--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I guessed that one day the restrictions I…" description: "\"“I guessed that one day the restrictions I imposed on myself would end. But first, it seemed that my range of possible activities would have to iris do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ef/steve-martin-593_quote_i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions_1573456.jpg" --- # I guessed that one day the restrictions I imposed on… ![“I guessed that one day the restrictions I imposed on myself would end. But first, it seemed that my range of possible activities would have to iris down to zero before I could turn myself around. Then, when I was static and immobile, I could weigh and measure every exterior force and, slowly and…” quote by Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ef/steve-martin-593_quote_i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions_1573456.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ef/steve-martin-593_quote_i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions_1573456.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ef/steve-martin-593_quote_i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions_1573456.jpg) > ““I guessed that one day the restrictions I imposed on myself would end. But first, it seemed that my range of possible activities would have to iris down to zero before I could turn myself around. Then, when I was static and immobile, I could weigh and measure every exterior force and, slowly and incrementally, once again allow the outside in. And that would be my life.”” [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑imposed limits can feel crushing, but stillness allows deep reflection and gradual re‑engagement with the world. **In simple terms:** Being stuck can lead to insight and slow re‑entry into life. Key Takeaway Embrace stillness to reassess and then move forward. Themes self‑reflection growth resilience Mood contemplative inspirational Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career transition - personal crisis - creative block Key Concepts psychology of change mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What small step can break your inertia? - How does stillness foster new perspectives? A Different Perspective Stagnation may become permanent without active effort to change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Immobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immobile/) ## Related quotes > [I go everywhere by boat. I don't fly. It makes me feel really immobile but great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chantal-joffe/i-go-everywhere-by-boat-i-don-t-fly-it-makes-me-feel-really-immobile/) [Chantal Joffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chantal-joffe/) > [“Non so se in amore vince chi fugge, ma di sicuro chi perde rimane dov'è: immobile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-gramellini/non-so-se-in-amore-vince-chi-fugge-ma-di-sicuro-chi-perde-rimane-dov/) [Massimo Gramellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-gramellini/) > [One may come armoured, Invinsible. His will immobile meets the mobile hour. The world blows cannot bend this Victor Head. Calm and sure are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/one-may-come-armoured-invinsible-his-will-immobile-meets-the-mobile/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [“The rest of his body is unmemorable, and he's also a turtle-he lies on his back and gets stuck there, immobile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-southgate/the-rest-of-his-body-is-unmemorable-and-he-s-also-a-turtle-he-lies-on/) [Edward Southgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-southgate/) > [We're now in a situation in which Capital is highly mobile and Labour is basically immobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capital-is-highly-mobile-and-labour/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“He sank back into his black-and-white world, his immobile world of inanimate drawings that had been granted the secret of motion, his death-world with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/he-sank-back-into-his-black-and-white-world-his-immobile-world-of/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [“Words are dead, until action brings them life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/words-are-dead-until-action-brings-them-life/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [I think it was hard at first for my dad to transition to being immobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-think-it-was-hard-at-first-for-my-dad-to-transition-to-being/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [“She felt trapped, but she didn't have to. The world is wide open and ready, waiting for us to escape this bubble and join…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/she-felt-trapped-but-she-didn-t-have-to-the-world-is-wide-open-and/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [I hate being immobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rj-mitte/i-hate-being-immobile/) [RJ Mitte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rj-mitte/) > [Mass becomes immobile; it cannot manoeuvre and therefore cannot win victories, it can only crush by sheer weight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-von-seeckt/mass-becomes-immobile-it-cannot-manoeuvre-and-therefore-cannot-win/) [Hans von Seeckt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-von-seeckt/) ## More by Steve Martin > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“It was easy to be great. Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. These nights are accidental and statistical: Like lucky cards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/it-was-easy-to-be-great-every-entertainer-has-a-night-when-everything/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I like a woman with a head on her shoulders. I hate necks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-like-a-woman-with-a-head-on-her-shoulders-i-hate-necks/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“And after his unparsable response, including a passage where he said he was 'blurring the boundaries between a thing and thought,' she said, 'Thank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/and-after-his-unparsable-response-including-a-passage-where-he-said/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I have no fear, no fear at all. I wake up, and I have no fear. I go to bed without fear. Fear, fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-have-no-fear-no-fear-at-all-i-wake-up-and-i-have-no-fear-i-go-to/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“Be undeniably good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/be-undeniably-good/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [When I finally retire, I just want to go away so no one has to listen to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/when-i-finally-retire-i-just-want-to-go-away-so-no-one-has-to-listen/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [Only then does he realize what he has done to Mirabelle, how wanting a square inch of her and not all of her has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/only-then-does-he-realize-what-he-has-done-to-mirabelle-how-wanting-a/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“Lacey was just as happy alone as with company. When she was alone, she was potential; with others she was realized. Alone, she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/lacey-was-just-as-happy-alone-as-with-company-when-she-was-alone-she/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [At first I had no skills in writing comedy. I didn't know what a joke was, but, as someone once told me, your emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/at-first-i-had-no-skills-in-writing-comedy-i-didn-t-know-what-a-joke/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [You cannot make your opportunities concur with the opportunities of people whose incomes are ten times greater than yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/you-cannot-make-your-opportunities-concur-with-the-opportunities-of/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The lure in art collecting and its financial rewards, not counting for a moment its aesthetic, cultural and intellectual rewards, is like the trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/the-lure-in-art-collecting-and-its-financial-rewards-not-counting-for/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [My most persistent memory of stand - up is of my mouth being in the present and my mind being in the future: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/my-most-persistent-memory-of-stand-up-is-of-my-mouth-being-in-the/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [What I mean is that none of my talents had a - what's that great word - rubric. A singer, an actor, a dancer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/what-i-mean-is-that-none-of-my-talents-had-a-what-s-that-great-word/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) [Explore all 453 Steve Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) ## More Immobile quotes > [I go everywhere by boat. I don't fly. It makes me feel really immobile but great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chantal-joffe/i-go-everywhere-by-boat-i-don-t-fly-it-makes-me-feel-really-immobile/) [Chantal Joffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chantal-joffe/) > [I hate being immobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rj-mitte/i-hate-being-immobile/) [RJ Mitte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rj-mitte/) > [“She felt trapped, but she didn't have to. The world is wide open and ready, waiting for us to escape this bubble and join…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/she-felt-trapped-but-she-didn-t-have-to-the-world-is-wide-open-and/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [I think it was hard at first for my dad to transition to being immobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-think-it-was-hard-at-first-for-my-dad-to-transition-to-being/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [“Words are dead, until action brings them life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/words-are-dead-until-action-brings-them-life/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“He sank back into his black-and-white world, his immobile world of inanimate drawings that had been granted the secret of motion, his death-world with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/he-sank-back-into-his-black-and-white-world-his-immobile-world-of/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [We're now in a situation in which Capital is highly mobile and Labour is basically immobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capital-is-highly-mobile-and-labour/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“The rest of his body is unmemorable, and he's also a turtle-he lies on his back and gets stuck there, immobile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-southgate/the-rest-of-his-body-is-unmemorable-and-he-s-also-a-turtle-he-lies-on/) [Edward Southgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-southgate/) > [One may come armoured, Invinsible. His will immobile meets the mobile hour. The world blows cannot bend this Victor Head. Calm and sure are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/one-may-come-armoured-invinsible-his-will-immobile-meets-the-mobile/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [“Non so se in amore vince chi fugge, ma di sicuro chi perde rimane dov'è: immobile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-gramellini/non-so-se-in-amore-vince-chi-fugge-ma-di-sicuro-chi-perde-rimane-dov/) [Massimo Gramellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-gramellini/) > [Mass becomes immobile; it cannot manoeuvre and therefore cannot win victories, it can only crush by sheer weight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-von-seeckt/mass-becomes-immobile-it-cannot-manoeuvre-and-therefore-cannot-win/) [Hans von Seeckt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-von-seeckt/) [Browse all 12 Immobile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immobile/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I guessed that one day the restrictions I imposed on myself would end. But first, it seemed that my range of possible activities would have to iris down to zero before I could turn myself around. Then, when I was static and immobile, I could weigh and measure every exterior force and, slowly and incrementally, once again allow the outside in. And that would be my life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Martin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions-i-imposed-on-myself-would-end/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Immobile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions-i-imposed-on-myself-would-end/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ef/steve-martin-593_quote_i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions_1573456.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ef/steve-martin-593_quote_i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions_1573456.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ef/steve-martin-593_quote_i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions_1573456.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I guessed that one day the restrictions I imposed on myself would end. But first, it seemed that my range of…” — Steve Martin", "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": "Steve Martin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I guessed that one day the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions-i-imposed-on-myself-would-end/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions-i-imposed-on-myself-would-end/#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 } } ] } ```