_anything-worth-doing_i-think-it-rather-fine-this-necessity-fo_2017635.png)

> “I think it rather fine, this necessity for the tense bracing of the will before anything worth doing can be done. I rather like it myself. I feel it is to be the chief thing that differentiates me from the cat by the fire.”

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

## About This Quote

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

Willpower is essential; disciplined effort precedes achievement, distinguishing us from passive comfort.

**In simple terms:** Will precedes achievement.

Key Takeaway

Embrace disciplined effort before acting.

Themes

determination discipline effort achievement

Mood

determined thoughtful

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- exercise routine
- study plan
- career project

Key Concepts

psychology self‑control motivation

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance willpower with rest?
- What tasks benefit from deliberate bracing?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on will can cause burnout.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Anything worth doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything-worth-doing/) [Bracing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bracing-240380/) [Bracing Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bracing-worth-3637068/) [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Differentiate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differentiate/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Necessity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessity/) [Necessity Tense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessity-tense-3637069/) [Tense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tense/) [Tense Bracing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tense-bracing-3637070/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [“There is nothing so absolutely bracing for the soul as the frequent turning of one's back on duties.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/there-is-nothing-so-absolutely-bracing-for-the-soul-as-the-frequent/)

[Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/)

> [Routine is a ground to stand on, a wall to retreat to; we cannot draw on our boots without bracing ourselves against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/routine-is-a-ground-to-stand-on-a-wall-to-retreat-to-we-cannot-draw/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“Bracing his good arm against”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-kelsey/bracing-his-good-arm-against/)

[Anne Kelsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-kelsey/)

> [“He tightened his grip. “I’m not good enough for you, Pidge. That doesn’t mean I don’t trust you, I’m just bracing for the inevitable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/he-tightened-his-grip-i-m-not-good-enough-for-you-pidge-that-doesn-t/)

[Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/)

> [“If I’m not bracing for the next bad thing, how will I be ready when it comes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-kinsman/if-i-m-not-bracing-for-the-next-bad-thing-how-will-i-be-ready-when-it/)

[Kat Kinsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-kinsman/)

> [“Danger has a bracing effect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/danger-has-a-bracing-effect/)

[Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/)

> [“Brace yourselves,” the driver shouts from the front. “We’re going through the wall.” I grab one of the handles above my head, bracing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-mcgowan/brace-yourselves-the-driver-shouts-from-the-front-we-re-going-through/)

[Maureen McGowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-mcgowan/)

> [If I "try" to play, I fail; if I force the play, I crush it; if I race, I trip. Any time I stiffen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/if-i-try-to-play-i-fail-if-i-force-the-play-i-crush-it-if-i-race-i/)

[Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/)

> [“Much of what we call evil can often be converted into a bracing and tonic good by a simple change of the sufferer's inner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/much-of-what-we-call-evil-can-often-be-converted-into-a-bracing-and/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [...why did Plato say that poets should be chased out of the republic? Precisely because every poet and every artist is an antisocial being.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/why-did-plato-say-that-poets-should-be-chased-out-of-the-republic/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come indirectly through accident, except the phonograph. No, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-never-did-anything-worth-doing-by-accident-nor-did-any-of-my/)

[Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/)

> [My mama taught me that anything worth doing in life should be a little scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-doing-in-life-should-be-a/)

[Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/)

> [Anything worth doing hurts a little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/anything-worth-doing-hurts-a-little/)

[Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/)

> [Anything worth doing does not have to be done perfectly - at first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-blanchard/anything-worth-doing-does-not-have-to-be-done-perfectly-at-first/)

[Ken Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-blanchard/)

> [Anything worth doing is going to be difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fauja-singh/anything-worth-doing-is-going-to-be-difficult/)

[Fauja Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fauja-singh/)

## More by Arnold Bennett

> [The chances are that you have already come to believe that happiness is unattainable. But men have attained it. And they have attained it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-chances-are-that-you-have-already-come-to-believe-that-happiness/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [Good taste is better than bad taste, but bad taste is better than no taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-taste-is-better-than-bad-taste-but-bad-taste-is-better-than-no/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [To write is to make oneself the echo of what cannot cease speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/to-write-is-to-make-oneself-the-echo-of-what-cannot-cease-speaking/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [The parents exist to teach the child, but also they must learn what the child has to teach them; and the child has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-parents-exist-to-teach-the-child-but-also-they-must-learn-what/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-gain-in-self-confidence-of-having-accomplished-a-tiresome-labour/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [A man of sixty has spent twenty years in bed and over three years in eating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/a-man-of-sixty-has-spent-twenty-years-in-bed-and-over-three-years-in/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [“What then? Are we only to buy the books that we read? The question has merely to be thus bluntly put, and it answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/what-then-are-we-only-to-buy-the-books-that-we-read-the-question-has/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [The most important preliminary to the task of arranging one's life so that one may live fully and comfortably within one's daily budget of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-most-important-preliminary-to-the-task-of-arranging-one-s-life-so/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [You are not in charge of the universe; you are in charge of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/you-are-not-in-charge-of-the-universe-you-are-in-charge-of-yourself/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [“When one has thoroughly got imbued into one's head the leading truth that nothing happens without a cause, one grows not only large-minded, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/when-one-has-thoroughly-got-imbued-into-one-s-head-the-leading-truth/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/any-change-even-a-change-for-the-better-is-always-accompanied-by/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [“The public is a great actuality, like war. If you are a creative and creating artist, you cannot ignore it, though it can ignore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-public-is-a-great-actuality-like-war-if-you-are-a-creative-and/)

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> [“Good clothes, when put to the test, survive a change in fortune, as a Roman arch survives the luxury of departed empire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/good-clothes-when-put-to-the-test-survive-a-change-in-fortune-as-a/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [Ninety percent of the friction of daily life is caused by tone of voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/ninety-percent-of-the-friction-of-daily-life-is-caused-by-tone-of/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

> [During a long and varied career as a bachelor, I have noticed that marriage is the death of politeness between a man and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/during-a-long-and-varied-career-as-a-bachelor-i-have-noticed-that/)

[Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

[Explore all 133 Arnold Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/)

## More Anything worth doing quotes

> [Anything worth doing is going to be difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fauja-singh/anything-worth-doing-is-going-to-be-difficult/)

[Fauja Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fauja-singh/)

> [Anything worth doing does not have to be done perfectly - at first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-blanchard/anything-worth-doing-does-not-have-to-be-done-perfectly-at-first/)

[Ken Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-blanchard/)

> [Anything worth doing hurts a little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/anything-worth-doing-hurts-a-little/)

[Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/)

> [My mama taught me that anything worth doing in life should be a little scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-doing-in-life-should-be-a/)

[Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/)

> [I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come indirectly through accident, except the phonograph. No, when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-never-did-anything-worth-doing-by-accident-nor-did-any-of-my/)

[Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/)

> [...why did Plato say that poets should be chased out of the republic? Precisely because every poet and every artist is an antisocial being.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/why-did-plato-say-that-poets-should-be-chased-out-of-the-republic/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [We believed anything worth doing was worth over-doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/we-believed-anything-worth-doing-was-worth-over-doing/)

[Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/)

> [Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/anything-worth-doing-is-worth-doing-poorly-at-first/)

[Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/)

> [Love is the only path to anything worth doing, creating or pursuing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-ogunlaru/love-is-the-only-path-to-anything-worth-doing-creating-or-pursuing/)

[Rasheed Ogunlaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-ogunlaru/)

> [Anything worth doing, is worth doing all the way. Just know you'll have to live with all the choices that you make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/anything-worth-doing-is-worth-doing-all-the-way-just-know-you-ll-have/)

[Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/)

> [Anything worth doing in this world is incredibly difficult to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/anything-worth-doing-in-this-world-is-incredibly-difficult-to-do/)

[Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/)

> [No one ever did anything worth doing unless they were prepared to go on with it long after it became something of a bore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-v-steere/no-one-ever-did-anything-worth-doing-unless-they-were-prepared-to-go/)

[Douglas V. Steere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-v-steere/)

> [Anything worth doing always starts as a bad idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/anything-worth-doing-always-starts-as-a-bad-idea/)

[Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/)

> [Take big bites. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/take-big-bites-anything-worth-doing-is-worth-overdoing/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing. Moderation is for cowards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seal/anything-in-life-worth-doing-is-worth-overdoing-moderation-is-for/)

[Seal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seal/)

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