--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you want to do things, do things." description: "\"If you want to do things, do things.\" — Grace Paley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/grace-paley-3243_ability_if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things-20485_2048525.png" --- # If you want to do things, do things. ![“If you want to do things, do things.” quote by Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/grace-paley-3243_ability_if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things-20485_2048525.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/grace-paley-3243_ability_if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things-20485_2048525.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/grace-paley-3243_ability_if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things-20485_2048525.png) > “If you want to do things, do things.” [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Take action directly rather than hesitating; do what you intend. **In simple terms:** Act instead of just planning. Key Takeaway Stop procrastinating and start doing. Themes action productivity initiative Mood determined energetic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - project management - personal goal setting - creative writing Key Concepts behavioral economics self‑efficacy Questions to Reflect On - What small step can you take today? - How do you prioritize tasks? A Different Perspective Action without reflection can lead to wasted effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Things Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-things/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-things/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [He knew the things that were and the things that would be and the things that had been before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/he-knew-the-things-that-were-and-the-things-that-would-be-and-the/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/i-would-rather-regret-the-things-that-i-have-done-than-the-things/) [Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/) > [“Don't do things that everyone can do,Do things that everyone cannot do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya/don-t-do-things-that-everyone-can-do-do-things-that-everyone-cannot-do/) [surya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya/) > [If you want the things people don't have, you have to do the things other people will not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/if-you-want-the-things-people-don-t-have-you-have-to-do-the-things/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [I only want 3 things: See you. Hug you. Kiss you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shruti/i-only-want-3-things-see-you-hug-you-kiss-you/) [Shruti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shruti/) > [Never do things others can do and will do if there are things others cannot do or will not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-earhart/never-do-things-others-can-do-and-will-do-if-there-are-things-others/) [Amelia Earhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-earhart/) > [We must not think of the things we could do with, but only of the things that we can't do without.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/we-must-not-think-of-the-things-we-could-do-with-but-only-of-the/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [Linking up the things you were with the things you become is what growing up is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-brooks/linking-up-the-things-you-were-with-the-things-you-become-is-what/) [James L. Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-brooks/) > [The things I can't do are the things I have yet to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-things-i-can-t-do-are-the-things-i-have-yet-to-learn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You should try these things, for these things are fun, and fun is good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/you-should-try-these-things-for-these-things-are-fun-and-fun-is-good/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [Don’t be against things so much as for things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colonel-sanders/don-t-be-against-things-so-much-as-for-things/) [Colonel Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colonel-sanders/) > [Things... well, things suck sometimes. And sometimes you can fix it. And sometimes you can't. It's just the way it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-scott/things-well-things-suck-sometimes-and-sometimes-you-can-fix-it-and/) [Elizabeth Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-scott/) > [Words represent things but not the things itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewshycrazyness/words-represent-things-but-not-the-things-itself/) [EwshyCrazyness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewshycrazyness/) > [“I'd rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/i-d-rather-regret-the-things-i-have-done-than-the-things-that-i-haven/) [Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/) > [So many things I'm not, and so few things I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/so-many-things-i-m-not-and-so-few-things-i-am/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) ## More by Grace Paley > [The only recognizable feature of hope is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-only-recognizable-feature-of-hope-is-action/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Near home I ran through our park, where I had aired my children on weekends and late-summer afternoons. I stopped at the northeast playground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/near-home-i-ran-through-our-park-where-i-had-aired-my-children-on/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Old age is not a good thing. It can be really hard, and those of us who have it a little easier should keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/old-age-is-not-a-good-thing-it-can-be-really-hard-and-those-of-us-who/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Well, by now you must know yourself, honey, whatever you do, life don't stop. It only sits a minute and dreams a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/well-by-now-you-must-know-yourself-honey-whatever-you-do-life-don-t/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Who cares?' said Judy, who didn't care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/who-cares-said-judy-who-didn-t-care/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [The women's movement was coming, but I didn't know it in 1956-1957, when I began to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-women-s-movement-was-coming-but-i-didn-t-know-it-in-1956-1957/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [A joke is necessary at this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/a-joke-is-necessary-at-this-time/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Sometimes, walking with a friend, I forget the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/sometimes-walking-with-a-friend-i-forget-the-world/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [It wasn't until I lived in the countryside that I began to understand the life of the countryside and the people in it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/it-wasn-t-until-i-lived-in-the-countryside-that-i-began-to-understand/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I've started many novels, and they all ended on page seven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-ve-started-many-novels-and-they-all-ended-on-page-seven/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > […I go through a story for lies. I might discover the lie of trying to show off. Sometimes they’re lies of character. Sometimes they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-go-through-a-story-for-lies-i-might-discover-the-lie-of-trying-to/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I didn't intend. The word "intend" is the wrong word for what I do. It's just that it's something you do, and you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-didn-t-intend-the-word-intend-is-the-wrong-word-for-what-i-do-it-s/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“... plot, the absolute line between two points which I've always despised. Not for literary reasons, but because it takes all hope away. Everyone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/plot-the-absolute-line-between-two-points-which-i-ve-always-despised/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [You come to doing what you do by not being able to do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-come-to-doing-what-you-do-by-not-being-able-to-do-something/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [When I was about twenty-one, I published a few poems. Maybe I wrote a couple of stories before, but I really began to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/when-i-was-about-twenty-one-i-published-a-few-poems-maybe-i-wrote-a/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) [Explore all 135 Grace Paley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [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/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you want to do things, do things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Grace Paley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/grace-paley-3243_ability_if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things-20485_2048525.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/grace-paley-3243_ability_if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things-20485_2048525.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de9/grace-paley-3243_ability_if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things-20485_2048525.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you want to do things, do things.” — Grace Paley", "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": "Grace Paley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you want to do things,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/if-you-want-to-do-things-do-things/#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 } } ] } ```