If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price.
John UpdikeRead
The difficulty is, all swing thoughts decay, like radium. What burnt up the course on Wednesday has turned to lead on Sunday. Yet it does not do to have a blank mind: the terrible hugeness of the course will rush into the vacuum and the ball will spray like a thing berserk.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Thoughts can be fleeting, and what works well in one moment may not in another.
This quote reflects on the nature of thoughts and their transient quality, particularly in the context of performance, such as golf. John Updike suggests that while certain insights or strategies may be effective at one time, they can quickly lose their potency, leaving a void that can lead to chaos if left unfilled, emphasizing the importance of mental focus and adaptability.
Themes
ThoughtsPerformanceFocusAdaptabilityMental Strength
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech focusing on perseverance and adaptability.
More from John Updike
All quotes →Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of. _x000D_ _x000D_ Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings.
John UpdikeRead
Museums and bookstores should feel, I think, like vacant lots - places where the demands on us are our own demands, where the spirit can find exercise in unsupervised play.
John UpdikeRead
But it is just two lovers, holding hands and in a hurry to reach their car, their locked hands a starfish leaping through the dark.
John UpdikeRead
The reader knows the writer better than he knows himself; but the writer's physical presence is light from a star that has moved on.
John UpdikeRead
To guarantee the individual maximum freedom within a social frame of minimal laws ensures - if not happiness - its hopeful pursuit.
John UpdikeRead
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