--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Look at your work and it tells you how it…" description: "\"Look at your work and it tells you how it is when you hold back or when you embrace. When you are lazy, your art is lazy; when you hold back, it holds ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/david-bayles-13995_art_look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-i_1893272.jpg" --- # Look at your work and it tells you how it is when you hold… ![“Look at your work and it tells you how it is when you hold back or when you embrace. When you are lazy, your art is lazy; when you hold back, it holds back; when you hesitate, it stands there staring, hands in its pockets. But when you commit, it comes on like blazes.” quote by David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/david-bayles-13995_art_look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-i_1893272.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/david-bayles-13995_art_look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-i_1893272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/david-bayles-13995_art_look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-i_1893272.jpg) > “Look at your work and it tells you how it is when you hold back or when you embrace. When you are lazy, your art is lazy; when you hold back, it holds back; when you hesitate, it stands there staring, hands in its pockets. But when you commit, it comes on like blazes.” [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Your effort directly shapes the quality of your work; laziness yields weak results, while full commitment produces powerful outcomes. **In simple terms:** Work reflects your effort; commitment fuels excellence. Key Takeaway Commit fully to your craft. Themes effort commitment quality creativity Mood reflective motivational Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - art projects - writing - software development - musical performance - sports training Key Concepts psychology of motivation work ethic Questions to Reflect On - How does your attitude affect your output? - What steps can you take to commit more fully? A Different Perspective If you lack skill, commitment alone may not suffice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) ## Related quotes > [Even the Supreme Court, back when it used to makes sense, the Supreme Court has never ruled that a baby born to illegal aliens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/even-the-supreme-court-back-when-it-used-to-makes-sense-the-supreme/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [By the time I was twelve, I had started my own theater company and was doing plays in the backyard and the front yard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-preston/by-the-time-i-was-twelve-i-had-started-my-own-theater-company-and-was/) [Carrie Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-preston/) > [In later years, holding forth to an interviewer or to an audience of aging fans at a comic book convention, Sam Clay liked to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/in-later-years-holding-forth-to-an-interviewer-or-to-an-audience-of/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Back when I was looking for my next step and was researching Gannett, I was interested in who was leading the various businesses within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracia-martore/back-when-i-was-looking-for-my-next-step-and-was-researching-gannett/) [Gracia Martore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracia-martore/) > [Help is a conversation. If one side talks too much, the other side will get bored. So make sure you help back when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/help-is-a-conversation-if-one-side-talks-too-much-the-other-side-will/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [I've always hate child stars, starting from way back when, when I was a child. The first child star I saw was Shirley Temple.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-ve-always-hate-child-stars-starting-from-way-back-when-when-i-was-a/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [Bell, book and candle shall not drive me back, When gold and silver becks me to come on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/bell-book-and-candle-shall-not-drive-me-back-when-gold-and-silver/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Chris Chandler reminds me of my own self way back when - listen to him Now!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-paxton/chris-chandler-reminds-me-of-my-own-self-way-back-when-listen-to-him/) [Tom Paxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-paxton/) > [We shouldn't knee jerk anything. The Iraqi government a few years back, when they had a chance to sign an agreement that would keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/we-shouldn-t-knee-jerk-anything-the-iraqi-government-a-few-years-back/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [We humans have indeed always been adept at dovetailing our minds and skills to the shape of our current tools and aids. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-clark/we-humans-have-indeed-always-been-adept-at-dovetailing-our-minds-and/) Andy Clark > [When you feel yourself in the grip of an emotion such as jealousy or anger or sorrow, detach yourself from it. Take a step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/when-you-feel-yourself-in-the-grip-of-an-emotion-such-as-jealousy-or/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [We must not allow ourselves to become like the system we oppose. We cannot afford to use methods of which we will be ashamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-must-not-allow-ourselves-to-become-like-the-system-we-oppose-we/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [The origin of nursing started out with prostitutes, who would go care for people in jail. That was back when nobody wanted to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-hewson/the-origin-of-nursing-started-out-with-prostitutes-who-would-go-care/) [Eve Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-hewson/) > [I've been playing videogames since before my career in this business, but what happened is several videogame companies were recruiting students back then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-shimomura/i-ve-been-playing-videogames-since-before-my-career-in-this-business/) Yoko Shimomura > [Back when I was training, probably the only nutritious thing on the market was Gatorade-that's all that we knew. But now in this day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-jackson/back-when-i-was-training-probably-the-only-nutritious-thing-on-the/) [Bo Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-jackson/) ## More by David Bayles > [The seed of your next artwork lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/the-seed-of-your-next-artwork-lies-embedded-in-the-imperfections-of/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [The seed of your next artwork lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece. Such imperfections are your guides - valuable, objective, non-judgmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/the-seed-of-your-next-artwork-lies-embedded-in-the-imperfections-of-2/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“But the important point here is not that you have — or don’t have — what other artists have, but rather that it doesn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/but-the-important-point-here-is-not-that-you-have-or-don-t-have-what/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“In essence, art lies embedded in the conceptual leap between pieces, not in the pieces themselves. And simply put, there’s a greater conceptual jump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/in-essence-art-lies-embedded-in-the-conceptual-leap-between-pieces/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“But while mastering technique is difficult and time-consuming, it’s still inherently easier to reach an already defined goal — a “right answer” — than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/but-while-mastering-technique-is-difficult-and-time-consuming-it-s/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“There were counter-protests, of course, and in the end Mapplethorpe’s work was exhibited, but the message to the arts community was clear: stray too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/there-were-counter-protests-of-course-and-in-the-end-mapplethorpe-s/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [Tolerance for uncertainty is the prerequisite to succeeding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/tolerance-for-uncertainty-is-the-prerequisite-to-succeeding/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [Art is a high calling - fears are coincidental. Coincidental, sneaky and disruptive, we might add, disguising themselves variously as laziness, resistance to deadlines,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/art-is-a-high-calling-fears-are-coincidental-coincidental-sneaky-and/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“Sometimes to see your work’s rightful place you have to walk to the edge of the precipice and search the deep chasms. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/sometimes-to-see-your-work-s-rightful-place-you-have-to-walk-to-the/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“Fears arise when you look back, and they arise when you look ahead. If you're prone to disaster fantasies, you may even find yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/fears-arise-when-you-look-back-and-they-arise-when-you-look-ahead-if/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“But is the Mona Lisa really art? Well then, what about an undetectably perfect copy of the Mona Lisa? That comparison (however sneaky) points…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/but-is-the-mona-lisa-really-art-well-then-what-about-an-undetectably/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [The hardest part of art-making is living your life in such a way that your work gets done-over and over-and that means, among other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/the-hardest-part-of-art-making-is-living-your-life-in-such-a-way-that/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“In making art you need to give yourself room to respond authentically, both to your subject matter and to your materials. Art happens between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/in-making-art-you-need-to-give-yourself-room-to-respond-authentically/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“Uncertainty is the essential, inevitable and all-pervasive companion to your desire to make art. And tolerance for uncertainty is the prerequisite to succeeding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/uncertainty-is-the-essential-inevitable-and-all-pervasive-companion/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) > [“HENRY JAMES once proposed three questions you could productively put to an artist’s work. The first two were disarmingly straightforward: What was the artist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/henry-james-once-proposed-three-questions-you-could-productively-put/) [David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) [Explore all 48 David Bayles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [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/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Look at your work and it tells you how it is when you hold back or when you embrace. When you are lazy, your art is lazy; when you hold back, it holds back; when you hesitate, it stands there staring, hands in its pockets. But when you commit, it comes on like blazes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Bayles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-it-is-when-you-hold-back-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-it-is-when-you-hold-back-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/david-bayles-13995_art_look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-i_1893272.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/david-bayles-13995_art_look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-i_1893272.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19b/david-bayles-13995_art_look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-i_1893272.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Look at your work and it tells you how it is when you hold back or when you embrace. When you are lazy, your…” — David Bayles", "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": "David Bayles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Look at your work and it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-it-is-when-you-hold-back-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/look-at-your-work-and-it-tells-you-how-it-is-when-you-hold-back-or/#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 } } ] } ```