--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion…" description: "\"Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion... the subject must be something you truly love or truly hate.\" — Dorothea Lange" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/dorothea-lange-13986_exhaustion_pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-t_647154.png" --- # Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion... the subject must… ![“Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion... the subject must be something you truly love or truly hate.” quote by Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/dorothea-lange-13986_exhaustion_pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-t_647154.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/dorothea-lange-13986_exhaustion_pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-t_647154.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/dorothea-lange-13986_exhaustion_pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-t_647154.png) > “Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion... the subject must be something you truly love or truly hate.” [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deep immersion in a subject, whether loved or hated, yields profound insight and mastery. **In simple terms:** Fully explore a topic you feel strongly about. Key Takeaway Dive deeply into your chosen theme. Themes passion focus mastery Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research projects - artistic creation - writing - problem solving Key Concepts creative process intensity personal connection Questions to Reflect On - What drives your strongest interests? - How do you balance intensity with perspective? A Different Perspective Obsession can lead to burnout or bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exhaustion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaustion/) [Exhaustion Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaustion-subject-5183746/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Pick Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pick-theme-5183747/) [Subject Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-truly-4794779/) [Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme/) [Theme Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme-work-1474207/) [Truly love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly-love/) ## Related quotes > [Conducting! A subject, truly, concerning which much might be written, yet scarcely anything of real importance is to be found in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-seidl/conducting-a-subject-truly-concerning-which-much-might-be-written-yet/) [Anton Seidl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-seidl/) > [If there's an enduring theme in my work, it's probably the effects of class on American life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/if-there-s-an-enduring-theme-in-my-work-it-s-probably-the-effects-of/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [When you've written long enough, you see that there's a common theme in your work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/when-you-ve-written-long-enough-you-see-that-there-s-a-common-theme/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [If there's a theme in my work, it's that I like to focus on smart people who are facing oppression and who are fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-crabapple/if-there-s-a-theme-in-my-work-it-s-that-i-like-to-focus-on-smart/) [Molly Crabapple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-crabapple/) > [Love's a recurring theme through my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chapman/love-s-a-recurring-theme-through-my-work/) [Tracy Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chapman/) > [There is a single theme behind all our work-we must reduce population levels,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ferguson/there-is-a-single-theme-behind-all-our-work-we-must-reduce-population/) [Thomas Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ferguson/) > [If there's one theme in all my work, it's about authenticity and self-expression. It's the idea that some things are, in some real sense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/if-there-s-one-theme-in-all-my-work-it-s-about-authenticity-and-self/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [“Death is the expression of exhaustion, a solution arrived at rationally once one has known the deepest depths of tiredness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hui-wei/death-is-the-expression-of-exhaustion-a-solution-arrived-at/) [Hui Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hui-wei/) > [The downfall of civilized states tends to come not from the direct assaults of foes, but from internal decay combined with the consequences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-downfall-of-civilized-states-tends-to-come-not-from-the-direct/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [Everything that these folks are saying that they're trying to move away from, like comparison, perfectionism, judgement, and exhaustion as a status symbol -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/everything-that-these-folks-are-saying-that-they-re-trying-to-move/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [People would do well to ask themselves how many of their ambitions and aspirations derive from the type of economic system they inhabit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/people-would-do-well-to-ask-themselves-how-many-of-their-ambitions/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [… but only because exhaustion is a life-sign; it is at least a form of being human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/but-only-because-exhaustion-is-a-life-sign-it-is-at-least-a-form-of/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“...and, without once looking back, walk down the road through the forest. If the Germans want to shoot me, let them. I am too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audie-murphy/and-without-once-looking-back-walk-down-the-road-through-the-forest/) [Audie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audie-murphy/) > [“Remember what I done for you here today,' he shouted and passed out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-higson/remember-what-i-done-for-you-here-today-he-shouted-and-passed-out/) [Charlie Higson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-higson/) > [“And though I feel an unfathomable exhaustion, I feel compelled to keep at it, as though to give up working would be to concede…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-laffoley/and-though-i-feel-an-unfathomable-exhaustion-i-feel-compelled-to-keep/) [Steven Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-laffoley/) ## More by Dorothea Lange > [Bring the viewer to your side, include him in your thought. He is not a bystander. You have the power to increase his perceptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/bring-the-viewer-to-your-side-include-him-in-your-thought-he-is-not-a/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The good photograph is not the object, the consequences of the photograph are the objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-good-photograph-is-not-the-object-the-consequences-of-the/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/one-should-really-use-the-camera-as-though-tomorrow-you-d-be-stricken/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [I believe that what we call beautiful is generally a by-product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/i-believe-that-what-we-call-beautiful-is-generally-a-by-product/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [That frame of mind that you need to make fine pictures of a very wonderful subject, you cannot do it by not being lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/that-frame-of-mind-that-you-need-to-make-fine-pictures-of-a-very/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [You go into a room and you know where you're welcome; you know where you're unwelcome.Sometimes in a hostile situation you stick around because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/you-go-into-a-room-and-you-know-where-you-re-welcome-you-know-where/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [No country has ever closely scrutinized itself visually ... I know what we could make of it if people only thought we could dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/no-country-has-ever-closely-scrutinized-itself-visually-i-know-what/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [Photography today appears to be in a state of flight... The familiar is made strange, the unfamiliar grotesque. The amateur forces his Sundays into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/photography-today-appears-to-be-in-a-state-of-flight-the-familiar-is/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [I realize more and more what it takes to be a really good photographer. You go in over your head, not just up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/i-realize-more-and-more-what-it-takes-to-be-a-really-good/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [You know there are moments such as these when time stands still and all you do is hold your breath and hope it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/you-know-there-are-moments-such-as-these-when-time-stands-still-and/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [To me, beauty appears when one feels deeply, and art is an act of total attention,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/to-me-beauty-appears-when-one-feels-deeply-and-art-is-an-act-of-total/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-camera-is-an-instrument-that-teaches-people-how-to-see-without-a/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [I trust my instincts. I don't distrust them. They haven't led me astray. It's when I've made up my mind to be efficient that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/i-trust-my-instincts-i-don-t-distrust-them-they-haven-t-led-me-astray/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/a-camera-is-a-tool-for-learning-how-to-see-without-a-camera/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) > [The visual life is an enormous undertaking, practically unattainable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/the-visual-life-is-an-enormous-undertaking-practically-unattainable/) [Dorothea Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) [Explore all 48 Dorothea Lange quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/) ## More Exhaustion quotes > [“And though I feel an unfathomable exhaustion, I feel compelled to keep at it, as though to give up working would be to concede…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-laffoley/and-though-i-feel-an-unfathomable-exhaustion-i-feel-compelled-to-keep/) [Steven Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-laffoley/) > [“Remember what I done for you here today,' he shouted and passed out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-higson/remember-what-i-done-for-you-here-today-he-shouted-and-passed-out/) [Charlie Higson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-higson/) > [“...and, without once looking back, walk down the road through the forest. If the Germans want to shoot me, let them. I am too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audie-murphy/and-without-once-looking-back-walk-down-the-road-through-the-forest/) [Audie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audie-murphy/) > [… but only because exhaustion is a life-sign; it is at least a form of being human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/but-only-because-exhaustion-is-a-life-sign-it-is-at-least-a-form-of/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [People would do well to ask themselves how many of their ambitions and aspirations derive from the type of economic system they inhabit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/people-would-do-well-to-ask-themselves-how-many-of-their-ambitions/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [Everything that these folks are saying that they're trying to move away from, like comparison, perfectionism, judgement, and exhaustion as a status symbol -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/everything-that-these-folks-are-saying-that-they-re-trying-to-move/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [The downfall of civilized states tends to come not from the direct assaults of foes, but from internal decay combined with the consequences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-downfall-of-civilized-states-tends-to-come-not-from-the-direct/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [“Death is the expression of exhaustion, a solution arrived at rationally once one has known the deepest depths of tiredness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hui-wei/death-is-the-expression-of-exhaustion-a-solution-arrived-at/) [Hui Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hui-wei/) > [It is not the dream of what you're feeling laziness, if not, the sleep of exhaustion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-the-dream-of-what-you-re-feeling-laziness-if-not-the-sleep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Write to exhaustion so that you can no longer manage to avoid writing the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elissa-schappell/write-to-exhaustion-so-that-you-can-no-longer-manage-to-avoid-writing/) [Elissa Schappell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elissa-schappell/) > [Enthusiasm is always connected with the senses, whatever be the object that excites it. The true strength of virtue is serenity of mind, combined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/enthusiasm-is-always-connected-with-the-senses-whatever-be-the-object/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The sort of the template of being a mother is that you're endlessly giving to the point of exhaustion. You know, that's amazing if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/the-sort-of-the-template-of-being-a-mother-is-that-you-re-endlessly/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [We fought a military war; our opponents fought a political one. We sought physical attrition; our opponents aimed for our psychological exhaustion. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-fought-a-military-war-our-opponents-fought-a-political-one-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I lived in New York, and I was the guy who was flying home almost every week, so there was a physical exhaustion and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jacobson/i-lived-in-new-york-and-i-was-the-guy-who-was-flying-home-almost/) [Peter Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jacobson/) > [Patience is the most valuable trait of the endgame player. In the endgame, the most common errors, besides those resulting from ignorance of theory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pal-benko/patience-is-the-most-valuable-trait-of-the-endgame-player-in-the/) [Pal Benko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pal-benko/) [Browse all 329 Exhaustion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhaustion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion... the subject must be something you truly love or truly hate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothea Lange" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-the-subject-must-be-something/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Exhaustion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-the-subject-must-be-something/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/dorothea-lange-13986_exhaustion_pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-t_647154.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/dorothea-lange-13986_exhaustion_pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-t_647154.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cf/dorothea-lange-13986_exhaustion_pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-t_647154.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pick a theme and work it to exhaustion... the subject must be something you truly love or truly hate.” — Dorothea Lange", "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": "Dorothea Lange", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothea-lange/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Pick a theme and work it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-the-subject-must-be-something/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-lange/pick-a-theme-and-work-it-to-exhaustion-the-subject-must-be-something/#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 } } ] } ```