---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: you can’t be permanently hysterical, so…"
description: "\"“you can’t be permanently hysterical, so you might as well not bother getting started.”\" — Jo Baker"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/jo-baker-22747_getting-started_you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-y_1822178.jpg"
---

#  you can’t be permanently hysterical, so you might as well…

![“you can’t be permanently hysterical, so you might as well not bother getting started.” quote by Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/jo-baker-22747_getting-started_you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-y_1822178.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/jo-baker-22747_getting-started_you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-y_1822178.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/jo-baker-22747_getting-started_you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-y_1822178.jpg)

> ““you can’t be permanently hysterical, so you might as well not bother getting started.””

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

## 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 suggests that intense emotional states are temporary, so it's pointless to let them prevent you from beginning tasks.

**In simple terms:** Emotions are fleeting; don't let them stop you.

Key Takeaway

Act despite temporary feelings.

Themes

motivation emotion productivity

Mood

determined reflective

Type

advice motivational

When to use this quote

- starting projects
- overcoming anxiety
- daily routines
- creative work

Key Concepts

psychology temporal affect

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you recognize when emotions are truly temporary?
- What strategies help you start despite emotional turbulence?

A Different Perspective

It may underestimate the impact of chronic stress.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Getting started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-started/)

## Related quotes

> [If you can do something about it, then why get upset? If you can't do anything about it, then why bother getting upset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/if-you-can-do-something-about-it-then-why-get-upset-if-you-can-t-do/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [You would have loved the gift I didn't bother getting you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-would-have-loved-the-gift-i-didn-t-bother-getting-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I guess that somehow I've survived as a professional guitar player. I've made it 16 years now and I feel like I'm just getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monte-pittman/i-guess-that-somehow-i-ve-survived-as-a-professional-guitar-player-i/)

Monte Pittman

> [“Amazon may be the most beguiling company that ever existed, and it is just getting started. It is both missionary and mercenary, and throughout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stone/amazon-may-be-the-most-beguiling-company-that-ever-existed-and-it-is/)

[Brad Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stone/)

> [“Running efficiently demands good technique, and running efficiently for 100 miles demands great technique. But the wonderful paradox of running is that getting started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-jurek/running-efficiently-demands-good-technique-and-running-efficiently/)

[Scott Jurek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-jurek/)

> [Older fatherhood isn't all bad: testosterone rates drop about 1% per year as men age, making them less reactive and more patient, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-kluger/older-fatherhood-isn-t-all-bad-testosterone-rates-drop-about-1-per/)

[Jeffrey Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-kluger/)

> [I saw footage of Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley just hanging out together in Memphis when they were young guys getting started at Sun,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-stuart/i-saw-footage-of-johnny-cash-and-elvis-presley-just-hanging-out/)

[Marty Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-stuart/)

> [“The Lessons of the Past  Ancient strategists provide us with modes of thinking and practical guidance that we can use in the present.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-lessons-of-the-past-ancient-strategists-provide-us-with-modes-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Getting started as a volunteer anywhere can be a challenge to a lot of people. The biggest hurdle is that people think they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-joyner-kersee/getting-started-as-a-volunteer-anywhere-can-be-a-challenge-to-a-lot/)

[Jackie Joyner-Kersee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-joyner-kersee/)

> [I think there are four or five interesting pockets where a lot of cool technology companies are getting started. Chicago is one of them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-lefkofsky/i-think-there-are-four-or-five-interesting-pockets-where-a-lot-of/)

[Eric Lefkofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-lefkofsky/)

> [If you're going to run for president as the anti-Clinton, you should know that Democrats and their media friends will do whatever it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gigot/if-you-re-going-to-run-for-president-as-the-anti-clinton-you-should/)

[Paul Gigot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gigot/)

> [I don't like the process of meeting someone and you make a film and that's it. You think you're just getting started, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-gosling/i-don-t-like-the-process-of-meeting-someone-and-you-make-a-film-and/)

[Ryan Gosling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-gosling/)

> [“In my unpleasant experience, unarmed against a knife, you’ve basically got four options. Your best bet is to run like hell, if you can.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/in-my-unpleasant-experience-unarmed-against-a-knife-you-ve-basically/)

[Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/)

> [“There’s no magic about when you start. The magic is in getting started!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vic-johnson/there-s-no-magic-about-when-you-start-the-magic-is-in-getting-started/)

[Vic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vic-johnson/)

> [People look at me like I'm on my way out of the game. I'm just getting started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmelo-anthony/people-look-at-me-like-i-m-on-my-way-out-of-the-game-i-m-just-getting/)

[Carmelo Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmelo-anthony/)

## More by Jo Baker

> [“Wherever you are in this world, the sky is still above you. Wherever you are, God still watches over you; He sees into your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/wherever-you-are-in-this-world-the-sky-is-still-above-you-wherever/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“I would ask if you miss me like I miss you, so that there is not another spot in all the world that seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/i-would-ask-if-you-miss-me-like-i-miss-you-so-that-there-is-not/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“You have no idea at all yet what you can bear!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/you-have-no-idea-at-all-yet-what-you-can-bear/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“of resentment, as he clambered into the carriage, that it was Liberty Hall for the remaining servantry until then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/of-resentment-as-he-clambered-into-the-carriage-that-it-was-liberty/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“The ladies, who had condoled so thoroughly with her during her time of grief, found it rather more difficult to participate in her happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/the-ladies-who-had-condoled-so-thoroughly-with-her-during-her-time-of/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“...too much time spent with books had not fitted her to be easy with herself, and other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/too-much-time-spent-with-books-had-not-fitted-her-to-be-easy-with/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“She wished the journey was over, but she did not want to arrive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/she-wished-the-journey-was-over-but-she-did-not-want-to-arrive/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“And when he surfaces to a cramped hand, a crick in the neck, the sunlight shifted across the floor, a sore blink, he knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/and-when-he-surfaces-to-a-cramped-hand-a-crick-in-the-neck-the/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“Mrs. Hill had changed Lyddie’s nappies, wiped her snotty nose, had nursed her through colic”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/mrs-hill-had-changed-lyddie-s-nappies-wiped-her-snotty-nose-had/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“Other, dryer customers came and went, having just stepped out of their conveyances or popped down the street from their houses in the town.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/other-dryer-customers-came-and-went-having-just-stepped-out-of-their/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“Sarah was soon lugging pasteboard boxes, paper packages and rolled samples of wallpaper. She had seen all of this before: she had daydreamed it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/sarah-was-soon-lugging-pasteboard-boxes-paper-packages-and-rolled/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [Threads that drift alone will sometimes simply twine themselves together, without need for spindle or distaff: brought into each other’s ambit, they bind themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/threads-that-drift-alone-will-sometimes-simply-twine-themselves/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [It was a thought, that. Not to attach yourself to a man, but to confront instead the open world, the wide fields of France…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/it-was-a-thought-that-not-to-attach-yourself-to-a-man-but-to-confront/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [Words had become overnight just little coins, insignificant and unfreighted, to be exchanged for ribbons, buttons, for an apple or an egg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/words-had-become-overnight-just-little-coins-insignificant-and/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

> [“Because he wanted nothing from her; this was a generous, expansive feeling, unattached to the possibility of gratification; it was the simple happiness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/because-he-wanted-nothing-from-her-this-was-a-generous-expansive/)

[Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

[Explore all 27 Jo Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/)

## More Bother quotes

> [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/)

[David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/)

> [One day I decided I would like to put a record into my system. So I picked up a record that was lying on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/one-day-i-decided-i-would-like-to-put-a-record-into-my-system-so-i/)

[Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/)

> [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think what bothers us about fighting sports isn't the damage to the athlete but the fact that you win by doing more harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gottschall/i-think-what-bothers-us-about-fighting-sports-isn-t-the-damage-to-the/)

[Jonathan Gottschall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gottschall/)

> [There is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/there-is-an-idea-that-you-can-take-the-spiritual-teachings-of-a/)

[Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/)

> ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/)

[Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/)

> [I've always been a late bloomer in some ways, and extremely precocious in other ways. When I was twenty I was living in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/i-ve-always-been-a-late-bloomer-in-some-ways-and-extremely-precocious/)

[Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/)

> [“Shut up. Stand up. Put this on. That’s right . . . if you were the kind of man who found it easy to do that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/shut-up-stand-up-put-this-on-that-s-right-if-you-were-the-kind-of-man/)

[Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/)

> [We have reached the point where we can lose a game or two and not drop out of sight in the rankings. I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lavell-edwards/we-have-reached-the-point-where-we-can-lose-a-game-or-two-and-not/)

[LaVell Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lavell-edwards/)

> [I've said I want the meanest, toughest SOB I can find to protect America. And so that's why Trump's tone doesn't bother me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/i-ve-said-i-want-the-meanest-toughest-sob-i-can-find-to-protect/)

[Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/)

> [I was a loner as a child. I had an imaginary friend - I didn't bother with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-was-a-loner-as-a-child-i-had-an-imaginary-friend-i-didn-t-bother/)

[George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/)

> [This hype word bothers me though It always sounds like an accusation, what does it mean, advertising, column inches in the press? Bands themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-johnson/this-hype-word-bothers-me-though-it-always-sounds-like-an-accusation/)

[Holly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-johnson/)

> [Our students wanted to know everything: but only the newest theory seemed to them worth bothering with. Knowing nothing of the intellectual achievements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/our-students-wanted-to-know-everything-but-only-the-newest-theory/)

[Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/)

> [Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-dale-bell/show-me-a-man-who-cannot-bother-to-do-little-things-and-i-ll-show-you/)

Lawrence Dale Bell

> [People are people. All that celebrity tagging doesn't bother me at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-price/people-are-people-all-that-celebrity-tagging-doesn-t-bother-me-at-all/)

[Katie Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-price/)

Browse all 1,604 Bother quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“you can’t be permanently hysterical, so you might as well not bother getting started.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jo Baker"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-you-might-as-well-not-bother/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bother"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-you-might-as-well-not-bother/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/jo-baker-22747_getting-started_you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-y_1822178.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/jo-baker-22747_getting-started_you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-y_1822178.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/jo-baker-22747_getting-started_you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-y_1822178.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“you can’t be permanently hysterical, so you might as well not bother getting started.” — Jo Baker",
                "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": "Jo Baker",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“you can’t be permanently hysterical, so...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-you-might-as-well-not-bother/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/you-can-t-be-permanently-hysterical-so-you-might-as-well-not-bother/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
