---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Get Up! Go out! Do something! But what…"
description: "\"“Get Up! Go out! Do something! But what - what was worth doing? What had any meaning in it? She saw herself doing - extravagant things; nursing sick wo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/john-galsworthy-4232_communication_get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what_2447283.jpg"
---

#  Get Up! Go out! Do something! But what - what was worth…

![“Get Up! Go out! Do something! But what - what was worth doing? What had any meaning in it? She saw herself doing - extravagant things; nursing sick women; tending pale babies; making a speech in Parliament; riding a steeplechase; hoeing turnips in knickerbockers - decorative. And she lay perfectly…” quote by John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/john-galsworthy-4232_communication_get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what_2447283.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/john-galsworthy-4232_communication_get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what_2447283.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/john-galsworthy-4232_communication_get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what_2447283.jpg)

> ““Get Up! Go out! Do something! But what - what was worth doing? What had any meaning in it? She saw herself doing - extravagant things; nursing sick women; tending pale babies; making a speech in Parliament; riding a steeplechase; hoeing turnips in knickerbockers - decorative. And she lay perfectly still, bound by the filaments of her self-vision. So long as she saw herself she would do nothing - she knew it - for nothing would be worth doing! And it seemed to her, lying there so still, that not to see herself would be worse than anything. And she felt that to feel this was to acknowledge herself caged for ever.””

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Self‑observation can paralyze action; freedom requires moving beyond self‑image.

**In simple terms:** Seeing yourself can stop you from acting.

Key Takeaway

Act despite self‑doubt.

Themes

identity action self‑perception

Mood

introspective motivational

Type

literary psychological

When to use this quote

- creative pursuits
- public service
- personal goals

Key Concepts

self‑vision paralysis agency

Questions to Reflect On

- How does self‑image limit you?
- What steps break the cycle?

A Different Perspective

Over‑analysis may cause stagnation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/)

## Related quotes

> [I knew that most people never see this reality because they attach to the material aspect of the world. Illusions of self and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/i-knew-that-most-people-never-see-this-reality-because-they-attach-to/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [College wasn't something I saw myself doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-driver/college-wasn-t-something-i-saw-myself-doing/)

[Adam Driver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-driver/)

> [But music was never something I saw myself doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-nas-x/but-music-was-never-something-i-saw-myself-doing/)

[Lil Nas X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-nas-x/)

> [Humility is nothing but the disappearance of self in the vision that God is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-murray/humility-is-nothing-but-the-disappearance-of-self-in-the-vision-that/)

[Andrew Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-murray/)

> [Calling can refer not only to ways of doing - meaning work - but also to ways of being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/calling-can-refer-not-only-to-ways-of-doing-meaning-work-but-also-to/)

[James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/)

> [We are simple-minded enough to think that if we were saying something we would use words. We are rather doing something. The meaning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/we-are-simple-minded-enough-to-think-that-if-we-were-saying-something/)

[John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/)

> [“We are all about doing over meaning to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-mozina/we-are-all-about-doing-over-meaning-to-do/)

Andy Mozina

> [There's only one thing more important... and that is, after you've done what you set out to do, to feel that it's been worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/there-s-only-one-thing-more-important-and-that-is-after-you-ve-done/)

[James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/)

> [Things that are worth doing are never easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-jericho/things-that-are-worth-doing-are-never-easy/)

[Chris Jericho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-jericho/)

> [An experiment not worth doing is not worth doing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/an-experiment-not-worth-doing-is-not-worth-doing-well/)

[Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/)

> [ The thing most worth doing in this modern world \[is to\] create jobs that men can work at, and be proud of, and make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/the-thing-most-worth-doing-in-this-modern-world-is-to-create-jobs/)

[Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/)

> [Anything worth doing is going to be difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fauja-singh/anything-worth-doing-is-going-to-be-difficult/)

[Fauja Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fauja-singh/)

> [“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/anything-worth-doing-is-worth-doing-badly/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [In a sport that's as close as tennis, I feel like anything that you can do to give yourself an edge is definitely worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-anderson/in-a-sport-that-s-as-close-as-tennis-i-feel-like-anything-that-you/)

[Kevin Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-anderson/)

> [Anything worth doing is probably not easy, but the rewards are worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anything-worth-doing-is-probably-not-easy-but-the-rewards-are-worth-it/)

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

## More by John Galsworthy

> [“She stood and tried hard not to believe in God. It seemed mean and petty to have more belief in God when things were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/she-stood-and-tried-hard-not-to-believe-in-god-it-seemed-mean-and/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [“Love is no hot-house flower, but a wild plant, born of a wet night, born of an hour of sunshine; sprung from wild seed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/love-is-no-hot-house-flower-but-a-wild-plant-born-of-a-wet-night-born/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [ “Justice is a machine that, when someone has once given it the starting push, rolls on of itself. - John Galsworthy, Justice \[1910\], act II” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/justice-is-a-machine-that-when-someone-has-once-given-it-the-starting/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [By the cigars they smoke, and the composers they love, ye shall know the texture of men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/by-the-cigars-they-smoke-and-the-composers-they-love-ye-shall-know/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [Memory heaps dead leaves on corpse-like deeds, from under which they do but vaguely offend the sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/memory-heaps-dead-leaves-on-corpse-like-deeds-from-under-which-they/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [“That tendency...to lie awake between the hours of two and four, when the chrysalis of faint misgiving becomes so readily the butterfly of panic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/that-tendency-to-lie-awake-between-the-hours-of-two-and-four-when-the/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [“Here’s a sentence in a book I’m reading: ‘We belong, of course, to a generation that’s seen through things, seen how futile everything is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/here-s-a-sentence-in-a-book-i-m-reading-we-belong-of-course-to-a/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [“James and the other eight children of 'Superior Dosset,' of whom there are still five alive, may be said to have represented Victorian England,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/james-and-the-other-eight-children-of-superior-dosset-of-whom-there/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [Justice is a machine that, when some one has once given it the starting push, rolls on of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/justice-is-a-machine-that-when-some-one-has-once-given-it-the/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [Love! Beyond measure — beyond death — it nearly kills. But one wouldn't have been without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/love-beyond-measure-beyond-death-it-nearly-kills-but-one-wouldn-t/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [Society is built on marriage ... marriage and its consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/society-is-built-on-marriage-marriage-and-its-consequences/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [We are all familiar with the argument: Make war dreadful enough, and there will be no war. And we none of us believe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/we-are-all-familiar-with-the-argument-make-war-dreadful-enough-and/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [When Man evolved Pity, he did a queer thing - deprived himself of the power of living life as it is without wishing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/when-man-evolved-pity-he-did-a-queer-thing-deprived-himself-of-the/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [Public opinion's always in advance of the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/public-opinion-s-always-in-advance-of-the-law/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

> [“An epoch which had gilded individual liberty so that if a man had money he was free in law and fact, and if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/an-epoch-which-had-gilded-individual-liberty-so-that-if-a-man-had/)

[John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

[Explore all 113 John Galsworthy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/)

## More Communication quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

Yoram Wind

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

[Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Get Up! Go out! Do something! But what - what was worth doing? What had any meaning in it? She saw herself doing - extravagant things; nursing sick women; tending pale babies; making a speech in Parliament; riding a steeplechase; hoeing turnips in knickerbockers - decorative. And she lay perfectly still, bound by the filaments of her self-vision. So long as she saw herself she would do nothing - she knew it - for nothing would be worth doing! And it seemed to her, lying there so still, that not to see herself would be worse than anything. And she felt that to feel this was to acknowledge herself caged for ever.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Galsworthy"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what-was-worth-doing-what-had-any/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what-was-worth-doing-what-had-any/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/john-galsworthy-4232_communication_get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what_2447283.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/john-galsworthy-4232_communication_get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what_2447283.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/827/john-galsworthy-4232_communication_get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what_2447283.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Get Up! Go out! Do something! But what - what was worth doing? What had any meaning in it? She saw herself…” — John Galsworthy",
                "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": "John Galsworthy",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Get Up! Go out! Do something!...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what-was-worth-doing-what-had-any/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/get-up-go-out-do-something-but-what-what-was-worth-doing-what-had-any/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
