--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sitting around idly contemplating doesn't…" description: "\"Sitting around idly contemplating doesn't produce much. In work you can discipline your attention, forget about your misery.\" — Frederick Lenz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/frederick-lenz-8_attention_sitting-around-idly-contemplating-doesn_1574008.jpg" --- # Sitting around idly contemplating doesn't produce much. In… ![“Sitting around idly contemplating doesn't produce much. In work you can discipline your attention, forget about your misery.” quote by Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/frederick-lenz-8_attention_sitting-around-idly-contemplating-doesn_1574008.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/frederick-lenz-8_attention_sitting-around-idly-contemplating-doesn_1574008.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f2/frederick-lenz-8_attention_sitting-around-idly-contemplating-doesn_1574008.jpg) > “Sitting around idly contemplating doesn't produce much. In work you can discipline your attention, forget about your misery.” [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Discipline of attention in work replaces idle contemplation and alleviates suffering. **In simple terms:** Focused work reduces suffering. Key Takeaway Channel attention into purposeful work. Themes discipline productivity mindfulness Mood determined reflective Type motivational practical When to use this quote - office tasks - creative projects - study sessions Key Concepts attention management psychological resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you structure work to stay focused? - What distractions most often derail you? A Different Perspective May not eliminate underlying emotional issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Mindfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindfulness/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) ## Related quotes > [I do not like sitting idly by when something clearly isn't right. 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Are you sitting around and thinking a lot of negative thoughts? These injure the subtle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-have-to-look-at-your-own-thought-forms-are-you-sitting-around-and/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Trying to micromanage the perfect vacation is always a disaster. That leads to terrible times. If you get lost and you just end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/trying-to-micromanage-the-perfect-vacation-is-always-a-disaster-that/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [I think that's part of being a comedy writer. You have to be confident. If you're sitting around worrying about, like, oh my God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mandel/i-think-that-s-part-of-being-a-comedy-writer-you-have-to-be-confident/) [David Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mandel/) > [I don't want to be elected president to sit around and see gridlock just become so dominant that people literally decline in their lives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-don-t-want-to-be-elected-president-to-sit-around-and-see-gridlock/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [... Andres Segovia literally created the genre of classical guitar, which hadn't existed before around 1910. There was flamenco, which he borrowed from, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mcguinn/andres-segovia-literally-created-the-genre-of-classical-guitar-which/) [Roger McGuinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mcguinn/) > [The television set's on while the family's sitting around having dinner or talking. Nobody's watching TV; it's there; they're aware of it, but they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-television-set-s-on-while-the-family-s-sitting-around-having/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I've prided myself on being in excellent condition-as good as any man in my profession. Now this doesn't come from sitting around on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilt-chamberlain/i-ve-prided-myself-on-being-in-excellent-condition-as-good-as-any-man/) [Wilt Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilt-chamberlain/) > [I bought a house, it's a two bedroom house, but I think it's up to me to decide how many bedrooms there are. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-bought-a-house-it-s-a-two-bedroom-house-but-i-think-it-s-up-to-me/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I find acting tough, but sitting around chatting - that's easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-frost/i-find-acting-tough-but-sitting-around-chatting-that-s-easy/) [Nick Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-frost/) > [Americans are curious about the texture of everyday life in the Middle East because they rarely get to see it. I wanted readers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annia-ciezadlo/americans-are-curious-about-the-texture-of-everyday-life-in-the/) [Annia Ciezadlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annia-ciezadlo/) > [The most successful people in this world recognize that taking chances to get what they want is much more productive than sitting around being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harvey/the-most-successful-people-in-this-world-recognize-that-taking/) [Steve Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harvey/) ## More by Frederick Lenz > [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You can draw power from everything in your life. In order to do that, everything has to be set up in a proper way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-draw-power-from-everything-in-your-life-in-order-to-do-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. 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Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The sound man, immune as to a sacrifice of straw dogs, faces the passing human generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-sound-man-immune-as-to-a-sacrifice-of-straw-dogs-faces-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Karma means changing planes of reality or changing fields of attention. There will be perhaps a resulting physical action stemming from the change of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-means-changing-planes-of-reality-or-changing-fields-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Why waste your time being around people who drag you down? You don't live forever, at least in this life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/why-waste-your-time-being-around-people-who-drag-you-down-you-don-t/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Everybody here is so caught up in the game of life they don't see death. They don't see beyond their deaths. They are on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everybody-here-is-so-caught-up-in-the-game-of-life-they-don-t-see/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Explore all 4,399 Frederick Lenz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. 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