Life with most teenagers was like having a low-grade bladder infection. It hurts, but you had to tough it out.
Anne LamottRead
I used to love to untangle chains when I was a child. I had thin, busy fingers, and I never gave up. Perhaps there was a psychiatric component to my concentration but like much of my psychic damage, this worked to everyone's advantage.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the persistence and focus found in childhood activities, highlighting how challenges can lead to unexpected strengths.
Anne Lamott's quote suggests that the simple act of untangling chains as a child was not only a playful endeavor but also a demonstration of her determination and focus. She acknowledges that this ability to concentrate, while potentially linked to her psychological struggles, ultimately became a beneficial trait that served both her and those around her. This perspective offers a deeper insight into how our difficulties can develop unique strengths and skills.
Themes
PersistenceChildhoodFocusStrengthChallenges
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about perseverance in the face of life's challenges.
More from Anne Lamott
All quotes βOr you might shout at the top of your lungs or whisper into your sleeve, "I hate you, God." That is a prayer too, because it is real, it is truth, and maybe it is the first sincere thought you've had in months.
Anne LamottRead
Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over people and circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.
Anne LamottRead
It is hard to remember that you are a cherished spiritual being when you're burping up apple fritters and Cheetos.
Anne LamottRead
Gorgeous, amazing things come into our lives when we are paying attention: mangoes, grandnieces, Bach, ponds. This happens more often when we have as little expectation as possible. If you say, "Well, that's pretty much what I thought I'd see," you are in trouble. At that point you have to ask yourself why you are even here. [...] Astonishing material and revelation appear in our lives all the time. Let it be. Unto us, so much is given. We just have to be open for business.
Anne LamottRead
...because when people have seen you at their worst, you don't have to put on the mask as much.
Anne LamottRead
Similar quotes
I am a person who feels guilty for crimes I have not committed, or have not committed in years. The police search the train station for a serial rapist and I cover my face with a newspaper, wondering if maybe I did it in my sleep. The last thing I stole was an eight-track tape, but to this day I'm unable to enter a store without feeling like a shoplifter. It's all the anxiety with none of the free stuff.
David SedarisRead
We are asleep. Our Life is a dream. But we wake up sometimes, just enough to know that we are dreaming.
Ludwig WittgensteinRead
God who preceded all existence is a refuge.
MaimonidesRead
Let men say we be men of good government, being governed, as the sea is, by our noble and chaste mistress the moon, under whose countenance we steal.
William ShakespeareRead
I believe in mysticism, with an interior goal, _x000D_ and you are your own temple _x000D_ and your own priest.
Alejandro JodorowskyRead
Whether a man chooses to tell the truth in long sentences or short jokes is a problem analogous to whether he chooses to tell the truth in French or in German.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead