I think that's one of the maybe under-discussed aspects of process - the difference between a good writing day and a bad one is the quality of the split-second decisions you made.
George SaundersRead
I don't think much new ever happens. Most of us spend our days the same way people spent their days in the year 1000: walking around smiling, trying to earn enough to eat, while neurotically doing these little self-proofs in our head about how much better we are than these other slobs, while simultaneously, in another part of our brain, secretly feeling woefully inadequate to these smarter, more beautiful people.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the human experience's consistency over time, highlighting our daily struggles and insecurities.
George Saunders' quote suggests that despite advancements in society, the essence of daily life remains unchanged since ancient times. People still face the same challenges of seeking validation, struggling with self-worth, and the mundane routine of existence. This introspection reveals a timeless and universal aspect of humanity, where the quest for betterment often collides with feelings of inadequacy in comparison to others.
Themes
Human ExperienceInsecuritiesValidationRoutineSelf-Worth
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about societal progress, one could reference this quote to emphasize the persistent nature of human struggles.
More from George Saunders
All quotes →I still believe that capitalism is too harsh and I believe that, even within that, there is a lot of satisfaction and beauty if you happen to be one of the lucky ones, although that doesn't eradicate the reality of the suffering. It's all true at once, kind of humming and sublime.
George SaundersRead
Down in the city are the nice houses and the so-so houses and the lovers making out in dark yards and the babies crying for their moms, and I wonder if, other than Jesus, has this ever happened before. Maybe it happens all the time. Maybe there's angry dead all over, hiding in rooms, covered with blankets, bossing around their scared, embarrassed relatives. Because how would we know?
George SaundersRead
What a powerful thing to know: That one's own desires are mappable onto strangers; that what one finds in oneself will most certainly be found in The Other.
George SaundersRead
When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you. What I want is to have the reader come out just 6 percent more awake to the world.
George SaundersRead
Irony is just honesty with the volume cranked up.
George SaundersRead
Similar quotes
In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.
David Foster WallaceRead
Prohibition is an attempted cure that makes matters worse - for both the addict and the rest of us.
Milton FriedmanRead
Work is the only thing that gives substance to life.
Albert EinsteinRead
To demand that a person pee in a cup whenever you wish him to, without a documented reason to suspect that he has been using an illegal drug, is intolerable in our republic. You are saying to him, "I wonder if you are not behaving in a way that I approve of. Convince me that you indeed are. Outrageous. Intolerable.
Alexander ShulginRead
If machines do everything well, including allocating capital and resources efficiently, can that be deflationary, can that eliminate poverty? I don't know. It's hard to be very optimistic if you look at how humans have behaved historically.
Stanley DruckenmillerRead
Too often a story is examined through biased eyes, without a sensitivity for everyone who forged it. It's seen from the point of view of the great white savior, and rarely is the perspective of the slave a part.
Jeffrey WrightRead