--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a limit to the work that can be…" description: "\"There is a limit to the work that can be got out of a human body or a human brain, and he is a wise man who wastes no energy on pursuits for which he i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/william-e-gladstone-9842_body_there-is-a-limit-to-the-work-that-can-be_366100.png" --- # There is a limit to the work that can be got out of a… ![“There is a limit to the work that can be got out of a human body or a human brain, and he is a wise man who wastes no energy on pursuits for which he is not fitted; and he is still wiser who, from among the things that he can do well, chooses and resolut” quote by William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/william-e-gladstone-9842_body_there-is-a-limit-to-the-work-that-can-be_366100.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/william-e-gladstone-9842_body_there-is-a-limit-to-the-work-that-can-be_366100.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/william-e-gladstone-9842_body_there-is-a-limit-to-the-work-that-can-be_366100.png) > “There is a limit to the work that can be got out of a human body or a human brain, and he is a wise man who wastes no energy on pursuits for which he is not fitted; and he is still wiser who, from among the things that he can do well, chooses and resolut” [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human capacity is finite; focusing on tasks that match one’s abilities conserves energy and yields better results. **In simple terms:** Work within your strengths. Key Takeaway Prioritize strengths over mismatched tasks. Themes efficiency self‑awareness focus Mood pragmatic reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - skill development - task allocation - health management Key Concepts human limits optimal effort Questions to Reflect On - What strengths are you under‑utilizing? - How can you expand your skill set without overextending? A Different Perspective Over‑specialization can blind you to growth opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Human body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-body/) [Human brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-brain/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [No energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-energy/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wise man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise-man/) ## Related quotes > [To comprehend a man's life, it is necessary to know not merely what he does but also what he purposely leaves undone. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hall-gladstone/to-comprehend-a-man-s-life-it-is-necessary-to-know-not-merely-what-he-2/) John Hall Gladstone > [The sky is the limit when you work hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-weidman/the-sky-is-the-limit-when-you-work-hard/) [Chris Weidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-weidman/) > [I have reached a limit in my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-mesa/i-have-reached-a-limit-in-my-work/) [Carlos Mesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-mesa/) > [Don't limit yourself ever! Be all that you can be and always work to your fullest capacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-limit-yourself-ever-be-all-that-you-can-be-and-always-work-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let's be cautious about relying so much on material things that we have no energy left for the spiritual aspects of our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-forbes/let-s-be-cautious-about-relying-so-much-on-material-things-that-we/) [James A. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-forbes/) > [Excess consumption doesn't make people happy. We can continue to provide for our needs, but we can't continue the endless pursuit of ever more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-dechristopher/excess-consumption-doesn-t-make-people-happy-we-can-continue-to/) [Tim DeChristopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-dechristopher/) > [“I said that he was my superior in observation and deduction. If the art of the detective began and ended in reasoning from an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/i-said-that-he-was-my-superior-in-observation-and-deduction-if-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [A wish has been defined as a 'goal with no energy behind it.' Hope is not a strategy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/a-wish-has-been-defined-as-a-goal-with-no-energy-behind-it-hope-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [The man of meditation is the man who wastes no time, scatters no energy, misses no opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/the-man-of-meditation-is-the-man-who-wastes-no-time-scatters-no/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Focused intensity is required to win. I can't stress enough that people who took control of their finances and worked their way out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ramsey/focused-intensity-is-required-to-win-i-can-t-stress-enough-that/) David Ramsey > [It is difficult to say which is the greatest evil--to have too violent passions, or to be wholly devoid of them. Controlled with firmness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/it-is-difficult-to-say-which-is-the-greatest-evil-to-have-too-violent/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [If you don't have passion, you have no energy, and if you don't have energy, you have nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/if-you-don-t-have-passion-you-have-no-energy-and-if-you-don-t-have/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [On a horse there is a perfect position of balance where he doesn’t feel like he’s pushing you along with him or dragging you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/on-a-horse-there-is-a-perfect-position-of-balance-where-he-doesn-t/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom. The glib supposition of utilizing atomic energy when our coal has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-andrews-millikan/there-is-no-likelihood-man-can-ever-tap-the-power-of-the-atom-the/) [Robert Andrews Millikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-andrews-millikan/) > [There is no energy crisis, only a crisis of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/there-is-no-energy-crisis-only-a-crisis-of-ignorance/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) ## More by William E. Gladstone > [I think that the principle of the Conservative Party is jealousy of liberty and of the people , only qualified by fear ; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/i-think-that-the-principle-of-the-conservative-party-is-jealousy-of/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [National injustice is the surest road to national downfall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/national-injustice-is-the-surest-road-to-national-downfall/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [For works of the mind really great there is no old age, no decrepitude. It is inconceivable that a time should come when Homer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/for-works-of-the-mind-really-great-there-is-no-old-age-no-decrepitude/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [It is not a life at all. It is a reticence, in three volumes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/it-is-not-a-life-at-all-it-is-a-reticence-in-three-volumes/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [No one ever became great except through many and great mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/no-one-ever-became-great-except-through-many-and-great-mistakes/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [The book must of necessity be put into a bookcase. And the bookcase must be housed. And the house must be kept. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-book-must-of-necessity-be-put-into-a-bookcase-and-the-bookcase/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [One example is worth a thousand arguments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/one-example-is-worth-a-thousand-arguments/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [The oppression of a majority is detestable and odious; the oppression of a minority is only by one degree less detestable and odious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-oppression-of-a-majority-is-detestable-and-odious-the-oppression/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [ \[The British constitution\] presumes more boldly than any other the good sense and the good faith of those who work it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-british-constitution-presumes-more-boldly-than-any-other-the-good/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [All the wonders of the Greek civilization heaped together are less wonderful than the single book of Psalms. Greece had all that this world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/all-the-wonders-of-the-greek-civilization-heaped-together-are-less/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [It is the duty of government to make it difficult for people to do wrong, easy to do right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/it-is-the-duty-of-government-to-make-it-difficult-for-people-to-do/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [Ireland, Ireland. That cloud in the west, that coming storm. That minister of God's retribution upon cruel, inveterate, and but half-atoned injustice! Ireland forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/ireland-ireland-that-cloud-in-the-west-that-coming-storm-that/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [Ireland, Ireland. That cloud in the west, that coming storm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/ireland-ireland-that-cloud-in-the-west-that-coming-storm/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [To be engaged in opposing wrong affords...but a slender guarantee for being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/to-be-engaged-in-opposing-wrong-affords-but-a-slender-guarantee-for/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [There should be a sympathy with freedom, a desire to give it scope, founded not upon visionary ideas, but upon the long experience of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/there-should-be-a-sympathy-with-freedom-a-desire-to-give-it-scope/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) [Explore all 70 William E. Gladstone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a limit to the work that can be got out of a human body or a human brain, and he is a wise man who wastes no energy on pursuits for which he is not fitted; and he is still wiser who, from among the things that he can do well, chooses and resolut", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William E. 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