---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No particular motive for living, except…"
description: "\"No particular motive for living, except the custom and habit of it.\" — William Makepeace Thackeray"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_customs_no-particular-motive-for-living-except-t_3096489.jpg"
---

#  No particular motive for living, except the custom and…

![“No particular motive for living, except the custom and habit of it.” quote by William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_customs_no-particular-motive-for-living-except-t_3096489.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_customs_no-particular-motive-for-living-except-t_3096489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_customs_no-particular-motive-for-living-except-t_3096489.jpg)

> “No particular motive for living, except the custom and habit of it.”

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Life is driven by habit and routine more than by explicit purpose.

**In simple terms:** Living is often about habit.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and shape your habits.

Themes

habit existence purpose

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical observational

When to use this quote

- daily routines
- career paths
- relationships
- personal development

Key Concepts

Existentialism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What habits define your day?
- How can you create purposeful routines?

A Different Perspective

Habits can become restrictive if unexamined.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Custom Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/custom-habit-4663011/) [Customs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motive/) [Motive Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motive-living-4627820/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Particular Motive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular-motive-5347184/)

## Related quotes

> [I believe that any individual who has spiritually awakened in our time, to the degree that he or she finds a higher and deeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cohen/i-believe-that-any-individual-who-has-spiritually-awakened-in-our/)

[Andrew Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cohen/)

> [Nothing is more powerful than custom or habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or-habit/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [The prejudice of unfounded belief often degenerates into the prejudice of custom, and becomes at last rank hypocrisy. When men, from custom or fashion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-prejudice-of-unfounded-belief-often-degenerates-into-the/)

[Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/)

> [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [When we want to infuse new ideas, to modify or better the habits and customs of a people, to breathe new vigor into its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/when-we-want-to-infuse-new-ideas-to-modify-or-better-the-habits-and/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [All I know is that we are loaded down with old and stale stuff - habits, customs, old attitudes already dead and gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo-antonioni/all-i-know-is-that-we-are-loaded-down-with-old-and-stale-stuff-habits/)

[Michelangelo Antonioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo-antonioni/)

> [“The customs and practices of life in society sweep us along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-customs-and-practices-of-life-in-society-sweep-us-along/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [A convention is a social pattern we have chosen to prefer over whatever the raw world simply proffers. It is a sign of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-bartlett-giamatti/a-convention-is-a-social-pattern-we-have-chosen-to-prefer-over/)

[A. Bartlett Giamatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-bartlett-giamatti/)

> [The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities of higher education, for the full development of her faculties, forces of mind and body;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-strongest-reason-for-giving-woman-all-the-opportunities-of-higher/)

[Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/)

> [There will be no lasting peace either in the heart of individuals or in social customs until death is outlawed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-will-be-no-lasting-peace-either-in-the-heart-of-individuals-or/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [Often a quite assified remark becomes sanctified by use and petrified by custom; it is then a permanency, its term of activity a geologic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/often-a-quite-assified-remark-becomes-sanctified-by-use-and-petrified/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/)

[Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/)

> [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/)

[Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/)

## More by William Makepeace Thackeray

> [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [When one fib becomes due as it were, you must forge another to take up the old acceptance; and so the stock of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/when-one-fib-becomes-due-as-it-were-you-must-forge-another-to-take-up/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Let a man who has to make his fortune in life remember this maxim: Attacking is the only secret. Dare and the world yields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/let-a-man-who-has-to-make-his-fortune-in-life-remember-this-maxim/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [As nature made every man with a nose and eyes of his own, she gave him a character of his own, too; and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/as-nature-made-every-man-with-a-nose-and-eyes-of-his-own-she-gave-him/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [It is best to love wisely, no doubt; but to love foolishly is better than not to be able to love at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/it-is-best-to-love-wisely-no-doubt-but-to-love-foolishly-is-better/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Diffidence is a sort of false modesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/diffidence-is-a-sort-of-false-modesty/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Charming Alnaschar visions! it is the happy privilege of youth to construct you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/charming-alnaschar-visions-it-is-the-happy-privilege-of-youth-to/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [To see a young couple loving each other is no wonder; but to see an old couple loving each other is the best sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-see-a-young-couple-loving-each-other-is-no-wonder-but-to-see-an/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [An immense percentage of snobs, I believe, is to be found in every rank of this mortal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/an-immense-percentage-of-snobs-i-believe-is-to-be-found-in-every-rank/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Vanity is often the unseen spur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/vanity-is-often-the-unseen-spur/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [A good laugh is sunshine in the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/a-good-laugh-is-sunshine-in-the-house/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Novelty has charms that our minds can hardly withstand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/novelty-has-charms-that-our-minds-can-hardly-withstand/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [“Picture to yourself, O fair young reader, a worldly, selfish, graceless, thankless, religionless old woman, writhing in pain and fear, and without her wig.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/picture-to-yourself-o-fair-young-reader-a-worldly-selfish-graceless/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Certain opuscules, denominated 'Christmas Books,' with the ostensible intention of swelling the tide of exhilaration, or other expansive emotions, incident upon the exodus of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/certain-opuscules-denominated-christmas-books-with-the-ostensible/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

[Explore all 384 William Makepeace Thackeray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

## More Customs quotes

> [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/)

[Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/)

> [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/)

[Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/)

> [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [Often a quite assified remark becomes sanctified by use and petrified by custom; it is then a permanency, its term of activity a geologic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/often-a-quite-assified-remark-becomes-sanctified-by-use-and-petrified/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [There will be no lasting peace either in the heart of individuals or in social customs until death is outlawed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-will-be-no-lasting-peace-either-in-the-heart-of-individuals-or/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities of higher education, for the full development of her faculties, forces of mind and body;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-strongest-reason-for-giving-woman-all-the-opportunities-of-higher/)

[Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/)

> [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [He that would travel for the entertainment of others, should remember that the great object of remark is human life. Every nation has something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/he-that-would-travel-for-the-entertainment-of-others-should-remember/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [It is necessary to obey a Pope in all things as long as he does not go against the universal customs of the Church,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-innocent-iii/it-is-necessary-to-obey-a-pope-in-all-things-as-long-as-he-does-not/)

[Pope Innocent III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-innocent-iii/)

> [One of the Canadian customs guards got suspicious and said 'Haven't you been coming and going across the border a lot lately?' I finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/one-of-the-canadian-customs-guards-got-suspicious-and-said-haven-t/)

[Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/)

> [There aren't any looks or customs I wish would come back. Today almost anything goes. Culture constantly devours the past so there's not much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graydon-carter/there-aren-t-any-looks-or-customs-i-wish-would-come-back-today-almost/)

[Graydon Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graydon-carter/)

> [I believe it is essential to have English as the official language of our National Government, for the English language is the tie that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sensenbrenner/i-believe-it-is-essential-to-have-english-as-the-official-language-of/)

[Jim Sensenbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sensenbrenner/)

> [In each human heart terror survives The ravin it has gorged: the loftiest fear All that they would disdain to think were true: Hypocrisy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/in-each-human-heart-terror-survives-the-ravin-it-has-gorged-the/)

[Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/)

[Browse all 817 Customs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customs/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "No particular motive for living, except the custom and habit of it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Makepeace Thackeray"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/no-particular-motive-for-living-except-the-custom-and-habit-of-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Customs"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/no-particular-motive-for-living-except-the-custom-and-habit-of-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_customs_no-particular-motive-for-living-except-t_3096489.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_customs_no-particular-motive-for-living-except-t_3096489.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_customs_no-particular-motive-for-living-except-t_3096489.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“No particular motive for living, except the custom and habit of it.” — William Makepeace Thackeray",
                "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 Makepeace Thackeray",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "No particular motive for living, except...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/no-particular-motive-for-living-except-the-custom-and-habit-of-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/no-particular-motive-for-living-except-the-custom-and-habit-of-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
