Does this ever happen to you? It starts with a little harmless scrolling through Instagram, which leads to a new blog, which leads to a board on Pinterest…. Two hours later I’m resurfacing from the depths of the Internet with no recollection of where the time went. One click leads to another as I follow the rabbit trails of linked pages and sometimes leads to unexpected gold.

Image & Design: Laura Messersmith — Image & Design: *Laura Messersmith*

On one such day I excavated this interview with Rashida Jones written by Garance Doré. The lovely, hilarious, and very smart Rashida (may I call you Rashida?) reflects on her career and her responses are so grounded and thoughtful that I had to share.

My favorite is this one where she shares the best advice her parents, Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton, gave her [emphasis mine]:

“I would say it’s not particularly career advice but life advice. My mom was all about following your heart and instinct. As I have gotten older, I have connected more with my instinct, which is good. And my dad always said to make decisions based on love, not fear. It’s so good. Why am I making this decision? Is it because I’m afraid I’m not going to get a job again? Well that’s fear. Or I love this thing so much I don’t care what anyone else thinks about it. That’s still a huge thing that guides me in my life.”

As I’ve been trying to figure out where life is leading me and wrestling with questions of career, family, future - the wisdom of this advice struck me as being really, really profound. It made me stop and ask myself: are the things I’m worried about driving me more than pursuit of the things I love?

I realize that this is a privileged position to be in, but I’m certain that there are other people in seasons of change grappling with the same kinds of questions. What would I like to accomplish in this life? What are my gifts and talents? And, how am I meant to be using them?

I don’t have the answers yet and maybe I never will (I hope that’s not the case!), but I have to give it up to the whims of the Internet for bringing the wisdom of Quincy Jones to my screen at an opportune moment. I hope that taking a moment to consider my motivations will give some clarity to my thought process and help me make choices that lead to things I love. I hope it will help you too!