--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anyone who has not groomed his life in…" description: "\"“Anyone who has not groomed his life in general towards some definite end cannot possibly arrange his individual actions properly. It is impossible to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg" --- # Anyone who has not groomed his life in general towards… ![“Anyone who has not groomed his life in general towards some definite end cannot possibly arrange his individual actions properly. It is impossible to put the pieces together if you do not have in your head the idea of the whole. What is the use of providing yourself with paints if you do not know…” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg) > ““Anyone who has not groomed his life in general towards some definite end cannot possibly arrange his individual actions properly. It is impossible to put the pieces together if you do not have in your head the idea of the whole. What is the use of providing yourself with paints if you do not know what to paint? No man sketches out a definite plan for his life; we only determine bits of it. The bowman must first know what he is aiming at: then he has to prepare hand, bow, bowstring, arrow and his drill to that end. Our projects go astray because they are not addressed to a target.16 No wind is right for a seaman who has no predetermined harbour.”” [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Without a clear life goal, actions lack direction; a target guides preparation and execution. **In simple terms:** Clear goals guide actions. Key Takeaway Define a purpose before planning tasks. Themes purpose planning direction Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - project management Key Concepts philosophy goal‑setting Questions to Reflect On - What is your ultimate life aim? - How do you adapt when goals shift? A Different Perspective Rigid goals can limit flexibility; goals may change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life in general](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-in-general/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) ## Related quotes > [The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because-i-need-to-and-i-paint/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because-i-need-to/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [I do not know myself how I paint it. I sit down with a white board before the spot that strikes me. I look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-do-not-know-myself-how-i-paint-it-i-sit-down-with-a-white-board/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [I did not know how to paint a mural. I did not know how to prepare the surface. There was nobody from the Renaissance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-a-mural-i-did-not-know-how-to-prepare-the/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [It's such an extraordinary supple medium that you never do quite know what paint will do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/it-s-such-an-extraordinary-supple-medium-that-you-never-do-quite-know/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frida-kahlo/i-paint-my-own-reality-the-only-thing-i-know-is-that-i-paint-because/) [Frida Kahlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frida-kahlo/) > [I did not know how to paint or even what to paint, but I knew I had to begin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-did-not-know-how-to-paint-or-even-what-to-paint-but-i-knew-i-had-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I know that to paint the sea really well, you need to look at it every hour of every day in the same place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/i-know-that-to-paint-the-sea-really-well-you-need-to-look-at-it-every/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [When I first painted a number of canvases grey all over (about eight years ago), I did so because I did not know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/when-i-first-painted-a-number-of-canvases-grey-all-over-about-eight/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [You just don't know when you get all the paint across the canvas how it will turn out. When you step back after you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/you-just-don-t-know-when-you-get-all-the-paint-across-the-canvas-how/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [“You’ve got to live right, too. It’s the way you live that predisposes you to avoid the traps and see the right facts. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/you-ve-got-to-live-right-too-it-s-the-way-you-live-that-predisposes/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [When the plane you are on is late, the plane you want to transfer to is on time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-the-plane-you-are-on-is-late-the-plane-you-want-to-transfer-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/for-the-meaning-of-life-differs-from-man-to-man-from-day-to-day-and/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [The fear of not being good enough, the fear of disappointing other people and the fear of failure can really hurt one's personality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/the-fear-of-not-being-good-enough-the-fear-of-disappointing-other/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) ## More by Michel de Montaigne > [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Anyone who has not groomed his life in general towards some definite end cannot possibly arrange his individual actions properly. It is impossible to put the pieces together if you do not have in your head the idea of the whole. What is the use of providing yourself with paints if you do not know what to paint? No man sketches out a definite plan for his life; we only determine bits of it. The bowman must first know what he is aiming at: then he has to prepare hand, bow, bowstring, arrow and his drill to that end. Our projects go astray because they are not addressed to a target.16 No wind is right for a seaman who has no predetermined harbour.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-general-towards-some-definite/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-general-towards-some-definite/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/209/michel-de-montaigne-142_life_anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-g_2852089.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Anyone who has not groomed his life in general towards some definite end cannot possibly arrange his…” — Michel de Montaigne", "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": "Michel de Montaigne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Anyone who has not groomed his...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-general-towards-some-definite/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/anyone-who-has-not-groomed-his-life-in-general-towards-some-definite/#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 } } ] } ```