--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we hold back out of laziness, that…" description: "\"When we hold back out of laziness, that is when we tie ourselves into knots of boredom.\" — Walter Annenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/walter-annenberg-16213_boredom_when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-i_742870.jpg" --- # When we hold back out of laziness, that is when we tie… ![“When we hold back out of laziness, that is when we tie ourselves into knots of boredom.” quote by Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/walter-annenberg-16213_boredom_when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-i_742870.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/walter-annenberg-16213_boredom_when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-i_742870.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/walter-annenberg-16213_boredom_when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-i_742870.jpg) > “When we hold back out of laziness, that is when we tie ourselves into knots of boredom.” [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Procrastination creates self‑imposed constraints that lead to dullness and stagnation. **In simple terms:** Laziness ties us in boring knots. Key Takeaway Avoid laziness to stay engaged. Themes procrastination motivation productivity Mood frustrated reflective Type motivational advisory When to use this quote - work tasks - creative projects - daily routines Key Concepts self‑sabotage habit formation Questions to Reflect On - What tasks are you avoiding and why? - How can you break the boredom cycle? A Different Perspective If you’re already busy, laziness may be a sign of burnout, not just idleness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Laziness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laziness/) [Procrastination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procrastination/) ## Related quotes > [Hadphones definetely tie themselves into knots when we're not looking!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess/hadphones-definetely-tie-themselves-into-knots-when-we-re-not-looking/) [Princess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess/) > [Headphones definetely tie themselves into knots when we're not looking!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbie/headphones-definetely-tie-themselves-into-knots-when-we-re-not-looking/) [Barbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbie/) > [“When she saw how they worked, not on their own but two by two, working their trunks together to tie a knot, she realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/when-she-saw-how-they-worked-not-on-their-own-but-two-by-two-working/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Even though you tie a hundred knots, the string remains one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/even-though-you-tie-a-hundred-knots-the-string-remains-one/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [A man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/a-man-must-be-able-to-cut-a-knot-for-everything-cannot-be-untied-he/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/a-man-looks-pretty-small-at-a-wedding-george-all-those-good-women/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Victory won't come to me unless I go to it; a grape tendril ties a knot in knots till knotted thirty times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/victory-won-t-come-to-me-unless-i-go-to-it-a-grape-tendril-ties-a/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [I needed more knowledge in rigging and knotting. I started collecting books on knots and really learning more and more. That's how it started.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/i-needed-more-knowledge-in-rigging-and-knotting-i-started-collecting/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [If my impressions are correct, our educational planing mill cuts down all the knots of genius, and reduces the best of the men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-newcomb/if-my-impressions-are-correct-our-educational-planing-mill-cuts-down/) [Simon Newcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-newcomb/) > [Words got in the way. The things we felt the hardest--like what it was like to have a boy touch you as if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/words-got-in-the-way-the-things-we-felt-the-hardest-like-what-it-was/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My hairstylist taught me a trick for my hair. You section off your hair and put them up in these crazy little knots and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/my-hairstylist-taught-me-a-trick-for-my-hair-you-section-off-your/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [Moderate Republicans are reverse Houdinis. They tie themselves up in knots and then tell you they can’t do anything because they’re tied up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-frank/moderate-republicans-are-reverse-houdinis-they-tie-themselves-up-in/) [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) > [“What have you been doing to yourself, Belinda? Girl, you’ve got more knots in your shoulders than are listed in the Boy Scout handbook.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-johnson/what-have-you-been-doing-to-yourself-belinda-girl-you-ve-got-more/) [Cat Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-johnson/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [Doctrine tied itself into infinite knots over the realities of sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/doctrine-tied-itself-into-infinite-knots-over-the-realities-of-sex/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## More by Walter Annenberg > [TV is like theater. You can't enjoy it without a program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/tv-is-like-theater-you-can-t-enjoy-it-without-a-program/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [Unless young blacks are brought into the mainstream of economic life, they will continue to be on the curbstone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/unless-young-blacks-are-brought-into-the-mainstream-of-economic-life/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [Our blood will turn from red to blue, although our money is but new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/our-blood-will-turn-from-red-to-blue-although-our-money-is-but-new/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [I didn't want to be greedy. It's a mark of bad character and I always believed that pigs go the slaughterhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/i-didn-t-want-to-be-greedy-it-s-a-mark-of-bad-character-and-i-always/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [Carter's done a lot more good since he's been out of the White House than when he was in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/carter-s-done-a-lot-more-good-since-he-s-been-out-of-the-white-house/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [The greatest power is not money power, but political power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/the-greatest-power-is-not-money-power-but-political-power/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [Too much work, too much vacation, too much of any one thing is unsound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/too-much-work-too-much-vacation-too-much-of-any-one-thing-is-unsound/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [Live rich, die poor; never make the mistake of doing it the other way 'round.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/live-rich-die-poor-never-make-the-mistake-of-doing-it-the-other-way/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [My success? Being born the son of Moses Annenberg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/my-success-being-born-the-son-of-moses-annenberg/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [My country has been very good to me; I must be good to my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/my-country-has-been-very-good-to-me-i-must-be-good-to-my-country/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [I have very little respect for Nancy Reagan. There is something about her that is very petty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/i-have-very-little-respect-for-nancy-reagan-there-is-something-about/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [I didn't feel the Depression at all. I always had a pocketful of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/i-didn-t-feel-the-depression-at-all-i-always-had-a-pocketful-of-money/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [Your Majesty, I took the liberty because I was so desirous of visiting alone with you for a few minutes before the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/your-majesty-i-took-the-liberty-because-i-was-so-desirous-of-visiting/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [Some people find an interest in making money, and though they appear to be slaving, many actually enjoy every minute of their](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/some-people-find-an-interest-in-making-money-and-though-they-appear/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) > [It is not easy to find something that will intrigue and bind your interest and enthusiasm. This you must seek for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/it-is-not-easy-to-find-something-that-will-intrigue-and-bind-your/) [Walter Annenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) [Explore all 40 Walter Annenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/) ## More Boredom quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think anyone wants to do the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bachmann/i-don-t-think-anyone-wants-to-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Eric Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bachmann/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The worst sin, the ultimate sin for me, in anything, is to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-worst-sin-the-ultimate-sin-for-me-in-anything-is-to-be-bored/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Listen deeply. Meditate on that which is arising. Even if it's boredom or difficulty or maybe a feeling of being stuck, that in itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/listen-deeply-meditate-on-that-which-is-arising-even-if-it-s-boredom/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) [Browse all 1,505 Boredom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we hold back out of laziness, that is when we tie ourselves into knots of boredom.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Annenberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-is-when-we-tie-ourselves-into/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boredom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-is-when-we-tie-ourselves-into/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/walter-annenberg-16213_boredom_when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-i_742870.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/walter-annenberg-16213_boredom_when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-i_742870.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28a/walter-annenberg-16213_boredom_when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-i_742870.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we hold back out of laziness, that is when we tie ourselves into knots of boredom.” — Walter Annenberg", "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": "Walter Annenberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-annenberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we hold back out of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-is-when-we-tie-ourselves-into/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-annenberg/when-we-hold-back-out-of-laziness-that-is-when-we-tie-ourselves-into/#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 } } ] } ```