--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing is more dangerous than to stop…" description: "\"“Nothing is more dangerous than to stop working. It is a habit that can soon be lost, one that is easily neglected and hard to resume. A measure of day..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/victor-hugo-32_day-dreaming_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-to-stop-w_3184522.jpg" --- # Nothing is more dangerous than to stop working. It is a… ![“Nothing is more dangerous than to stop working. It is a habit that can soon be lost, one that is easily neglected and hard to resume. A measure of day-dreaming is a good thing, like a drug prudently used; it allays the sometimes virulent fever of the over-active mind, like a cool wind blowing…” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/victor-hugo-32_day-dreaming_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-to-stop-w_3184522.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/victor-hugo-32_day-dreaming_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-to-stop-w_3184522.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/victor-hugo-32_day-dreaming_nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-to-stop-w_3184522.jpg) > ““Nothing is more dangerous than to stop working. It is a habit that can soon be lost, one that is easily neglected and hard to resume. A measure of day-dreaming is a good thing, like a drug prudently used; it allays the sometimes virulent fever of the over-active mind, like a cool wind blowing through the brain to smooth the harshness of untrammelled thought; it bridges here and there the gaps, brings things into proportion and blunts the sharper angles. But too much submerges and drowns. Woe to the intellectual worker who allows himself to lapse wholly from positive thinking into day-dreaming. He thinks he can easily change back, and tells himself that it is all one. He is wrong! Thought is the work of the intellect, reverie is its self-indulgence. To substitute day-dreaming for thought is to confuse poison with a source of nourishment.”” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Continuous work is essential; excessive day‑dreaming hinders productivity, but occasional reverie can refresh the mind if used sparingly. **In simple terms:** Work hard, day‑dream wisely. Key Takeaway Balance effort with healthy imagination. Themes productivity creativity discipline balance Mood thoughtful balanced Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative brainstorming - study breaks - problem solving Key Concepts cognitive psychology habit formation mental health Questions to Reflect On - How much leisure thinking is optimal for creativity? - When does imagination become a distraction? A Different Perspective Too much day‑dreaming can become escapism, reducing output. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Day dreaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-dreaming/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing is more dangerous than to stop working. It is a habit that can soon be lost, one that is easily neglected and hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-to-stop-working-it-is-a-habit-that-can/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Thought is the work of the intellect, reverie is its self-indulgence. To substitute day-dreaming for thought is to confuse a poison with a source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/thought-is-the-work-of-the-intellect-reverie-is-its-self-indulgence/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Thought is the labour of the intellect, reverie is its pleasure. To replace thought by reverie is to confound poison with nourishment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/thought-is-the-labour-of-the-intellect-reverie-is-its-pleasure-to/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Thought is the labor of the intellect, reverie is its pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/thought-is-the-labor-of-the-intellect-reverie-is-its-pleasure/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“To wipe out abuse is not enough; you have to change people's whole outlook. The mill is no longer standing, but the wind's still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-wipe-out-abuse-is-not-enough-you-have-to-change-people-s-whole/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“If you are reading this then you have wasted another day of your life day dreaming, rather than planning the life God intended you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/if-you-are-reading-this-then-you-have-wasted-another-day-of-your-life/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Sublime wonders lie in store, I am shown a regal residence; a mighty kingdom, an empire with more grandeur than before ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/sublime-wonders-lie-in-store-i-am-shown-a-regal-residence-a-mighty-2/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [“People with Complex PTSD suffer from more severe and frequent dissociation symptoms, as well as memory and attention problems, than those with simple PTSD.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzette-boon/people-with-complex-ptsd-suffer-from-more-severe-and-frequent/) [Suzette Boon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzette-boon/) > [“What a dynamic, handsome object is a path! How precise the familiar hill paths remain for our muscular consciousness! "Oh, my roads and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/what-a-dynamic-handsome-object-is-a-path-how-precise-the-familiar/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“Stop throwing away days, weeks, months, and years by simply day-dreaming about what you wish your life would be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/stop-throwing-away-days-weeks-months-and-years-by-simply-day-dreaming/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [“I thought if I created some distance, maybe I wouldn't want you to touch me so badly. Maybe I could come to work today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-carr/i-thought-if-i-created-some-distance-maybe-i-wouldn-t-want-you-to/) [Mari Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-carr/) > [“Simply day-dreaming about the possibilities without actions will get you nowhere!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-tse/simply-day-dreaming-about-the-possibilities-without-actions-will-get/) [Sarah Tse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-tse/) > [I think a lot of stuff I find funny is from day dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-a-lot-of-stuff-i-find-funny-is-from-day-dreaming/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [Self-awareness is not the same thing as self-approval, any more than imagination is the same thing as day-dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/self-awareness-is-not-the-same-thing-as-self-approval-any-more-than/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [I don't dream at night, I dream at day, I dream all day; I'm dreaming for living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-don-t-dream-at-night-i-dream-at-day-i-dream-all-day-i-m-dreaming/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) ## More by Victor Hugo > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“There is still a certain grace in a dead festival. It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/have-courage-for-the-great-sorrows-of-life-and-patience-for-the-small/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The peasants of the Asturias believe that in every litter of wolves there is one pup that is killed by the mother for fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-peasants-of-the-asturias-believe-that-in-every-litter-of-wolves/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Great blunders are often made, like large ropes, of a multitude of fibres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/great-blunders-are-often-made-like-large-ropes-of-a-multitude-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“For love is like a tree; it grows of itself; it send its roots deep into our being, and often continues to grow green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/for-love-is-like-a-tree-it-grows-of-itself-it-send-its-roots-deep/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Blacheville smiles with the self-satisfied smugness of a man whose vanity is tickled”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/blacheville-smiles-with-the-self-satisfied-smugness-of-a-man-whose/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Loving in ignorance, she loved with all the more passion. She did not know whether it was good or evil, beneficent or dangerous, necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/loving-in-ignorance-she-loved-with-all-the-more-passion-she-did-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/laughter-is-the-sun-that-drives-winter-from-the-human-face/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Our joys have shadows. The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More Day dreaming quotes > [I don't dream at night, I dream at day, I dream all day; I'm dreaming for living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-don-t-dream-at-night-i-dream-at-day-i-dream-all-day-i-m-dreaming/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Self-awareness is not the same thing as self-approval, any more than imagination is the same thing as day-dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/self-awareness-is-not-the-same-thing-as-self-approval-any-more-than/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [I think a lot of stuff I find funny is from day dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-a-lot-of-stuff-i-find-funny-is-from-day-dreaming/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [“Simply day-dreaming about the possibilities without actions will get you nowhere!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-tse/simply-day-dreaming-about-the-possibilities-without-actions-will-get/) [Sarah Tse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-tse/) > [“I thought if I created some distance, maybe I wouldn't want you to touch me so badly. Maybe I could come to work today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mari-carr/i-thought-if-i-created-some-distance-maybe-i-wouldn-t-want-you-to/) [Mari Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mari-carr/) > [“Stop throwing away days, weeks, months, and years by simply day-dreaming about what you wish your life would be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/stop-throwing-away-days-weeks-months-and-years-by-simply-day-dreaming/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [“What a dynamic, handsome object is a path! How precise the familiar hill paths remain for our muscular consciousness! "Oh, my roads and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/what-a-dynamic-handsome-object-is-a-path-how-precise-the-familiar/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“People with Complex PTSD suffer from more severe and frequent dissociation symptoms, as well as memory and attention problems, than those with simple PTSD.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzette-boon/people-with-complex-ptsd-suffer-from-more-severe-and-frequent/) [Suzette Boon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzette-boon/) > [“Sublime wonders lie in store, I am shown a regal residence; a mighty kingdom, an empire with more grandeur than before ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/sublime-wonders-lie-in-store-i-am-shown-a-regal-residence-a-mighty-2/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [“If you are reading this then you have wasted another day of your life day dreaming, rather than planning the life God intended you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/if-you-are-reading-this-then-you-have-wasted-another-day-of-your-life/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Day dreaming of you wondering what I could have ever done to deserve the love and joy that you bring to me in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/day-dreaming-of-you-wondering-what-i-could-have-ever-done-to-deserve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Alterations in regulation of affect (emotion) and impulse: Almost all people who are seriously traumatized have problems in tolerating and regulating their emotions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzette-boon/alterations-in-regulation-of-affect-emotion-and-impulse-almost-all/) [Suzette Boon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzette-boon/) > [I think it's time that I let you go. And it's really hard for me to do because I know that there's a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-it-s-time-that-i-let-you-go-and-it-s-really-hard-for-me-to-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[I\] learnt, for the first time, the joys of substituting hard, disciplined study for the indulgence of day-dreaming. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-black/i-learnt-for-the-first-time-the-joys-of-substituting-hard-disciplined/) [James Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-black/) > [I SPEND EVERY LEISURE TIME I HAVE JUST TO DAY DREAM, THERE IS NO CERTAIN REASON ACTUALLY JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE IT GIVES ME AN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/no-voice/i-spend-every-leisure-time-i-have-just-to-day-dream-there-is-no/) NO VOICE [Browse all 33 Day dreaming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-dreaming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Nothing is more dangerous than to stop working. 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