--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I weren't reasonably placid, I don't…" description: "\"If I weren't reasonably placid, I don't think I could cope with this sort of life. To be a diva, you've got to be absolutely like a horse.\" — Joan Suth..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/joan-sutherland-34140_horse_if-i-weren-t-reasonably-placid-i-don-t-t_1073168.jpg" --- # If I weren't reasonably placid, I don't think I could cope… ![“If I weren't reasonably placid, I don't think I could cope with this sort of life. To be a diva, you've got to be absolutely like a horse.” quote by Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/joan-sutherland-34140_horse_if-i-weren-t-reasonably-placid-i-don-t-t_1073168.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/joan-sutherland-34140_horse_if-i-weren-t-reasonably-placid-i-don-t-t_1073168.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/joan-sutherland-34140_horse_if-i-weren-t-reasonably-placid-i-don-t-t_1073168.jpg) > “If I weren't reasonably placid, I don't think I could cope with this sort of life. To be a diva, you've got to be absolutely like a horse.” [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. To survive in a demanding life, one must be calm and resilient, like a horse, while also embracing a dramatic, diva‑like presence. **In simple terms:** Stay calm and bold. Key Takeaway Balance composure with confidence. Themes resilience performance self‑confidence Mood motivational playful Type artistic personal development When to use this quote - stage performance - personal stress management - career challenges Key Concepts psychology artistic identity Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain poise under pressure? - When is boldness appropriate? A Different Perspective Being overly dramatic can alienate others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diva/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Placid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/placid/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [He lowered the window, and looked out at the rising sun. There was a ridge of ploughed land, with a plough upon it where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/he-lowered-the-window-and-looked-out-at-the-rising-sun-there-was-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-merciful-thing-in-the-world-i-think-is-the-inability-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are so placid that the smallest tremor of objection is taken as a full-scale revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/we-are-so-placid-that-the-smallest-tremor-of-objection-is-taken-as-a/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [placid, adj. Sometimes I love it when we just lie on our backs, gaze off, stay still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/placid-adj-sometimes-i-love-it-when-we-just-lie-on-our-backs-gaze-off/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [What I want to do is tell stories about normal people in the American suburbs. I don't write the book where it's a conspiracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/what-i-want-to-do-is-tell-stories-about-normal-people-in-the-american/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [My mother was a domestic goddess and Mother Earth figure. She was sweet and placid - just what the perfect wife was supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/my-mother-was-a-domestic-goddess-and-mother-earth-figure-she-was/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [I have been to non-denominational churches like National Community Church in Washington D.C., but I've also gone to Lake Placid Baptist and a slew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elana-meyers/i-have-been-to-non-denominational-churches-like-national-community/) [Elana Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elana-meyers/) > [I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained; I stand and look at them long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-think-i-could-turn-and-live-with-the-animals-they-are-so-placid-and/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [It becomes the moralist, too, to inquire what man might do to improve and beautify the system; what to make the stars shine more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-becomes-the-moralist-too-to-inquire-what-man-might-do-to-improve/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Evening is the delight of virtuous age; it seems an emblem of the tranquil close of busy life--serene, placid, and mild, with the impress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/evening-is-the-delight-of-virtuous-age-it-seems-an-emblem-of-the/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [People who dream when they sleep at night know of a special kind of happiness which the world of the day holds not, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/people-who-dream-when-they-sleep-at-night-know-of-a-special-kind-of/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“Placid waters hide lethal currents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cummins-miller/placid-waters-hide-lethal-currents/) Susan Cummins Miller > [Yeah, no one really grows up competing in the bobsled. You have to be 16 years old before you can even drive one. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elana-meyers/yeah-no-one-really-grows-up-competing-in-the-bobsled-you-have-to-be/) [Elana Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elana-meyers/) > [The unhappy are egoistic, spiteful, unjust, cruel, and less capable of understanding each other than fools. Unhappiness does not bring people together but draws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/the-unhappy-are-egoistic-spiteful-unjust-cruel-and-less-capable-of/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Golf cannot be played in anger, or in any mood of emotiional excess. Half the golf balls struck by amateurs are hit if not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-plimpton/golf-cannot-be-played-in-anger-or-in-any-mood-of-emotiional-excess/) [George Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-plimpton/) ## More by Joan Sutherland > [I'm somewhat horrified because I don't think the young people today even know what history is. Some of them don't' even study History at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/i-m-somewhat-horrified-because-i-don-t-think-the-young-people-today/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [I don't sing for anybody. I wouldn't sing for the Queen dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/i-don-t-sing-for-anybody-i-wouldn-t-sing-for-the-queen-dear/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [Technique is the basis of every pursuit. If you're a sportsman or you're a singer or a swimmer, well that comes under sport but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/technique-is-the-basis-of-every-pursuit-if-you-re-a-sportsman-or-you/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [I wasn't actually trained by my mother, she said she never taught me but she was a great singer herself and I can't remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/i-wasn-t-actually-trained-by-my-mother-she-said-she-never-taught-me/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [Technique is the basis of every pursuit. If youre a sportsman or youre a singer or a swimmer, well that comes under sport but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/technique-is-the-basis-of-every-pursuit-if-youre-a-sportsman-or-youre/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [I know I'm not exactly a bombshell, but one has to make the best of what one's got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/i-know-i-m-not-exactly-a-bombshell-but-one-has-to-make-the-best-of/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [I'm very happy to sing whatever I'm singing. I've always enjoyed any role I've been given at a certain time. They've all been favourites,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/i-m-very-happy-to-sing-whatever-i-m-singing-i-ve-always-enjoyed-any/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [But I think that Australians have a sort of independence, and I think that, rightly or wrongly, they tend to make their own decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/but-i-think-that-australians-have-a-sort-of-independence-and-i-think/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [One is just given a talent, and it's one's duty to make the most of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/one-is-just-given-a-talent-and-it-s-one-s-duty-to-make-the-most-of-it/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [The world we are born into-this complicated, difficult, hauntingly touching world-is the one whole thing. It is the world we awaken in, and awaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/the-world-we-are-born-into-this-complicated-difficult-hauntingly/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [My voice was obviously God given and I have tried to give of myself honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/my-voice-was-obviously-god-given-and-i-have-tried-to-give-of-myself/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [You can listen to what everybody says, but the fact remains that you've got to get out there and do the thing yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/you-can-listen-to-what-everybody-says-but-the-fact-remains-that-you/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) > [All singers must be crazy. But we're a nice family of crazy people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-sutherland/all-singers-must-be-crazy-but-we-re-a-nice-family-of-crazy-people/) [Joan Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) [Explore all 14 Joan Sutherland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-sutherland/) ## More Cope quotes > [We had to cope with the media writing things which were not true, which were insulting. At around 13 I decided I was just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judit-polgar/we-had-to-cope-with-the-media-writing-things-which-were-not-true/) [Judit Polgar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judit-polgar/) > [We are professional footballers. How to cope with the pressure is one of the things we have to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thiago-silva/we-are-professional-footballers-how-to-cope-with-the-pressure-is-one/) [Thiago Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thiago-silva/) > [Manchester United could have any goalkeeper in the world. I was a 23-year-old kid from New Jersey who, from an early age, had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/manchester-united-could-have-any-goalkeeper-in-the-world-i-was-a-23/) [Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/) > [“Not everything is going to go my way and not everyone gets a happily ever after. Life is real and sometimes it's ugly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/not-everything-is-going-to-go-my-way-and-not-everyone-gets-a-happily/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [If I couldn't move, I don't know what I would do. That would be terrifying for me; I don't know how I'd cope with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-forsyth/if-i-couldn-t-move-i-don-t-know-what-i-would-do-that-would-be/) [Bruce Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-forsyth/) > [From as far back as I can remember, I was always insecure about my looks, whether it was my flat chest, my skinny legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/from-as-far-back-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-insecure-about-my/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [“That was the day I realized that he could not cope and I could not cope and, emotionally, he could take me down with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-rauch/that-was-the-day-i-realized-that-he-could-not-cope-and-i-could-not/) [Jonathan Rauch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-rauch/) > [The best way to cope with trouble is to stay out of it as much as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/the-best-way-to-cope-with-trouble-is-to-stay-out-of-it-as-much-as/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [As an adult, I've learned to cope and pull the plug on the worst what-ifs before my mind takes me to a place from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-g-tremblay/as-an-adult-i-ve-learned-to-cope-and-pull-the-plug-on-the-worst-what/) [Paul G. Tremblay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-g-tremblay/) > [“Love is real and sometimes it's ugly and you just have to learn how to cope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-is-real-and-sometimes-it-s-ugly-and-you-just-have-to-learn-how/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [The Oscar buzz when I was nominated was totally overwhelming. I think I can cope with anything now that I've coped with that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacki-weaver/the-oscar-buzz-when-i-was-nominated-was-totally-overwhelming-i-think/) [Jacki Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacki-weaver/) > [“Anyone who cannot cope with life while he is alive needs one hand to ward off a little his despair over his fate...but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/anyone-who-cannot-cope-with-life-while-he-is-alive-needs-one-hand-to/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Peace of mind is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hawkins/peace-of-mind-is-not-the-absence-of-conflict-but-the-ability-to-cope/) [Scott Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hawkins/) > [Every human being must find his own way to cope with severe loss, and the only job of a true friend is to facilitate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-carr/every-human-being-must-find-his-own-way-to-cope-with-severe-loss-and/) [Caleb Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-carr/) > [When is population going to become an accepted part of the food debate? If it's fine to encourage people to think about halving their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristram-stuart/when-is-population-going-to-become-an-accepted-part-of-the-food/) [Tristram Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristram-stuart/) Browse all 222 Cope quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I weren't reasonably placid, I don't think I could cope with this sort of life. 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