Van Gogh’s Moving Letter About Self-Doubt and Not Giving Up
Medium | 09.01.2026 20:49
Van Gogh’s Moving Letter About Self-Doubt and Not Giving Up
A confession about how to keep going and not give up
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Van Gogh, one of the most iconic painters, wrote a very little-known letter.
Written on April 3, 1878, Vincent van Gogh does not speak to his brother Theo about painting; he speaks about something much harder: how to live. And he does not do so from a position of success — quite the opposite. Van Gogh lived a turbulent life and only gained fame after his death. Here he confesses his vision of life: that of someone who moves forward every day with constant doubts, tired, wounded by failures, yet incapable of giving up entirely.
That letter will show you what to do to keep going when everything seems lost.
Let’s step into Van Gogh’s mind…
Theo, I have been thinking about what we discussed, and I could not help recalling the words, “we are today what we were yesterday.” This does not mean that one should remain immobile or that one should not try to develop; on the contrary, there are weighty reasons for doing so and for thinking this way.
But to remain faithful to those words, one must not retreat, and once one has begun to see things with a clear and confident взгляд, one must not abandon it or stray from it.
[…]
Could one not develop oneself through knowledge of history in general and of certain people of all ages in particular, from biblical times to the Revolution, and from The Odyssey to the books of Dickens and Michelet? And could one not learn something from the works of artists such as Rembrandt, or The Weeds by Breton, or The Four Times of Day by Millet, or Saying Grace by Degroux, or Brion, or The Recruit by Degroux (or also by Conscience), or his The Apothecary, or The Great Oaks by Dupré, or even the mills and sandbanks of Michel?
It is by persevering in such ideas and things that one finally becomes fully fermented with a good leaven — that of being sad and yet always joyful — and this will become visible when the time of fruitfulness comes into our lives, the fruitfulness of good works.
He who lives uprightly and experiences real difficulties and disappointments, and yet is not overcome by them, is worth more than someone who prospers and knows nothing but good fortune.
Let us therefore go on calmly, examining everything and holding fast to what is good, always striving to learn more of what is useful and to acquire more experience.
[…]
If we only try to live uprightly, then we shall be well, even though we inevitably experience real sorrow and genuine disappointments, and probably also make real mistakes and do things badly; but it is certainly true that it is better to be fervent in spirit, even if that leads to making more mistakes, than to be narrow-minded and excessively cautious. It is good to love as much as one can, for therein lies true strength; and he who loves much does much and is capable of much, and what is done with love is well done.
[…]
The sooner one tries to become competent in a particular position and profession, and adopts a fairly independent way of thinking and acting, and the more one observes fixed rules, the stronger one’s character becomes; and yet that does not mean that one must become narrow-minded.
[…]
Going into the depths is what we too must do if we want to catch something; and if it sometimes happens that we have to work all night and catch nothing, then it is good not to give up and to cast the nets again at dawn.
And let us not worry too much about our shortcomings, for he who has none nevertheless has one shortcoming: precisely that of having none; and he who believes himself perfectly wise would do well to begin again from the beginning and make himself a fool.
We are today what we were yesterday.
1. Stay the course
Most people do not fail for lack of ability, but because they retreat.
Van Gogh reflects on this when he says, “We are today what we were yesterday.” This means that yesterday we had the opportunity to move in a certain direction, and that conditions our today. To remain steadfast is to continue even when the path ceases to be clear and the effort seems to lead nowhere.
As he himself says: “Once one has begun to see things with a clear and confident gaze, one must not abandon it or stray from it.”
Those who change goals every week walk a lot and advance very little.
Here a valuable idea appears: to progress is to persevere in a decision. You can learn and refine your path, but not abandon everything you wanted to fight for just because you begin to encounter difficulties along the way.
Be loyal to your vision and return to it even on the days when you would doubt everything.
2. Perseverance is not noticed at the beginning, but it decides the end
Perseverance does not produce quick results, but it will shape your destiny.
Van Gogh speaks of “persevering in those ideas” until becoming “fermented” by them, like dough that needs time to rise. If you think about it, in the accelerated age we live in, many dream of the opposite: everyone looks for fast processes, shortcuts, tricks to get ahead of the rest in half the time and effort.
Van Gogh thinks the opposite.
It is only day after day, returning to the essential, holding on to what matters and letting go of what is superfluous, that something worthwhile is built.
It is that repetition that very few can endure that alone bears fruit.
Here is an uncomfortable truth for today’s culture: what is valuable usually grows in silence, when no one applauds or pays attention. And the greater the value, the less visible it is at first. Van Gogh learned this in painting, a craft without immediate rewards. That strength to keep going applies to everything you do in life, from a business idea to art or a change in lifestyle.
What seems slow today is, in the long run, what will bear fruit.
Good things take time — be patient.
3. Pain is part of the price
If your idea of a good life excludes suffering, it is a fantasy.
Van Gogh is devastatingly clear about this: living uprightly involves “real sorrow” and “genuine disappointments.” It is not merely possible; it is inevitable. But far from seeing this as something negative, he looks at the positive side: he considers it a test of worth. As he says, one who lives with integrity and is not defeated by difficulties “is worth more than someone who prospers and knows nothing but good fortune.”
This is vital — pay attention to his reflection.
He argues that a victory achieved after a lifetime of effort is better than one attained by good fortune. It is not that the other is false; it is that this one changes you from within. Effort forges our character, makes us value what is achieved, and teaches us; you prove your worth in the worst moments — you are as good as your worst day.
Pain does not define you, but it reveals who you are when everything is shaking.
4. Love with fervor
This idea marked me: “What is done with love is well done.”
Van Gogh is convinced that it is better to be “fervent in spirit,” even if that means making more mistakes, than to live cautiously and narrowly. Those who do nothing for fear of failing commit the greatest mistake one can make in life:
Not living.
Loving your craft, your path, and the people around you — even when they give nothing back — is necessary. What is done with love is well done, even when it is not perfect, because the very act of doing it is already a reward, an invaluable satisfaction. And when, despite everything, you work all night and catch nothing, as he says: “it is good not to give up and to cast the nets again at dawn.”
There lies the final lesson of his letter: live intensely, make mistakes, and persevere.
Do not wait to feel safe before acting — that moment will never come. Just do with love what ignites your spirit and return tomorrow if today did not work, because for Van Gogh, a meaningful life has nothing to do with success or perfection; it has to do with living aligned with your passions and dedicating yourself to them until you find your path.
Whoever has a “why” in life will, sooner or later, find a “how” to achieve it.
Nothing more to add. Now it’s your turn to live it.
Want to know more? Here are three related ideas to go deeper:
- The journey matters more than the destination
- Van Gogh’s moving letter about love and rejection
- Do you feel lost? This was Richard Feynman’s sincere answer to his student
✍️ Your turn: What is your “why” (that which gives direction to your life) even if you are not yet clear about the “how”?
💭 Quote of the day: “What is done with love is well done.” — Van Gogh, Letter to Theo, April 3, 1878.
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See you in the next letter, take care! 👋
References 📚
- Van Gogh, V. Ever yours: The Essential Letters.
