--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not…" description: "\"Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It's all about paying attention...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/susan-sontag-332_attention_do-stuff-be-clenched-curious-not-waiting_3087390.jpg" --- # Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not waiting for… ![“Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It's all about paying attention. attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. stay eager.” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/susan-sontag-332_attention_do-stuff-be-clenched-curious-not-waiting_3087390.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/susan-sontag-332_attention_do-stuff-be-clenched-curious-not-waiting_3087390.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ec/susan-sontag-332_attention_do-stuff-be-clenched-curious-not-waiting_3087390.jpg) > “Do stuff. be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It's all about paying attention. attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. stay eager.” [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attention is essential for vitality, connection, and sustained curiosity, rather than waiting for external prompts. **In simple terms:** Pay attention to stay alive and connected. Key Takeaway Cultivate mindful awareness. Themes attention curiosity vitality connection mindfulness Mood focused inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - learning - relationships - creative work - daily routines Key Concepts consciousness presence engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn attention into purposeful action? - What habits help maintain sustained curiosity? A Different Perspective Attention alone may not guarantee action without discipline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Eagerness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eagerness/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) [Kissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kissing/) [Paying Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-attention/) [Thoughtful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtful/) [Vitality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vitality/) ## Related quotes > [Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/attention-is-vitality-it-connects-you-with-others-it-makes-you-eager/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Sometimes during the day, I consciously focus on some ordinary object and allow myself a momentary "paying-attention." This paying-attention gives meaning to my life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/sometimes-during-the-day-i-consciously-focus-on-some-ordinary-object/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [Life offers its wisdom generously. Everything teaches. Not everyone learns. Life asks of us the same thing we have been asked in every class:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-naomi-remen/life-offers-its-wisdom-generously-everything-teaches-not-everyone/) [Rachel Naomi Remen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-naomi-remen/) > [Pay attention to what you're paying attention to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/pay-attention-to-what-you-re-paying-attention-to/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [Misreading is a big part of reading, the way in which the level of attention you're paying can lead to some interesting residue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/misreading-is-a-big-part-of-reading-the-way-in-which-the-level-of/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [My driving style is alert. As a forecaster, I can't help but think about who else is on the road and how little attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-saffo/my-driving-style-is-alert-as-a-forecaster-i-can-t-help-but-think/) [Paul Saffo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-saffo/) > [The man who joins with youths stays young in heart and mind. In exchange for the gift of their vitality and eagerness, the mature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clausen/the-man-who-joins-with-youths-stays-young-in-heart-and-mind-in/) [Henry Clausen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clausen/) > [Do stuff. Be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/do-stuff-be-clenched-curious-not-waiting-for-inspiration-s-shove-or/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“available to them, generally display a refreshing enthusiasm and eagerness about learning. Learning isn’t a chore, they’ve discovered, it’s a by-product of engaging in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-dobson/available-to-them-generally-display-a-refreshing-enthusiasm-and/) Linda Dobson > [One great flaw in the reforming passion is that in its eagerness to remedy social wrongs it tends to neglect, certainly to undervalue, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-howe/one-great-flaw-in-the-reforming-passion-is-that-in-its-eagerness-to/) [Irving Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-howe/) > [There is surely no more unselfish person than the anthologist. For while all we others are striving to ensure our own immortality with eagerness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-surely-no-more-unselfish-person-than-the-anthologist-for/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [“morning,” Kenny remarked, his fingers clutching at the glass with remarkable eagerness. “Who the fuck cares?” “Point taken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-reed/morning-kenny-remarked-his-fingers-clutching-at-the-glass-with/) [J.C. Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-reed/) > [I arise full of eagerness and energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/i-arise-full-of-eagerness-and-energy-knowing-well-what-achievement/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [I found a special eagerness among the younger, and I am sorry to say, the more intelligent Negroes, to dismiss the spiritual as something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-robeson/i-found-a-special-eagerness-among-the-younger-and-i-am-sorry-to-say/) [Paul Robeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-robeson/) > [A zealous disciple expressed a desire to teach others the Truth and asked the Master what he thought about this. The Master said, "Wait."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/a-zealous-disciple-expressed-a-desire-to-teach-others-the-truth-and/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) ## More by Susan Sontag > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [We are ruled by quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/we-are-ruled-by-quotations/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/like-the-collector-the-photographer-is-animated-by-a-passion-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Why not eliminate schooling between age 12-16? It’s biologically + psychologically too turbulent a time to be cooped up inside, made to sit all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/why-not-eliminate-schooling-between-age-12-16-it-s-biologically/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [To photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them that they can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/to-photograph-people-is-to-violate-them-by-seeing-them-as-they-never/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [One set of messages of the society we live in is: Consume. Grow. Do what you want. Amuse yourselves. The very working of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/one-set-of-messages-of-the-society-we-live-in-is-consume-grow-do-what/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Currently intellectuals in Western Europe and North America are extremely demoralized and shaken by the rise of a virulent conservative tendency (which some have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/currently-intellectuals-in-western-europe-and-north-america-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [With the modern diseases (once TB, now cancer) the romantic idea that the disease expresses the character is invariably extended to assert that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/with-the-modern-diseases-once-tb-now-cancer-the-romantic-idea-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The creative phase of an idea coincides with the period during which it insists, cantankerously, on its boundaries, on what makes it different; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-creative-phase-of-an-idea-coincides-with-the-period-during-which/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Photographs objectify: they turn an event or a person into something that can be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-objectify-they-turn-an-event-or-a-person-into-something/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'm not interested in giving aid and comfort to the neo­-Conservatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/i-m-not-interested-in-giving-aid-and-comfort-to-the-neo-conservatives/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The feminist movement has been important to me because it's made me feel less odd and also because it has made me understand some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-feminist-movement-has-been-important-to-me-because-it-s-made-me/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) [Explore all 644 Susan Sontag quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [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/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Do stuff. be clenched, curious. 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