motivation

Vincent Van Gogh on the accumulation of small things:

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. The trick is to focus on the first small thing. Starting small is still starting, and small beginnings often lead to extraordinary endings.”

It’s all connected: the relationships you nurture, the hobbies you pursue, your travels, your daily life. You’ll stumble, feel exhausted, and be hard on yourself. But your patience and persistence will ultimately pay off. Leaning into that discomfort and pushing yourself, whether it’s setting aside an hour to write, reworking a painting again and a... See more

there’s a specific kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from doing too much, but from thinking too much while doing very little.

Gaining agency is gaining the capacity to do something differently from, or in addition to, the events that simply happen to you.

We have to give up. You surrender to the reality that things just take the time they take, and that you can’t quiet your anxieties by working faster, because it isn’t within your power to force reality’s pace as much as you feel you need to, and because the faster you go, the faster you’ll feel you need to go. If you can let those fantasies crumble... See more

“you need to be main character-maxing. you need to live your heart out and pour love in everyone's cup. live in your delusion of how amazing the world is and be deeply touched by it. you need to be extremely alive and resurrect everyone within the perimeters of your attention.

you need to believe you're living in a movie and will succeed in ways you

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This is why I feel like people who are less cerebral and less aware of all of the ways in which they are imperfect, they just blast past everyone else. Because they're just doing things. And they get better so much quicker. So I think that's a message I want to give to the world. You're good to go. Just start doing things.