--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The tragedy of bold, forthright…" description: "\"The tragedy of bold, forthright, industrious people is that they act so continuously without much thinking, that it becomes dry and empty.\" — Brenda Ue..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/brenda-ueland-3836_dry_the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrio_965021.png" --- # The tragedy of bold, forthright, industrious people is… ![“The tragedy of bold, forthright, industrious people is that they act so continuously without much thinking, that it becomes dry and empty.” quote by Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/brenda-ueland-3836_dry_the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrio_965021.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/brenda-ueland-3836_dry_the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrio_965021.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/brenda-ueland-3836_dry_the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrio_965021.png) > “The tragedy of bold, forthright, industrious people is that they act so continuously without much thinking, that it becomes dry and empty.” [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People who act constantly without reflection become hollow, losing purpose and depth. **In simple terms:** Constant action without thought leads to emptiness. Key Takeaway Pause to reflect before acting. Themes reflection mindfulness purpose emptiness Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Workplace - creative projects - personal routines - decision making Key Concepts Existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance action with contemplation? - What habits help you stay mindful? A Different Perspective Reflection alone may not prevent burnout without structural change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [The Swiss are a neat and an industrious people, none of whom is under seventy-five years of age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-swiss-are-a-neat-and-an-industrious-people-none-of-whom-is-under/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [A virtuous and industrious people may be cheaply governed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-virtuous-and-industrious-people-may-be-cheaply-governed/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [To be thoroughly lazy is a tough job, but somebody has to do it. Industrious people build industry. Lazy people build civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuaki-tanahashi/to-be-thoroughly-lazy-is-a-tough-job-but-somebody-has-to-do-it/) [Kazuaki Tanahashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuaki-tanahashi/) > [Catch people in the act of doing something right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-blanchard/catch-people-in-the-act-of-doing-something-right/) [Ken Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-blanchard/) > [“People act in peculiar ways when forced to live together in confined places.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-act-in-peculiar-ways-when-forced-to-live-together-in-confined/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People who act against their own best interests are interesting characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-schrader/people-who-act-against-their-own-best-interests-are-interesting/) [Paul Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-schrader/) > [They say 6 million people see you when you act in a film; it may only be 600 in a play. But the effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-cusack/they-say-6-million-people-see-you-when-you-act-in-a-film-it-may-only/) [Cyril Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-cusack/) > [Success comes when people act together; failure tends to happen alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/success-comes-when-people-act-together-failure-tends-to-happen-alone/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I'm not going to pretend that I'm something I'm not just because society says celebrities should be these perfect people that have to act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulisa/i-m-not-going-to-pretend-that-i-m-something-i-m-not-just-because/) [Tulisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulisa/) > [Some people act MEAN to protect themselves from getting hurt, but once they trust you they'll show you their NICE side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/some-people-act-mean-to-protect-themselves-from-getting-hurt-but-once/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [Do people always act this way around you? (Kiara) You should have seen the reactions when I wore a League uniform. Those were actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/do-people-always-act-this-way-around-you-kiara-you-should-have-seen/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The biggest problem in life isn't the problem itself, but how people act upon it ???](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-biggest-problem-in-life-isn-t-the-problem-itself-but-how-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hate people that act like they're NEVER wrong...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerett-parker/i-hate-people-that-act-like-they-re-never-wrong/) [Jerett Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerett-parker/) > [“Don’t you think it’s a little sick the way that most of the culture denies death? It’s there all the time, and most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-cook-brendan-halpin/don-t-you-think-it-s-a-little-sick-the-way-that-most-of-the-culture/) [Trish Cook, Brendan Halpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-cook-brendan-halpin/) > [I always advise people not to act upon the advice that I give them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-always-advise-people-not-to-act-upon-the-advice-that-i-give-them/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) ## More by Brenda Ueland > [“At least I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/at-least-i-understood-that-writing-was-this-an-impulse-to-share-with/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [If I did not wear torn pants, orthopedic shoes, frantic disheveled hair, that is to say, if I did not tone down my beauty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/if-i-did-not-wear-torn-pants-orthopedic-shoes-frantic-disheveled-hair/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“\[4It is hard to be carefree when you have many anxieties. But the more you have, the more necessary it is to feel carefree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/4it-is-hard-to-be-carefree-when-you-have-many-anxieties-but-the-more/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“I will tell you what I have learned myself. For me, a long five- or six-mile walk helps. And one must go alone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/i-will-tell-you-what-i-have-learned-myself-for-me-a-long-five-or-six/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Self-trust is so important. When you launch on a story, make your neck loose, feel free, good-natured. And be lazy. Feel that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/self-trust-is-so-important-when-you-launch-on-a-story-make-your-neck/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [We start out in our lives as little children, full of light and the clearest vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/we-start-out-in-our-lives-as-little-children-full-of-light-and-the/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Inspiration comes to us slowly and quietly . prime it with a little solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/inspiration-comes-to-us-slowly-and-quietly-prime-it-with-a-little/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [... to paint with oil paints for the first time ... is like trying to make something exquisitely accurate and microscopically clear out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/to-paint-with-oil-paints-for-the-first-time-is-like-trying-to-make/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [running is the right thing to do! I am free, healthy with a good complexion. It is that automobile addict who should be ashamed:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/running-is-the-right-thing-to-do-i-am-free-healthy-with-a-good/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [The only good teachers for you are those friends who love you, who think you are interesting, or very important, or wonderfully funny; whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-only-good-teachers-for-you-are-those-friends-who-love-you-who/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [... when I am really alone some power seems to grow in me. ... Conjugality made me think of a three-legged race, where two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/when-i-am-really-alone-some-power-seems-to-grow-in-me-conjugality/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“In the same way there is much, much in all of us, but we do not know it. No one ever calls it out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/in-the-same-way-there-is-much-much-in-all-of-us-but-we-do-not-know-it/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Ideas actually begin to grow within us and come to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/when-we-are-listened-to-it-creates-us-makes-us-unfold-and-expand/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“...the best way to know the Truth or Beauty is to try to express it. And what is the purpose of existence Here or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-best-way-to-know-the-truth-or-beauty-is-to-try-to-express-it-and/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Sometimes I think of life as a process where everybody is discouraging and taking everybody else down a peg or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/sometimes-i-think-of-life-as-a-process-where-everybody-is/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) [Explore all 121 Brenda Ueland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) ## More Dry quotes > [Meanwhile someone is shining my head to get it dry to attach my top-hat to my head with toupee tape. I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [If a woman hasn't got a tiny streak of a harlot in her, she's a dry stick as a rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-a-woman-hasn-t-got-a-tiny-streak-of-a-harlot-in-her-she-s-a-dry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ When the fountains of government \[borrowing\] abundance began to dry up, when through lack of funds and the impossibility of negotiating fresh loans the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-flynn/when-the-fountains-of-government-borrowing-abundance-began-to-dry-up/) [John T. Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-flynn/) > [Maybe that was why she couldn't cry, she realized, staring dry-eyed at the ceiling. Because what was the point in crying when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/maybe-that-was-why-she-couldn-t-cry-she-realized-staring-dry-eyed-at/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [He will hear the rain before he feels it, a clicking on the dry grass, on the olive leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/he-will-hear-the-rain-before-he-feels-it-a-clicking-on-the-dry-grass/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“The cactus thrives in the desert while the fern thrives in the wetland. The fool will try to plant them in the same flowerbox.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-cactus-thrives-in-the-desert-while-the-fern-thrives-in-the/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [I had my first French meal and I never got over it. It was just marvelous. We had oysters and a lovely dry white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/i-had-my-first-french-meal-and-i-never-got-over-it-it-was-just/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/if-lawyers-are-disbarred-and-clergymen-defrocked-doesn-t-it-follow/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [I had rather be a Kitten, and cry mew, Than one of these same Meeter Ballad-mongers: I had rather heare a Brazen Candlestick turn'd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-had-rather-be-a-kitten-and-cry-mew-than-one-of-these-same-meeter/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [While traveling, I love granola bars, trail mix nuts, dry cereal and fruit for on-the-go snacks. I also try and start the day with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-rampone/while-traveling-i-love-granola-bars-trail-mix-nuts-dry-cereal-and/) [Christie Rampone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-rampone/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? I think what it means is that central to living a life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [I can do this thing called the 'eyebrow wave,' where I can move my eyebrows in a...wave-ular motion, whatever you call it. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-justice/i-can-do-this-thing-called-the-eyebrow-wave-where-i-can-move-my/) [Victoria Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-justice/) Browse all 1,339 Dry quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The tragedy of bold, forthright, industrious people is that they act so continuously without much thinking, that it becomes dry and empty.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brenda Ueland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrious-people-is-that-they-act-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dry" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrious-people-is-that-they-act-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/brenda-ueland-3836_dry_the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrio_965021.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/brenda-ueland-3836_dry_the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrio_965021.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/brenda-ueland-3836_dry_the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrio_965021.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The tragedy of bold, forthright, industrious people is that they act so continuously without much thinking…” — Brenda Ueland", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Brenda Ueland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The tragedy of bold, forthright, industrious...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrious-people-is-that-they-act-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-tragedy-of-bold-forthright-industrious-people-is-that-they-act-so/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```