--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you only do what you know and do it…" description: "\"If you only do what you know and do it very, very well, chances are that you won't fail. You'll just stagnate, and your work will get less and less int..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/twyla-tharp-1069_chance_if-you-only-do-what-you-know-and-do-it-v_955607.png" --- # If you only do what you know and do it very, very well… ![“If you only do what you know and do it very, very well, chances are that you won't fail. You'll just stagnate, and your work will get less and less interesting, and that's failure by erosion” quote by Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/twyla-tharp-1069_chance_if-you-only-do-what-you-know-and-do-it-v_955607.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/twyla-tharp-1069_chance_if-you-only-do-what-you-know-and-do-it-v_955607.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec1/twyla-tharp-1069_chance_if-you-only-do-what-you-know-and-do-it-v_955607.png) > “If you only do what you know and do it very, very well, chances are that you won't fail. You'll just stagnate, and your work will get less and less interesting, and that's failure by erosion” [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sticking only to familiar tasks leads to stagnation and creative decline. **In simple terms:** Doing only what you know erodes growth. Key Takeaway Embrace new challenges. Themes growth creativity risk learning Mood inspirational challenging Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - artistic projects - personal development Key Concepts innovation skill development Questions to Reflect On - What new skill will you try? - How can you balance expertise with experimentation? A Different Perspective Comfort zones can be necessary for mastery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Erosion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erosion/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ## Related quotes > [“It's one thing to know there's a fifty fifty chance of something going wrong. It's another not to know what the chances are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-ambler-warning/it-s-one-thing-to-know-there-s-a-fifty-fifty-chance-of-something/) The ambler warning > [I don't think a lot of women know how much their chances of having a child diminish as they age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-stewart/i-don-t-think-a-lot-of-women-know-how-much-their-chances-of-having-a/) [Alexis Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-stewart/) > [“I’d like them to appreciate the power of the individual—and I don’t mean me; I mean the power each person has to make choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-porpora/i-d-like-them-to-appreciate-the-power-of-the-individual-and-i-don-t/) [Kenny Porpora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-porpora/) > [When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/when-you-are-ignorant-of-the-enemy-but-know-yourself-your-chances-of/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [ “I know that the chances for success are slim. \[...\] But odds are mathematical formulas calculated to give people a reason not to try.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-watson/i-know-that-the-chances-for-success-are-slim-but-odds-are/) [Jude Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-watson/) > [What I want is to be willing to fail rather than stagnate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dickey/what-i-want-is-to-be-willing-to-fail-rather-than-stagnate/) [James Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dickey/) > [Freedom is not an ideal, it is not even a protection, if it means nothing more than freedom to stagnate, to live without dreams,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freedom-is-not-an-ideal-it-is-not-even-a-protection-if-it-means/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything has to keep moving forward in 'Endeavour.' Otherwise, it will stagnate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-evans/everything-has-to-keep-moving-forward-in-endeavour-otherwise-it-will/) [Shaun Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-evans/) > [“Without curiosity, we are unable to sustain our attention, we avoid risks, we abort challenging tasks, we compromise our intellectual development, we fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-kashdan/without-curiosity-we-are-unable-to-sustain-our-attention-we-avoid/) [Todd Kashdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-kashdan/) > [Change or stagnate. Keep moving or die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/change-or-stagnate-keep-moving-or-die/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [To keep always in the same place means to stagnate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/to-keep-always-in-the-same-place-means-to-stagnate/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“The programmer who refuses to keep exploring will surely stagnate, forget his joy, lose the will to program (and become a manager).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marijn-haverbeke/the-programmer-who-refuses-to-keep-exploring-will-surely-stagnate/) [Marijn Haverbeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marijn-haverbeke/) > [It's easy to get stagnate, if you play the same character. In New Moon, I felt like I was going a little bit deeper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/it-s-easy-to-get-stagnate-if-you-play-the-same-character-in-new-moon/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [Without immigration, nations would stagnate. It is key for innovation and for economic growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taavet-hinrikus/without-immigration-nations-would-stagnate-it-is-key-for-innovation/) [Taavet Hinrikus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taavet-hinrikus/) > [Our minds, like our bodies, are in continual flux; something is hourly lost, and something acquired… Do not suffer life to stagnate; it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/our-minds-like-our-bodies-are-in-continual-flux-something-is-hourly/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More by Twyla Tharp > [“A lot of habitually creative people have preparation rituals linked to the setting in which they choose to start their day. By putting themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/a-lot-of-habitually-creative-people-have-preparation-rituals-linked/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I have learned over the years that you should never save for two meetings what you can accomplish in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-have-learned-over-the-years-that-you-should-never-save-for-two/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I always find that the best collaborations are when you work with people that know what they're doing, and you leave them alone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-always-find-that-the-best-collaborations-are-when-you-work-with/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I don't mean this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I don't really think of pop art and serious art as being that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-don-t-mean-this-but-i-m-going-to-say-it-anyway-i-don-t-really-think/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [The art of these Fifties movies was in sustaining forever the moment before sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/the-art-of-these-fifties-movies-was-in-sustaining-forever-the-moment/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [This is not a pleasant route for many young people to consider. You have to be either hopelessly passionate, or very stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/this-is-not-a-pleasant-route-for-many-young-people-to-consider-you/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I often say that in making dances I can make a world where I think things are done morally, done democratically, done honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-often-say-that-in-making-dances-i-can-make-a-world-where-i-think/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I had received my first establishment grants in response to applications filed the year before. To the pages of baffling forms I had simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-had-received-my-first-establishment-grants-in-response-to/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I find the aesthetics of the 20th century hopelessly barren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-find-the-aesthetics-of-the-20th-century-hopelessly-barren/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I don't think that scheduling is uncreative. I think that structure is required for creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-don-t-think-that-scheduling-is-uncreative-i-think-that-structure-is/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I have always felt one of the things dance should do - its business being so clearly physical - is challenge the culture's gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-have-always-felt-one-of-the-things-dance-should-do-its-business/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [There really is nothing I ever had access to that I didn't appreciate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/there-really-is-nothing-i-ever-had-access-to-that-i-didn-t-appreciate/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Destiny, quite often, is a determined parent. Mozart was hardly some naive prodigy who sat down at the keyboard and, with God whispering in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/destiny-quite-often-is-a-determined-parent-mozart-was-hardly-some/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [When it all comes together, a creative life has the nourishing power we normally associate with food, love and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/when-it-all-comes-together-a-creative-life-has-the-nourishing-power/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Things change all the time, so why do people make such a philosophical to-do that things are constantly in transition?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/things-change-all-the-time-so-why-do-people-make-such-a-philosophical/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) [Explore all 298 Twyla Tharp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) ## More Chance quotes > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-understand-it-s-promotion-but-no-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance-no-one/) [Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/) > [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Love changes people, for better or for worse. You could look at it as a chance for you to change. The best kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-changes-people-for-better-or-for-worse-you-could-look-at-it-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's not who, it's when”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-taubas/it-s-not-who-it-s-when/) Alejandro Taubas > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/) [Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/) > [If you’re worrying about the past, you’ve got a good chance of screwing up the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-a-tullman/if-you-re-worrying-about-the-past-you-ve-got-a-good-chance-of/) [Howard A. Tullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-a-tullman/) > [To be successful, one must take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/to-be-successful-one-must-take-chances/) [Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/) [Browse all 12,460 Chance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you only do what you know and do it very, very well, chances are that you won't fail. 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