--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Earnestness means willingness to live…" description: "\"Earnestness means willingness to live with energy, though energy bring pain.\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/william-james-228_earnestness_earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-wi_510610.png" --- # Earnestness means willingness to live with energy, though… ![“Earnestness means willingness to live with energy, though energy bring pain.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/william-james-228_earnestness_earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-wi_510610.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/william-james-228_earnestness_earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-wi_510610.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/william-james-228_earnestness_earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-wi_510610.png) > “Earnestness means willingness to live with energy, though energy bring pain.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Earnestness involves living energetically, accepting that energy can also cause suffering. **In simple terms:** Live energetically, accept pain. Key Takeaway Balance enthusiasm with resilience. Themes energy earnestness pain Mood motivational thoughtful Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - career pursuits - creative projects - physical training - mental health Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you sustain energy without burnout? - What pain has taught you about growth? A Different Perspective High energy may lead to burnout if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Willingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willingness/) ## Related quotes > [“Earnestness means willingness to live with energy, though energy bring pain. The pain may be pain to other people or pain to one's self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-with-energy-though-energy-bring-2/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Earnestness is not by any means everything; it is very often a subtle form of pious pride because it is obsessed with the method…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/earnestness-is-not-by-any-means-everything-it-is-very-often-a-subtle/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“Humility means the willingness to look in the mirror of God’s Word and being glad that whatever we see there has already been covered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/humility-means-the-willingness-to-look-in-the-mirror-of-god-s-word/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [No fact of human nature is more characteristic than its willingness to live on a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-fact-of-human-nature-is-more-characteristic-than-its-willingness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Integrity simply means a willingness not to violate one's identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/integrity-simply-means-a-willingness-not-to-violate-one-s-identity/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [After all, if freedom of speech means anything, it means a willingness to stand and let people say things with which we disagree, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zechariah-chafee/after-all-if-freedom-of-speech-means-anything-it-means-a-willingness/) [Zechariah Chafee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zechariah-chafee/) > [Integrity simply means a willingness not to violate one's identity, in the many ways in which such violation is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/integrity-simply-means-a-willingness-not-to-violate-one-s-identity-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The energy I bring, the passion I bring, it's infectious. You can ask anybody on that Oklahoma staff. That's what I bring to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baker-mayfield/the-energy-i-bring-the-passion-i-bring-it-s-infectious-you-can-ask/) [Baker Mayfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baker-mayfield/) > [I really need people to take responsibility for the kind of energy they bring to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-bolte-taylor/i-really-need-people-to-take-responsibility-for-the-kind-of-energy/) [Jill Bolte Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-bolte-taylor/) > [The more energy you bring to the game, the more you're going to get the ball. That's always been the case, and if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-d-antoni/the-more-energy-you-bring-to-the-game-the-more-you-re-going-to-get/) [Mike D'Antoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-d-antoni/) > [You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you're responsible for the energy that you bring to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/you-are-responsible-for-the-energy-that-you-create-for-yourself-and/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“Every day you have a choice as to the type of energy you will bring into the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/every-day-you-have-a-choice-as-to-the-type-of-energy-you-will-bring/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [Let your love be your energy... bring God wherever you go, in everything you do, and whoever comes a long your way. Let His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-reolope/let-your-love-be-your-energy-bring-god-wherever-you-go-in-everything/) [Janet Reolope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-reolope/) > [Please be responsible for the energy you bring into this space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-bolte-taylor/please-be-responsible-for-the-energy-you-bring-into-this-space/) [Jill Bolte Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-bolte-taylor/) > [Your life is influenced by the energy you bring to every moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-richardson/your-life-is-influenced-by-the-energy-you-bring-to-every-moment/) [Cheryl Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-richardson/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Earnestness quotes > [“You know what?” he said with great earnestness. “I think we’re both afraid of the same thing. And for the same reason. We’ve never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/you-know-what-he-said-with-great-earnestness-i-think-we-re-both/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [We want to know not how we should pray if we were perfect but how we should pray being as we now are ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-want-to-know-not-how-we-should-pray-if-we-were-perfect-but-how-we/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Earnestness and sincerity are synonymous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corita-kent/earnestness-and-sincerity-are-synonymous/) [Corita Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corita-kent/) > [“It is no use to ask God with factitious earnestness for A when our whole mind is in reality filled with the desire for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/it-is-no-use-to-ask-god-with-factitious-earnestness-for-a-when-our/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Search and you will find that at the base and birth of every great business organization was an enthusiast, man consumed with earnestness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/search-and-you-will-find-that-at-the-base-and-birth-of-every-great/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [For me and my entire generation, we took on this kind of sarcastic, ironic, snarkiness because it seemed the most extreme reaction to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/for-me-and-my-entire-generation-we-took-on-this-kind-of-sarcastic/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Earnestness alone makes life eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/earnestness-alone-makes-life-eternity/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [This world is given as a prize for the men in earnest; and that which is true of this world is truer still of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/this-world-is-given-as-a-prize-for-the-men-in-earnest-and-that-which/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [The cynic makes fun of all earnestness; he makes fun of everything and everyone who feels that something can be done. . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-edgar-vincent/the-cynic-makes-fun-of-all-earnestness-he-makes-fun-of-everything-and/) George Edgar Vincent > [ \[Ridicule\] laughs at all those who see the earnestness of life and who still believe in true feelings and in serious thought ... It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/ridicule-laughs-at-all-those-who-see-the-earnestness-of-life-and-who/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [For me, earnestness is the greatest crime an Englishman can commit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grayson-perry/for-me-earnestness-is-the-greatest-crime-an-englishman-can-commit/) [Grayson Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grayson-perry/) > [The best remedy for dryness of spirit, is to picture ourselves as beggars in the presence of God and the Saints, and like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-neri/the-best-remedy-for-dryness-of-spirit-is-to-picture-ourselves-as/) [Philip Neri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-neri/) > [... our scholarships should be bestowed on those whose ability and earnestness in the primary department have been proved, and whose capacity for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/our-scholarships-should-be-bestowed-on-those-whose-ability-and/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [People take things at face value on social media. Earnestness is the assumption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/people-take-things-at-face-value-on-social-media-earnestness-is-the/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [Death cannot explain itself. The earnestness consists precisely in this, that the observer must explain it to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/death-cannot-explain-itself-the-earnestness-consists-precisely-in/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) Browse all 159 Earnestness quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Earnestness means willingness to live with energy, though energy bring pain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-with-energy-though-energy-bring/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Earnestness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-with-energy-though-energy-bring/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/william-james-228_earnestness_earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-wi_510610.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/william-james-228_earnestness_earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-wi_510610.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/william-james-228_earnestness_earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-wi_510610.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Earnestness means willingness to live with energy, though energy bring pain.” — William James", "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": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Earnestness means willingness to live with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-with-energy-though-energy-bring/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/earnestness-means-willingness-to-live-with-energy-though-energy-bring/#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 } } ] } ```