--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you imagine that you will be able to…" description: "\"If you imagine that you will be able to achieve your ideal by ingeniously planning out a timetable with a pen on a piece of paper, you had better give ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/arnold-bennett-3325_able_if-you-imagine-that-you-will-be-able-to_1727366.jpg" --- # If you imagine that you will be able to achieve your ideal… ![“If you imagine that you will be able to achieve your ideal by ingeniously planning out a timetable with a pen on a piece of paper, you had better give up hope at once.If you are not prepared for discouragements and disillusions; if you will not be content with a small result for a big effort, then…” quote by Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/arnold-bennett-3325_able_if-you-imagine-that-you-will-be-able-to_1727366.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/arnold-bennett-3325_able_if-you-imagine-that-you-will-be-able-to_1727366.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/arnold-bennett-3325_able_if-you-imagine-that-you-will-be-able-to_1727366.jpg) > “If you imagine that you will be able to achieve your ideal by ingeniously planning out a timetable with a pen on a piece of paper, you had better give up hope at once.If you are not prepared for discouragements and disillusions; if you will not be content with a small result for a big effort, then do not begin. Lie down again and resume the uneasy doze which you call your existence.” [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. Planning alone cannot guarantee success; without resilience to setbacks and acceptance of modest outcomes, effort may become futile. **In simple terms:** Planning isn’t enough; you need perseverance and realistic expectations. Key Takeaway Accept setbacks, adjust goals, keep moving forward. Themes resilience realism goal setting Mood cautious determined Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - project planning - career ambitions - personal development - creative endeavors Key Concepts perseverance expectation management effort vs reward Questions to Reflect On - Are you prepared for disappointment? - How can you stay motivated when results are small? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on planning can cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discouragement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discouragement/) [Disillusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disillusion/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Planning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planning/) ## Related quotes > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [I have a timetable, but no routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/i-have-a-timetable-but-no-routine/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [President Bush said the other day the war is not about timetables. It's about winning. Hey, it worked in Florida.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/president-bush-said-the-other-day-the-war-is-not-about-timetables-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [God is bigger than time, dates, and appointments. He wants you to move through this day with a quiet heart, an inward assurance that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lessin/god-is-bigger-than-time-dates-and-appointments-he-wants-you-to-move/) [Roy Lessin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lessin/) > [So far I had been travelling alone with my handbook and my Western Railway timetable: I was happiest finding my own way and did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/so-far-i-had-been-travelling-alone-with-my-handbook-and-my-western/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [At a time when the insurgents are saying that time is working against them, my Democratic colleagues are introducing a measure to set a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-a-time-when-the-insurgents-are-saying-that-time-is-working-against/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Planning is the mother of almost every other ability. 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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? 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