An afternoon with Van Gogh

I had the chance to visit a Van Gogh exhibition and, along with the paintings, some of his quotes caught my attention because they directly relate to the day-to-day life of all of us who create content for The Sims or create anything at all:

"If you hear a voice inside you saying, 'You are not a painter,' then paint without stopping, in every way possible, and that voice will be silenced."

And this hits differently when you create. Because that voice is not rare. It shows up in the middle of the process, in the middle of exhaustion, in the silence after posting something and getting nothing in return. It shows up when someone discredits you, or worse, when you start doubting yourself...

But then comes another:

"I am always doing what I am not capable of, in an attempt to learn how to do it."

And that’s it. Van Gogh didn’t wait until he was ready. He placed himself in a space he hadn’t mastered yet… and kept going anyway.

During the exhibition, along with fascination, there was also a weight. In the final days of his life, within a condensed period of two months, he painted around 80 paintings. Van Gogh focused exclusively on his art, without any kind of negotiation. He gave his soul to it. He didn’t make excuses, he didn’t complain, he did what many of us often struggle to do: He created. He produced.

And I kept repeating in my mind:
"WHY VAN GOGH, WHY DID YOU TAKE YOUR OWN LIFE?" I was crying while reflecting on this.

After that intense period of creation… Van Gogh and his art were probably no longer two separate things. He became one with it all.

There are phases where you question yourself, where others question you, where it feels like what you do isn’t “real.” But it is. And maybe the only possible answer is exactly this:

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by the joining of a series of small things."

It’s not about a magical moment. It’s about consistency. About continuing even when it feels irrelevant. About stacking small decisions until, suddenly, something takes shape… and meaning.

But even after all of this, creating doesn’t protect you from doubt.

"If you hear a voice saying 'don't do it,' that means you must do it, above all else. The voice will fall silent."

The voice changes form. Before, it said “you are not.” Then it starts saying “this isn’t good enough,” “this has no value,” “this doesn’t matter.”

But then...

"The difference between a person before and after falling in love is the same as between a lit lamp and an unlit one. The lamp was there and it was good, but now, in addition to everything else, it radiates light, which is its true function."

Creating is like lighting that lamp. But keeping it lit… without letting your own mind blow it out… that’s another battle.

Because in the end, you can be producing, evolving, delivering… and still feel like no one sees you. And even Van Gogh, with all his art, faced this:

"A great fire burns within me, but no one stops to warm themselves by it, and those who pass by only see a little smoke."

And maybe that’s the hardest part: accepting that the value of what you do doesn’t depend on how many people stop to look.

Because:

"Fishermen know the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but this knowledge doesn't stop them from setting sail."

You keep going. Even with doubt. Even with risk. Even without guarantees.

In the end, the most honest truth might be this:

"Success is sometimes the result of a series of failures."

It’s not pretty. It’s not linear. But it is a living, real process:

"Your profession is not what brings home your paycheck. Your profession is what you were put on Earth to do with such passion and such intensity that it becomes a spiritual calling."

I’ll close with this quote from Van Gogh:

"May you have patience for the difficulties each day, wisdom for your choices, gentleness in your words, courage for your trials... Love many things, for in loving lies true strength! Whoever loves much achieves much! And whatever is done with love is done well..."

A huge thank you to my wife for taking me to this exhibition (and full credit to her for the photos).