It is in books, poems, paintings which often give us the confidence to take seriously feelings in ourselves that we might otherwise never have thought to acknowledge.
Alain De BottonRead
It is the most ambitious and driven among us who are the most sorely in need of having our reckless hopes dampened through immersive dousings in the darkness which religions have explored. This is a particular priority for secular Americans, perhaps the most anxious and disappointed people on earth, for their nation infuses them with the most extreme hopes about what they may be able to achieve in their working lives and relationships.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the need for balance between ambition and realism, suggesting that people with high hopes must confront the darker realities of life.
Alain De Botton's quote emphasizes the plight of ambitious individuals who, despite their drive and high hopes, often face disappointment and anxiety. He argues that secular Americans, in particular, experience extreme expectations about their potential in personal and professional realms, and thus require a grounding experience—one that challenges their reckless optimism with the sobering explorations offered by religions and philosophical introspection.
Themes
AmbitionHopesDarknessRealismSecularAnxiety
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about balancing dreams and reality, this quote can highlight the importance of self-awareness.
More from Alain De Botton
All quotes →Taking architecture seriously therefore makes some singular and strenuous demands upon us...It means conceding that we are inconveniently vulnerable to the colour of our wallpaper and that our sense of purpose may be derailed by an unfortunate bedspread
Alain De BottonRead
The more closely we analyze what we consider 'sexy,' the more clearly we will understand that eroticism is the feeling of excitement we experience at finding another human being who shares our values and our sense of the meaning of existence.
Alain De BottonRead
Good books put a finger on emotions that are deeply our own - but that we could never have described on our own.
Alain De BottonRead
The challenge of modern relationships: how to prove more interesting than the other's smartphone.
Alain De BottonRead
Though debts are condemned in the financial world, the world of friendship and love may perversely depend on well-managed debts.
Alain De BottonRead
Similar quotes
Living is merely the chaos of existence.
Yukio MishimaRead
I think it's in human nature to want to have more, to compete with the other and, at some level, to be dissatisfied if someone else has more than you.
Pico IyerRead
The life of the community, both domestically and internationally, clearly demonstrates that respect for rights, and the guarantees that follow from them, are measures of the common good that serve to evaluate the relationship between justice and injustice, development and poverty, security and conflict.
Pope Benedict XviRead
Some cleric putting a match to her. /Neither of them looks happy about it. /Once lit, she'll burn like a book, /like a book that was ever finished, /like a locked-up library.
Margaret AtwoodRead
If you really want to know your mind, the body will always give you a truthful reflection, so look at the emotion, or rather feel it in your body. If there is an apparent conflict between them, the thought will be the lie, the emotion will be the truth.
Eckhart TolleRead
All spiritual practices are illusions created by illusionists to escape illusion.
Ram DassRead