---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must always work, and a…"
description: "\"We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If we wait for the mood, without e..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-23045_apathetic_we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respectin_9425.jpg"
---

#  We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not…

![“We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If we wait for the mood, without endeavoring to meet it halfway, we easily become indirect and apathetic.” quote by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-23045_apathetic_we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respectin_9425.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-23045_apathetic_we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respectin_9425.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-23045_apathetic_we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respectin_9425.jpg)

> “We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If we wait for the mood, without endeavoring to meet it halfway, we easily become indirect and apathetic.”

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

## About This Quote

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

Discipline outweighs fleeting inspiration; an artist must actively engage rather than wait for motivation, lest they drift into disengagement.

**In simple terms:** Work beats waiting for mood.

Key Takeaway

Commitment fuels creativity.

Themes

discipline motivation creativity artist mindset procrastination

Mood

determined reflective

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- studio practice
- daily writing
- musical rehearsal
- visual art creation
- creative brainstorming

Key Concepts

self-discipline intrinsic drive artistic responsibility

Practical Applications

- habit formation
- overcoming creative blocks

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you structure your routine to avoid waiting for inspiration?
- What signs indicate you’re becoming apathetic in your work?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Apathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathetic/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folds/) [Halfway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halfway/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Indirect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indirect/) [Indirect Apathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indirect-apathetic-352503/) [Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood/) [Mood Endeavoring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood-endeavoring-352504/) [Mood Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood-wait-352502/) [Pretext](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretext/) [Respecting Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respecting-artist-352501/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Wait Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait-mood-352505/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/)

## Related quotes

> [A self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his-hands-on-the-pretext-that/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [Don't fall into the trap of having to have everything perfect to write or wait until the mood strikes you. If you want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/don-t-fall-into-the-trap-of-having-to-have-everything-perfect-to/)

[Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/)

> [Don't wait until you're 'in the mood.' Get into the mood by writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/don-t-wait-until-you-re-in-the-mood-get-into-the-mood-by-writing/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [In the 1970s when I started in the art world, no self-respecting artist would have stood in line to try to get on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-deitch/in-the-1970s-when-i-started-in-the-art-world-no-self-respecting/)

[Jeffrey Deitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-deitch/)

> [I'm not creating an enigma or leaving mystery, I'm just respecting myself enough as an artist to give myself room to grow and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika/i-m-not-creating-an-enigma-or-leaving-mystery-i-m-just-respecting/)

[Mika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika/)

> [There is no doubt that even the greatest musical geniuses have sometimes worked without inspiration. This guest (inspiration) does not always respond to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/there-is-no-doubt-that-even-the-greatest-musical-geniuses-have/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [Even as I'm shoveling up my hooter, I realize the sad truth. Coke bores me, It bores us all. We're jaded cunts, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/even-as-i-m-shoveling-up-my-hooter-i-realize-the-sad-truth-coke-bores/)

[Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/)

> [Thwarted, or starved, in the important objects proper to young capacities, the boys and young men naturally find or invent deviant objects for themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/thwarted-or-starved-in-the-important-objects-proper-to-young/)

[Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/)

> [Death: the only true emotion felt in an apathetic world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/death-the-only-true-emotion-felt-in-an-apathetic-world/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie... But rather mourn the apathetic throng - The cowed and the meek - Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-chaplin/mourn-not-the-dead-that-in-the-cool-earth-lie-but-rather-mourn-the/)

[Ralph Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-chaplin/)

> [Every apathetic individual is a brick in a tyrant's throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/every-apathetic-individual-is-a-brick-in-a-tyrant-s-throne/)

[Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/)

> [The first step in freeing yourself from social restrictions is the realization that there is no such thing as a safe code of conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-first-step-in-freeing-yourself-from-social-restrictions-is-the/)

[Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/)

> [Does anyone really go into nursing intending to be apathetic, cold and removed from suffering? I find that very difficult to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-brand/does-anyone-really-go-into-nursing-intending-to-be-apathetic-cold-and/)

[Jo Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-brand/)

> [We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and/)

[Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/)

> [My generation in the UK, they're very apathetic, a lot of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-gilmore/my-generation-in-the-uk-they-re-very-apathetic-a-lot-of-them/)

[Thea Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-gilmore/)

## More by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

> [ I have put my whole soul into this work \[The Pathetique Symphony\] . . . You cannot imagine what joy I feel at the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/i-have-put-my-whole-soul-into-this-work-the-pathetique-symphony-you/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [Only music clarifies, reconciles, and consoles. But it is not a straw just barely clutched at. It is a faithful friend, protector, and comforter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/only-music-clarifies-reconciles-and-consoles-but-it-is-not-a-straw/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [How can one express the indefinable sensations that one experiences while writing an instrumental composition that has no definite subject? It is a purely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/how-can-one-express-the-indefinable-sensations-that-one-experiences/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [Madam, you ask me how I compose. I compose sitting down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/madam-you-ask-me-how-i-compose-i-compose-sitting-down/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [Music possesses much richer means of expression and it is a more subtle medium for translating the 1000 shifting moments of the feelings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/music-possesses-much-richer-means-of-expression-and-it-is-a-more/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [Mozart is the musical Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/mozart-is-the-musical-christ/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [Music is an incomparably more powerful means and is a subtler language for expressing the thousand different moments of the soul's moods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/music-is-an-incomparably-more-powerful-means-and-is-a-subtler/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [Sometimes I observe with curiosity that uninterrupted activity which, independent of the subject of any conversation I may be carrying on, continues its course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/sometimes-i-observe-with-curiosity-that-uninterrupted-activity-which/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [There is no doubt that even the greatest musical geniuses have sometimes worked without inspiration. This guest (inspiration) does not always respond to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/there-is-no-doubt-that-even-the-greatest-musical-geniuses-have/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [When Brahms is in extra good spirits, he sings, "The grave is my joy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/when-brahms-is-in-extra-good-spirits-he-sings-the-grave-is-my-joy/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [The muse doesn't come without being called.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/the-muse-doesn-t-come-without-being-called/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [What I have set down in a moment of ardour I must then critically examine. Sometimes I must do myself violence before I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/what-i-have-set-down-in-a-moment-of-ardour-i-must-then-critically/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [Mozart is the highest, the culminating point that beauty has attained in the sphere of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/mozart-is-the-highest-the-culminating-point-that-beauty-has-attained/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [It is already a great thing if the main ideas and general outline of a work come without any racking of brains, as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/it-is-already-a-great-thing-if-the-main-ideas-and-general-outline-of/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

> [ Brahms stayed an extra day to hear my \[Fifth\] Symphony and was very kind ... I like his honesty and open-mindedness. Neither he nor… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/brahms-stayed-an-extra-day-to-hear-my-fifth-symphony-and-was-very/)

[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

[Explore all 26 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/)

## More Apathetic quotes

> [My generation in the UK, they're very apathetic, a lot of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-gilmore/my-generation-in-the-uk-they-re-very-apathetic-a-lot-of-them/)

[Thea Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-gilmore/)

> [We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits in pursuit of projects built on their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-papert/we-imagine-a-school-in-which-students-and-teachers-excitedly-and/)

[Seymour Papert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-papert/)

> [Does anyone really go into nursing intending to be apathetic, cold and removed from suffering? I find that very difficult to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-brand/does-anyone-really-go-into-nursing-intending-to-be-apathetic-cold-and/)

[Jo Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-brand/)

> [The first step in freeing yourself from social restrictions is the realization that there is no such thing as a safe code of conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-first-step-in-freeing-yourself-from-social-restrictions-is-the/)

[Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/)

> [Every apathetic individual is a brick in a tyrant's throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/every-apathetic-individual-is-a-brick-in-a-tyrant-s-throne/)

[Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/)

> [Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie... But rather mourn the apathetic throng - The cowed and the meek - Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-chaplin/mourn-not-the-dead-that-in-the-cool-earth-lie-but-rather-mourn-the/)

[Ralph Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-chaplin/)

> [Death: the only true emotion felt in an apathetic world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/death-the-only-true-emotion-felt-in-an-apathetic-world/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [Thwarted, or starved, in the important objects proper to young capacities, the boys and young men naturally find or invent deviant objects for themselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/thwarted-or-starved-in-the-important-objects-proper-to-young/)

[Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/)

> [Even as I'm shoveling up my hooter, I realize the sad truth. Coke bores me, It bores us all. We're jaded cunts, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/even-as-i-m-shoveling-up-my-hooter-i-realize-the-sad-truth-coke-bores/)

[Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/)

> [From arts, to literature, to science, to the founding of Christian institutions, all of that has its roots in a biblical worldview, but when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-hanegraaff/from-arts-to-literature-to-science-to-the-founding-of-christian/)

[Hank Hanegraaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-hanegraaff/)

> [“I don’t know, apathetic bloody planet, I’ve no sympathy at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-don-t-know-apathetic-bloody-planet-i-ve-no-sympathy-at-all/)

[Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/)

> [I am beginning to respect the apathetic days. Perhaps they're a necessary pause: better to give in to them than to fight them at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-am-beginning-to-respect-the-apathetic-days-perhaps-they-re-a/)

[Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

> [The teenage pregnancy is such a tragic thing. It is such a sad and tragic thing because the children who have children do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-huxley/the-teenage-pregnancy-is-such-a-tragic-thing-it-is-such-a-sad-and/)

[Laura Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-huxley/)

> [“Empathy nurtures wisdom. Apathy cultivates ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/empathy-nurtures-wisdom-apathy-cultivates-ignorance/)

[Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/)

> [I remember, when I was in university I studied history, and there was this one major historian of the Third Reich, Ian Kershaw. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sacha-baron-cohen/i-remember-when-i-was-in-university-i-studied-history-and-there-was/)

[Sacha Baron Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sacha-baron-cohen/)

[Browse all 123 Apathetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathetic/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If we wait for the mood, without endeavoring to meet it halfway, we easily become indirect and apathetic.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Apathetic"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-23045_apathetic_we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respectin_9425.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-23045_apathetic_we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respectin_9425.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky-23045_apathetic_we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respectin_9425.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in…” — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky",
                "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": "Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We must always work, and a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky/we-must-always-work-and-a-self-respecting-artist-must-not-fold-his/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```