--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mind has an obsessive, neurotic…" description: "\"My mind has an obsessive, neurotic quality, but I also have a very hard work ethic. I know that a lot of people think, oh, you have a wild imagination...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/george-saunders-317_creativity_my-mind-has-an-obsessive-neurotic-qualit_3054570.jpg" --- # My mind has an obsessive, neurotic quality, but I also… ![“My mind has an obsessive, neurotic quality, but I also have a very hard work ethic. I know that a lot of people think, oh, you have a wild imagination. I don't, really. If ten people are sitting around and someone says, "Hey complete this sentence in a funny way," I'm never ahead of the pack.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/george-saunders-317_creativity_my-mind-has-an-obsessive-neurotic-qualit_3054570.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/george-saunders-317_creativity_my-mind-has-an-obsessive-neurotic-qualit_3054570.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/george-saunders-317_creativity_my-mind-has-an-obsessive-neurotic-qualit_3054570.jpg) > “My mind has an obsessive, neurotic quality, but I also have a very hard work ethic. I know that a lot of people think, oh, you have a wild imagination. I don't, really. If ten people are sitting around and someone says, "Hey complete this sentence in a funny way," I'm never ahead of the pack.” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges a compulsive mind yet emphasizes a strong work ethic, rejecting the myth of effortless creativity. **In simple terms:** Hard work beats imagined talent. Key Takeaway Cultivate discipline over relying on imagination alone. Themes work ethic creativity self-awareness Mood reflective determined Type advice personal development When to use this quote - writing - career development - personal productivity Key Concepts psychology motivation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance obsessive thinking with productive output? - Can discipline replace natural talent? A Different Perspective Talent alone may not guarantee success without effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Hey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hey/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Obsessive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-obsessive-5096464/) [Neurotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurotic/) [Neurotic Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurotic-quality-3686621/) [Obsessive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessive/) [Obsessive Neurotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessive-neurotic-5096465/) [Packs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/packs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Sitting around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-around/) [Ten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ten/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wild imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-imagination/) [Work ethic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-ethic/) ## Related quotes > [“Self-evaluation and self-criticism are, basically, neurotic tendencies which derive from our not having enough confidence in ourselves, confidence in the sense of seeing what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/self-evaluation-and-self-criticism-are-basically-neurotic-tendencies/) [Chögyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [All the best have something in common, a regard for reality, an agreement to its primacy over the imagination. 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How sure to be mistaken!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/what-wild-imaginations-one-forms-where-dear-self-is-concerned-how/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Being twenty years old, I naturally had a wild imagination and a tender heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wladyslaw-stanislaw-reymont/being-twenty-years-old-i-naturally-had-a-wild-imagination-and-a/) [Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wladyslaw-stanislaw-reymont/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? 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Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. 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It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## 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": "My mind has an obsessive, neurotic quality, but I also have a very hard work ethic. I know that a lot of people think, oh, you have a wild imagination. I don't, really. 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