---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Strong impulses are but another name for…"
description: "\"Strong impulses are but another name for energy. Energy may be turned to bad uses; but more good may always be made of an energetic nature, than of an ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/john-stuart-mill-477_energetic_strong-impulses-are-but-another-name-for_1573775.jpg"
---

#  Strong impulses are but another name for energy. Energy…

![“Strong impulses are but another name for energy. Energy may be turned to bad uses; but more good may always be made of an energetic nature, than of an indolent and impassive one.” quote by John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/john-stuart-mill-477_energetic_strong-impulses-are-but-another-name-for_1573775.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/john-stuart-mill-477_energetic_strong-impulses-are-but-another-name-for_1573775.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/john-stuart-mill-477_energetic_strong-impulses-are-but-another-name-for_1573775.jpg)

> “Strong impulses are but another name for energy. Energy may be turned to bad uses; but more good may always be made of an energetic nature, than of an indolent and impassive one.”

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

## About This Quote

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

Energy, whether physical or mental, can be directed toward harmful or beneficial ends; active effort yields more good than passive inaction.

**In simple terms:** Active effort creates more good than passivity.

Key Takeaway

Channel energy into purposeful action.

Themes

productivity ethics human nature

Mood

determined reflective

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- workplace projects
- personal development
- social activism
- creative endeavors

Key Concepts

energy agency utilitarianism

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you decide when to act versus wait?
- What safeguards ensure energy is used ethically?

A Different Perspective

Energy alone does not guarantee good outcomes; intent matters.

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> [Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-are-driven-by-two-principal-impulses-either-by-love-or-by-fear/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [Never act on impulse. Plan first. Think it through. Then act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-saint-cyr/never-act-on-impulse-plan-first-think-it-through-then-act/)

[Luc Saint-Cyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-saint-cyr/)

> [When you work on anything, you want to find the range of impulses - which ones get portrayed is another question, but you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/when-you-work-on-anything-you-want-to-find-the-range-of-impulses/)

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> [...our impulses are too strong for our judgement sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/our-impulses-are-too-strong-for-our-judgement-sometimes/)

[Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/)

> [The most dangerous of our impulses reign in ourselves against ourselves. To dissolve them is a creative act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-von-hofmannsthal/the-most-dangerous-of-our-impulses-reign-in-ourselves-against/)

[Hugo von Hofmannsthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-von-hofmannsthal/)

> [When you start to engage with your creative processes, it shakes up all your impulses, and they all kind of inform one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/when-you-start-to-engage-with-your-creative-processes-it-shakes-up/)

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> [impulses sometimes have logical roots and ought to be given in to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-moody/impulses-sometimes-have-logical-roots-and-ought-to-be-given-in-to/)

[Susan Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-moody/)

> [The practice of inhibiting impulses, which is to a great extent necessary to civilized life, makes mistakes easier, by preventing experience of the actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-practice-of-inhibiting-impulses-which-is-to-a-great-extent/)

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## More by John Stuart Mill

> [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/)

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> [I look for someone who has confidence. Also someone whose energetic, cause I'm NOT that energetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-jonas/i-look-for-someone-who-has-confidence-also-someone-whose-energetic/)

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