--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never suffer an exception to occur till…" description: "\"Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/william-james-228_balls_never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till_249709.png" --- # Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is… ![“Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/william-james-228_balls_never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till_249709.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/william-james-228_balls_never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till_249709.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/william-james-228_balls_never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till_249709.png) > “Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again.” [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. New habits must be firmly established before occasional lapses can be tolerated; a single mistake can undo much progress. **In simple terms:** Consistent practice prevents setbacks. Key Takeaway Build strong, stable habits. Themes habit formation consistency resilience Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type advice psychological When to use this quote - learning a skill - exercise routine - dietary changes - skill acquisition Key Concepts psychology behavioral science self‑control Questions to Reflect On - How do you recover after a slip? - What supports help keep habits stable? A Different Perspective Habits can be fragile and require ongoing effort to maintain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balls/) [Exception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exception/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Great men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-men/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habit Securely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit-securely-2092081/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Lapses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lapses/) [Letting Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letting-fall-490076/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [New Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-habit-367040/) [New habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-habits/) [Rooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooted/) [Slip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slip/) [Slips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slips/) [Strings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strings/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) [Winding up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winding-up/) ## Related quotes > [“Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-morton-mcmurry/never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till-the-new-habit-is-securely/) [Frank Morton McMurry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-morton-mcmurry/) > [We must make automatic and habitual, as early as possible, as many useful actions as we can...in the acquisition of a new habit, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-must-make-automatic-and-habitual-as-early-as-possible-as-many-2/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the acquisition of a new habit, or the leaving off of an old one, we must take care to launch ourselves with as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-acquisition-of-a-new-habit-or-the-leaving-off-of-an-old-one-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [To change one's life: a. Start immediately b. B. Do it flamboyantly c. No exceptions Never suffer an exception to occur till the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/to-change-one-s-life-a-start-immediately-b-b-do-it-flamboyantly-c-no/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Those old habits don't have to be erased, they just become replaced by a new habit that is more in vibrational harmony with who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/those-old-habits-don-t-have-to-be-erased-they-just-become-replaced-by/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [Beginning a new habit, or ending an old one can feel like letting go of a rope that swings a mile above the ground.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-perry/beginning-a-new-habit-or-ending-an-old-one-can-feel-like-letting-go/) [Philippa Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-perry/) > [The solution is to ignore the bad habit and put your energy toward building a new habit that will override the old one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-coyle/the-solution-is-to-ignore-the-bad-habit-and-put-your-energy-toward/) [Daniel Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-coyle/) > [It takes 3 weeks to break a habit, 6 weeks to develop a new habit and 36 weeks to hardwire this new habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-holford/it-takes-3-weeks-to-break-a-habit-6-weeks-to-develop-a-new-habit-and/) [Patrick Holford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-holford/) > [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/) [Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/) > [New habits can be launched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/new-habits-can-be-launched/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Pick up a pinecone and count the spiral rows of scales. You may find eight spirals winding up to the left and 13 spirals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-kauffman/pick-up-a-pinecone-and-count-the-spiral-rows-of-scales-you-may-find-2/) [Stuart Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-kauffman/) > [Winding up unfinished business with another person can give you a great burst of positive energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/winding-up-unfinished-business-with-another-person-can-give-you-a/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [It is most important to allow the brain the full measure of sleep which is required to restore it; for sleep is to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-most-important-to-allow-the-brain-the-full-measure-of-sleep/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [The way Jesus shows you is not easy. Rather, it is like a path winding up a mountain. Do not lose heart! The steeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-way-jesus-shows-you-is-not-easy-rather-it-is-like-a-path-winding/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) ## 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 Balls quotes > [It's a lot harder to play football when you haven't got the ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gray/it-s-a-lot-harder-to-play-football-when-you-haven-t-got-the-ball/) [Andy Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gray/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [Play small ball. Get back to basics. I would say that you need to be a conservative, but you need to maintain your independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-tantaros/play-small-ball-get-back-to-basics-i-would-say-that-you-need-to-be-a/) [Andrea Tantaros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-tantaros/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [Maybe bring in sponge balls to learn the technique and gain that experience of actually challenging for a header.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-mason/maybe-bring-in-sponge-balls-to-learn-the-technique-and-gain-that/) [Ryan Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-mason/) > [I like René Descartes' theory about a ball of wax. You can change its form from solid to liquid, but it's still the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-rossum/i-like-ren-descartes-theory-about-a-ball-of-wax-you-can-change-its/) [Emmy Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-rossum/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Throwing a ball is not natural, whether it's overhand or underhand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-finch/throwing-a-ball-is-not-natural-whether-it-s-overhand-or-underhand/) [Jennie Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-finch/) > [I don't feel like I have to live up to anything because I've proven that I can play. Give me the ball and let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clinton-portis/i-don-t-feel-like-i-have-to-live-up-to-anything-because-i-ve-proven/) [Clinton Portis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clinton-portis/) > [And if we seem nutty to you and if we seem like an odd ball to you, just remember one thing. The mighty oak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-turner/and-if-we-seem-nutty-to-you-and-if-we-seem-like-an-odd-ball-to-you/) [Glenn Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-turner/) > [You run the football for toughness. You run the ball to tell your opponent that you're as tough as they are. But you throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-glanville/you-run-the-football-for-toughness-you-run-the-ball-to-tell-your/) [Jerry Glanville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-glanville/) [Browse all 3,005 Balls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balls/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till-the-new-habit-is-securely-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Balls" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till-the-new-habit-is-securely-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/william-james-228_balls_never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till_249709.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/william-james-228_balls_never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till_249709.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e7/william-james-228_balls_never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till_249709.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is like…” — 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": "Never suffer an exception to occur...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till-the-new-habit-is-securely-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/never-suffer-an-exception-to-occur-till-the-new-habit-is-securely-2/#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 } } ] } ```