The process of writing has something infinite about it. Even though it is interrupted each night, it is one single notation.
Elias CanettiRead
I cannot become modest; too many things burn in me; the old solutions are falling apart; nothing has been done yet with the new ones. So I begin, everywhere at once, as if I had a century ahead of me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the inner turmoil of a person who feels compelled to act despite the chaos of old ideas failing and new ones yet to be realized.
Elias Canetti's quote expresses a deep sense of urgency and potential within the individual. It suggests that despite the challenges of outdated beliefs and the uncertainty surrounding new solutions, there is a strong drive to begin afresh and tackle everything at once. This embrace of action, imbued with the hope of having ample time, highlights a desire to create and innovate in the face of adversity.
Themes
ActionUrgencyInnovationChangePotential
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire a team during a brainstorming session to explore innovative ideas.
More from Elias Canetti
All quotes →The paranoiac is the exact image of the ruler. The only difference is their position in the world. One might even think the paranoiac the more impressive of the two because he is sufficient unto himself and cannot be shaken by failure.
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People's fates are simplified by their names.
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There is no such thing as an ugly language. Today I hear every language as if it were the only one, and when I hear of one that is dying, it overwhelms me as though it were the death of the earth.
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Everything one records contains a grain of hope, no matter how deeply it may come from despair.
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The profoundest thoughts of the philosophers have something trickle about them. A lot disappears in order for something to suddenly appear in the palm of the hand.
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In the end, I am quite normal. I don't have odd habits. I don't dramatize. Above all, I do not romanticize the act of writing. I don't talk about the anguish I suffer in creating. I do not have a fear of the blank page, writer's block, all those things that we hear about writers.
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Whatever you would make habitual, practice it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practice it, but accustom yourself to something else.
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