--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We grasp one thing after another, and…" description: "\"“We grasp one thing after another, and when we have grasped a thing, it is as if it possessed us. Not we possess it, but the opposite: whatever we have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/robert-walser-6307_discipline_we-grasp-one-thing-after-another-and-whe_2277841.jpg" --- # We grasp one thing after another, and when we have grasped… ![“We grasp one thing after another, and when we have grasped a thing, it is as if it possessed us. Not we possess it, but the opposite: whatever we have apparently acquired rules over us then. It is impressed upon us that a beneficent effect is to be had from acquiring a little that is firm and…” quote by Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/robert-walser-6307_discipline_we-grasp-one-thing-after-another-and-whe_2277841.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/robert-walser-6307_discipline_we-grasp-one-thing-after-another-and-whe_2277841.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/robert-walser-6307_discipline_we-grasp-one-thing-after-another-and-whe_2277841.jpg) > ““We grasp one thing after another, and when we have grasped a thing, it is as if it possessed us. Not we possess it, but the opposite: whatever we have apparently acquired rules over us then. It is impressed upon us that a beneficent effect is to be had from acquiring a little that is firm and definite, that is to say, from growing accustomed and shaping oneself to laws and commands that prescribe a strict external discipline. Perhaps we're being stupefied, certainly we're being made small.”” [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acquiring habits and rigid rules can dominate us, making us feel small and controlled rather than empowered. **In simple terms:** Strict discipline can enslave us. Key Takeaway Seek flexible growth, not oppressive rules. Themes discipline identity control growth self‑mastery Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - personal development - habit formation - education - career planning Key Concepts existentialism psychology autonomy Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel your routines rule you? - How can you balance order with freedom? A Different Perspective Rigid structures can stifle creativity and personal freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Effect Acquiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effect-acquiring-5304951/) [Grasped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grasped/) [Grasped Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grasped-thing-5304950/) [Possess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possess/) [Thing Grasped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-grasped-5304949/) ## Related quotes > [Extend a hand whether or not you know it shall be grasped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryunosuke-satoro/extend-a-hand-whether-or-not-you-know-it-shall-be-grasped/) [Ryunosuke Satoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryunosuke-satoro/) > [“Did you guys have sex?" Jacob grasped my shoulders, giving me a little shake. "Oh my God, girl, details - I need details. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-lynn/did-you-guys-have-sex-jacob-grasped-my-shoulders-giving-me-a-little/) [J. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-lynn/) > [Nobody has really grasped yet the great wealth that can be made selling data over the Web. There are 100 million potential customers out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-saylor/nobody-has-really-grasped-yet-the-great-wealth-that-can-be-made/) [Michael J. Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-saylor/) > [“He grasped a bag of zip ties from the shelf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-naughton/he-grasped-a-bag-of-zip-ties-from-the-shelf/) [Elisabeth Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-naughton/) > [“Suddenly I grasped what was happening- they were all trying to save me. I never thought I was worth saving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-borris/suddenly-i-grasped-what-was-happening-they-were-all-trying-to-save-me/) [Albert Borris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-borris/) > [I so wanted to perform, and I grasped every opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-nunn/i-so-wanted-to-perform-and-i-grasped-every-opportunity/) [Trevor Nunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-nunn/) > [There are people I've worked with who have never understood how fashion works. They keep saying they love fashion, yet they've never actually grasped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-ghesquiere/there-are-people-i-ve-worked-with-who-have-never-understood-how/) [Nicolas Ghesquiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-ghesquiere/) > [So we are grasped by what we cannot grasp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/so-we-are-grasped-by-what-we-cannot-grasp/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own free will!" He made no motion of stepping to meet me, but stood like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/welcome-to-my-house-enter-freely-and-of-your-own-free-will-he-made-no/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [My mother often mailed me articles from 'Reader's Digest' about advances in DNA chemistry. No matter how I tried to explain it to her,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kary-mullis/my-mother-often-mailed-me-articles-from-reader-s-digest-about/) [Kary Mullis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kary-mullis/) > [What is not grasped has all the chances to become real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-jab-s/what-is-not-grasped-has-all-the-chances-to-become-real/) [Edmond Jabes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-jab-s/) > [Religion gives you a sense of certainty. It makes you feel that you have the right answers to really big questions and that youve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-heckman/religion-gives-you-a-sense-of-certainty-it-makes-you-feel-that-you/) [James Heckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-heckman/) > [“Schuyler grasped it tightly. She would never let go. Not in this lifetime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-de-la-cruz/schuyler-grasped-it-tightly-she-would-never-let-go-not-in-this/) [Melissa de la Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-de-la-cruz/) > [“Sometimes love was to be grasped in any form and in any manner it was offered. And sometimes love must be given in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/sometimes-love-was-to-be-grasped-in-any-form-and-in-any-manner-it-was/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [Poetry always runs away from you - it's very difficult to grasp it, and every time you read it, depending on your conditions, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbas-kiarostami/poetry-always-runs-away-from-you-it-s-very-difficult-to-grasp-it-and/) [Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbas-kiarostami/) ## More by Robert Walser > [“My cheeks are red hot, my lip still trembles, because I sent my heart to speak; every word of it delusional and awkward, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/my-cheeks-are-red-hot-my-lip-still-trembles-because-i-sent-my-heart/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“That's what's so miraculous about the city: each person's bearing and behavior vanish among these thousand sorts, observations are fleeting, judgements swift, and forgetting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/that-s-what-s-so-miraculous-about-the-city-each-person-s-bearing-and/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“What honest man was never in his life without sustenance? And what human being has ever seen as the years pass his hopes, plans,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/what-honest-man-was-never-in-his-life-without-sustenance-and-what/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Siento que la vida exige emociones, no reflexiones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/siento-que-la-vida-exige-emociones-no-reflexiones/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Wherever poesie can be felt, all poetic touches are superfluous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/wherever-poesie-can-be-felt-all-poetic-touches-are-superfluous/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Perhaps there were a few repetitions here and there. But I would like to confess that I consider nature and human life to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/perhaps-there-were-a-few-repetitions-here-and-there-but-i-would-like/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [Questions are usually more beautiful, more significant than their resolutions, which in fact never resolve them, are never sufficient to satisfy us, whereas from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/questions-are-usually-more-beautiful-more-significant-than-their/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [How uninteresting interesting things can become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/how-uninteresting-interesting-things-can-become/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [Your very eyes. How they have always been for me the command to obey, the inviolable and beautiful commandment. No, no, I'm not telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/your-very-eyes-how-they-have-always-been-for-me-the-command-to-obey/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [I don't want a future, I want a present. To me this appears of greater value. You have a future only when you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/i-don-t-want-a-future-i-want-a-present-to-me-this-appears-of-greater/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“They should not clench their fists, it’s my longing that’s drawing me near to them; they should not stand there full of rage, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/they-should-not-clench-their-fists-it-s-my-longing-that-s-drawing-me/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [ I am not here \[in the sanitarium\] to write, but to be mad. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/i-am-not-here-in-the-sanitarium-to-write-but-to-be-mad/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Is it our calling to understand each other, or are we not, rather, called upon to misjudge one another, to prevent there being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/is-it-our-calling-to-understand-each-other-or-are-we-not-rather/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“A park like this resembles a large, silent, isolated room. In fact it's always Sunday in a park, by the way, for it's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/a-park-like-this-resembles-a-large-silent-isolated-room-in-fact-it-s/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) > [“Money rules the world, and doubtless also, here and there, the bit of love within it, and when love turns to hate, one remembers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-walser/money-rules-the-world-and-doubtless-also-here-and-there-the-bit-of/) [Robert Walser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) [Explore all 83 Robert Walser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-walser/) ## More Discipline quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/) [W.J. Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-turner/) > [You can't have the fruits without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victories proceed Public Victories. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/you-can-t-have-the-fruits-without-the-roots-it-s-the-principle-of/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Exercise teaches you the pleasure of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/exercise-teaches-you-the-pleasure-of-discipline/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I'm always writing. I'm an obsessive. It's not because I'm a disciplined person. It's because I'm crazy about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-m-always-writing-i-m-an-obsessive-it-s-not-because-i-m-a/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [The undisciplined child enters into discipline by working in the company of others; not being told he is naughty.” “Discipline is, therefore, primarily a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/the-undisciplined-child-enters-into-discipline-by-working-in-the/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“Proverbs from the East: The wind howls, but the mountain remains still. Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/proverbs-from-the-east-the-wind-howls-but-the-mountain-remains-still/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/) [Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [Stay in your seat come times of trouble. Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) [Browse all 5,597 Discipline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We grasp one thing after another, and when we have grasped a thing, it is as if it possessed us. Not we possess it, but the opposite: whatever we have apparently acquired rules over us then. It is impressed upon us that a beneficent effect is to be had from acquiring a little that is firm and definite, that is to say, from growing accustomed and shaping oneself to laws and commands that prescribe a strict external discipline. 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