--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only time I'm pleased with myself is…" description: "\"The only time I'm pleased with myself is when I'm exhausted and shaking from having written too much.\" — Mabel Seeley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/mabel-seeley-55284_exhausted_the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is_559067.jpg" --- # The only time I'm pleased with myself is when I'm… ![“The only time I'm pleased with myself is when I'm exhausted and shaking from having written too much.” quote by Mabel Seeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/mabel-seeley-55284_exhausted_the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is_559067.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/mabel-seeley-55284_exhausted_the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is_559067.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/mabel-seeley-55284_exhausted_the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is_559067.jpg) > “The only time I'm pleased with myself is when I'm exhausted and shaking from having written too much.” [Mabel Seeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mabel-seeley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author feels true satisfaction only after intense, exhaustive creative effort, suggesting that deep work yields personal pride. **In simple terms:** Exhaustion after writing signals genuine achievement. Key Takeaway Embrace intense work for fulfillment. Themes creativity work ethic fulatisfaction Mood reflective determined Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - authoring a novel - academic research - intensive coding - artistic projects Key Concepts flow self‑validation writing discipline Questions to Reflect On - Do you equate fatigue with quality? - How can you recognize genuine progress without exhaustion? A Different Perspective Exhaustion can lead to burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exhausted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhausted/) [Exhausted Shaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhausted-shaking-4638286/) [Having Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-written/) [Only time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only-time/) [Pleased Exhausted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleased-exhausted-4638287/) [Shaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaking/) [Shaking Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaking-having-4638288/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [I still have dreams, but instead of having them written on a little piece of paper, I live a little bit of them every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-gregoire-trudeau/i-still-have-dreams-but-instead-of-having-them-written-on-a-little/) [Sophie Gregoire Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-gregoire-trudeau/) > [Those who write against vanity want the glory of having written well, and their readers the glory of reading well, and I who write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/those-who-write-against-vanity-want-the-glory-of-having-written-well/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [I would like to be proud of having written some poems that will be remembered, but I will never know whether I will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-davison/i-would-like-to-be-proud-of-having-written-some-poems-that-will-be/) [Peter Davison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-davison/) > [So my first book I had no experience having written a book, but each book is a little snapshot of who you are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/so-my-first-book-i-had-no-experience-having-written-a-book-but-each/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Well I think after leaving prison, and having written three diaries about life in prison, it became a sort of a new challenge to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-archer/well-i-think-after-leaving-prison-and-having-written-three-diaries/) [Jeffrey Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-archer/) > [The two important facts I should say, are emotion, and then words arising from emotion. I don't think you can write in an emotionless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-two-important-facts-i-should-say-are-emotion-and-then-words/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I find myself absolutely fulfilled when I have written a poem, when I'm writing one. Having written one, then you fall away very rapidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-find-myself-absolutely-fulfilled-when-i-have-written-a-poem-when-i/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I write well-fleshed out characters, and inevitably, more ideas spring from my subconscious. They all have a little bit of me in them. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-kellerman/i-write-well-fleshed-out-characters-and-inevitably-more-ideas-spring/) [Faye Kellerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-kellerman/) > [Within a year after I write a play I forget the experience of having written it. And I couldn't revise or rewrite it if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/within-a-year-after-i-write-a-play-i-forget-the-experience-of-having/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [I'm one of those writers who say, 'I've enjoy having written.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/i-m-one-of-those-writers-who-say-i-ve-enjoy-having-written/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [Maybe this is wrong, but I feel like I craft my songs carefully enough that I still find that fifteen years after having written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/maybe-this-is-wrong-but-i-feel-like-i-craft-my-songs-carefully-enough/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [I enjoy writing but I much prefer the experience of having written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fareed-zakaria/i-enjoy-writing-but-i-much-prefer-the-experience-of-having-written/) [Fareed Zakaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fareed-zakaria/) > [I would be miserable if I went to bed without having written 1,000 words about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-hastings/i-would-be-miserable-if-i-went-to-bed-without-having-written-1-000/) [Max Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-hastings/) > [Twenty-two pages is not a lot of space. Believe me. Having written a bazillion comics, I still find myself more often than nine pages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-waid/twenty-two-pages-is-not-a-lot-of-space-believe-me-having-written-a/) [Mark Waid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-waid/) > [“The difference between wanting to write and having written is one year of hard, relentless labour. It's a bridge you have to build all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shatrujeet-nath/the-difference-between-wanting-to-write-and-having-written-is-one/) [Shatrujeet Nath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shatrujeet-nath/) ## More by Mabel Seeley > [Imagination is so much harder to face than reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel-seeley/imagination-is-so-much-harder-to-face-than-reality/) [Mabel Seeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mabel-seeley/) > [figures are clear and open, they hold nothing hidden, no secret they will not tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel-seeley/figures-are-clear-and-open-they-hold-nothing-hidden-no-secret-they/) [Mabel Seeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mabel-seeley/) > [There's less skill and more plain hard work to writing than anyone except a writer thinks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel-seeley/there-s-less-skill-and-more-plain-hard-work-to-writing-than-anyone/) [Mabel Seeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mabel-seeley/) > [People who know their worth can live austerely; it's the people nagged by the gnawing knowledge of their own cheapness who have that eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel-seeley/people-who-know-their-worth-can-live-austerely-it-s-the-people-nagged/) [Mabel Seeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mabel-seeley/) > [Pity is something only weakness wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel-seeley/pity-is-something-only-weakness-wants/) [Mabel Seeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mabel-seeley/) [Explore all 6 Mabel Seeley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mabel-seeley/) ## More Exhausted quotes > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Rage is exciting, but leaves me confused and exhausted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/rage-is-exciting-but-leaves-me-confused-and-exhausted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [If you don't have to drag yourself off the field exhausted after 90 minutes, you can't claim to have done your best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nichols/if-you-don-t-have-to-drag-yourself-off-the-field-exhausted-after-90/) [Bill Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nichols/) > [I remember Terry being exhausted from his latest Super Bowl win and all the things that go with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-fouts/i-remember-terry-being-exhausted-from-his-latest-super-bowl-win-and/) [Dan Fouts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-fouts/) > [I'm always exhausted after a show, even if it's just half an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-lo/i-m-always-exhausted-after-a-show-even-if-it-s-just-half-an-hour/) [Tove Lo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-lo/) > [What we are only now beginning to fully realize is that in seeking material pleasure too constantly, the capacity for enjoyment or fulfillment decreases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-campbell/what-we-are-only-now-beginning-to-fully-realize-is-that-in-seeking/) [Alex Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-campbell/) > [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [ Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the \[Oxford\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than-any-other-single-man-to-let/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) > [In the last few years, the very idea of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is dredged up only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-musto/in-the-last-few-years-the-very-idea-of-telling-the-truth-the-whole/) [Michael Musto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-musto/) > [When I walk off the field exhausted, drenched in sweat, knowing I pushed myself to the physical, mental, and emotional limits, there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lohman/when-i-walk-off-the-field-exhausted-drenched-in-sweat-knowing-i/) [Joanna Lohman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lohman/) > [There is a thing inherent and natural which existed before heaven and earth. Motionless and fathomless, It stands alone and never changes; It pervades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/there-is-a-thing-inherent-and-natural-which-existed-before-heaven-and/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [I like to sleep so much that I wake up exhausted from sleeping so hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-richie/i-like-to-sleep-so-much-that-i-wake-up-exhausted-from-sleeping-so-hard/) [Nicole Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-richie/) > [...the framers of our Constitution never exhausted so much labor, wisdom and forbearance in its formation if it was intended to be broken up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/the-framers-of-our-constitution-never-exhausted-so-much-labor-wisdom/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [I want to explain how exhausted I am. Even in my dreams. How I wake up tired. How I’m being drowned by some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-want-to-explain-how-exhausted-i-am-even-in-my-dreams-how-i-wake-up/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Special-interest magazines are dangerous places for writers to start out in because the writing quickly falls into a routine and people are likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/special-interest-magazines-are-dangerous-places-for-writers-to-start/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) [Browse all 822 Exhausted quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhausted/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only time I'm pleased with myself is when I'm exhausted and shaking from having written too much.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mabel Seeley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel-seeley/the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is-when-i-m-exhausted-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Exhausted" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel-seeley/the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is-when-i-m-exhausted-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/mabel-seeley-55284_exhausted_the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is_559067.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/mabel-seeley-55284_exhausted_the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is_559067.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/mabel-seeley-55284_exhausted_the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is_559067.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only time I'm pleased with myself is when I'm exhausted and shaking from having written too much.” — Mabel Seeley", "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": "Mabel Seeley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mabel-seeley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only time I'm pleased with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel-seeley/the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is-when-i-m-exhausted-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mabel-seeley/the-only-time-i-m-pleased-with-myself-is-when-i-m-exhausted-and/#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 } } ] } ```