--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is too bad if you have to do…" description: "\"It is too bad if you have to do everything upon reflection and can't do anything from early habit.\" — Georg C. Lichtenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d3/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_habit_it-is-too-bad-if-you-have-to-do-everythi_387602.png" --- # It is too bad if you have to do everything upon reflection… ![“It is too bad if you have to do everything upon reflection and can't do anything from early habit.” quote by Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d3/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_habit_it-is-too-bad-if-you-have-to-do-everythi_387602.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d3/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_habit_it-is-too-bad-if-you-have-to-do-everythi_387602.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d3/georg-c-lichtenberg-1087_habit_it-is-too-bad-if-you-have-to-do-everythi_387602.png) > “It is too bad if you have to do everything upon reflection and can't do anything from early habit.” [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Relying on reflection alone hinders action; habits enable early, effortless behavior. **In simple terms:** Habits allow quick action without overthinking. Key Takeaway Build good habits, act early. Themes habit reflection action efficiency Mood analytical pragmatic Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily routines - learning new skills - decision making Key Concepts behavioral psychology self‑regulation Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn reflection into habit? - When is reflection essential? A Different Perspective Habits can become rigid and limit flexibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-reflection-3502399/) [Early Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-habit-1064220/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Reflection Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection-early-1186749/) [Self-Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-awareness-2/) ## Related quotes > [I learned capacity for self-reflection very early, finding it through interior monologues that books are so good at and that visual media is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-learned-capacity-for-self-reflection-very-early-finding-it-through/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I had developed, early on, the habit of low expectations, and of letting my life be directed by whatever person happened to come along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-maynard/i-had-developed-early-on-the-habit-of-low-expectations-and-of-letting/) [Joyce Maynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-maynard/) > [Rise early, that by habit it may become familiar, agreeable, healthy, and profitable. 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That is the origin of all wars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-l-summers/we-look-to-ourselves-to-find-the-reflection-of-others-that-is-the/) [Dahlia L. Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-l-summers/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [This means that the mind or spirit is present anywhere, because it is nowhere attached to any particular place. And it can remain present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugen-herrigel/this-means-that-the-mind-or-spirit-is-present-anywhere-because-it-is/) [Eugen Herrigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugen-herrigel/) > [Art is not a reflection of reality, it is the reality of a reflection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/art-is-not-a-reflection-of-reality-it-is-the-reality-of-a-reflection/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) ## More by Georg C. Lichtenberg > [If people should ever start to do only what is necessary millions would die of hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/if-people-should-ever-start-to-do-only-what-is-necessary-millions/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [The wisdom of providence is as much revealed in the rarity of genius, as in the circumstance that not everyone is deaf or blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/the-wisdom-of-providence-is-as-much-revealed-in-the-rarity-of-genius/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [I ceased in the year 1764 to believe that one can convince one’s opponents with arguments printed in books. It is not to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/i-ceased-in-the-year-1764-to-believe-that-one-can-convince-one-s/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Probably no invention came more easily to man than heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/probably-no-invention-came-more-easily-to-man-than-heaven/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [It is a great shame; most of our words are misused tools / which often still smell of the mud in which previous owners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/it-is-a-great-shame-most-of-our-words-are-misused-tools-which-often/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [To live when you do not want to is dreadful, but it would be even more terrible to be immortal when you did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/to-live-when-you-do-not-want-to-is-dreadful-but-it-would-be-even-more/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [He who understands the wise is wise already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/he-who-understands-the-wise-is-wise-already/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [The fruits of philosophy are the important thing, not the philosophy itself. When we ask the time, we don't want to know how watches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/the-fruits-of-philosophy-are-the-important-thing-not-the-philosophy/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [He who says he hates all kinds of flattery, and says so in earnest, has undoubtedly not as yet become acquainted with all kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/he-who-says-he-hates-all-kinds-of-flattery-and-says-so-in-earnest-has/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [One can live in this world on soothsaying but not on truth saying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/one-can-live-in-this-world-on-soothsaying-but-not-on-truth-saying/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Actual aristocracy cannot be abolished by any law: all the law can do is decree how it is to be imparted and who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/actual-aristocracy-cannot-be-abolished-by-any-law-all-the-law-can-do/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [One of the greatest and also the commonest of faults is for men to believe that, because they never hear their shortcomings spoken of,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/one-of-the-greatest-and-also-the-commonest-of-faults-is-for-men-to/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [People who never have any time on their hands are those who do the least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/people-who-never-have-any-time-on-their-hands-are-those-who-do-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [An hour-glass is a reminder not only of time's quick flight, but also of the dust to which we must at last return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/an-hour-glass-is-a-reminder-not-only-of-time-s-quick-flight-but-also/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) [Explore all 295 Georg C. Lichtenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) ## More Habit quotes > [I would drink gallons of coffee a day. Even now, off caffeine, I talk faster than anyone you've ever met. I finally recognized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-would-drink-gallons-of-coffee-a-day-even-now-off-caffeine-i-talk/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/chaos-often-breeds-life-when-order-breeds-habit/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“A lot of habitually creative people have preparation rituals linked to the setting in which they choose to start their day. By putting themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/a-lot-of-habitually-creative-people-have-preparation-rituals-linked/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. 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Many people get better concentration by writing than by chanting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/it-is-a-good-practice-to-write-at-least-on-page-of-mantra-daily-many/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [I feel that between my experience and my mother's, breast cancer is a little bit like someone who lives next door. I know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/i-feel-that-between-my-experience-and-my-mother-s-breast-cancer-is-a/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/) [Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/) > [Working at home is hard. It tends to give you bad habits. 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I've read convincing interpretations of my work, and sometimes I've noticed something that I wasn't aware of, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sherman/i-don-t-analyze-what-i-m-doing-i-ve-read-convincing-interpretations/) [Cindy Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sherman/) [Browse all 4,726 Habit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is too bad if you have to do everything upon reflection and can't do anything from early habit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Georg C. 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