Many years ago, I stumbled upon a letter that changed my life. It’s from author John Steinbeck to his teenage son, on the topic of love. Steinbeck’s son, Thom, had developed feelings for a girl and was relatably anxious about it. You can read the whole letter here, but I’ll share my favorite bit — the closing:
“And don’t worry about losing. If it is right, it happens—The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.”
Nothing good gets away.
It’s a line so striking and incisive, I decided to have it permanently tattooed onto my body.
At first, the original context held the most meaning for me. In my teens and early twenties, unrequited “love” (read: infatuation) was my thing. I wanted so desperately to find my person, and this quote brought great comfort. (I also felt validated by other sections of the letter, like this one: “It sometimes happens that what you feel is not returned for one reason or another—but that does not make your feeling less valuable and good.”)
But in the 10+ years since first reading that letter, I’ve realized that Nothing good gets away applies to more than just romance. I still return to it when I feel upset or disappointed about something I wanted that didn’t work out.
That amazing job opportunity that seemed like a perfect fit but ultimately fell through? Maybe there’s something better just around the corner.
That perfect house in the perfect neighborhood that sold to another buyer? Maybe it was never meant to be my house.
That new freelance service offering I painstakingly developed that got absolutely no interest? Maybe I got what I needed from the process itself.
“Nothing good gets away” shares a lot of DNA with “Everything happens for a reason,” but I feel like it’s more thought-provoking and less trite.
One must be careful, though, not to take it too far. As nice as this quote is, the reality is that good things do get away. People get away, both through distance and death. Timing may be horrendously wrong, and circumstances may be entirely unfair. Some situations cannot simply be reframed and must be grieved.
But when it comes to our personal and professional goals and dreams, I think it’s good to relax a bit and lean into the slightly mystical idea that the right things have a way of finding us. Patience and diligence are required, but hustling, grinding, striving, and chasing aren’t.
If it is right, it happens.
The main thing is not to hurry.
Nothing good gets away.
See you next week,
Kara
Kara Detwiller is a writer and creative based in small-town Saskatchewan. She specializes in long-form content writing for enterprise SaaS, cybersecurity, and manufacturing clients. She is also working on her first novel, among other creative pursuits. To connect, reply to this email or find Kara on LinkedIn.
Why Wishful Working? I want to help people thrive in a world obsessed with work and productivity. Together, we’re expanding the definition of productivity, rediscovering life balance, and exploring the many kinds of work that make life possible.
