--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: look for a long time at what pleases you…" description: "\"“look for a long time at what pleases you, and longer still at what pains you...”\" — Colette" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/colette-11008_creativity_look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you_2829666.jpg" --- # look for a long time at what pleases you, and longer still… ![“look for a long time at what pleases you, and longer still at what pains you...” quote by Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/colette-11008_creativity_look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you_2829666.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/colette-11008_creativity_look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you_2829666.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/colette-11008_creativity_look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you_2829666.jpg) > ““look for a long time at what pleases you, and longer still at what pains you...”” [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observe both pleasure and pain; the latter reveals deeper truths and growth opportunities. **In simple terms:** Pain shows what truly matters. Key Takeaway Reflect on pain to discover hidden values. Themes self‑awareness growth reflection Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative block - relationship conflict Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What pain teaches you about yourself? - How can you balance pleasure and pain? A Different Perspective Pain can be overwhelming and paralyzing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Longer Pains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longer-pains-3648363/) [Look Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-long/) [Pleases Longer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleases-longer-2224094/) [Self-help-book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-help-book/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Words of wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-of-wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Look for a long time at what pleases you, and a longer time at what pains you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you-and-a-longer-time-at-what/) [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidonie-gabrielle-colette/) > [“The world is here only as long as you look for it, only as long as you keep your eyes open.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-poissant/the-world-is-here-only-as-long-as-you-look-for-it-only-as-long-as-you/) [David James Poissant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-poissant/) > [Look as long as you can at the friend you love, no matter whether that friend is moving away from you or coming back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/look-as-long-as-you-can-at-the-friend-you-love-no-matter-whether-that/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [If you look long enough into the void, the void begins to look back through you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/if-you-look-long-enough-into-the-void-the-void-begins-to-look-back/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Look long enough, out or in, and you’ll be glad you are who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/look-long-enough-out-or-in-and-you-ll-be-glad-you-are-who-you-are/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“If I look long enough at a flower, I can see the color of her cheeks in the stigma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zinzi-clemmons/if-i-look-long-enough-at-a-flower-i-can-see-the-color-of-her-cheeks/) [Zinzi Clemmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zinzi-clemmons/) > [“He would look for her- he would find her out long before the evening were over- and at present, perhaps, it was as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/he-would-look-for-her-he-would-find-her-out-long-before-the-evening/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Look around you. Ever is a long time. But the boy knew what he knew. That ever is no time at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/look-around-you-ever-is-a-long-time-but-the-boy-knew-what-he-knew/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's surprising to a lot of people because ballerinas look so long, but it's more of a proportion thing. Their legs are long in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-winstead/it-s-surprising-to-a-lot-of-people-because-ballerinas-look-so-long/) [Mary Elizabeth Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-winstead/) > [We must look a long time before we can see](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-must-look-a-long-time-before-we-can-see/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [To look long and lean, wear a wide-leg trouser with high heels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-gayheart/to-look-long-and-lean-wear-a-wide-leg-trouser-with-high-heels/) [Rebecca Gayheart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-gayheart/) > [And the whole world stops for a minute and I go right back to the beginning. When every picture was like the sun in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goldhouse/and-the-whole-world-stops-for-a-minute-and-i-go-right-back-to-the/) [Goldhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goldhouse/) > [Most designers want to show apparel that makes the wearer look as long and lean as possible. And most people who buy clothes want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/most-designers-want-to-show-apparel-that-makes-the-wearer-look-as/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [“Not everyone is content with what they are,” she added with a distant look. “Some of us long for what we wish to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shae-ford/not-everyone-is-content-with-what-they-are-she-added-with-a-distant/) [Shae Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shae-ford/) > [Actually, I don't care how I look as long as I'm acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-moorehead/actually-i-don-t-care-how-i-look-as-long-as-i-m-acting/) [Agnes Moorehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-moorehead/) ## More by Colette > [“There is no doubt that, if ever my heart were to call my master Chance by another name, I should make an excellent Catholic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/there-is-no-doubt-that-if-ever-my-heart-were-to-call-my-master-chance/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“The seventeenth of March. In other words, spring. Desmond, people who think themselves smart, I mean those in the height of fashion, women or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/the-seventeenth-of-march-in-other-words-spring-desmond-people-who/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“The more sensitive the lunatic, the less able is he to resist this prying interest of the normal human being. I felt that Renée's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/the-more-sensitive-the-lunatic-the-less-able-is-he-to-resist-this/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“Don't ever wear artistic jewelry; it wrecks a woman's reputation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/don-t-ever-wear-artistic-jewelry-it-wrecks-a-woman-s-reputation/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“My true friends always gave me this supreme proof of attachment: a spontaneous aversion to the men I loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/my-true-friends-always-gave-me-this-supreme-proof-of-attachment-a/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“Put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/put-down-everything-that-comes-into-your-head-and-then-you-re-a/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“Don't you think, that there are very few men who know, without raising their voice or changing their tone, to say...what has to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/don-t-you-think-that-there-are-very-few-men-who-know-without-raising/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“It can't drag on this way much longer," she said to herself. "One evening he'll whistle under my window, I'll go down by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/it-can-t-drag-on-this-way-much-longer-she-said-to-herself-one-evening/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [ “\[Julie\] had lived a great deal among lies, before plumping for a small life of her own, a sincere and restricted life from which… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/julie-had-lived-a-great-deal-among-lies-before-plumping-for-a-small/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“The seventeenth, Desmond! Come along at once; everything's all right. We're going to buy a huge bracelet for my wife, an enormous cigarette-holder for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/the-seventeenth-desmond-come-along-at-once-everything-s-all-right-we/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“But when he said in his heart of hearts "Vinca!", the name inseparably linked with his friend, evoked the memory of sand, warm to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/but-when-he-said-in-his-heart-of-hearts-vinca-the-name-inseparably/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“Love...is also a form of poison, for to fall in love is to want and to need everything necessary for survival from one all-powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/love-is-also-a-form-of-poison-for-to-fall-in-love-is-to-want-and-to/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“I have no equals, I have only my fellow wayfarers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/i-have-no-equals-i-have-only-my-fellow-wayfarers/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“Then, bidding farewell to The Knick-Knack, I went to collect the few personal belongings which, at that time, I held to be invaluable: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/then-bidding-farewell-to-the-knick-knack-i-went-to-collect-the-few/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) > [“Oh! To rationalize oneself into matrimony...Oh! To decide something so grave in life 'after mature consideration'! Choose the color of a dress after a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/oh-to-rationalize-oneself-into-matrimony-oh-to-decide-something-so/) [Colette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) [Explore all 42 Colette quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) [Andrei Amalrik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-amalrik/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) [Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“look for a long time at what pleases you, and longer still at what pains you...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colette" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you-and-longer-still-at-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you-and-longer-still-at-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/colette-11008_creativity_look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you_2829666.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/colette-11008_creativity_look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you_2829666.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/colette-11008_creativity_look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you_2829666.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“look for a long time at what pleases you, and longer still at what pains you...” — Colette", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Colette", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“look for a long time at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you-and-longer-still-at-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette/look-for-a-long-time-at-what-pleases-you-and-longer-still-at-what/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```