Not adding value is the same as taking it away.
Seth GodinRead
The problem with taking offense is that it's really hard to figure out what to do with it after you're done using it. Better to just leave it on the table and walk away. Umbrage untaken quietly disappears.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Taking offense can complicate situations; it's often better to let negative feelings go.
This quote by Seth Godin emphasizes the futility of holding onto offense and suggests that rather than engaging with negative emotions, one should choose to walk away. By allowing umbrage to fade without confrontation, we can avoid unnecessary conflict and maintain a more peaceful mindset.
Themes
OffenseAngerUmbridgePeaceEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
A person might cite this quote during a team meeting to encourage a focus on solutions rather than grievances.
More from Seth Godin
All quotes →Excellence isn’t about meeting the spec, it’s about setting the spec. It defines what the consumer sees as quality right this minute, and tomorrow, if you’re good, you’ll reset that expectation again
Seth GodinRead
Living with doubt ... is almost always more profitable than living with certainty. _x000D_ People don't like doubt, so they pay money and give up opportunities to avoid it. _x000D_ Entrepreneurshi p is largely about living with doubt. If you need reassurance, you're giving up quite a bit to get it. On the other hand, if you can get in the habit of seeking out uncertainty, you'll have developed a great instinct.
Seth GodinRead
The danger of the Web is that you can go from idea to public announcement in under ten minutes.
Seth GodinRead
Art isn't only a painting. Art is anything that is creative, passionate and personal. Art is the unique work of a human being created to touch another. Art is created to have an impact, to change someone else.
Seth GodinRead
I made a decision to write for my readers, not to try to find more readers for my writing.
Seth GodinRead
Similar quotes
God much are the truly wealthy. So our inner happiness depends not on what we experience but on the degree of our gratitude to God, Gratitude — the Secret of Life.
Albert SchweitzerRead
Ponder just let it happen. It's because their minds are so often involved with deep and problematic matters, he told himself, that their mouths are allowed to wander around making a nuisance of themselves.
Terry PratchettRead
I've heard people say that God is the gift of desperation, and there's a lot to be said for having really reached a bottom where you've run out of any more good ideas or plans for everybody else's behavior; or how to save and fix and rescue; or just get out of a huge mess, possibly of your own creation.
Anne LamottRead
Hope is a very unruly emotion.
Gloria SteinemRead
I'm not a great programmer; I'm just a good programmer with great habits.
Kent BeckRead
Humble words and increased preparations are signs that the enemy is about to advance. Violent language and driving forward as if to the attack are signs that he will retreat.
Sun TzuRead