---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do we always, always to the point of…"
description: "\"Do we always, always to the point of misery, do a thing?\" — Saul Bellow"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/saul-bellow-558_misery_do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-mise_2683875.png"
---

#  Do we always, always to the point of misery, do a thing?

![“Do we always, always to the point of misery, do a thing?” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/saul-bellow-558_misery_do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-mise_2683875.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/saul-bellow-558_misery_do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-mise_2683875.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/saul-bellow-558_misery_do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-mise_2683875.png)

> “Do we always, always to the point of misery, do a thing?”

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

## About This Quote

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

People often repeat harmful actions until misery forces change.

**In simple terms:** Misery forces change.

Key Takeaway

Recognize patterns before they harm.

Themes

habit misery self‑destruction

Mood

cautious introspective

Type

literary psychological

When to use this quote

- relationships
- workplace
- personal health

Key Concepts

psychology addiction

Questions to Reflect On

- What habits persist despite causing pain?
- How can you intervene before misery escalates?

A Different Perspective

Change can be resisted despite suffering.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/)

## Related quotes

> [Misery is the only thing in the world that has no end or edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-stone/misery-is-the-only-thing-in-the-world-that-has-no-end-or-edge/)

[Irving Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-stone/)

> [Friends LOVE misery, in fact. Sometimes, especially if we are too luck or too successful or too pretty, our misery is the only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/friends-love-misery-in-fact-sometimes-especially-if-we-are-too-luck/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [There's discussion in athletics about how sport - where they say 'SportsCenter' has ruined the fundamentals of basketball because it's - it only applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pfeiffer/there-s-discussion-in-athletics-about-how-sport-where-they-say/)

[Dan Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pfeiffer/)

> [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/)

[Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/)

> [If you read 'Lord of the Rings' and dismiss it as a lie because it has orcs and elves, you're missing the whole point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-tennapel/if-you-read-lord-of-the-rings-and-dismiss-it-as-a-lie-because-it-has/)

[Doug TenNapel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-tennapel/)

> [Get away from me misery, get away from me loneliness, get away from me fake bitches I can't take the phoniness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/get-away-from-me-misery-get-away-from-me-loneliness-get-away-from-me/)

[Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/)

> ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [The vast majority of people are born, grow up, struggle and go through life in misery and failure, not realizing that it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-vast-majority-of-people-are-born-grow-up-struggle-and-go-through/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Money can't buy happiness. But it sure makes misery easier to live with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/money-can-t-buy-happiness-but-it-sure-makes-misery-easier-to-live-with/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There's never any ebb in human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/there-s-never-any-ebb-in-human-misery/)

[Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/)

> [“I hereby propose the term “miserize”, as a verb for misery – referring to “to cause misery”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-hereby-propose-the-term-miserize-as-a-verb-for-misery-referring-to/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

## More by Saul Bellow

> [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

[Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

## More Misery quotes

> [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

> [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [“I hereby propose the term “miserize”, as a verb for misery – referring to “to cause misery”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-hereby-propose-the-term-miserize-as-a-verb-for-misery-referring-to/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [There's never any ebb in human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/there-s-never-any-ebb-in-human-misery/)

[Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/)

> [Money can't buy happiness. But it sure makes misery easier to live with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/money-can-t-buy-happiness-but-it-sure-makes-misery-easier-to-live-with/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [The vast majority of people are born, grow up, struggle and go through life in misery and failure, not realizing that it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-vast-majority-of-people-are-born-grow-up-struggle-and-go-through/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [Get away from me misery, get away from me loneliness, get away from me fake bitches I can't take the phoniness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/get-away-from-me-misery-get-away-from-me-loneliness-get-away-from-me/)

[Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/)

> [You see misery, you see misfortune, you see pain, you see suffering. It's all part of the fatalistic way of looking at life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/you-see-misery-you-see-misfortune-you-see-pain-you-see-suffering-it-s/)

[Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/)

> [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/)

[Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/)

> [“Misery only added to the cumulative experience of the adventure that would ultimately sculpt me into a stronger, more resilient human being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-rohrig/misery-only-added-to-the-cumulative-experience-of-the-adventure-that/)

[Kyle Rohrig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-rohrig/)

> [If you try to control everything, and then worry about the things you can't control, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/if-you-try-to-control-everything-and-then-worry-about-the-things-you/)

[Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/)

> [“All our misery comes from wanting at all costs to go on being Tom, Dick, or Harry, year in, year out. This body of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/all-our-misery-comes-from-wanting-at-all-costs-to-go-on-being-tom/)

[Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/)

[Browse all 2,835 Misery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Do we always, always to the point of misery, do a thing?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Saul Bellow"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-misery-do-a-thing/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Misery"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-misery-do-a-thing/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/saul-bellow-558_misery_do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-mise_2683875.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/saul-bellow-558_misery_do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-mise_2683875.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fa/saul-bellow-558_misery_do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-mise_2683875.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Do we always, always to the point of misery, do a thing?” — Saul Bellow",
                "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": "Saul Bellow",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Do we always, always to the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-misery-do-a-thing/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/do-we-always-always-to-the-point-of-misery-do-a-thing/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
