Quotes About Effort

You did well. My boy...you did so well.

When you shoot a lot you stand a better chance, but then you are subjecting yourself to the law of accident?if accident has a law. I prefer to try and if necessary fail. When I succeed, however, I am much happier than I would be if I shot a million pictures on the off-chance. I feel that I have really made it myself, that picture, not won it in a lottery.

The new cultural belief that everything should be fun, fast, and easy is inconsistent with hopeful thinking. It also sets us up for hopelessness. When we experience something that is difficult and requires significant time and effort, we are quick to think, This is supposed to be easy; it's not worth the effort, or, This should be easier: it's only hard and slow because I'm not good at it. Hopeful self-talk sounds more like, This is tough, but I can do it.

Serpentining is the perfect metaphor for how we spend enormous energy trying to dodge vulnerability when it would take far less effort to face it straight on.

As crazy as it sounds, many of us will choose to stay in the resentment, disappointment, and frustration that come with believing people aren't trying rather than face a difficult conversation about real deficits.

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." (Cribbed from Voltaire.) A twenty-minute walk that I do is better than the four-mile run that I don't do. The imperfect book that gets published is better than the perfect book that never leaves my computer. The dinner party of take-out Chinese food is better than the elegant dinner that I never host.

the more grounded confidence parents have, the more likely they are to prepare their child for the path by teaching courage, praising effort, and modeling grit, versus trying to prepare a perfect path for their child by fixing, praising only results

I remind myself, "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." (Cribbed from Voltaire.) A twenty-minute walk that I do is better than the four-mile run that I don't do. The imperfect book that gets published is better than the perfect book that never leaves my computer. The dinner party of take-out Chinese food is better than the elegant dinner that I never host.

there is no effort without error

El mérito es del hombre que está en el ruedo, con el rostro cubierto de polvo, sudor y sangre; del que lucha valientemente; del que yerra; del que fracasa una y otra vez, porque no hay intento sin error ni fallo; del que realmente se esfuerza por actuar;

El mérito es del hombre que está en el ruedo, con el rostro cubierto de polvo, sudor y sangre; del que lucha valientemente; del que yerra; del que fracasa una y otra vez, porque no hay intento sin error ni fallo;

O crédito pertence ao homem que está por inteiro na arena da vida, cujo rosto está manchado de poeira, suor e sangue; que luta bravamente; que erra, que decepciona, porque não há esforço sem erros

We develop a hopeful mind-set when we understand that some worthy endeavors will be difficult and time consuming and not enjoyable at all. Hope also requires us to understand that just because the process of reaching a goal happens to be fun, fast, and easy doesn't mean that it has less value than a difficult goal.

I'd love to skip over the hard stuff, but it just doesn't work. We don't change, we don't grow, and we don't move forward without the work.

Happiness is stable, longer-lasting, and normally the result of effort. It's lower in intensity than joy, and more self-focused.

Brandolini's law: "The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.

The more grounded confidence parents have, the more likely they are to prepare their child for the path by teaching courage, praising effort, and modeling grit, versus trying to prepare a perfect path for their child by fixing, praising only results, and intervening.

When we experience something that is difficult and requires significant time and effort, we are quick to think, This is supposed to be easy; it's not worth the effort, or, This should be easier: it's only hard and slow because I'm not good at it. Hopeful self-talk sounds more like, This is tough, but I can do it.

El mérito es del hombre que está en el ruedo, con el rostro cubierto de polvo, sudor y sangre; del que lucha valientemente; del que yerra; del que fracasa una y otra vez,

betrayal usually happens long before the other ones. I'm talking about the betrayal of disengagement. Of not caring. Of letting the connection go. Of not being willing to devote time and effort to the relationship.

this betrayal usually happens long before the other ones. I'm talking about the betrayal of disengagement. Of not caring. Of letting the connection go. Of not being willing to devote time and effort to the relationship.

we spend an unreasonable amount of time managing problematic behaviors.

Maybe being a big star isn't the only life that will make you happy. Maybe the joy isn't in the end result—in the success. Maybe it's in living, loving—and trying.

no writing is a waste of time--no creative work where the feelings, the imagination, the intelligence must work.