QuoteProject
Against the suffering which may come upon one from human relationships the readiest safeguard is voluntary isolation, keeping oneself aloof from other people. The happiness which can be achieved along this path is, as we see, the happiness of quietness. Against the dreaded external world one can only defend oneself by some kind of turning away from it, if one intends to solve the task by oneself.
Sigmund Freud
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the idea that voluntary isolation can protect one from the pain caused by relationships, leading to a different kind of happiness.

In this quote, Sigmund Freud emphasizes the notion that distancing oneself from human relationships can serve as a defense mechanism against the suffering they may cause. He suggests that this form of isolation offers a unique sense of happiness, characterized by tranquility and quietness. The path to personal fulfillment may sometimes require turning away from societal interactions, allowing individuals to confront their challenges independently and find peace in solitude.

Themes

IsolationHappinessRelationshipsSolitudePain

In practice

Example use cases

In a lecture on mental health, a speaker might quote Freud to illustrate the importance of solitude in coping with emotional pain.

More from Sigmund Freud

"He sido un hombre afortunado en la vida, nada me ha sido facil." "I've been a fortunate man in life, nothing has come easy"
Sigmund FreudRead
I take up the standpoint that the tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man, and I come back now to the statement that it constitutes the most powerful obstacle to culture.
Sigmund FreudRead
One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.
Sigmund FreudRead
We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love, never so forlornly unhappy as when we have lost our love object or its love.
Sigmund FreudRead
I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.
Sigmund FreudRead
The tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man... it constitutes the powerful obstacle to culture.
Sigmund FreudRead

Similar quotes

It had been a humdrum couple of days, reaffirming his belief in reincarnation: everything was so boring that this could not be the first time he'd experienced it.
Colson WhiteheadRead
All happenings, great and small, are parables whereby God speaks. The art of life is to get the message. To see all that is offered us at the windows of the soul, and to reach out and receive what is offered, this is the art of living.
Malcolm MuggeridgeRead
I don't know Bengali perfectly. I don't know how to write it or even read it. I have an accent, I speak without authority, and so I've always perceived a disjunction between it and me. As a result, I consider my mother tongue, paradoxically, a foreign language.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
The wars we fought were forced upon us. Thanks to the Israel Defense Forces, we won them all, but we did not win the greatest victory that we aspired to: release from the need to win victories.
Shimon PeresRead
No writing on the solitary, meditative dimensions of life can say anything that has not already been said better by the wind in the pine trees.
Thomas MertonRead
People who think you could wave a magic wand and the legacy of the past will be over are blind.
Ruth Bader GinsburgRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.