--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing is as easy to make as a promise…" description: "\"Nothing is as easy to make as a promise this winter to do something next summer; this is how commencement speakers are caught.\" — Sydney J. Harris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/sydney-j-harris-1578_caught_nothing-is-as-easy-to-make-as-a-promise_382085.png" --- # Nothing is as easy to make as a promise this winter to do… ![“Nothing is as easy to make as a promise this winter to do something next summer; this is how commencement speakers are caught.” quote by Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/sydney-j-harris-1578_caught_nothing-is-as-easy-to-make-as-a-promise_382085.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/sydney-j-harris-1578_caught_nothing-is-as-easy-to-make-as-a-promise_382085.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/sydney-j-harris-1578_caught_nothing-is-as-easy-to-make-as-a-promise_382085.png) > “Nothing is as easy to make as a promise this winter to do something next summer; this is how commencement speakers are caught.” [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seasonal promises often lack commitment, leading to unfulfilled goals. **In simple terms:** Winter promises are easy, summer actions harder. Key Takeaway Set realistic, time‑bound goals. Themes commitment promise timing Mood cautionary thoughtful Type advice reflective When to use this quote - personal resolutions - public speaking - career planning Key Concepts goal setting human nature motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure promises are actionable? - What safeguards prevent empty vows? A Different Perspective Over‑optimism can cause disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commencement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commencement/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Graduation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graduation/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/) ## Related quotes > [I never expected to join the ranks of commencement speakers, especially at my alma mater. 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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 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/) > [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 > [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 Sydney J. Harris > [This is a lesson mankind has not yet learned. We identify, and stratify, and treat persons largely on the basis of their accidental (physical)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/this-is-a-lesson-mankind-has-not-yet-learned-we-identify-and-stratify/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [Character is something you forge for yourself; temperament is something you are born with and can only slightly modify.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/character-is-something-you-forge-for-yourself-temperament-is/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [Middle Age is that perplexing time of life when we hear two voices calling us, one saying, 'Why not?' and the other, 'Why bother?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/middle-age-is-that-perplexing-time-of-life-when-we-hear-two-voices/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [The profound immoralities of our time are cruelty, indifference, injustice and the use of others as means rather than ends in themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/the-profound-immoralities-of-our-time-are-cruelty-indifference/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [Marriages we regard as the happiest are those in which each of the partners believes he or she got the best of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/marriages-we-regard-as-the-happiest-are-those-in-which-each-of-the/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [“...it calls for deciding things on their own merit, not because you read it or were told it or grew up believing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/it-calls-for-deciding-things-on-their-own-merit-not-because-you-read/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [Ignorance per se is not nearly as dangerous as ignorance of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/ignorance-per-se-is-not-nearly-as-dangerous-as-ignorance-of-ignorance/) [Sydney J. 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Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [Just about the only interruption we don't object to is applause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/just-about-the-only-interruption-we-don-t-object-to-is-applause/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [“The cynic is goodhearted beneath his facade, whereas the sentimentalist is flint-hearted beneath his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/the-cynic-is-goodhearted-beneath-his-facade-whereas-the/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [Any philosophy that can be put in a nutshell belongs there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/any-philosophy-that-can-be-put-in-a-nutshell-belongs-there/) [Sydney J. 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