--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It…" description: "\"Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.\" — W. Somerset Maugham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/w-somerset-maugham-237_excess_excess-on-occasion-is-exhilarating-it-pr_1421993.jpg" --- # Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation… ![“Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/w-somerset-maugham-237_excess_excess-on-occasion-is-exhilarating-it-pr_1421993.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/w-somerset-maugham-237_excess_excess-on-occasion-is-exhilarating-it-pr_1421993.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/w-somerset-maugham-237_excess_excess-on-occasion-is-exhilarating-it-pr_1421993.jpg) > “Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Occasional excess adds excitement and prevents routine from becoming dull, but it risks becoming a habit that dulls its impact. **In simple terms:** Excess can be thrilling but may lose its spark if habitual. Key Takeaway Use excess sparingly for excitement. Themes excess thrill habit formation Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative projects - celebrations - risk taking Key Concepts psychology of novelty balance Questions to Reflect On - When does excitement become harmful? - How can you maintain novelty without excess? A Different Perspective Too much excess can be harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Effect Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effect-habit-4380497/) [Excess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) [Excess Occasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess-occasion-4380496/) [Exhilarating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhilarating/) [Exhilarating Prevents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhilarating-prevents-5038551/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Moderation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moderation/) [Prevents Moderation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prevents-moderation-5038552/) ## Related quotes > [Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. It's a funny thing about life; if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/excess-on-occasion-is-exhilarating-it-prevents-moderation-from/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [We Americans, or half of Americans, think health care is a commodity. Other countries view health care as a social service that should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uwe-reinhardt/we-americans-or-half-of-americans-think-health-care-is-a-commodity/) [Uwe Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uwe-reinhardt/) > [“Liberty is terrifying but it is also exhilarating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/liberty-is-terrifying-but-it-is-also-exhilarating/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [When you are performing in theater, you feel so connected to your audience. Its exhilarating!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-marano/when-you-are-performing-in-theater-you-feel-so-connected-to-your/) [Laura Marano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-marano/) > [It's exhilarating to be alive in a time of awakening consciousness; it can also be confusing, disorienting, and painful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/it-s-exhilarating-to-be-alive-in-a-time-of-awakening-consciousness-it/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Early love is exciting and exhilarating. It's light and bubbly. Anyone can love like that. But after three children, after a separation and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/early-love-is-exciting-and-exhilarating-it-s-light-and-bubbly-anyone/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [Killing Lincoln is a must-read historical thriller. Bill O'Reilly recounts the dramatic events of the spring of 1865 with such exhilarating immediacy that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-flynn/killing-lincoln-is-a-must-read-historical-thriller-bill-o-reilly/) [Vince Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-flynn/) > [It was life, often unsatisfying, frequently cruel, usually boring, sometimes beautiful, once in a while exhilarating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-was-life-often-unsatisfying-frequently-cruel-usually-boring/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [If I think back to every rehearsal process for every play I've ever worked on, there's just so much crying at home. I barely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-baker/if-i-think-back-to-every-rehearsal-process-for-every-play-i-ve-ever/) [Annie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-baker/) > [Today's competitiveness, so much imposed from without, is exhausting, not exhilarating; is unending-a part of one's social life, one's solitude, one's sleep, one's sleeplessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kronenberger/today-s-competitiveness-so-much-imposed-from-without-is-exhausting/) [Louis Kronenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kronenberger/) > [I think there is something exhilarating in flying amongst clouds, and always get a feeling of wanting to pit my aeroplane against them, charge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rumney-samson/i-think-there-is-something-exhilarating-in-flying-amongst-clouds-and/) [Charles Rumney Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rumney-samson/) > [There is no doubt that running away on a fresh, blue morning can be exhilarating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/there-is-no-doubt-that-running-away-on-a-fresh-blue-morning-can-be/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [I would actually love to fly. I think that that would be probably the most exhilarating feeling, and as close as you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-larter/i-would-actually-love-to-fly-i-think-that-that-would-be-probably-the/) [Ali Larter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-larter/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [My first big show was with Tim McGraw and Mark Chesnutt, and that was overwhelming. There was probably 25,000 people there. I was nervous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ann-womack/my-first-big-show-was-with-tim-mcgraw-and-mark-chesnutt-and-that-was/) [Lee Ann Womack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ann-womack/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. 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It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Excess quotes > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A too closely watched flower/blossoms the wrong color./Excess attention to the jonquil/turns it gentian. Flowers/need it tranquil to get/their hues right. Some/only open at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/a-too-closely-watched-flower-blossoms-the-wrong-color-excess/) [Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/) > [This isn't a picture filled with wonder and a sense of fun; it's so jaded and crass that I almost wonder if it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-zacharek/this-isn-t-a-picture-filled-with-wonder-and-a-sense-of-fun-it-s-so/) [Stephanie Zacharek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-zacharek/) > [Enjoy the necessities of life but eschew the excesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gardner/enjoy-the-necessities-of-life-but-eschew-the-excesses/) [Ian Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gardner/) > [Most of us try to do too much because we are secretly afraid we will not be able to do anything at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-aster/most-of-us-try-to-do-too-much-because-we-are-secretly-afraid-we-will/) [Rick Aster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-aster/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [I believe that government should confine itself to the public realm and that it should be as stripped down as possible, within reason. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-believe-that-government-should-confine-itself-to-the-public-realm/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [All excess is ill; but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/all-excess-is-ill-but-drunkenness-is-of-the-worst-sort-it-spoils/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [“The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He’s got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-deliverator-belongs-to-an-elite-order-a-hallowed-subcategory-he-s/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Well, as you know, we're working through a difficult period in our financial markets right now as we work off some of the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/well-as-you-know-we-re-working-through-a-difficult-period-in-our/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [The saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. Moderation is not their secret. 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We both want to reign in the excesses… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/look-at-what-i-am-proposing-and-we-wih-bernie-sanders-have-a-vigorous/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) [Browse all 952 Excess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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