There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints.
Rita DoveRead
The joy of working at something to find out what it means to me is what I grew up with.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Finding joy in the process of discovering personal meaning in work is a fundamental aspect of personal growth.
Rita Dove's quote reflects the intrinsic value of engaging deeply with one's work to uncover personal significance and understanding. It emphasizes that the journey of exploration and the joy derived from such a process are foundational experiences that shape a person's identity and perspectives throughout life.
Themes
JoyWorkMeaningDiscoveryPersonal Growth
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational seminar, emphasizing the importance of finding joy in your career path.
More from Rita Dove
All quotes →Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every scientist I have met who has been a success has had to imagine.
Rita DoveRead
As an African-American, as a woman, I think that I've been sensitized to the way in which history privileges the white male and the way in which certain aspects of history, the things that we are taught in school, the things that are handed down, never, never entered the picture though they might have been very important.
Rita DoveRead
If our children are unable to voice what they mean, no one will know how they feel. If they can’t imagine a different world, they are stumbling through a darkness made all the more sinister by its lack of reference points. For a young person growing up in America’s alienated neighborhoods, there can be no greater empowerment than to dare to speak from the heart — and then to discover that one is not alone in ones feelings.
Rita DoveRead
All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, This is when I became myself.
Rita DoveRead
Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a poet.
Rita DoveRead
Similar quotes
In many shamanic societies, if you came to a medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions: 'When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories? When did you stop being comforted by the sweet territory of silence?'
Angeles ArrienRead
As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
William BlakeRead
Over time, I've paid attention, taken notes and forgotten easily half of everything I've gone through.
Carrie FisherRead
The way we respond to criticism pretty much depends on the way we respond to praise. If praise humbles us, then criticism will build us up. But if praise inflates us, then criticism will crush us; and both responses lead to our defeat.
Warren W. WiersbeRead
There are no variations except for those who know a norm, and no subtleties for those who have not grasped the obvious.
C. S. LewisRead
We have come into this exquisite world to experience ever and ever more deeply our divine courage, freedom and light!
HafezRead