The way to see what looks good and understand the reasons it looks good, and to be at one with this goodness as the work proceeds, is to cultivate an inner quietness, a peace of mind so that goodness can shine through.
Robert M. PirsigRead
Anxiety is sort of the opposite of ego. You're so sure you'll do everything wrong you're afraid to do anything at all. It results from over-motivation- leading to errors that lead to an underestimation of one's self. Work out your anxieties on paper and read. This calms the mind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Anxiety can paralyze action due to self-doubt, but expressing thoughts can help alleviate this fear.
This quote by Robert M. Pirsig highlights the paradox of anxiety and ego, suggesting that excessive self-doubt can hinder a person's ability to act. Pirsig advises that by externalizing anxieties through writing and reflection, individuals can find clarity and calmness, allowing them to overcome their fears and recognize their potential.
Themes
AnxietyEgoSelf-DoubtMotivationWritingCalmness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared in a mental health seminar to encourage attendees to express their feelings.
More from Robert M. Pirsig
All quotes βWhen analytic thought, the knife, is applied to experience, something is always killed in the process.
Robert M. PirsigRead
The Buddha resides as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the top of a mountain.
Robert M. PirsigRead
It's better not to see than to see wrongly.
Robert M. PirsigRead
The truth knocks on the door and you say, go away, I'm looking for the truth, and it goes away. Puzzling.
Robert M. PirsigRead
You want to know how to paint a perfect painting? It's easy. Make yourself perfect and then just paint naturally.
Robert M. PirsigRead
Similar quotes
Excellent warriors are not violent.
LaoziRead
What we now want is closer contact and better understanding between individuals and communities all over the earth, and the elimination of egoism and pride which is always prone to plunge the world into primeval barbarism and strife... Peace can only come as a natural consequence of universal enlightenment.
Nikola TeslaRead
The last of human freedoms - the ability to chose one's attitude especially an attitude of gratitude in a given set of circumstances especially in difficult circumstances.
Viktor E. FranklRead
You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.
David Foster WallaceRead
The sad ones are those who waste their energy in trying to hold it back, for they can only feel bitterness in loss and no joy in gain.
John SteinbeckRead
Doing a straight-forward, clear-cut task that has a beginning and an end balances out the complexity-without-end that often vexes the rest of my life. Sacred simplicity.
Robert FulghumRead