--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To make a commencement requires a mental…" description: "\"To make a commencement requires a mental effort.\" — Seneca the Younger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/seneca-the-younger-219_commencement_to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental_2606724.jpg" --- # To make a commencement requires a mental effort. ![“To make a commencement requires a mental effort.” quote by Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/seneca-the-younger-219_commencement_to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental_2606724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/seneca-the-younger-219_commencement_to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental_2606724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/seneca-the-younger-219_commencement_to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental_2606724.jpg) > “To make a commencement requires a mental effort.” [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Starting a new phase requires deliberate mental preparation. **In simple terms:** Begin with purposeful mindset. Key Takeaway Prepare mind before new endeavors. Themes preparation mindset transition Mood thoughtful practical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - education - career change - personal projects Key Concepts Stoic philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What mental habits aid transitions? - How to handle unexpected obstacles? A Different Perspective May ignore external factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commencement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commencement/) [Commencement Requires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commencement-requires-1992273/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Graduation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduation/) [Make Commencement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-commencement-1992272/) [Mental Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-effort-1386756/) [Requires Mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requires-mental-1386755/) ## Related quotes > [“It requires less mental effort to condemn than to think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/it-requires-less-mental-effort-to-condemn-than-to-think/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Someone has said that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/someone-has-said-that-it-requires-less-mental-effort-to-condemn-than/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/whatever-you-choose-however-many-roads-you-travel-i-hope-that-you-2/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [Ours is the commencement of a flying age, and I am happy to have popped into existence at a period so interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-earhart/ours-is-the-commencement-of-a-flying-age-and-i-am-happy-to-have/) [Amelia Earhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-earhart/) > [The first time I spoke to a group this large was at my college commencement in 1969.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/the-first-time-i-spoke-to-a-group-this-large-was-at-my-college/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Nothing is as easy to make as a promise this winter to do something next summer; this is how commencement speakers are caught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/nothing-is-as-easy-to-make-as-a-promise-this-winter-to-do-something/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [The stunning part was that one time Neil McElroy the Secretary of Defense who was the father of one of our classmates spoke and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/the-stunning-part-was-that-one-time-neil-mcelroy-the-secretary-of/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [It was a myth that's often perpetuated at commencement that holds that only hope and promise lie beyond the halls of academe. Don't worry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/it-was-a-myth-that-s-often-perpetuated-at-commencement-that-holds/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [It is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/it-is-clear-the-future-holds-great-opportunities-it-also-holds/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [There happen to be whole large parts of adult American life that nobody talks about in commencement speeches. One such part involves boredom, routine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-happen-to-be-whole-large-parts-of-adult-american-life-that/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-failure-failure-is-just-life-trying-to-move/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“The most perfect life develops as a circle, and terminates in its beginning, making it impossible to say, This is the commencement, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/the-most-perfect-life-develops-as-a-circle-and-terminates-in-its/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [I never expected to join the ranks of commencement speakers, especially at my alma mater. I had a tough time there, left eagerly, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-ruhle/i-never-expected-to-join-the-ranks-of-commencement-speakers/) [Stephanie Ruhle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-ruhle/) > [The whole point of a commencement speech is to say something encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/the-whole-point-of-a-commencement-speech-is-to-say-something/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [En Ma Fin Est Ma Commencement - In my end is my beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/en-ma-fin-est-ma-commencement-in-my-end-is-my-beginning/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) ## More by Seneca the Younger > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [It is for the superfluous we sweat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-for-the-superfluous-we-sweat/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [A great step towards independence is a good-humored stomach, one that is willing to endure rough treatment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/a-great-step-towards-independence-is-a-good-humored-stomach-one-that/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Men can be divided into 2 groups: one that goes ahead and achieves something, and one that comes after and criticizes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-can-be-divided-into-2-groups-one-that-goes-ahead-and-achieves/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Leisure without study is death, and the grave of a living man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/leisure-without-study-is-death-and-the-grave-of-a-living-man/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Such as the chain of causes we call Fate, such is the chain of wishes: one links on to another; the whole man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/such-as-the-chain-of-causes-we-call-fate-such-is-the-chain-of-wishes/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [To rule yourself is the ultimate power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/to-rule-yourself-is-the-ultimate-power/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The road by precepts is tedious, by example, short and efficacious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/the-road-by-precepts-is-tedious-by-example-short-and-efficacious/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Misfortune is the test of a person's merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/misfortune-is-the-test-of-a-person-s-merit/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [He who does not want to die should not want to live. For life is tendered to us with the proviso of death. Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/he-who-does-not-want-to-die-should-not-want-to-live-for-life-is/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Let us not seek our disease out of ourselves; 'tis in us, and planted in our bowels; and the mere fact that we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/let-us-not-seek-our-disease-out-of-ourselves-tis-in-us-and-planted-in/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [After death there is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/after-death-there-is-nothing/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Adversity finds at last the man whom she has often passed by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/adversity-finds-at-last-the-man-whom-she-has-often-passed-by/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Hesitation is the best cure for anger. The first blows of anger are heavy, but if it waits, it will think again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/hesitation-is-the-best-cure-for-anger-the-first-blows-of-anger-are/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) [Explore all 872 Seneca the Younger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) ## More Commencement quotes > [En Ma Fin Est Ma Commencement - In my end is my beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/en-ma-fin-est-ma-commencement-in-my-end-is-my-beginning/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [The closing period of the fifteenth century witnessed the slow but sure increase of the churches of the Brethren. Although far from being unmolested,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-hall-gillett/the-closing-period-of-the-fifteenth-century-witnessed-the-slow-but/) [Ezra Hall Gillett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-hall-gillett/) > [The whole point of a commencement speech is to say something encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/the-whole-point-of-a-commencement-speech-is-to-say-something/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [I never expected to join the ranks of commencement speakers, especially at my alma mater. I had a tough time there, left eagerly, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-ruhle/i-never-expected-to-join-the-ranks-of-commencement-speakers/) [Stephanie Ruhle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-ruhle/) > [Delight is the secret. Learn of pure delight and thou shalt learn of God. What then was the commencement of the whole matter? Existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/delight-is-the-secret-learn-of-pure-delight-and-thou-shalt-learn-of/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [The year 1826 was remarkable for the commencement of one of those fearful droughts to which we have reason to believe the climate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sturt/the-year-1826-was-remarkable-for-the-commencement-of-one-of-those/) [Charles Sturt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sturt/) > [The commencement speech is not, I think, a wholly satisfactory manifestation of our culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/the-commencement-speech-is-not-i-think-a-wholly-satisfactory/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [“The most perfect life develops as a circle, and terminates in its beginning, making it impossible to say, This is the commencement, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lew-wallace/the-most-perfect-life-develops-as-a-circle-and-terminates-in-its/) [Lew Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lew-wallace/) > [There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/there-is-no-such-thing-as-failure-failure-is-just-life-trying-to-move/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [If you think that happiness means total peace, you will never be happy. Peace comes from the acceptance of the part of you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/if-you-think-that-happiness-means-total-peace-you-will-never-be-happy/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [There happen to be whole large parts of adult American life that nobody talks about in commencement speeches. One such part involves boredom, routine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-happen-to-be-whole-large-parts-of-adult-american-life-that/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [It is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/it-is-clear-the-future-holds-great-opportunities-it-also-holds/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [It was a myth that's often perpetuated at commencement that holds that only hope and promise lie beyond the halls of academe. Don't worry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/it-was-a-myth-that-s-often-perpetuated-at-commencement-that-holds/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) > [The stunning part was that one time Neil McElroy the Secretary of Defense who was the father of one of our classmates spoke and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/the-stunning-part-was-that-one-time-neil-mcelroy-the-secretary-of/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Nothing is as easy to make as a promise this winter to do something next summer; this is how commencement speakers are caught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/nothing-is-as-easy-to-make-as-a-promise-this-winter-to-do-something/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) [Browse all 131 Commencement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commencement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To make a commencement requires a mental effort.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seneca the Younger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental-effort/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Commencement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental-effort/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/seneca-the-younger-219_commencement_to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental_2606724.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/seneca-the-younger-219_commencement_to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental_2606724.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/seneca-the-younger-219_commencement_to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental_2606724.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To make a commencement requires a mental effort.” — Seneca the Younger", "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": "Seneca the Younger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To make a commencement requires a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental-effort/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/to-make-a-commencement-requires-a-mental-effort/#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 } } ] } ```