"When something isn't done, you want to do something about it"
About this Quote
A simple sentence becomes a credo for agency. When something isnt done, you want to do something about it compresses the leap from noticing a gap to assuming responsibility for closing it. It names a common human reflex that distinguishes spectators from participants: dissatisfaction turns into initiative. The act of seeing what is missing is only half the task; the sentence pushes toward the second half, the doing.
The cadence matters. It starts with absence, a thing not yet completed, a need unmet. Then comes the desire to act, not merely to complain or wait. That desire is framed as natural, even inevitable. Rather than valorizing genius or grand plans, it elevates a practical ethic: if the costume hangs wrong, you tailor it; if a scene falls flat, you adjust the pacing; if a community need goes unanswered, you organize. The artistry is in the fix as much as in the first idea.
Coming from Bernadette Peters, a performer whose career spans iconic Sondheim roles and concert stages, the line also reads as a working artists method. Theater is built on relentless iteration: you notice what doesnt land and you keep shaping until it does. Her philanthropic work points to the same impulse. Co-founding Broadway Barks to promote animal adoption responded to a visible gap between shelter animals and potential homes. The message is not grandiosity, but stewardship. The stage and the street both ask: what remains undone, and what can I do today?
There is also generosity embedded in the wording. It presumes a you who rises to meet a need, inviting others to adopt that stance. The measure of care is not intention but completion. By uniting perception with action, it rejects cynicism and perfectionism alike. You do what can be done, start where you stand, and let the doing itself become the engine that carries everything forward.
The cadence matters. It starts with absence, a thing not yet completed, a need unmet. Then comes the desire to act, not merely to complain or wait. That desire is framed as natural, even inevitable. Rather than valorizing genius or grand plans, it elevates a practical ethic: if the costume hangs wrong, you tailor it; if a scene falls flat, you adjust the pacing; if a community need goes unanswered, you organize. The artistry is in the fix as much as in the first idea.
Coming from Bernadette Peters, a performer whose career spans iconic Sondheim roles and concert stages, the line also reads as a working artists method. Theater is built on relentless iteration: you notice what doesnt land and you keep shaping until it does. Her philanthropic work points to the same impulse. Co-founding Broadway Barks to promote animal adoption responded to a visible gap between shelter animals and potential homes. The message is not grandiosity, but stewardship. The stage and the street both ask: what remains undone, and what can I do today?
There is also generosity embedded in the wording. It presumes a you who rises to meet a need, inviting others to adopt that stance. The measure of care is not intention but completion. By uniting perception with action, it rejects cynicism and perfectionism alike. You do what can be done, start where you stand, and let the doing itself become the engine that carries everything forward.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
|---|
More Quotes by Bernadette
Add to List
