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
We should not feel embarrassed by our difficulties, only by our failure to grow anything beautiful from them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Difficulties should be seen as opportunities for growth rather than sources of embarrassment.
This quote by Alain De Botton emphasizes the importance of recognizing the value in our challenges. Instead of feeling ashamed of the struggles we encounter in life, we should focus on how we can transform these difficulties into something meaningful and beautiful. It calls for personal growth and resilience in the face of adversity.
Themes
GrowthDifficultiesBeautyLifeResilience
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming challenges in life.
More from Alain De Botton
All quotes βTaking 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
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.
Alain De BottonRead
Similar quotes
Your breathing should flow gracefully, like a river, like a watersnake crossing the water, and not like a chain of rugged mountains or the gallop of a horse. To master our breath is to be in control of our bodies and minds. Each time we find ourselves dispersed and find it difficult to gain control of ourselves by different means, the method of watching the breath should always be used.
Nhat HanhRead
True deliverance of man is the deliverance from Avidya i.e. ignorance. It is not in destroying anything that is positive and real, for that cannot be possible, but that which is negative, which obstructs our vision of truth.
Rabindranath TagoreRead
The greatest piece of folly is that every man thinks himself compelled to hand down what people think they have known.
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead
Tracking account planning is rather like counting a mixed batch of tropical fish. You think you see patterns, but they've all changed by the time you've finished counting.
Stephen KingRead
The growth of a naturalist is like the growth of a musician or athlete: excellence for the talented, lifelong enjoyment for the rest, benefit for humanity.
E. O. WilsonRead
It's an awful truth that suffering can deepen us, give a greater lustre to our colours, a richer resonance to our words.
Anne RiceRead