--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We live in an almost perfect stillness…" description: "\"We live in an almost perfect stillness and work with incredible urgency.\" — Rem Koolhaas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/rem-koolhaas-5371_almost-perfect_we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-a_1278545.png" --- # We live in an almost perfect stillness and work with… ![“We live in an almost perfect stillness and work with incredible urgency.” quote by Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/rem-koolhaas-5371_almost-perfect_we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-a_1278545.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/rem-koolhaas-5371_almost-perfect_we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-a_1278545.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/rem-koolhaas-5371_almost-perfect_we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-a_1278545.png) > “We live in an almost perfect stillness and work with incredible urgency.” [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We experience profound stillness while working with intense urgency. **In simple terms:** Stillness meets urgency. Key Takeaway Balance calm with purposeful speed. Themes productivity mindfulness urgency creativity Mood contemplative energetic Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - design projects - emergency response - personal tasks Key Concepts time management psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain focus under pressure? - What practices sustain calm? A Different Perspective Urgency can erode stillness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Almost perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/almost-perfect/) [Incredible Urgency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredible-urgency-4122471/) [Incredibles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredibles/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Perfect Stillness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-stillness-560184/) [Serenity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serenity/) [Stillness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stillness/) [Stillness Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stillness-work-4122470/) [Urgency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urgency/) [Work Incredible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-incredible-1611151/) ## Related quotes > [There’s a place inside of you where you can retreat and enjoy perfect stillness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/there-s-a-place-inside-of-you-where-you-can-retreat-and-enjoy-perfect/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [“One night I was meditating in such perfect stillness that two mosquitoes came and sat on each of my cheekbones and stayed there a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/one-night-i-was-meditating-in-such-perfect-stillness-that-two/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Look for the things in your life that bring you stillness and happiness, not the things that make you crazy. Look inside yourself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/look-for-the-things-in-your-life-that-bring-you-stillness-and/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“My little beast, my eyes, my favorite stolen egg. Listen. To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/my-little-beast-my-eyes-my-favorite-stolen-egg-listen-to-live-is-to/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The perfect stillness of the night was thrilled by a more solemn silence. The darkness held a presence that was all the more felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-perfect-stillness-of-the-night-was-thrilled-by-a-more-solemn/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I've been very lucky because I've gotten to work with some incredible actors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-strong/i-ve-been-very-lucky-because-i-ve-gotten-to-work-with-some-incredible/) [Jeremy Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-strong/) > [I've been able to work with incredible people, including some of my idols.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everlast/i-ve-been-able-to-work-with-incredible-people-including-some-of-my/) [Everlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everlast/) > [I'm really very lucky. I get to do an awful lot. 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Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelvin-fletcher/i-ve-got-a-three-year-old-daughter-to-picture-her-being-a-dancer-i-d/) [Kelvin Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelvin-fletcher/) > [I've been incredibly lucky throughout the beginning stages of my career up 'til now, and so lucky to work with the incredible people I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cher-lloyd/i-ve-been-incredibly-lucky-throughout-the-beginning-stages-of-my/) [Cher Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cher-lloyd/) > [I get to work with such incredible makeup artists and hair stylists, so I get to try fun things that I would never do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-morrone/i-get-to-work-with-such-incredible-makeup-artists-and-hair-stylists/) [Camila Morrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-morrone/) > [My mentality is like a samurai they used to train every day, work on their technique to make themselves better, almost perfect, perfection is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/my-mentality-is-like-a-samurai-they-used-to-train-every-day-work-on/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) > [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. A writer with only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/some-writers-say-they-cannot-write-in-front-of-a-window-many-say-they/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## More by Rem Koolhaas > [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Manhattan has generated a shameless architecture that has been loved in direct proportion to its defiant lack of self-hatred, has been respected exactly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/manhattan-has-generated-a-shameless-architecture-that-has-been-loved/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [In a script, you have to link various episodes together, you have to generate suspense and you have to assemble things - through editing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/in-a-script-you-have-to-link-various-episodes-together-you-have-to/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [ The beauty of my profession \[architecture\] lies in its randomness and surprise. And don't think I can choose my projects. I have to build… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-beauty-of-my-profession-architecture-lies-in-its-randomness-and/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Our office acts like a kind of educational establishment and we are very careful who we educate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/our-office-acts-like-a-kind-of-educational-establishment-and-we-are/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [We discovered a person in Lagos who had a fish stall, and within a single square metre she carried two children all the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/we-discovered-a-person-in-lagos-who-had-a-fish-stall-and-within-a/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [ Nigeria \[in 1990\] was all rumour, an unbelievable amount of rumour - largely about crime and almost mythical manifestations of evil. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/nigeria-in-1990-was-all-rumour-an-unbelievable-amount-of-rumour/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Let's put it this way: One can be happy or unhappy in a building. But some buildings make us more depressed than others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/let-s-put-it-this-way-one-can-be-happy-or-unhappy-in-a-building-but/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Nigeria was a blank on the map - there weren't even any maps. The US State Department, everyone said don't go there. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/nigeria-was-a-blank-on-the-map-there-weren-t-even-any-maps-the-us/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The City is an addictive machine from which there is no escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-city-is-an-addictive-machine-from-which-there-is-no-escape/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The work in S, M, L, XL was almost suicidal. It required so much effort that our office almost went bankrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-work-in-s-m-l-xl-was-almost-suicidal-it-required-so-much-effort/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Manhattan has no choice but the skyward extrusion of the Grid itself; only the Skyscraper offers business the wide-open spaces of a man-made Wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/manhattan-has-no-choice-but-the-skyward-extrusion-of-the-grid-itself/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The stronger the identity, the more it imprisons, the more it resists expansion, interpretation, renewal, contradiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-stronger-the-identity-the-more-it-imprisons-the-more-it-resists/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Why I talked about political correctness: the colonial is now such a major taboo that any achievement of the colonial period, or any generosity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/why-i-talked-about-political-correctness-the-colonial-is-now-such-a/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [The thing is that I have a really intense, almost compulsive need to record. But it doesn't end there, because what I record is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/the-thing-is-that-i-have-a-really-intense-almost-compulsive-need-to/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) [Explore all 101 Rem Koolhaas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) ## More Almost perfect quotes > [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. 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Then, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-volney/seasonal-friends-they-re-there-for-you-and-only-come-around-during/) [Krystal Volney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-volney/) > [“For all my rational Western intellect and education, I was for the moment overwhelmed by a primitive sense of living in a world ordered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/for-all-my-rational-western-intellect-and-education-i-was-for-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [I don't want to give people the impression that I'm an almost perfect human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-murphy/i-don-t-want-to-give-people-the-impression-that-i-m-an-almost-perfect/) [Dale Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-murphy/) > [“Once they had calculated the load, they worked out exactly how fast each ship should accelerate as they made the park shift to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-they-had-calculated-the-load-they-worked-out-exactly-how-fast/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Anxious to defend his adopted city—especially his side of town, the less fashionable west end—Eli considered giving Veronica a condensed lecture on the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-everhart/anxious-to-defend-his-adopted-city-especially-his-side-of-town-the/) [Max Everhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-everhart/) > [“While I waited for Adley to answer, I took in our surroundings. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-landry/i-like-what-barcelona-is-doing-this-city-almost-perfectly-combines/) [Charles Landry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-landry/) > [Behold the Drojim Palace," King Urgit said extravagantly to Sadi, "the hereditary home of the House of Urga." "A most unusual structure, You Majesty,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddings/behold-the-drojim-palace-king-urgit-said-extravagantly-to-sadi-the/) [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) > [Real friends are those are always with you when everthing's almost perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-friends-are-those-are-always-with-you-when-everthing-s-almost/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sadio Mane is a world-class player. He is almost perfect. 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That's quite independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guido-van-rossum/mark-hammond-is-working-in-this-area-with-windows-scripting-host-it/) [Guido van Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guido-van-rossum/) [Browse all 67 Almost perfect quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/almost-perfect/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We live in an almost perfect stillness and work with incredible urgency.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rem Koolhaas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-and-work-with-incredible/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Almost perfect" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-and-work-with-incredible/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/rem-koolhaas-5371_almost-perfect_we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-a_1278545.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/rem-koolhaas-5371_almost-perfect_we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-a_1278545.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/rem-koolhaas-5371_almost-perfect_we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-a_1278545.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We live in an almost perfect stillness and work with incredible urgency.” — Rem Koolhaas", "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": "Rem Koolhaas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We live in an almost perfect...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-and-work-with-incredible/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/we-live-in-an-almost-perfect-stillness-and-work-with-incredible/#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 } } ] } ```