--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On the whole, I would bid you stand up to…" description: "\"On the whole, I would bid you stand up to your work, whatever it may be, and not be afraid of it; not in sorrows or contradictions to yield, but to pus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/thomas-carlyle-207_contradiction_on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to_1785392.png" --- # On the whole, I would bid you stand up to your work… ![“On the whole, I would bid you stand up to your work, whatever it may be, and not be afraid of it; not in sorrows or contradictions to yield, but to push on towards the goal.” quote by Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/thomas-carlyle-207_contradiction_on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to_1785392.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/thomas-carlyle-207_contradiction_on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to_1785392.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/thomas-carlyle-207_contradiction_on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to_1785392.png) > “On the whole, I would bid you stand up to your work, whatever it may be, and not be afraid of it; not in sorrows or contradictions to yield, but to push on towards the goal.” [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages confronting work without fear, persisting despite hardship, and moving toward objectives. **In simple terms:** Face work bravely and keep progressing toward goals. Key Takeaway Do not fear work; keep pushing forward. Themes courage perseverance purpose Mood determined steady Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career challenges - academic research - personal projects - entrepreneurial ventures Key Concepts Stoicism resilience goal‑orientation Questions to Reflect On - What fear holds you back from your work? - How can you balance persistence with self‑care? A Different Perspective May overlook the need for rest or realistic limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bid Stand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bid-stand-1898189/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Push Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/push-goal-1898188/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Stand Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stand-work-1399883/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-afraid-311818/) [Yield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yield/) [Yield Push](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yield-push-1898190/) ## Related quotes > [It's important to stand up for your work - otherwise somebody else will step in and say they did it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bruckheimer/it-s-important-to-stand-up-for-your-work-otherwise-somebody-else-will/) [Jerry Bruckheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bruckheimer/) > [I stand behind my stand-up. I work on it very, very hard. But yeah, because I'm clean, you can get looked at like: 'Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-bargatze/i-stand-behind-my-stand-up-i-work-on-it-very-very-hard-but-yeah/) [Nate Bargatze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-bargatze/) > [That's what I do in my stand-up. I work hard and hone the material and after a while audiences expect what I do to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/that-s-what-i-do-in-my-stand-up-i-work-hard-and-hone-the-material-and/) [Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/) > [Get off your bottom and be the stand, and do the work you can to pursue the American Dream for yourself, and help others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pratt/get-off-your-bottom-and-be-the-stand-and-do-the-work-you-can-to/) [David Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pratt/) > [Be different, stand out, and work your butt off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/be-different-stand-out-and-work-your-butt-off/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [I am much pleased to find how very well I stand work & how my powers of attention & continued effort increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-lovelace/i-am-much-pleased-to-find-how-very-well-i-stand-work-how-my-powers-of/) [Ada Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-lovelace/) > [As an artist, I gotta stand up to my own work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-ruscha/as-an-artist-i-gotta-stand-up-to-my-own-work/) [Edward Ruscha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-ruscha/) > [Families mean work,but they are our great work,and we are not afraid of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-b-beck/families-mean-work-but-they-are-our-great-work-and-we-are-not-afraid/) [Julie B. Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-b-beck/) > [For horror to work, you have to be afraid. You have to keep the monster in a black and white light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/for-horror-to-work-you-have-to-be-afraid-you-have-to-keep-the-monster/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [I can't abide to see men throw away their tools i' that way, the minute the clock begins to strike, as if they took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-can-t-abide-to-see-men-throw-away-their-tools-i-that-way-the-minute/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Certain people have wanted to put me behind bars for a long time now. That's part of my work. If I were afraid, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/certain-people-have-wanted-to-put-me-behind-bars-for-a-long-time-now/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [Why do I keep evading my work? Is it because I’m afraid of being confronted by my lack of abilities?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/why-do-i-keep-evading-my-work-is-it-because-i-m-afraid-of-being/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [There's a motherhood penalty because we've been long taught things that are stigmatized about motherhood. As workers, we don't want to talk about our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-quart/there-s-a-motherhood-penalty-because-we-ve-been-long-taught-things/) [Alissa Quart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-quart/) > [“Well," he said, quite seriously, "it's this way: you work because you're afraid not to. You work becuase you have to drive yourself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/well-he-said-quite-seriously-it-s-this-way-you-work-because-you-re/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [We have a lot of work to do and I‘m afraid that it‘s a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/we-have-a-lot-of-work-to-do-and-i-m-afraid-that-it-s-a-very-hard/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) ## More by Thomas Carlyle > [O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/o-thou-that-pinest-in-the-imprisonment-of-the-actual-and-criest/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Whose school-hours are all the days and nights of our existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/whose-school-hours-are-all-the-days-and-nights-of-our-existence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [No sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/no-sadder-proof-can-be-given-by-a-man-of-his-own-littleness-than/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The sincere alone can recognize sincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-sincere-alone-can-recognize-sincerity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Be a pattern to others, and then all will go well; for as a whole city is affected by the licentious passions and vices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/be-a-pattern-to-others-and-then-all-will-go-well-for-as-a-whole-city/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The glory of a workman, still more of a master workman, that he does his work well, ought to be his most precious possession;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-glory-of-a-workman-still-more-of-a-master-workman-that-he-does/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [All human things do require to have an ideal in them; to have some soul in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/all-human-things-do-require-to-have-an-ideal-in-them-to-have-some/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Insurrection, never so necessary, is a most sad necessity; and governors who wait for that to instruct them are surely getting into the fatalest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/insurrection-never-so-necessary-is-a-most-sad-necessity-and-governors/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Let Time and Chance combine, combine! Let Time and Chance combine! The fairest love from heaven above, That love of yours was mine, My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/let-time-and-chance-combine-combine-let-time-and-chance-combine-the/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Thought will not work except in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/thought-will-not-work-except-in-silence/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The public is anold woman.Let her maunderand mumble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-public-is-anold-woman-let-her-maunderand-mumble/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Does not every true man feel that he is himself made higher by doing reverence to what is really above him?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/does-not-every-true-man-feel-that-he-is-himself-made-higher-by-doing/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The press is the fourth estate of the realm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-press-is-the-fourth-estate-of-the-realm/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) [Explore all 917 Thomas Carlyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) ## More Contradiction quotes > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courage-is-almost-a-contradiction-in-terms-it-means-a-strong-desire/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Contradictions in human character are one of its most consistent notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/contradictions-in-human-character-are-one-of-its-most-consistent-notes/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [“The tiny features below, taken together with the gentle mass of Montblanc towering above them, the Vanoise glacier almost invisible in the shimmering distance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/the-tiny-features-below-taken-together-with-the-gentle-mass-of/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [To exist (in mathematics), said Henri Poincaré, is to be free from contradiction. But mere existence does not guarantee survival. To survive in mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kac/to-exist-in-mathematics-said-henri-poincar-is-to-be-free-from/) [Mark Kac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kac/) > [“In these creations, life and symbolic value are not in contradiction: they intensify each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-these-creations-life-and-symbolic-value-are-not-in-contradiction/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/i-have-never-agreed-with-my-other-self-wholly-the-truth-of-the-matter/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“A truth is not necessary, because we negatively are not able to conceive the actual existence of the opposite thereof;but a truth is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-dabney/a-truth-is-not-necessary-because-we-negatively-are-not-able-to/) [R.L. Dabney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-dabney/) > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [Here I encounter the most popular fallacy of our times. It is not considered sufficient that the law should guarantee to every citizen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/here-i-encounter-the-most-popular-fallacy-of-our-times-it-is-not/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-the-sun-will-not-rise-tomorrow-is-no-less-intelligible-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The reflection of nature in man's thought must be understood not lifelessly but in the eternal process of movement, the arising of contradictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/the-reflection-of-nature-in-man-s-thought-must-be-understood-not/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) [Browse all 1,263 Contradiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "On the whole, I would bid you stand up to your work, whatever it may be, and not be afraid of it; not in sorrows or contradictions to yield, but to push on towards the goal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Carlyle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to-your-work-whatever-it-may-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contradiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to-your-work-whatever-it-may-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/thomas-carlyle-207_contradiction_on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to_1785392.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/thomas-carlyle-207_contradiction_on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to_1785392.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/thomas-carlyle-207_contradiction_on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to_1785392.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On the whole, I would bid you stand up to your work, whatever it may be, and not be afraid of it; not in…” — Thomas Carlyle", "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": "Thomas Carlyle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "On the whole, I would bid...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to-your-work-whatever-it-may-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/on-the-whole-i-would-bid-you-stand-up-to-your-work-whatever-it-may-be/#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 } } ] } ```