--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would say that I quite consciously rely…" description: "\"I would say that I quite consciously rely on my obsessions in all my work, that I deliberately set up an obsessional frame of mind. In a paradoxical wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/j-g-ballard-2711_deliberately_i-would-say-that-i-quite-consciously-rel_988570.jpg" --- # I would say that I quite consciously rely on my obsessions… ![“I would say that I quite consciously rely on my obsessions in all my work, that I deliberately set up an obsessional frame of mind. In a paradoxical way, this leaves one free of the subject of the obsession.” quote by J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/j-g-ballard-2711_deliberately_i-would-say-that-i-quite-consciously-rel_988570.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/j-g-ballard-2711_deliberately_i-would-say-that-i-quite-consciously-rel_988570.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a3/j-g-ballard-2711_deliberately_i-would-say-that-i-quite-consciously-rel_988570.jpg) > “I would say that I quite consciously rely on my obsessions in all my work, that I deliberately set up an obsessional frame of mind. In a paradoxical way, this leaves one free of the subject of the obsession.” [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ballard describes using obsessive focus as a tool, allowing him to detach from the obsession’s emotional grip while harnessing its productivity. **In simple terms:** He uses obsessions deliberately to stay productive without being emotionally trapped. Key Takeaway Leverage intense focus while maintaining emotional distance. Themes creativity focus psychology Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - writing - artistic projects - research - problem solving Key Concepts obsession detachment productivity Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel an obsession without losing balance? - What boundaries keep focus healthy? A Different Perspective Obsessions can become overwhelming if not managed, leading to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Frame of mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frame-of-mind/) [Leaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaves/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Obsessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessions/) [Paradoxical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradoxical/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Presumably all obsessions are extreme metaphors waiting to be born. That whole private mythology, in which I believe totally, is a collaboration between one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/presumably-all-obsessions-are-extreme-metaphors-waiting-to-be-born/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [“His obsessions don’t manifest themselves physically, but they certainly lay other species of snares and traps in hidden corners of his mind. They lasso…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-ginder/his-obsessions-don-t-manifest-themselves-physically-but-they/) [Grant Ginder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-ginder/) > [“For careers you say you went to be remembered for your art Your obsessions get you known throughout the school for being strange Making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belle-sebastian/for-careers-you-say-you-went-to-be-remembered-for-your-art-your/) Belle & Sebastian > [“The writer’s obsessions are twofold. First, communicate their thoughts onto paper with a great degree of precision in order accurately to express everything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/the-writer-s-obsessions-are-twofold-first-communicate-their-thoughts/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [I'm not a computer guy. I'm like an anthropologist. I'm fascinated with people's obsessions. I've learned to wear them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/i-m-not-a-computer-guy-i-m-like-an-anthropologist-i-m-fascinated-with/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“Soon enough, we are all going to leave this earth for good. The thought of this alone should make us love deeply, and live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/soon-enough-we-are-all-going-to-leave-this-earth-for-good-the-thought/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [People never cease to project on to God their individual and collective obsessions, so that they can appropriate and make use of him. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-clement/people-never-cease-to-project-on-to-god-their-individual-and/) [Olivier Clement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-clement/) > [“How much of our lives is spent in reverie, in wishing for what cannot be, in regretting what might have been avoided. These obsessions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-k-reynolds/how-much-of-our-lives-is-spent-in-reverie-in-wishing-for-what-cannot/) David K. Reynolds > [“Finally, Luther, Bunyan, and Thérèse all developed mature religious philosophies that differed from those of their communities because (from a psychiatric standpoint) each needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-osborn/finally-luther-bunyan-and-th-r-se-all-developed-mature-religious/) Ian Osborn > [“Peeves are like that: my peeves are law, yours are unhealthy obsessions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/peeves-are-like-that-my-peeves-are-law-yours-are-unhealthy-obsessions/) [Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/) > [One of my pet peeves, one of my obsessions, is litter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-wax/one-of-my-pet-peeves-one-of-my-obsessions-is-litter/) [Amy Wax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-wax/) > [Love is an obsession. It has that quality to it. But there are healthy obsessions, and mine is one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-stephenson/love-is-an-obsession-it-has-that-quality-to-it-but-there-are-healthy/) [Pamela Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-stephenson/) > [A people represents not so much an aggregate of ideas and theories as of obsessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/a-people-represents-not-so-much-an-aggregate-of-ideas-and-theories-as/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [For many people it's Facebook, or sports on TV, whatever it is. I have my own demons that I battle. But whatever they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-many-people-it-s-facebook-or-sports-on-tv-whatever-it-is-i-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than it is now. Arasthus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/obsessed-p-p-vexed-by-an-evil-spirit-like-the-gadarene-swine-and/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) ## More by J. G. Ballard > [Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/science-and-technology-multiply-around-us-to-an-increasing-extent/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [There are some people, who place enormous value on their home and feel that it defines them, that a stain on the carpet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/there-are-some-people-who-place-enormous-value-on-their-home-and-feel/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [A reality that is electronic... Once everybody's got a computer terminal in their home, to satisfy all their needs, all the domestic needs, there'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/a-reality-that-is-electronic-once-everybody-s-got-a-computer-terminal/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [If you're against globalisation, it doesn't achieve much by sort of bombing the head offices of Shell or Nestle. You unsettle people much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/if-you-re-against-globalisation-it-doesn-t-achieve-much-by-sort-of/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [The suburbs dream of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/the-suburbs-dream-of-violence/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I made a very slatternly mother, notably unkeen on housework, unaware that homes need to be cleaned now and then, and too often to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-made-a-very-slatternly-mother-notably-unkeen-on-housework-unaware/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I was in Shanghai when the Japanese invaded China. I was there in Shanghai when, the morning after Pearl Harbor, they seized Shanghai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-in-shanghai-when-the-japanese-invaded-china-i-was-there-in/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Electronic aids, particularly domestic computers, will helpthe inner migration, the opting out of reality. Reality is no longer going to be the stuff out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/electronic-aids-particularly-domestic-computers-will-helpthe-inner/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Perhaps the future belongs to magic, and it's we women who control magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/perhaps-the-future-belongs-to-magic-and-it-s-we-women-who-control/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Any fool can write a novel but it takes real genius to sell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/any-fool-can-write-a-novel-but-it-takes-real-genius-to-sell-it/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I work for three or four hours a day, in the late morning and early afternoon. Then I go out for a walk and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-work-for-three-or-four-hours-a-day-in-the-late-morning-and-early/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Even one's own home is a kind of anthology of advertisers, manufacturers, motifs and presentation techniques. There's nothing 'natural' about one's home these days.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/even-one-s-own-home-is-a-kind-of-anthology-of-advertisers/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I was born in the city's general hospital on November 15, 1930, and we lived at 31 Amherst Avenue in the western suburbs. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-born-in-the-city-s-general-hospital-on-november-15-1930-and-we/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [I suspect that many of the great cultural shifts that prepare the way for political change are largely aesthetic. A Buick radiator grille is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-suspect-that-many-of-the-great-cultural-shifts-that-prepare-the-way/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [Orwell's '1984' convinced me, rightly or wrongly, that Marxism was only a quantum leap away from tyranny. By contrast, Huxley's 'Brave New World' suggested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/orwell-s-1984-convinced-me-rightly-or-wrongly-that-marxism-was-only-a/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) [Explore all 151 J. G. Ballard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) ## More Deliberately quotes > [Whether Earth was deliberately terraformed, in other words, or whether it was seeded with the spores of life from crashed comets or whether, indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/whether-earth-was-deliberately-terraformed-in-other-words-or-whether/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [When I was 18 I worked with the Ringling Brothers circus, taking care of menagerie animals. I used to rather deliberately risk my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hoagland/when-i-was-18-i-worked-with-the-ringling-brothers-circus-taking-care/) [Edward Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hoagland/) > [With the 'Watchmen' comic, we attempted to tell it in an accessible way. I deliberately made the artwork very clear, deceptively so. You think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/with-the-watchmen-comic-we-attempted-to-tell-it-in-an-accessible-way/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [I chose deliberately for Harry Bosch to age chronologically with the books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-chose-deliberately-for-harry-bosch-to-age-chronologically-with-the/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [The real problem with big issues like Medicare is that both parties have to be brave at the same time. Every pollster will tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/the-real-problem-with-big-issues-like-medicare-is-that-both-parties/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [I know he wanted me to love fishing and hunting, and I believe that he deliberately set about to make me want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hemingway/i-know-he-wanted-me-to-love-fishing-and-hunting-and-i-believe-that-he/) [Jack Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hemingway/) > [I wear a lot of things for fun. Sometimes Ill wear one item that is deliberately stupid because that will make the outfit cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frecheville/i-wear-a-lot-of-things-for-fun-sometimes-ill-wear-one-item-that-is/) [James Frecheville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frecheville/) > [I have never in my career embarked on a journey towards controversy. I have never deliberately set a flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/i-have-never-in-my-career-embarked-on-a-journey-towards-controversy-i/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they were written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/books-must-be-read-as-deliberately-and-reservedly-as-they-were-written/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Purpose must be deliberately conceived and chosen, and then pursued.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/purpose-must-be-deliberately-conceived-and-chosen-and-then-pursued/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [I deliberately never read about films before I see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-arnold/i-deliberately-never-read-about-films-before-i-see-them/) [Andrea Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-arnold/) > [“I think somebody deliberately wanted to frighten her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/i-think-somebody-deliberately-wanted-to-frighten-her/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [I maintain that in every position that arises, we should deliberately search, among other things, for pieces which have no retreat. If we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-purdy/i-maintain-that-in-every-position-that-arises-we-should-deliberately/) Cecil Purdy > [The whole sector of public dialogue has been totally contaminated, deliberately, by the corporate sector. The whole purpose is to sow confusion and doubt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/the-whole-sector-of-public-dialogue-has-been-totally-contaminated/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [WikiLeaks exposed corruption, war crimes, torture and cover-ups. 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