--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Work is a way of shutting out ambiguous…" description: "\"Work is a way of shutting out ambiguous sentiment.\" — Wendy Wasserstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/wendy-wasserstein-17736_ambiguous_work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous_2372966.png" --- # Work is a way of shutting out ambiguous sentiment. ![“Work is a way of shutting out ambiguous sentiment.” quote by Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/wendy-wasserstein-17736_ambiguous_work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous_2372966.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/wendy-wasserstein-17736_ambiguous_work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous_2372966.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/wendy-wasserstein-17736_ambiguous_work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous_2372966.png) > “Work is a way of shutting out ambiguous sentiment.” [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Work can be used to avoid confronting complex emotions, providing distraction. **In simple terms:** Work distracts from feelings. Key Takeaway Balance work with emotional awareness. Themes work avoidance emotion Mood reflective concerned Type analytical advisory When to use this quote - stress management - career planning - therapy Key Concepts psychological defense distraction career focus Questions to Reflect On - How do you process emotions at work? - What healthy outlets replace avoidance? A Different Perspective Avoiding feelings may lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambiguous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguous/) [Ambiguous Sentiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguous-sentiment-5850074/) [Sentiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentiment/) [Sentiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentiments/) [Shutting Ambiguous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shutting-ambiguous-5850075/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [The charge of being ambiguous and indefinite may be brought against every human composition, and necessarily arises from the imperfection of language. Perhaps no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-ellsworth/the-charge-of-being-ambiguous-and-indefinite-may-be-brought-against/) [Oliver Ellsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-ellsworth/) > [Tolerance never exists without negative judgment. It is the sentiment of having a negative opinion about something yet still putting up with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/tolerance-never-exists-without-negative-judgment-it-is-the-sentiment/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [I can't think of any sentiment which is finer than being in a position to give people something they like. I love giving, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-mcdonald/i-can-t-think-of-any-sentiment-which-is-finer-than-being-in-a/) [Trevor McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-mcdonald/) > [The most common form of terrorism in the U.S.A. is that carried on by bulldozers and chainsaws. It is not enough to understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-most-common-form-of-terrorism-in-the-u-s-a-is-that-carried-on-by/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All things are moral. That soul, which within us is a sentiment, outside of us is a law. We feel its inspiration; out there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/all-things-are-moral-that-soul-which-within-us-is-a-sentiment-outside/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Love is not a mere emotion or sentiment. It is the lucid and ardent responses of the whole person to a value that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-is-not-a-mere-emotion-or-sentiment-it-is-the-lucid-and-ardent/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Sentiment, crystallized, grows into sentimentality. It lost all spontaneity, which was the essence of feeling. It was dated--old-fashioned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-ayer-barnes/sentiment-crystallized-grows-into-sentimentality-it-lost-all/) [Margaret Ayer Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-ayer-barnes/) > [Some read for style, and some for argument: one has little care about the sentiment, he observes only how it is expressed; another regards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/some-read-for-style-and-some-for-argument-one-has-little-care-about/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [This sentiment of self-contempt is a frequent one in young people of both sexes. Their valuation of themselves varies as much as the barometer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphry-davy/this-sentiment-of-self-contempt-is-a-frequent-one-in-young-people-of/) [Humphry Davy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphry-davy/) > [If it’s going to be a world with no time for sentiment, it’s not a world that I want to live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/if-it-s-going-to-be-a-world-with-no-time-for-sentiment-it-s-not-a/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [I like grit, I like love and death, I'm tired of irony. ... A lot of good fiction is sentimental. ... The novelist who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/i-like-grit-i-like-love-and-death-i-m-tired-of-irony-a-lot-of-good/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [ANTIPATHY, n. The sentiment inspired by one's friend's friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/antipathy-n-the-sentiment-inspired-by-one-s-friend-s-friend/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Why does a man cry? he wondered. Not like a woman; not for that. Not for sentiment. A man cries over the loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/why-does-a-man-cry-he-wondered-not-like-a-woman-not-for-that-not-for/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) ## More by Wendy Wasserstein > [One of the things about what . . . I do - writing plays - is that a poll is not taken before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/one-of-the-things-about-what-i-do-writing-plays-is-that-a-poll-is-not/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [anyone who writes plays is unbelievably persistent, because there isn't a need in the world for plays. Somehow you internally have to feel a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/anyone-who-writes-plays-is-unbelievably-persistent-because-there-isn/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [I really worked at becoming more assertive, and now none of my friends talk to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/i-really-worked-at-becoming-more-assertive-and-now-none-of-my-friends/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [Sometimes I want to clean up my desk and go out and say, respect me, I'm a respectable grown-up, and other times I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/sometimes-i-want-to-clean-up-my-desk-and-go-out-and-say-respect-me-i/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [Personally I don't spend much time thinking about being funny. For me it's always been just a way to get by, a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/personally-i-don-t-spend-much-time-thinking-about-being-funny-for-me/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [No matter how lonely you get or how many birth announcements you receive, the trick is not to get frightened. There's nothing wrong with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/no-matter-how-lonely-you-get-or-how-many-birth-announcements-you/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [The trick. . .is to find the balance between the bright colors of humor and the serious issues of identity, self-loathing, and the possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/the-trick-is-to-find-the-balance-between-the-bright-colors-of-humor/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [being funny is a way of being liked and a way of dealing with sadness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/being-funny-is-a-way-of-being-liked-and-a-way-of-dealing-with-sadness/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [Being a grownup means assuming responsibility for yourself, for your children, and - here's the big curve - for your parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/being-a-grownup-means-assuming-responsibility-for-yourself-for-your/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [No matter how successful I become as a playwright, my mother would be thrilled to hear me tell her that I'd just lost twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/no-matter-how-successful-i-become-as-a-playwright-my-mother-would-be/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [I very much write from characters. Those people start speaking, and then I have them in the house with me and I live with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/i-very-much-write-from-characters-those-people-start-speaking-and/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [“In the world of The Age of Innocence , a financial disaster or moral scandal would permanently exile a guest from the finest dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/in-the-world-of-the-age-of-innocence-a-financial-disaster-or-moral/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [to live life as a writer is a very lucky thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/to-live-life-as-a-writer-is-a-very-lucky-thing/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [Sloth is the fastest-growing lifestyle movement in the world, and that's because it is completely doable. If you embrace sloth, it's the last thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/sloth-is-the-fastest-growing-lifestyle-movement-in-the-world-and-that/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) > [I'm not going to throw my imagination away. I refuse to lie down to expectation. If I can just hold out till I'm thirty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/i-m-not-going-to-throw-my-imagination-away-i-refuse-to-lie-down-to/) [Wendy Wasserstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) [Explore all 36 Wendy Wasserstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/) ## More Ambiguous quotes > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Happiness can be bought with a bottle of wine and has become ambiguous through overuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-can-be-bought-with-a-bottle-of-wine-and-has-become/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Somehow, in the novel format, I don't really like to do upfront, ideological discussion. In my heart, literature remains a poetic and ambiguous medium.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xiaolu-guo/somehow-in-the-novel-format-i-don-t-really-like-to-do-upfront/) [Xiaolu Guo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xiaolu-guo/) > [Redundancy is ambiguous because it seems like a waste if nothing unusual happens. Except that something unusual happens-usually .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/redundancy-is-ambiguous-because-it-seems-like-a-waste-if-nothing/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“In general we are reminded that the word heimlich is not unambiguous, but belongs to two sets of ideas, which, without being contradictory, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/in-general-we-are-reminded-that-the-word-heimlich-is-not-unambiguous/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I want each poem to be ambiguous enough that its meaning can shift, depending on the reader's own frame of reference, and depending on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-want-each-poem-to-be-ambiguous-enough-that-its-meaning-can-shift/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [Photography appears to be an easy activity; in fact it is a varied and ambiguous process in which the only common denominator among its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/photography-appears-to-be-an-easy-activity-in-fact-it-is-a-varied-and/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [My drawings inspire, and are not to be defined. They place us, as does music, in the ambiguous realm of the undetermined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odilon-redon/my-drawings-inspire-and-are-not-to-be-defined-they-place-us-as-does/) [Odilon Redon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odilon-redon/) > [Words are such gross machinery, so primitive and ambiguous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/words-are-such-gross-machinery-so-primitive-and-ambiguous/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Wave particle duality is a core feature of our world. Or rather, we should say, it is a core feature of our mathematical descriptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-wertheim/wave-particle-duality-is-a-core-feature-of-our-world-or-rather-we/) [Margaret Wertheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-wertheim/) > [Humor is really one of the hardest things to define, very hard. And it's very ambiguous. You have it or you don't. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-b-ll/humor-is-really-one-of-the-hardest-things-to-define-very-hard-and-it/) [Heinrich Böll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-b-ll/) > [I was perceiving myself as good as a man or equal to a man and as powerful and I wanted to look ambiguous because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/i-was-perceiving-myself-as-good-as-a-man-or-equal-to-a-man-and-as/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [I was always, like, ambiguous. Is that how you say it? When I was turning 16 I talked to my mom about transitioning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adore-delano/i-was-always-like-ambiguous-is-that-how-you-say-it-when-i-was-turning/) [Adore Delano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adore-delano/) > [I am Indian-American, but I often play ethnically ambiguous roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiya-sircar/i-am-indian-american-but-i-often-play-ethnically-ambiguous-roles/) [Tiya Sircar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiya-sircar/) > [Humor is really one of the hardest things to define, very hard. And it's very ambiguous. You have it, or you don't. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-b-ll/humor-is-really-one-of-the-hardest-things-to-define-very-hard-and-it-2/) [Heinrich Boll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-b-ll/) [Browse all 271 Ambiguous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambiguous/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Work is a way of shutting out ambiguous sentiment.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendy Wasserstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous-sentiment/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambiguous" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous-sentiment/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/wendy-wasserstein-17736_ambiguous_work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous_2372966.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/wendy-wasserstein-17736_ambiguous_work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous_2372966.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/023/wendy-wasserstein-17736_ambiguous_work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous_2372966.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Work is a way of shutting out ambiguous sentiment.” — Wendy Wasserstein", "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": "Wendy Wasserstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wasserstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Work is a way of shutting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous-sentiment/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wasserstein/work-is-a-way-of-shutting-out-ambiguous-sentiment/#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 } } ] } ```