--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I am happy I am like a cat, sleek…" description: "\"When I am happy I am like a cat, sleek and purring, quite useless. It is when I am unhappy, with an ache perhaps in my heart, that I do my finest work...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bee/barbara-la-marr-79678_ache_when-i-am-happy-i-am-like-a-cat-sleek-an_211875.png" --- # When I am happy I am like a cat, sleek and purring, quite… ![“When I am happy I am like a cat, sleek and purring, quite useless. It is when I am unhappy, with an ache perhaps in my heart, that I do my finest work.” quote by Barbara La Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bee/barbara-la-marr-79678_ache_when-i-am-happy-i-am-like-a-cat-sleek-an_211875.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bee/barbara-la-marr-79678_ache_when-i-am-happy-i-am-like-a-cat-sleek-an_211875.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bee/barbara-la-marr-79678_ache_when-i-am-happy-i-am-like-a-cat-sleek-an_211875.png) > “When I am happy I am like a cat, sleek and purring, quite useless. It is when I am unhappy, with an ache perhaps in my heart, that I do my finest work.” Barbara La Marr ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker contrasts feeling idle and content when happy with productive, purposeful effort when experiencing emotional pain. **In simple terms:** Happiness leads to idleness; sorrow fuels work. Key Takeaway Channel discomfort into creativity. Themes creativity emotion productivity self-awareness Mood reflective melancholic inspirational Type literary philosophical motivational When to use this quote - writing - painting - music composition - problem solving - entrepreneurship Key Concepts psychology motivation artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How can you harness discomfort without glorifying pain? - What healthy practices support creativity? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize suffering, overlooking the value of balanced well‑being. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) ## Related quotes > [“Helen Rowland once said, “A man is like a cat; chase him and he will run.  Sit still and ignore him and he’ll come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-braswell/helen-rowland-once-said-a-man-is-like-a-cat-chase-him-and-he-will-run/) [Leslie Braswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-braswell/) > [A man is like a cat; chase him and he will run - sit still and ignore him and he'll come purring at your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/a-man-is-like-a-cat-chase-him-and-he-will-run-sit-still-and-ignore/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [What do I care about the purring of one who cannot love, like the cat?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-do-i-care-about-the-purring-of-one-who-cannot-love-like-the-cat/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“I want to be happy. Like, seventy to eighty percent of the time. I want to be actively, thoughtfully happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/i-want-to-be-happy-like-seventy-to-eighty-percent-of-the-time-i-want/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [People come up to me all the time and say, 'I just found out about you!' Part of me is happy, and part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-eichner/people-come-up-to-me-all-the-time-and-say-i-just-found-out-about-you/) [Billy Eichner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-eichner/) > [I get so happy to see someone like Jodie descend into absurdity and be human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sarsgaard/i-get-so-happy-to-see-someone-like-jodie-descend-into-absurdity-and/) [Peter Sarsgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sarsgaard/) > [I want to be happy and be all like yay rainbows but no...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-to-be-happy-and-be-all-like-yay-rainbows-but-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Can become angry or frustrated after being happy in like 1 second.. It's actually not good. I was never like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/can-become-angry-or-frustrated-after-being-happy-in-like-1-second-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I was back in Italy my friends ask me about MLS. I say I am happy, I like it here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-giovinco/when-i-was-back-in-italy-my-friends-ask-me-about-mls-i-say-i-am-happy/) [Sebastian Giovinco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-giovinco/) > [I'm still happy, I like this life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-na/i-m-still-happy-i-like-this-life/) [Li Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-na/) > [Best thing that's ever happened to me. I focus so much less on me. It's made me content, it's made me happy. It's like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-sims/best-thing-that-s-ever-happened-to-me-i-focus-so-much-less-on-me-it-s/) [Molly Sims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-sims/) > [You deserve to be happy always, not only sometimes but always. I'd like to be the one to make that happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucia-espino/you-deserve-to-be-happy-always-not-only-sometimes-but-always-i-d-like/) Lucia Espino > [I'm very happy. I like my work and I like the various aspects of it - going around the world, teaching the gospel according…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/i-m-very-happy-i-like-my-work-and-i-like-the-various-aspects-of-it/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [“I’m not exactly curing cancer, here, but it makes people happy, and I like to have standards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-knox/i-m-not-exactly-curing-cancer-here-but-it-makes-people-happy-and-i/) Annie Knox > [Just be you. Do what you love. I've learned that in the end, you can't make everyone happy no matter what you say or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/just-be-you-do-what-you-love-i-ve-learned-that-in-the-end-you-can-t/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) ## More by Barbara La Marr > [I like my men like I like my roses by the dozen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-la-marr/i-like-my-men-like-i-like-my-roses-by-the-dozen/) Barbara La Marr > [With God in the Joy of Beauty and Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-la-marr/with-god-in-the-joy-of-beauty-and-youth/) Barbara La Marr Explore all 3 Barbara La Marr quotes ## More Ache quotes > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/when-we-went-into-the-ocean-i-watched-his-body-as-he-dove-into-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/a-woman-who-lives-with-the-stress-of-an-overwhelmed-schedule-will/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I had never experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-was-not-wounded-in-any-part-of-my-body-but-i-had-never-experienced/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [as we acquire new aches and new pains, our health care is, of necessity, being supplied by internists, cardiologists, dermatologists, podiatrists, urologists, periodontists, gynecologists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/as-we-acquire-new-aches-and-new-pains-our-health-care-is-of-necessity/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [Jamie enjoyed solitude, but loneliness was a constant ache.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/jamie-enjoyed-solitude-but-loneliness-was-a-constant-ache/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) > [Some men make money not for the sake of living, but ache In the blindness of greed and live just for their fortune's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/some-men-make-money-not-for-the-sake-of-living-but-ache-in-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Staring at her face, she began to fancy her outer layer had begun to melt away while she wasn't paying attention, and something --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/staring-at-her-face-she-began-to-fancy-her-outer-layer-had-begun-to/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [O thou beautiful And unimaginable ether! and Ye multiplying masses of increased And still increasing lights! what are ye? what Is this blue wilderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/o-thou-beautiful-and-unimaginable-ether-and-ye-multiplying-masses-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [An emotion is a thought, yes, an idea, but it is also a sensation, an ache in your body. Desire, love, hate, fear, repulsion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-landay/an-emotion-is-a-thought-yes-an-idea-but-it-is-also-a-sensation-an/) [William Landay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-landay/) > [He that sleeps feels not the tooth-ache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-that-sleeps-feels-not-the-tooth-ache/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I will live this day as if it is my last. …I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, Yesterday’s defeats, yesterday’s aches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/i-will-live-this-day-as-if-it-is-my-last-i-will-waste-not-a-moment/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) Browse all 489 Ache quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I am happy I am like a cat, sleek and purring, quite useless. 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