--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Better to lose oneself in action than to…" description: "\"Better to lose oneself in action than to wither in despair.\" — Kate Morton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/kate-morton-805_action_better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to_1221809.png" --- # Better to lose oneself in action than to wither in despair. ![“Better to lose oneself in action than to wither in despair.” quote by Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/kate-morton-805_action_better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to_1221809.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/kate-morton-805_action_better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to_1221809.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/kate-morton-805_action_better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to_1221809.png) > “Better to lose oneself in action than to wither in despair.” [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Active engagement in purposeful work prevents stagnation and despair. **In simple terms:** Action beats hopelessness. Key Takeaway Stay active and purposeful. Themes purpose action mental health resilience growth Mood motivational encouraging Type inspirational self‑help When to use this quote - volunteering - creative projects - exercise routines - career development - learning new skills Key Concepts psychology of flow existential meaning behavioral activation Questions to Reflect On - What meaningful actions can you take today? - How does purpose affect mood? A Different Perspective Action without direction may lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Better Lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-lose-565150/) [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Lose Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-oneself-1293372/) [Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself/) [Oneself Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oneself-action-3743936/) [Wither Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wither-despair-2693594/) ## Related quotes > [“Keep busy. The worried person must lose himself in action, lest he wither in despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/keep-busy-the-worried-person-must-lose-himself-in-action-lest-he/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/to-know-oneself-is-to-study-oneself-in-action-with-another-person/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [To know oneself is to study oneself in action, which is relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/to-know-oneself-is-to-study-oneself-in-action-which-is-relationship/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I must lose myself in action, lest I wither in despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/i-must-lose-myself-in-action-lest-i-wither-in-despair/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [The one way of tolerating existence is to lose oneself in literature as in a perpetual orgy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-one-way-of-tolerating-existence-is-to-lose-oneself-in-literature/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But it is an happy loss to lose oneself in admiration at one’s own Felicity: and to find GOD in exchange for oneself: Which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-traherne/but-it-is-an-happy-loss-to-lose-oneself-in-admiration-at-one-s-own/) [Thomas Traherne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-traherne/) > [“Not to find one’s way in a city may well be uninteresting and banal. It requires ignorance—nothing more," says the twentieth-century philosopher-essayist Walter Benjamin.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/not-to-find-one-s-way-in-a-city-may-well-be-uninteresting-and-banal/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [To dare is to lose ones footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/to-dare-is-to-lose-ones-footing-momentarily-to-not-dare-is-to-lose/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Mankind is notoriously too dense to read the signs that God sends from time to time. We require drums to be beaten into our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/mankind-is-notoriously-too-dense-to-read-the-signs-that-god-sends/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“it may be a superhuman effort to lose oneself so completely, but that’s nothing compared to the effort of getting oneself back again”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-may-be-a-superhuman-effort-to-lose-oneself-so-completely-but-that/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [The desire to belong is partly a desire to lose oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-desire-to-belong-is-partly-a-desire-to-lose-oneself/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/to-dare-is-to-lose-one-s-footing-momentarily-not-to-dare-is-to-lose-2/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“But maybe that’s the first mistake: the rush to mix together, to make two into one. The eagerness to lose oneself in the other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-serrano/but-maybe-that-s-the-first-mistake-the-rush-to-mix-together-to-make/) [Claudia Serrano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-serrano/) > [“I let go of my remorse...of wanting to fix his problems and cure his pain. This seems like such a common female thing, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shreve-stockton/i-let-go-of-my-remorse-of-wanting-to-fix-his-problems-and-cure-his/) [Shreve Stockton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shreve-stockton/) > [“As Kierkegaard said, “To venture causes anxiety; not to venture is to lose oneself.” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-krech/as-kierkegaard-said-to-venture-causes-anxiety-not-to-venture-is-to/) [Gregg Krech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-krech/) ## More by Kate Morton > [“Laurel wondered whether perhaps a person reached an age when so much was kept from them, so many details of life discussed and decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/laurel-wondered-whether-perhaps-a-person-reached-an-age-when-so-much/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“It hardly needs to be said: sooner or later secrets have a way of making themselves known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-hardly-needs-to-be-said-sooner-or-later-secrets-have-a-way-of/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“Give someone more time and they'll appear to have done more with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/give-someone-more-time-and-they-ll-appear-to-have-done-more-with-it/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“It suddenly seemed to Laurel that all the absences in her own life, every loss and sadness, every nightmare in the dark, every unexplained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-suddenly-seemed-to-laurel-that-all-the-absences-in-her-own-life/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Rejection is a cancer, Edie. It eats away at a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/rejection-is-a-cancer-edie-it-eats-away-at-a-person/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“home is a magnet that lures back even its most abstracted children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/home-is-a-magnet-that-lures-back-even-its-most-abstracted-children/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“tiempo tiene su peculiar manera de moldear a la gente de forma que ellos mismos ya no se reconocen,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/tiempo-tiene-su-peculiar-manera-de-moldear-a-la-gente-de-forma-que/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“I want to know how it feels to be altered by life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/i-want-to-know-how-it-feels-to-be-altered-by-life/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“She'd opened the front cover and fallen inside the wonderful, frightening, magical illustrations. She'd wondered what it must feel like to escape the rigid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/she-d-opened-the-front-cover-and-fallen-inside-the-wonderful/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [It's special, grandparents and grandchldren. So much simpler. Is it always so, I wonder? I think perhaps it is. While one's child takes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-s-special-grandparents-and-grandchldren-so-much-simpler-is-it/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“... and I thought -not for the first time- what a true and simple pleasure it was, to be inside and sated when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/and-i-thought-not-for-the-first-time-what-a-true-and-simple-pleasure/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“Nell was like a witch. Her long silvery hair rolled into a bun on the back of her head, the narrow wooden house on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/nell-was-like-a-witch-her-long-silvery-hair-rolled-into-a-bun-on-the/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Thinking of nothing. Trying to think of nothing. Thinking of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/thinking-of-nothing-trying-to-think-of-nothing-thinking-of-everything/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [There's a market for mysteries for adults. That feeling of opening a book and delving inside and not coming out until you've closed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/there-s-a-market-for-mysteries-for-adults-that-feeling-of-opening-a/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“I don’t have many friends, not the living, breathing sort at any rate. And I don’t mean that in a sad and lonely way;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/i-don-t-have-many-friends-not-the-living-breathing-sort-at-any-rate/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) [Explore all 334 Kate Morton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) [Browse all 14,940 Action quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Better to lose oneself in action than to wither in despair.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate Morton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to-wither-in-despair/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Action" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to-wither-in-despair/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/kate-morton-805_action_better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to_1221809.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/kate-morton-805_action_better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to_1221809.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f72/kate-morton-805_action_better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to_1221809.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Better to lose oneself in action than to wither in despair.” — Kate Morton", "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": "Kate Morton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Better to lose oneself in action...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to-wither-in-despair/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/better-to-lose-oneself-in-action-than-to-wither-in-despair/#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 } } ] } ```