--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ninety-nine hundredths or, possibly, nine…" description: "\"Ninety-nine hundredths or, possibly, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our activity is purely automatic and habitual, from our rising in the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/william-james-228_activity_ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine_1344108.png" --- # Ninety-nine hundredths or, possibly, nine hundred and… ![“Ninety-nine hundredths or, possibly, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our activity is purely automatic and habitual, from our rising in the morning to our lying down each night.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/william-james-228_activity_ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine_1344108.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/william-james-228_activity_ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine_1344108.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/william-james-228_activity_ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine_1344108.png) > “Ninety-nine hundredths or, possibly, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our activity is purely automatic and habitual, from our rising in the morning to our lying down each night.” [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. Most of our daily actions are unconscious habits, from waking to sleeping. **In simple terms:** Daily actions are mostly automatic habits. Key Takeaway Recognize and reshape automatic habits. Themes habit automation consciousness self-awareness Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - morning routine - evening routine - work tasks - exercise habits - social interactions Key Concepts psychology habit formation mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - Which habits could you make more conscious? - How do automatic habits affect your goals? A Different Perspective Changing deep habits requires sustained effort and self‑discipline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Automatic Habitual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/automatic-habitual-1290147/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habitual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habitual/) [Habitual Rising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habitual-rising-4550716/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Lying down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying-down/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Nine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nine/) [Ninety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ninety/) [Ninety Hundredths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ninety-hundredths-1030345/) [Ninety nine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ninety-nine/) [Ninety Thousandths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ninety-thousandths-4550715/) [Rising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising/) [Rising in the morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising-in-the-morning-159596/) [Thousandths Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousandths-activity-4550717/) ## Related quotes > [We must make automatic and habitual, as early as possible, as many useful actions as we can. . . . The more of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-must-make-automatic-and-habitual-as-early-as-possible-as-many/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [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/) > [We must make automatic and habitual, as early as possible, as many useful actions as we can, and as carefully guard against the growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-must-make-automatic-and-habitual-as-early-as-possible-as-many-3/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Ninety-nine one-hundredths of our lives we are mere hedgers and ditchers, but from time to time we meet with reminders of our destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/ninety-nine-one-hundredths-of-our-lives-we-are-mere-hedgers-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm so glad my window looks east into the sunrising- It's so splendid to see the morning coming up over those long hills and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/i-m-so-glad-my-window-looks-east-into-the-sunrising-it-s-so-splendid/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [Early to bed and early to rise makes a person dull, boring, and despised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-j-zelinski/early-to-bed-and-early-to-rise-makes-a-person-dull-boring-and-despised/) [Ernie J Zelinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-j-zelinski/) > [None of it gets to be 'old stuff', for it is Christ in print, the Living Word. We wouldn't think of rising in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-elliot/none-of-it-gets-to-be-old-stuff-for-it-is-christ-in-print-the-living/) [Jim Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-elliot/) > [It's as predictable as the sun rising in the morning. Every time Barack Obama's poll numbers rise you can be certain he's done something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-quaid/it-s-as-predictable-as-the-sun-rising-in-the-morning-every-time/) [Dennis Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-quaid/) > [Early rising not only gives us more life in the same number of years, but adds, likewise, to their number; and not only enables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/early-rising-not-only-gives-us-more-life-in-the-same-number-of-years/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [The early morning has gold in its mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-early-morning-has-gold-in-its-mouth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The golden line is drawn between winter and summer. Behind all is blackness and darkness and dissolution. Before is hope, and soft airs, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-hunt/the-golden-line-is-drawn-between-winter-and-summer-behind-all-is/) [Leigh Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-hunt/) ## 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 Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) [Gero Miesenbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gero-miesenbock/) > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ninety-nine hundredths or, possibly, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our activity is purely automatic and habitual, from our rising in the morning to our lying down each night.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/william-james-228_activity_ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine_1344108.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/william-james-228_activity_ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine_1344108.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/william-james-228_activity_ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine_1344108.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ninety-nine hundredths or, possibly, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our activity is purely…” — 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": "Ninety-nine hundredths or, possibly, nine hundred...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/ninety-nine-hundredths-or-possibly-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine/#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 } } ] } ```