--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: work consists of whatever a body is…" description: "\"“work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”\" — Dan Ariely" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/dan-ariely-1899_playful_work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obli_1296853.png" --- # work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and… ![“work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” quote by Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/dan-ariely-1899_playful_work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obli_1296853.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/dan-ariely-1899_playful_work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obli_1296853.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/dan-ariely-1899_playful_work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obli_1296853.png) > ““work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”” [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts obligatory work with voluntary play, highlighting that play is defined by freedom from duty. **In simple terms:** Work is duty; play is freedom. Key Takeaway Value play as a source of intrinsic motivation. Themes work play obligation freedom motivation Mood lighthearted reflective practical Type philosophical psychological inspirational When to use this quote - workplace design - education curricula - time‑management coaching - recreational planning Key Concepts behavioral economics psychology human motivation leisure choice Questions to Reflect On - How can you incorporate play into daily routines? - What obligations could be reframed as enjoyable? A Different Perspective Play may not be feasible for all due to constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Playful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playful/) ## Related quotes > [Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obliged-to-do-play-consists-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“he would now have comprehended that work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists of whaterver a body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/he-would-now-have-comprehended-that-work-consists-of-whatever-a-body/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The primary contention is that man consists of body, soul and spirit and that each of these needs to be acknowledged and satisfied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-bayes/the-primary-contention-is-that-man-consists-of-body-soul-and-spirit/) Kenneth Bayes > [The future of work consists of learning a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/the-future-of-work-consists-of-learning-a-living/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [My work consists of two parts: of the one which is here, and of everything which I have not written. And precisely this second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/my-work-consists-of-two-parts-of-the-one-which-is-here-and-of/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Play in curiosity is where everything happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zuckerman/play-in-curiosity-is-where-everything-happens/) [Andrew Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zuckerman/) > [I remember from my school days Archimedes jumping into his bath and displacing water and coming up with his famous principle, and of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marsh/i-remember-from-my-school-days-archimedes-jumping-into-his-bath-and/) [James Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marsh/) > [Play cannot be defined, because in play all definitions slither, dance, combine, break apart, and recombine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/play-cannot-be-defined-because-in-play-all-definitions-slither-dance/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [The playfulness that I talk about comes very slowly. You cannot just jump out of your seriousness which you have accumulated for lives. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-playfulness-that-i-talk-about-comes-very-slowly-you-cannot-just/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The playful search for beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-zeisel/the-playful-search-for-beauty/) [Eva Zeisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-zeisel/) > [The opposite of play is not work—the opposite of play is depression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-opposite-of-play-is-not-work-the-opposite-of-play-is-depression/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think Deborah Harry has a really sexy, cool and quite playful sex-kitten kind of style I really like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/i-think-deborah-harry-has-a-really-sexy-cool-and-quite-playful-sex/) [Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/) > [I'm always trying to have a good time on set because that's when things happen. That's when you're playful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-always-trying-to-have-a-good-time-on-set-because-that-s-when/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [The American people are incredibly generous and even playful when you open yourself up and feed the media beast until it goes away satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/the-american-people-are-incredibly-generous-and-even-playful-when-you/) [Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/) > [My preference is for people who come to rehearsal and get into the ring. I like a muscular actor who's playful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mantello/my-preference-is-for-people-who-come-to-rehearsal-and-get-into-the/) [Joe Mantello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mantello/) ## More by Dan Ariely > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [ “\[..\] we human beings are ready and willing to steal something that does not explicitly reference monetary value - that is, something that lacks… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/we-human-beings-are-ready-and-willing-to-steal-something-that-does/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [It is true that from a behavioral economics perspective we are fallible, easily confused, not that smart, and often irrational. We are more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/it-is-true-that-from-a-behavioral-economics-perspective-we-are/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“Contrafreeloading,” a term coined by the animal psychologist Glen Jensen, refers to the finding that many animals prefer to earn food rather than simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/contrafreeloading-a-term-coined-by-the-animal-psychologist-glen/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [One of the big lessons from behavioral economics is that we make decisions as a function of the environment that we're in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/one-of-the-big-lessons-from-behavioral-economics-is-that-we-make/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Not all debt is bad. From time to time we should get into debt when there's a good reason for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/not-all-debt-is-bad-from-time-to-time-we-should-get-into-debt-when/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“This result suggests that cheating is not driven by concerns about standing out. Rather, it shows that our sense of our own morality is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/this-result-suggests-that-cheating-is-not-driven-by-concerns-about/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“ONE OF THE main differences between standard and behavioral economics involves this concept of “free lunches.” According to the assumptions of standard economics, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/one-of-the-main-differences-between-standard-and-behavioral-economics/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Money is all about opportunity cost. Every time you spend on something, that's something you can't spend on something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/money-is-all-about-opportunity-cost-every-time-you-spend-on-something/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [The people that lend you money basically give you an answer based on the risk that they are willing to take. But just because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/the-people-that-lend-you-money-basically-give-you-an-answer-based-on/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“Upton Sinclair once noted, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/upton-sinclair-once-noted-it-is-difficult-to-get-a-man-to-understand/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [If you get people to feel that they are putting something, that they are creating it and so on, their love for the project…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-get-people-to-feel-that-they-are-putting-something-that-they/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [If I gave you now, $10 as a gift, how happy would you be? Would you be happy, is the marginal $10, the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-i-gave-you-now-10-as-a-gift-how-happy-would-you-be-would-you-be/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Imagine you have six loans, small to huge. People want to close loans and because of that, they try to pay off the small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/imagine-you-have-six-loans-small-to-huge-people-want-to-close-loans/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [“he started by selling his Porsche Boxster and buying a Toyota Prius in its place.4 “I don’t want to live the life of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/he-started-by-selling-his-porsche-boxster-and-buying-a-toyota-prius/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) [Explore all 198 Dan Ariely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) ## More Playful quotes > [My preference is for people who come to rehearsal and get into the ring. I like a muscular actor who's playful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mantello/my-preference-is-for-people-who-come-to-rehearsal-and-get-into-the/) [Joe Mantello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mantello/) > [The American people are incredibly generous and even playful when you open yourself up and feed the media beast until it goes away satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/the-american-people-are-incredibly-generous-and-even-playful-when-you/) [Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/) > [I'm always trying to have a good time on set because that's when things happen. That's when you're playful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-always-trying-to-have-a-good-time-on-set-because-that-s-when/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [I think Deborah Harry has a really sexy, cool and quite playful sex-kitten kind of style I really like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bat-for-lashes/i-think-deborah-harry-has-a-really-sexy-cool-and-quite-playful-sex/) [Bat for Lashes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bat-for-lashes/) > [The opposite of play is not work—the opposite of play is depression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-opposite-of-play-is-not-work-the-opposite-of-play-is-depression/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The playful search for beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-zeisel/the-playful-search-for-beauty/) [Eva Zeisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-zeisel/) > [The playfulness that I talk about comes very slowly. You cannot just jump out of your seriousness which you have accumulated for lives. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-playfulness-that-i-talk-about-comes-very-slowly-you-cannot-just/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Play cannot be defined, because in play all definitions slither, dance, combine, break apart, and recombine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/play-cannot-be-defined-because-in-play-all-definitions-slither-dance/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [I remember from my school days Archimedes jumping into his bath and displacing water and coming up with his famous principle, and of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-marsh/i-remember-from-my-school-days-archimedes-jumping-into-his-bath-and/) [James Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-marsh/) > [Play in curiosity is where everything happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zuckerman/play-in-curiosity-is-where-everything-happens/) [Andrew Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zuckerman/) > [Play enables us to rearrange our capacities and our very identity so that they can be used in unforeseen ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nachmanovitch/play-enables-us-to-rearrange-our-capacities-and-our-very-identity-so/) [Stephen Nachmanovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nachmanovitch/) > [All this world is but a play... be thou the joyful player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williamson/all-this-world-is-but-a-play-be-thou-the-joyful-player/) Robin Williamson > [“Of all animal species, humans are the biggest players of all. We are built to play and built through play. When we play, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-brown/of-all-animal-species-humans-are-the-biggest-players-of-all-we-are/) [Stuart Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-brown/) > [Hullraisers' and 'Little Mon' both have a joyful, playful tone and you believe that these women really are friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-beaumont/hullraisers-and-little-mon-both-have-a-joyful-playful-tone-and-you/) [Lucy Beaumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-beaumont/) > [Now it is characteristic of play that one plays without reason and there must be no reason for it. Play is its own good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/now-it-is-characteristic-of-play-that-one-plays-without-reason-and/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) [Browse all 249 Playful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Ariely" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obliged-to-do-and-that-play/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Playful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obliged-to-do-and-that-play/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/dan-ariely-1899_playful_work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obli_1296853.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/dan-ariely-1899_playful_work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obli_1296853.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/dan-ariely-1899_playful_work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obli_1296853.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists of whatever a body is not obliged…” — Dan Ariely", "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": "Dan Ariely", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“work consists of whatever a body...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obliged-to-do-and-that-play/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/work-consists-of-whatever-a-body-is-obliged-to-do-and-that-play/#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 } } ] } ```