--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The more exquisitely and delightfully you…" description: "\"The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement.\" — Elizabeth Gilbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/elizabeth-gilbert-131_achievement_the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-yo_2046178.jpg" --- # The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing… ![“The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement.” quote by Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/elizabeth-gilbert-131_achievement_the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-yo_2046178.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/elizabeth-gilbert-131_achievement_the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-yo_2046178.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/elizabeth-gilbert-131_achievement_the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-yo_2046178.jpg) > “The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement.” [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Doing nothing beautifully is a high achievement, suggesting mastery of presence and contentment. **In simple terms:** Finding joy in stillness is a great accomplishment. Key Takeaway Cultivate the art of mindful idleness. Themes mindfulness contentment achievement stillness Mood calm inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - meditation - creative breaks - stress relief - personal reflection Key Concepts presence inner peace creative pause Questions to Reflect On - How can you value purposeful rest? - What practices help you enjoy doing nothing? A Different Perspective Idleness can be misinterpreted as laziness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a big believer in growth. Life is not about achievement, it's about learning and growth, and developing qualities like compassion, patience, perseverance, love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/i-m-a-big-believer-in-growth-life-is-not-about-achievement-it-s-about/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [Something happens when you become an elder rock & roller and you're still functioning. People start to give you awards and recognize achievements. 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Just beyond the completion of each goal on our life-achievement “bucket list” looms another goal, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-klein/there-is-no-rest-for-the-striver-just-beyond-the-completion-of-each/) [Daniel Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-klein/) > [I happily watch movies made on the life and achievement of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudha-murty/i-happily-watch-movies-made-on-the-life-and-achievement-of-others/) [Sudha Murty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudha-murty/) > [The simplicity of your character makes you exquisitely incomprehensible to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-simplicity-of-your-character-makes-you-exquisitely/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The life and death of a human being is so exquisitely calibrated as to automatically produce union with Spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-dowling-singh/the-life-and-death-of-a-human-being-is-so-exquisitely-calibrated-as/) [Kathleen Dowling Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-dowling-singh/) > [“Her INNER BEAUTY is what makes her outer beauty exquisitely beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-lahart/her-inner-beauty-is-what-makes-her-outer-beauty-exquisitely-beautiful/) [Stephanie Lahart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-lahart/) > [Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/photography-deals-exquisitely-with-appearances-but-nothing-is-what-it/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) > [Every canvas that can awaken us more exquisitely and accurately to the infinite and various surface of our experience does that much to sharpen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-tobey/every-canvas-that-can-awaken-us-more-exquisitely-and-accurately-to/) [Alton Tobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-tobey/) > [And now more than anything I want beautiful prose. I relish it more and more exquisitely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/and-now-more-than-anything-i-want-beautiful-prose-i-relish-it-more/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Photography is about being exquisitely present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/photography-is-about-being-exquisitely-present/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) ## More by Elizabeth Gilbert > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Not to mention that I have finally arrived at that age where a woman starts to question whether the wisest way to get over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/not-to-mention-that-i-have-finally-arrived-at-that-age-where-a-woman/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“The Buddha taught that all human suffering is rooted in desire. Don't we all know this to be true? Any of us who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-buddha-taught-that-all-human-suffering-is-rooted-in-desire-don-t/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [ “And while \[we\] do have possibilities that are vast and magnificent and almost infinite in scope, it's important to remember that our choice-rich lives… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/and-while-we-do-have-possibilities-that-are-vast-and-magnificent-and/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/learn-your-way-around-loneliness-make-a-map-of-it-sit-with-it-for/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [If we never leave our house except to drive to work, do we need to be even remotely aware of this powerful, humbling, extraordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/if-we-never-leave-our-house-except-to-drive-to-work-do-we-need-to-be/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I will tell you why we have these extraordinary minds and souls, Miss Whittaker," he continued, as though he had not heard her. "We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-will-tell-you-why-we-have-these-extraordinary-minds-and-souls-miss/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/clearing-out-all-your-misery-gets-you-out-of-the-way-you-cease-being/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [The ingredients of both darkness and light are equally present in all of us,...The madness of this planet is largely a result of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-ingredients-of-both-darkness-and-light-are-equally-present-in-all/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-was-full-of-a-hot-powerful-sadness-and-would-have-loved-to-burst/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-live-in-nature-where-everything-is-connected-circular-the-seasons/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“His spelling was several degrees beyond arbitrary, and his punctuation brought reason to sigh with unhappiness. But”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/his-spelling-was-several-degrees-beyond-arbitrary-and-his-punctuation/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/before-you-realize-this-truth-say-the-yogis-you-will-always-be-in/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I actually have a great deal of respect for antidepressants; I think they can be enormously mighty tools toward recovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-actually-have-a-great-deal-of-respect-for-antidepressants-i-think/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) [Explore all 1,156 Elizabeth Gilbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) ## More Achievement quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It's tragic what America has become because there is a great segment of society that now resents luxury and success and achievement by others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-leach/it-s-tragic-what-america-has-become-because-there-is-a-great-segment/) [Robin Leach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-leach/) > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [The main substantive achievement of neoliberalism has been to redistribute rather than to generate wealth and income.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-main-substantive-achievement-of-neoliberalism-has-been-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [Every profession has an ideology and a drive for power that goes far beyond its achievements and it is the task of democracy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feyerabend/every-profession-has-an-ideology-and-a-drive-for-power-that-goes-far/) [Paul Feyerabend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feyerabend/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [“If you find a way where there seems to be no way, that’s what we call miracle, not personal achievement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/if-you-find-a-way-where-there-seems-to-be-no-way-that-s-what-we-call/) [Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkwachukwu-ogbuagu/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/) Nicholas Roerich > [Every scene is a challenge. There are technical challenges, but often it's the simplest challenge where you feel a sense of achievement when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/every-scene-is-a-challenge-there-are-technical-challenges-but-often/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) [Browse all 3,867 Achievement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/achievement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Gilbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-you-can-do-nothing-the-higher/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Achievement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-you-can-do-nothing-the-higher/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/elizabeth-gilbert-131_achievement_the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-yo_2046178.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/elizabeth-gilbert-131_achievement_the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-yo_2046178.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/elizabeth-gilbert-131_achievement_the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-yo_2046178.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing, the higher your life's achievement.” — Elizabeth Gilbert", "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": "Elizabeth Gilbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The more exquisitely and delightfully you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-you-can-do-nothing-the-higher/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/the-more-exquisitely-and-delightfully-you-can-do-nothing-the-higher/#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 } } ] } ```