--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The endless, useless urge to look on life…" description: "\"The endless, useless urge to look on life comprehensively, to take a bird's-eye view of ourselves and judge the dimensions of what we have or have not ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/christian-wiman-10211_add_the-endless-useless-urge-to-look-on-life_3165901.png" --- # The endless, useless urge to look on life comprehensively… ![“The endless, useless urge to look on life comprehensively, to take a bird's-eye view of ourselves and judge the dimensions of what we have or have not done: this is life as landscape, or life as résumé. But life is incremental, and though a worthwhile life is a gathering together of all that one…” quote by Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/christian-wiman-10211_add_the-endless-useless-urge-to-look-on-life_3165901.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/christian-wiman-10211_add_the-endless-useless-urge-to-look-on-life_3165901.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/32e/christian-wiman-10211_add_the-endless-useless-urge-to-look-on-life_3165901.png) > “The endless, useless urge to look on life comprehensively, to take a bird's-eye view of ourselves and judge the dimensions of what we have or have not done: this is life as landscape, or life as résumé. But life is incremental, and though a worthwhile life is a gathering together of all that one is, good and bad, successful and not, the paradox is that we can never really see this one thing that all of our increments (and decrements, I suppose) add up to.” [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We tend to judge life as a whole, but it is actually a series of small moments that together form who we are. **In simple terms:** Life is a sum of many small parts. Key Takeaway Focus on each moment, not just the overall picture. Themes self‑reflection incremental growth identity paradox life perspective Mood contemplative thoughtful Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - daily journaling - career planning - relationship building - health tracking Key Concepts philosophy psychology human experience personal development meaning making Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance big‑picture goals with day‑to‑day actions? - What small increments define your sense of self? A Different Perspective The whole cannot be fully understood by isolated moments alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Gathering together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gathering-together/) [Good and bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-bad/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Worthwhile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthwhile/) ## Related quotes > [“To defend my fear of sudden change, I chose to believe that life was incremental, that the tiny decisions you make every day determine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-stein/to-defend-my-fear-of-sudden-change-i-chose-to-believe-that-life-was/) [Joel Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-stein/) > [The things that are most worthwhile in life are really those within the reach of almost every normal human being who cares to seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/the-things-that-are-most-worthwhile-in-life-are-really-those-within/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [“The truth is that anything worthwhile we do in life demands effort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalie-de-rosset/the-truth-is-that-anything-worthwhile-we-do-in-life-demands-effort/) Rosalie De Rosset > [Everything that's really worthwhile in life comes to us free - our minds, our souls, our bodies, our hopes, our dreams, our intelligence, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/everything-that-s-really-worthwhile-in-life-comes-to-us-free-our/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“Everything worthwhile in your life draws its meaning from the fact you will die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derren-brown/everything-worthwhile-in-your-life-draws-its-meaning-from-the-fact/) [Derren Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derren-brown/) > [I came to understand the value of education, not just to enable me to make a good living, but to enable me to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-simmons/i-came-to-understand-the-value-of-education-not-just-to-enable-me-to/) [Ruth Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-simmons/) > [Everything that's really worthwhile in life comes to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/everything-that-s-really-worthwhile-in-life-comes-to-us/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [even if I do not see the fruits, the struggle has been worthwhile. If my life has taught me anything, it is that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-winter/even-if-i-do-not-see-the-fruits-the-struggle-has-been-worthwhile-if/) Ella Winter > [Goodness is always an asset. A man who is straight, friendly and useful may never be famous, but he is respected and liked by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-newton-casson/goodness-is-always-an-asset-a-man-who-is-straight-friendly-and-useful/) [Herbert Newton Casson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-newton-casson/) > [There is no fun equal to the satisfaction of doing one's best. The things that are most worthwhile in life are really those within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/there-is-no-fun-equal-to-the-satisfaction-of-doing-one-s-best-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Everything that's really worthwhile in life came to us free - our minds, our souls, our bodies, our hopes, our dreams, our ambitions, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/everything-that-s-really-worthwhile-in-life-came-to-us-free-our-minds/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“Everything worthwhile in life requires incremental effort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhakrshna-dasari/everything-worthwhile-in-life-requires-incremental-effort/) Radhakrshna Dasari > [“We will never accomplish anything worthwhile in life if we require the guarantee of success at the onset.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/we-will-never-accomplish-anything-worthwhile-in-life-if-we-require/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [“Everything worthwhile in life is won through surmounting the associated negative experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/everything-worthwhile-in-life-is-won-through-surmounting-the/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [What is worthwhile in life? I think it is worth living and dreaming. If you don't you may be dead anyhow - inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/what-is-worthwhile-in-life-i-think-it-is-worth-living-and-dreaming-if/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## More by Christian Wiman > [I find myself continually falling back into wounds, wishes, terrors I thought I had risen beyond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/i-find-myself-continually-falling-back-into-wounds-wishes-terrors-i/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“Intellectuals and artists concerned with faith tend to underestimate the radical, inviolable innocence it requires. We read and read, write long, elaborate essays and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/intellectuals-and-artists-concerned-with-faith-tend-to-underestimate/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [Wonder is the precondition for all wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/wonder-is-the-precondition-for-all-wisdom/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [We should be suspicious when God's call conforms so neatly to our own inclinations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/we-should-be-suspicious-when-god-s-call-conforms-so-neatly-to-our-own/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [God is with us, not beyond us, in suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/god-is-with-us-not-beyond-us-in-suffering/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“Let us remember...that in the end we go to poetry for one reason, so that we might more fully inhabit our lives and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/let-us-remember-that-in-the-end-we-go-to-poetry-for-one-reason-so/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [To be truly alive is to feel one's ultimate existence within one's daily existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/to-be-truly-alive-is-to-feel-one-s-ultimate-existence-within-one-s/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [I am a Christian because of that moment on the cross when Jesus, drinking the very dregs of human bitterness, cries out, My God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/i-am-a-christian-because-of-that-moment-on-the-cross-when-jesus/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [Mandelstam is the sort of poet who comes along very, very rarely. 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How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/how-many-loves-fail-because-in-an-unconscious-effort-to-make-our/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“It is a strange thing how sometimes merely to talk honestly of God, even if it is only to articulate our feelings of separation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/it-is-a-strange-thing-how-sometimes-merely-to-talk-honestly-of-god/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“Faith cannot save you from the claims of reason, except insofar as it preserves and protects that wonderful, terrible time when reason, if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/faith-cannot-save-you-from-the-claims-of-reason-except-insofar-as-it/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“part of my enjoyment of life had always been an unconscious assumption of its continuity. Not necessarily a continuity of reality itself—the moment does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/part-of-my-enjoyment-of-life-had-always-been-an-unconscious/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [I suppose I do believe that the greatest art consoles a wound that it creates, that art can give you the capacity to endure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/i-suppose-i-do-believe-that-the-greatest-art-consoles-a-wound-that-it/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [There is nothing more difficult to outgrow than anxieties that have become useful to us, whether as explanations for a life that never quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgrow-than-anxieties-that-have/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) [Explore all 67 Christian Wiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) ## More Add quotes > [Most marriages don't add two people together. 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The well-adapted drop off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/a-modern-man-has-nothing-to-add-to-modernism-if-only-because-he-has/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Observation and theory get on best when they are mixed together, both helping one another in the pursuit of truth. It is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/observation-and-theory-get-on-best-when-they-are-mixed-together-both/) [Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/) > [I may add that we have more than once stated our willingness to conclude nonaggression pacts with the states neighboring our own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-may-add-that-we-have-more-than-once-stated-our-willingness-to/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/) [Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Global is a unifying bond for people. 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