--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a lot of effort expended once you…" description: "\"There's a lot of effort expended once you begin to completely trash your life. Sometimes, writing feels like this to me.\" — Dan Chaon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/dan-chaon-2729_effort_there-s-a-lot-of-effort-expended-once-yo_368995.png" --- # There's a lot of effort expended once you begin to… ![“There's a lot of effort expended once you begin to completely trash your life. Sometimes, writing feels like this to me.” quote by Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/dan-chaon-2729_effort_there-s-a-lot-of-effort-expended-once-yo_368995.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/dan-chaon-2729_effort_there-s-a-lot-of-effort-expended-once-yo_368995.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/dan-chaon-2729_effort_there-s-a-lot-of-effort-expended-once-yo_368995.png) > “There's a lot of effort expended once you begin to completely trash your life. Sometimes, writing feels like this to me.” [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exerting excessive effort to dismantle one's life can feel overwhelming, especially in creative pursuits. **In simple terms:** Too much effort can feel destructive. Key Takeaway Avoid self‑sabotage; seek balance. Themes self‑destruction effort creativity Mood frustrated reflective Type advice personal When to use this quote - writing block - personal crisis - mental health - life transition Key Concepts psychology self‑care Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to self‑destruct? - How can you channel effort positively? A Different Perspective Effort alone doesn't guarantee progress; rest is essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [We spend a lot of effort trying to make things look effortless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-isley/we-spend-a-lot-of-effort-trying-to-make-things-look-effortless/) [Alexander Isley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-isley/) > [“But this...writing about how it feels to listen to music, to have found him--it almost feels like I'm writing a description of how my organs work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-lauren/but-this-writing-about-how-it-feels-to-listen-to-music-to-have-found/) [Christina Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-lauren/) > [I'm feeling a kind of liberty to write about what's interesting to me without worrying about what I should be writing about. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-m-feeling-a-kind-of-liberty-to-write-about-what-s-interesting-to-me/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [“When writing feels like jumping a cliff, grab the nearest pen!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-j-mcintire/when-writing-feels-like-jumping-a-cliff-grab-the-nearest-pen/) Susan J. McIntire > [It's something you can actually control. With writing, it feels like it's given to you, and when the good stuff hits, it feels like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/it-s-something-you-can-actually-control-with-writing-it-feels-like-it/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [I don't put a lot of pressure on myself when I'm writing. 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So long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/writing-sometimes-feels-frivolous-and-sometimes-sacred-but-memory-is/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [I think one is naturally impressed by anything having a beginning a middle and an ending when one is beginning writing and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-think-one-is-naturally-impressed-by-anything-having-a-beginning-a/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I just like to express myself in the world around me. And I love writing, but sometimes it feels a little too minute. Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gabriel/i-just-like-to-express-myself-in-the-world-around-me-and-i-love/) Andrea Gabriel > [Writing is a futile attempt to preserve what disappears moment by moment. All that remains of my mother is what I remember and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/writing-is-a-futile-attempt-to-preserve-what-disappears-moment-by-2/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) ## More by Dan Chaon > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Even when our death is imminent, we carry the image of ourselves moving forward, alive, into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/even-when-our-death-is-imminent-we-carry-the-image-of-ourselves/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [For the last few years I've tried to force myself to write at least one page every day, which doesn't sound like much but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/for-the-last-few-years-i-ve-tried-to-force-myself-to-write-at-least/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It's hard to believe that this is how it's done. That this is how we get here into the world, by accident or design,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-hard-to-believe-that-this-is-how-it-s-done-that-this-is-how-we/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I also have just my own limits about stuff. I'm not interested in writing graphically about sexual assault for example. I feel like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-also-have-just-my-own-limits-about-stuff-i-m-not-interested-in/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I have to admit that most of the time I read in the same way that I smoke and chew gum and jiggle my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-have-to-admit-that-most-of-the-time-i-read-in-the-same-way-that-i/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Outside, the sleet had gotten thicker. 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She hated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-ve-been-talking-to-myself-a-lot-lately-i-don-t-know-what-that-s/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Your Mom's Car. Think about that. Try to wrap your brain around the supernatural and spiritual implications that the name bears down you. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/your-mom-s-car-think-about-that-try-to-wrap-your-brain-around-the/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“He pictures amputated human arms flopping like fish down the center of the road; syringes floating on beds of liposuctioned fat; gelatinous human eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-pictures-amputated-human-arms-flopping-like-fish-down-the-center/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“In the basement of Sydney's new house is a little room that is about the size and shape of a coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/in-the-basement-of-sydney-s-new-house-is-a-little-room-that-is-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It’s called apophenia. It’s the tendency we humans have to find meaning in disconnected information. For example, some people believe in what’s called the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-called-apophenia-it-s-the-tendency-we-humans-have-to-find/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I would say that all short stories have mystery naturally built into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-would-say-that-all-short-stories-have-mystery-naturally-built-into/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Explore all 152 Dan Chaon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## More Effort quotes > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [Now I try to make efforts, you know, I'm just, the best effort I can do is just stay sober myself. I can at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-dick/now-i-try-to-make-efforts-you-know-i-m-just-the-best-effort-i-can-do/) [Andy Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-dick/) > [Reading counts as partying, even if you're not enjoying it! Even if someone's forcing you to read, you can find a way to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-w-k/reading-counts-as-partying-even-if-you-re-not-enjoying-it-even-if/) [Andrew W.K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-w-k/) > [ Bernie \[Ecclestone\] is the commercial rights holder so the more outgoing the champion is, the better. Of course. I also do think about our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/bernie-ecclestone-is-the-commercial-rights-holder-so-the-more/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is for the superfluous we sweat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-for-the-superfluous-we-sweat/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I love a pocket. I'm about helping women look as good as possible on the least amount of effort. I want versatility and comfort.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-mccartney/i-love-a-pocket-i-m-about-helping-women-look-as-good-as-possible-on/) [Stella McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-mccartney/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit coming to us free of charge to enable you to do with ease what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/grace-is-the-power-of-the-holy-spirit-coming-to-us-free-of-charge-to/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [ No wonder that Churchill described this effort \[the British codebreakers working at Bletchley Park\] as "Britian"s secret weapon," a weapon far more effective than… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hilton/no-wonder-that-churchill-described-this-effort-the-british/) [Peter Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hilton/) > [“Dreams will come true as long as you give some effort towards your goal”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayana/dreams-will-come-true-as-long-as-you-give-some-effort-towards-your/) Dayana > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. 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