--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am happiest when I am idle. I could…" description: "\"“I am happiest when I am idle. I could live for months without performing any kind of labor, and at the expiration of that time I should feel fresh and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/artemus-ward-76082_happiest_i-am-happiest-when-i-am-idle-i-could-liv_3036612.jpg" --- # I am happiest when I am idle. I could live for months… ![“I am happiest when I am idle. I could live for months without performing any kind of labor, and at the expiration of that time I should feel fresh and vigorous enough to go right on in the same way for numerous more months.” quote by Artemus Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/artemus-ward-76082_happiest_i-am-happiest-when-i-am-idle-i-could-liv_3036612.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/artemus-ward-76082_happiest_i-am-happiest-when-i-am-idle-i-could-liv_3036612.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/artemus-ward-76082_happiest_i-am-happiest-when-i-am-idle-i-could-liv_3036612.jpg) > ““I am happiest when I am idle. I could live for months without performing any kind of labor, and at the expiration of that time I should feel fresh and vigorous enough to go right on in the same way for numerous more months.”” [Artemus Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artemus-ward/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding happiness in idleness suggests that rest and lack of forced activity can rejuvenate the spirit, allowing one to continue with sustained vigor. **In simple terms:** Idle time can refresh you. Key Takeaway Embrace periods of purposeful rest. Themes happiness idleness renewal productivity balance Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - Creative work - long projects - personal downtime - health routines Key Concepts Philosophy of leisure self-care Questions to Reflect On - What activities recharge you? - How much idle time feels optimal? A Different Perspective Too much idleness can lead to stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feel Fresh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-fresh-290327/) [Happiest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiest/) [Happiest Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiest-idle-4985037/) [Idle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idle/) [Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness/) [Labor Expiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor-expiration-4985038/) [Leisure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leisure/) [Live Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-months-1866163/) ## Related quotes > [I said, to be a New Yorker you have to live here for six months, and if at the end of the six months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/i-said-to-be-a-new-yorker-you-have-to-live-here-for-six-months-and-if/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [“No man, even if he is sixty yrs of age ought to live more than three months at a time from his family...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-withey/no-man-even-if-he-is-sixty-yrs-of-age-ought-to-live-more-than-three/) [Lynne Withey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-withey/) > [It is up to me now to choose how to live out the months that remain to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/it-is-up-to-me-now-to-choose-how-to-live-out-the-months-that-remain/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [You live these three months in this reality, in this dark reality. You don't want to do those films every year because they're taxing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-diesel/you-live-these-three-months-in-this-reality-in-this-dark-reality-you/) [Vin Diesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-diesel/) > [Usually, you can live very well for two, three months, then you're in trouble. Every coach, I think, is like this. For two months,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurizio-sarri/usually-you-can-live-very-well-for-two-three-months-then-you-re-in/) [Maurizio Sarri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurizio-sarri/) > [In convent, I live for 4 months in a broom closet. I do not rot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helena/in-convent-i-live-for-4-months-in-a-broom-closet-i-do-not-rot/) [Helena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helena/) > [I can live for two months on a good compliment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-can-live-for-two-months-on-a-good-compliment/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Sometimes I think that idlers seem to be a special class for whom nothing can be planned, plead as one will with them -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/sometimes-i-think-that-idlers-seem-to-be-a-special-class-for-whom/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [One is not idle because one is absorbed. There is both visible and invisible labor. To contemplate is to toil, to think is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/one-is-not-idle-because-one-is-absorbed-there-is-both-visible-and/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He who saddens at thought of idleness cannot be idle, / And he's awake who thinks himself asleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/he-who-saddens-at-thought-of-idleness-cannot-be-idle-and-he-s-awake/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Rather do what is nothing to the purpose than be idle; that the devil may find thee doing. The bird that sits is easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/rather-do-what-is-nothing-to-the-purpose-than-be-idle-that-the-devil/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [An idle life always produces varied inclinations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucan/an-idle-life-always-produces-varied-inclinations/) [Lucan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucan/) > [The idle brain is the devil's playground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-lange/the-idle-brain-is-the-devil-s-playground/) [Eric Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-lange/) > [On a mission your worst enemy is idle time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nipsey-hussle/on-a-mission-your-worst-enemy-is-idle-time/) [Nipsey Hussle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nipsey-hussle/) > [“Reality has a tendency to reveal itself when man is idle, and so it is because of this that idleness is often regarded as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vd/reality-has-a-tendency-to-reveal-itself-when-man-is-idle-and-so-it-is/) [VD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vd/) ## More by Artemus Ward > [It ain't so much the things we don't know that get us in trouble. It's the things we know that ain't so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artemus-ward/it-ain-t-so-much-the-things-we-don-t-know-that-get-us-in-trouble-it-s/) [Artemus Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artemus-ward/) > [“I have never heard any of your lectures, but from what I can learn I should say that for people who like the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artemus-ward/i-have-never-heard-any-of-your-lectures-but-from-what-i-can-learn-i/) [Artemus Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artemus-ward/) [Explore all 3 Artemus Ward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artemus-ward/) ## More Happiest quotes > [“Truth is, I’m generally happiest when it’s just me. It’s okay to be madly in love with yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/truth-is-i-m-generally-happiest-when-it-s-just-me-it-s-okay-to-be/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I'm the happiest when I'm in the studio, not on a beauty parade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fka-twigs/i-m-the-happiest-when-i-m-in-the-studio-not-on-a-beauty-parade/) [FKA twigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fka-twigs/) > [Happy (if mortals can be) is the man,Who, not by priest but Reason, rules his span:Reason, to its possessor a sure guide,Reason, a thorn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chatterton/happy-if-mortals-can-be-is-the-man-who-not-by-priest-but-reason-rules/) [Thomas Chatterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chatterton/) > [Most happy is he, who is entirely self-reliant, and who centres all his requirements in himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/most-happy-is-he-who-is-entirely-self-reliant-and-who-centres-all-his/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [I'm quite a happy person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-comer/i-m-quite-a-happy-person/) [Jodie Comer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-comer/) > [I've got so much to be happy about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-ve-got-so-much-to-be-happy-about/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [It may sound too good to be true, but once you've seen the happiest people in your life who have nothing, you really start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-mycoskie/it-may-sound-too-good-to-be-true-but-once-you-ve-seen-the-happiest/) [Blake Mycoskie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-mycoskie/) > [The happiest people among us are those who can sleep when they want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-sufyan-ibn-harb/the-happiest-people-among-us-are-those-who-can-sleep-when-they-want-to/) [Abu Sufyan ibn Harb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-sufyan-ibn-harb/) > [“A man is always in a hurry to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/a-man-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-happy/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [The happiest she'd ever been was with him, and the saddest. Was that the true test of love?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/the-happiest-she-d-ever-been-was-with-him-and-the-saddest-was-that/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [“My family was poor, but my childhood days in Mizonokuchi were the happiest of my life. Even now, when I think about my hometown,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/my-family-was-poor-but-my-childhood-days-in-mizonokuchi-were-the/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/the-happiest-people-in-the-world-are-those-who-feel-absolutely/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [“She loves the sun and the sea. She is her happiest there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-barolini/she-loves-the-sun-and-the-sea-she-is-her-happiest-there/) [Helen Barolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-barolini/) > [No, I'm happy to go on living the life I've chosen. I'm a university teacher and I like my job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-tabucchi/no-i-m-happy-to-go-on-living-the-life-i-ve-chosen-i-m-a-university/) [Antonio Tabucchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-tabucchi/) > [I've had a good life. Enough happiness, enough success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-landon/i-ve-had-a-good-life-enough-happiness-enough-success/) [Michael Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-landon/) [Browse all 880 Happiest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am happiest when I am idle. 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