"I sometimes fall into the trap of doing what I think I should be doing rather than what I want to be doing"
About this Quote
The phrasing matters. "Sometimes" keeps it human, refusing the myth that creative people live in permanent authenticity. "Trap" frames "should" as something engineered, a system with incentives and penalties, not a neutral guideline. That word smuggles in a critique of the cultural machinery around work and art: the idea that there is a correct path, a productive timeline, a respectable output rate. For a musician, "should" can mean chasing relevance, feeding the algorithm, repeating the version of yourself that sells, behaving properly in interviews, polishing away eccentricity until it becomes brand-safe.
Bjork's subtext is sharper than a simple pep talk about following your dreams. She is pointing at how easily external expectations get internalized, how the voice of the label, the audience, the press, even feminism's demand to be the "right" kind of woman in public life, can start to sound like your own conscience. The sentence reads like a private reminder: desire is data. Wanting isn't indulgence; it's orientation. In her context, choosing "want" is also choosing risk, misunderstanding, and occasional chaos - the price of making work that stays alive.
Quote Details
| Topic | Self-Improvement |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bjork. (n.d.). I sometimes fall into the trap of doing what I think I should be doing rather than what I want to be doing. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-sometimes-fall-into-the-trap-of-doing-what-i-39258/
Chicago Style
Bjork. "I sometimes fall into the trap of doing what I think I should be doing rather than what I want to be doing." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-sometimes-fall-into-the-trap-of-doing-what-i-39258/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I sometimes fall into the trap of doing what I think I should be doing rather than what I want to be doing." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-sometimes-fall-into-the-trap-of-doing-what-i-39258/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.

