Where the will is ready, the feet are light.
Meaning: Motivation and eagerness make difficult journeys feel effortless and swift.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Challenge
- It's an ill wind that blows nobody good. — Even harmful circumstances benefit someone, so misfortune rarely affects everyone equally.
- You cannot drive a windmill with a pair of bellows. — Attempting small, inadequate efforts cannot generate the sustained force needed for signi…
- Tread on a worm and it will turn. — Even the meekest, most powerless creature will resist when pushed to its absolute limit o…
- Zeal without knowledge is fire without light. — Passionate effort without understanding produces only destruction and confusion, never pr…
- Angry men seldom want woe. — Anger blinds men to consequences, so they pursue destructive paths without recognizing im…
- Boys will be boys. — Youthful mischief and rowdiness stem from natural masculine energy rather than moral fail…
From our tongue twisters
- От топота копыт пыль по полю летит. (Ot topota kopyt pyl po polyu letit.) — A 'p/t' hammering that imitates the hoofbeats it describes.
- Четыре чёрненьких чумазеньких чертёнка чертили чёрными чернилами чертёж. (Chetyre chyornenkikh chumazenkikh chertyonka chertili chyornymi chernilami chertyozh.) — Seven consecutive words built on 'ch' — Russian's ч in every stressed position with barel…
- 红鲤鱼与绿鲤鱼与驴 (Hóng lǐyú yǔ lǜ lǐyú yǔ lǘ) — lǐ, lǜ and lǘ differ only by vowel rounding and tone — nine syllables that all collapse t…