--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Go a little easier on yourself, and in so…" description: "\"Go a little easier on yourself, and in so doing, be prepared to make and do things that might seem silly at first. Just keep moving: don't ruminate and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/merlin-mann-13792_be-prepared_go-a-little-easier-on-yourself-and-in-so_1547826.jpg" --- # Go a little easier on yourself, and in so doing, be… ![“Go a little easier on yourself, and in so doing, be prepared to make and do things that might seem silly at first. Just keep moving: don't ruminate and stare at the wall. Don't just play with your phone: go out and produce something.” quote by Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/merlin-mann-13792_be-prepared_go-a-little-easier-on-yourself-and-in-so_1547826.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/merlin-mann-13792_be-prepared_go-a-little-easier-on-yourself-and-in-so_1547826.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/merlin-mann-13792_be-prepared_go-a-little-easier-on-yourself-and-in-so_1547826.jpg) > “Go a little easier on yourself, and in so doing, be prepared to make and do things that might seem silly at first. Just keep moving: don't ruminate and stare at the wall. Don't just play with your phone: go out and produce something.” [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourage self‑compassion while staying productive, avoiding rumination and idle distraction. **In simple terms:** Be kind to yourself and keep acting. Key Takeaway Balance kindness with action. Themes self‑compassion productivity mindfulness Mood motivated reflective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - personal projects - creative work - exercise - learning - social interaction Key Concepts growth mindset habit formation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑kindness with progress? - What small action can break a rumination cycle? A Different Perspective May lead to burnout if not paired with rest and realistic goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Be prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-prepared/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Doing Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-prepared-5778183/) [Easier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier/) [Easier Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier-doing-3290880/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Just keep moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-keep-moving/) [Keep moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keep-moving/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Make Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-things/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phones/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepared/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Ruminate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruminate-2229576/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [Saying a quotes is easier than doing them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarek-soloman/saying-a-quotes-is-easier-than-doing-them/) [Tarek Soloman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarek-soloman/) > [It's funny-my married friends tell me all the time, 'What you have is so much easier.' 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If you think about it, life gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-perry/i-tell-people-if-you-re-thinking-about-suicide-all-that-stuff-i-ve/) [Tyler Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-perry/) > [We don't want to go back to the same policies and practicies that drove our economy into a ditch, that punished the middle class,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/we-don-t-want-to-go-back-to-the-same-policies-and-practicies-that/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [I don't think about when it's going to stop and what you do before it stops. You just keep moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-redford/i-don-t-think-about-when-it-s-going-to-stop-and-what-you-do-before-it/) [Robert Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-redford/) > [I understand some people may not have that kind of reverence for it, but I really thought that the revolving door of Law &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-understand-some-people-may-not-have-that-kind-of-reverence-for-it/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [You just keep moving forward and doing what you do, and hope that it resonates with people. And if it doesn't, you just keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/you-just-keep-moving-forward-and-doing-what-you-do-and-hope-that-it/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [The basic rules of life would indicate that it can't last forever, and we'll fall off of the wave and have to climb onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-jackson/the-basic-rules-of-life-would-indicate-that-it-can-t-last-forever-and/) [Stevie Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-jackson/) > [The past stays put, I just keep moving farther away from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-past-stays-put-i-just-keep-moving-farther-away-from-it/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [With each step I take, I see that my ability to perform gets a little better. So until it starts getting worse, I'm going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rivers-cuomo/with-each-step-i-take-i-see-that-my-ability-to-perform-gets-a-little/) [Rivers Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rivers-cuomo/) > [Almost any decision is better than no decision -- just keep moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/almost-any-decision-is-better-than-no-decision-just-keep-moving/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [Abraham wasn't perfect. He failed, made mistakes. But, he would go back, get right with God, and then just keep moving forward. He didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-graham-lotz/abraham-wasn-t-perfect-he-failed-made-mistakes-but-he-would-go-back/) [Anne Graham Lotz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-graham-lotz/) > [In art school, they teach you to struggle through the process: If you have your image down, you've painted it, and it's not looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-owens/in-art-school-they-teach-you-to-struggle-through-the-process-if-you/) [Laura Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-owens/) > [We all just keep moving, September. We keep moving until we stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-just-keep-moving-september-we-keep-moving-until-we-stop/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## More by Merlin Mann > [“Getting organized just means you’ve glued handles onto the various stuff in your life — you’ll still need to pick it up and carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/getting-organized-just-means-you-ve-glued-handles-onto-the-various/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Make the time to be scared of more interesting things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/make-the-time-to-be-scared-of-more-interesting-things/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Personally, it's changed my game - it's how I think now. Can't imagine writing more than a paragraph in anything that doesn't do MMD.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/personally-it-s-changed-my-game-it-s-how-i-think-now-can-t-imagine/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Where you allow your attention to go ultimately says more about you as a human being than anything that you put in your mission…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/where-you-allow-your-attention-to-go-ultimately-says-more-about-you/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Everything takes more time than you thought, everything costs more money than you thought, and almost everything turns out not quite as cool as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/everything-takes-more-time-than-you-thought-everything-costs-more/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [People with tiny glasses and costly shoes can always find a couple of hours to explain how you did it all wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/people-with-tiny-glasses-and-costly-shoes-can-always-find-a-couple-of/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Feeling creative produces great work in approximately the same way that "feeling like a doctor" makes you a gifted thoracic surgeon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/feeling-creative-produces-great-work-in-approximately-the-same-way/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Creative work only seems like a magic trick to people who don't understand that it's ultimately still work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/creative-work-only-seems-like-a-magic-trick-to-people-who-don-t/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Creative work, summarized: In the time you set aside each day to work your ass off, ignore anything that makes you consider stopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/creative-work-summarized-in-the-time-you-set-aside-each-day-to-work/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [If you need to appear on an internet list to know whether you're someone's friend, you may have problems a computer can't solve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/if-you-need-to-appear-on-an-internet-list-to-know-whether-you-re/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [You're gonna die. You're gonna die. And nobody's gonna care which version of the iPhone you used to make something on Twitter, or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/you-re-gonna-die-you-re-gonna-die-and-nobody-s-gonna-care-which/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [“Put plainer, my sense is that western culture would be a damn sight poorer today if John Lennon had been forced to carry a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/put-plainer-my-sense-is-that-western-culture-would-be-a-damn-sight/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [I think all of the best nonfiction that has ever been made comes from the result of someone who can't stop thinking about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/i-think-all-of-the-best-nonfiction-that-has-ever-been-made-comes-from/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [Email is such a funny thing. People hand you these single little messages that are no heavier than a river pebble. But it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/email-is-such-a-funny-thing-people-hand-you-these-single-little/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) > [A priority is observed, not manufactured or assigned. Otherwise, it's necessarily not a priority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merlin-mann/a-priority-is-observed-not-manufactured-or-assigned-otherwise-it-s/) [Merlin Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) [Explore all 49 Merlin Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merlin-mann/) ## More Be prepared quotes > [“In your goals to go the extra mile, prepare to pay an extra cost. 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Like the driver's ed kid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/the-thing-about-writing-or-making-art-is-that-i-m-not-thinking-about/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [You must have goals in your life, or otherwise be prepared to be used by those who do have them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-brooks/you-must-have-goals-in-your-life-or-otherwise-be-prepared-to-be-used/) [Herb Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-brooks/) > [I never minded giving my opinions. They are just opinions, and I had studied music and I had strong feelings. I was happy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-never-minded-giving-my-opinions-they-are-just-opinions-and-i-had/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [To me, man means awareness of death. I am not saying become afraid of death; that is not awareness. Just be aware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/to-me-man-means-awareness-of-death-i-am-not-saying-become-afraid-of/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Another mistake a director can make is not to be prepared, so you get there on the day to shoot the scene, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/another-mistake-a-director-can-make-is-not-to-be-prepared-so-you-get/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [Old Flossie settle down on the other side of What-the-Dickens and dragged some handiwork out of a sack. 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