Quotation: Doubt

Cynthia, with a favorite piece of art in the background.

In his newsletter, James Clear reminds me that Robert Hughes* reminds us that “the closer you get to excellence, the more you notice what is missing:

‘The greater the artist, the greater the doubt; perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.’”

For me, writing — again — is coming back to discovering what you DON’T know, what you have forgotten, what you aren’t sure about, what is yet to be revealed. Writing with “perfect confidence” probably makes for some pretty boring reading.

*Source: Time Magazine (June 10, 1996)