Top 90 Barbara Sher Quotes (2025 Update)
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51. “The cure for sorrow is to learn something.”

— Barbara Sher

52. “Every single one of us can do things that no one else can do can love things that no one else can love. We are like violins. We can be used for doorstops, or we can make music.”

— Barbara Sher

53. “And be grateful that you’re a Scanner. Not everyone can have this much fun with nothing but what’s between her ears.”

— Barbara Sher

54. “We are like violins. We can be used as doorstops, or we can make music.”

— Barbara Sher

55. “If you truly feared failure, you’d be very successful.”

— Barbara Sher

56. “When you lose interest in something, you must always consider the possibility that you’ve gotten what you came for; you have completed your mission.”

— Barbara Sher

57. “Being judgmental about your own behavior is actually another cop-out because it makes you feel as though you’re doing something virtuous.”

— Barbara Sher

58. “This feeling is the cause of every Scanner’s unexpected ending. The dread of being locked away from their main source of energy and joy – learning, discovering, sleuthing, creating – makes Scanners pull back from every job or project, no matter how hard they try to stay.”

— Barbara Sher

59. “It’s essential to distinguish between events that are really beyond your control and events you caused yourself.”

— Barbara Sher

60. “Find what you love, because greatness is based on great gifts. If you love something, you can count on the fact that you are genetically gifted at it.”

— Barbara Sher

61. “No, being too busy isn’t your reason for keeping clutter in your life. Uncomfortable though it may be to have so much unfinished work surrounding you, you keep those magazines and broken antiques because all that potential feels nice. Now take one more step in your thinking and what you’ll find is a tiny but powerful fear of commitment.”

— Barbara Sher

62. “Isolation is the dream killer. It will stop you every time.”

— Barbara Sher

63. “Doing what you love isn’t a priviledge; it’s an obligation.”

— Barbara Sher

64. “Thinking about swimming isn’t much like actually getting in the water. Actually getting in the water can take your breath away.”

— Barbara Sher

65. “Remember, whenever too many people fail a requirement, there’s nothing wrong with them, there’s something wrong with the requirement.”

— Barbara Sher

66. “Parents have their own dreams – and it’s those dreams they’re pushing, not yours. In their heads, they have images of successful sons and beautiful wealthy daughters, children who are impressive – and secure. Very few parents have the luxury, the calmness of spirit, to realize that the most practical thing any child can do is to find its own vision – and follow it.”

— Barbara Sher

67. “But the main reason Scanners are different from others, and the reason they get noticed for not sticking to anything, is because they learn faster than almost anybody.”

— Barbara Sher

68. “Bitterness isn’t as authentic as it looks. Believe it or not, one of the reasons we choose to feel bitter is because it’s easier than feeling pain. It makes us feel tough. Being bitter gives the illusion that you’re fighting, that you’re not taking defeat lying down. But bitterness is a log jam. It won’t let you get moving.”

— Barbara Sher

69. “Although it may not seem finished to anyone else, it’s finished to you. It’s your project. You did it by choice. You have the right to decide when you’re done.”

— Barbara Sher

70. “Boredom is the mind’s way of rejecting anything that lacks nutrients.”

— Barbara Sher

71. “Since then I’ve come to believe you don’t always have to use things you love, and it’s not always so practical to be so practical. Now that I’ve grown up, I realize that all that delicious dilettantism pays its way as much as any degree in medicine or engineering, by making me remember every day – whenever I pick up a book or watch the Science Channel or try to read a map of Asia for no particular reason – that life is amazing and there is no end to the wonder of it.”

— Barbara Sher

72. “Let’s end the notion that ideas have no value unless they turn into a business or have some other practical use.”

— Barbara Sher

73. “And you’re probably spending too much time in a job that doesn’t mean anything to you. A person who can’t make a choice often works far below her capabilities to avoid making a commitment and to send out the message that her present job is only temporary.”

— Barbara Sher

74. “How would it feel to forget about finding your big passion and enjoy the delightful fact that you can learn anything you like and your life will be filled with variety and excitement?”

— Barbara Sher

75. “You might find the perfect combination of all your interests and have a very enjoyable career. Or you might discover that what you really love is learning itself.”

— Barbara Sher

76. “Maybe coming up with ideas is just the way your brain dances. Instead of thinking “This could be a great opportunity for success!” why not enlarge the meaning of “opportunity” to include the Good Feeling? As in: “This could be a great opportunity for my brain to boogie!”

— Barbara Sher

77. “In your fantasies you imagine that you’d love to have all the clutter gone so you could relax, but in fact, nobody really wants to relax. Not for very long, anyway. Everybody needs something to do.”

— Barbara Sher

78. “Let’s end the notion that ideas have no value unless they turn into a business or have some other practical use. Save them all in a beautiful book like Leonardo did. You might want to give them away someday, perhaps to someone who needs an idea. Or your great-great-grandchildren might love knowing what a fascinating mind you had. Or your biographer might be very happy after you’re gone.”

— Barbara Sher

79. “Little by little, the process of writing your ideas in your Daybook will change the way you feel about not following up on every one of your good ideas, because it becomes so clear that planning, designing, and making a record of your ideas in something called a Scanner Daybook isn’t making a promise; it’s the way inventive people enjoy themselves.”

— Barbara Sher

80. “Remember that to yourself, you are and always will be the strongest element in your environment. That’s why any job, right or wrong, will teach you important lessons about yourself. The truth is that personal development is the real reason you should be working in the first place.”

— Barbara Sher

81. “You see, you’re not someone without direction; you’re an investigator, and the whole investigative process consists of learning a little bit about everything that looks interesting to you. If you respect your natural curiosity, you’ll come to trust your enthusiasm. It knows something about you. Your trail of enthusiasms is the most precise instrument you have for locating where you’d find the deepest satisfaction in your life.”

— Barbara Sher

82. “If you’re unhappy, something important is going on. When your body hurts, it needs attention. When your heart hurts, it needs just as much attention. Your mind knows what you’ve been taught, but your heart knows who you really are.”

— Barbara Sher

83. “A gripe session gets that negativity out where we can see it instead of letting it lurk around inside where it has too much power.”

— Barbara Sher

84. “The problem is that most of us have limited our imagination to what we have been told is possible – and usually we’ve been told by people without much experience.”

— Barbara Sher

85. “If you’re burned out, learning something new or doing something creative is the cure.”

— Barbara Sher

86. “Parents have their own dreams – and it’s those dreams they’re pushing, not yours.”

— Barbara Sher

87. “I think there’s a special saint who protects unfinished projects. Unfinished projects are just as valuable to us as the projects we finish.”

— Barbara Sher

88. “Protecting yourself by stopping your own enthusiasm is unavoidable. No one can take endless doses of hurt. Unfortunately, stopping your enthusiasm can get to be a habit.”

— Barbara Sher

89. “Start small. Start now. Start everything. And don’t bother to finish any of it.”

— Barbara Sher

90. “Frustration is supposed to create action, not make you give up.”

— Barbara Sher

91. “You’ll never feel like exercising less than now when you need it most – but do it anyway.”

— Barbara Sher

92. “You’re obviously capable of achieving a lot, but ability can never take the place of desire. Don’t be tempted to do something just because you can. That’s what got you off course in the first place.”

— Barbara Sher

93. “Your love belongs to you. You mustn’t let anyone touch it, not even him. You can keep away from him, but don’t try to destroy your love. That love is yours. Keep it.”

— Barbara Sher

94. “We all fight sorrow as if it would harm us. The opposite is true. Sorrow can heal us. Letting your heart break can be good for you.”

— Barbara Sher

95. “People who aren’t interested in anything are people who can’t stop protecting their enthusiasm.”

— Barbara Sher

96. “When you know chances are good that you will not be working on a project again, you simply gather together all the parts, wrap them up in a parcel of brown paper, and tie it with a string. Then attach a large label explaining what the project is, what the goal was, at what stage the project has been put away, and, should it ever be continued, what the next steps should be.”

— Barbara Sher

97. “If you feel defined by any job, your self-image isn’t solid enough.”

— Barbara Sher

98. “Pride is a thin substitute for sincere, openhearted dignity.”

— Barbara Sher