The surest way to get a thing in this life is to be prepared for doing without it, to the exclusion even of hope.
Interpretation
Being prepared to live without something can lead to acquiring it more effectively.
This quote suggests that detaching from the desire for a particular outcome or possession can ultimately lead to achieving it. By freeing oneself from the emotional burden of hope and expectation, one can focus fully on the necessary actions and preparations that might bring about that desired result, fostering resilience and personal growth.
In practice
In a motivational speech about achieving personal goals.
Does not a man physically tremble under the mere look of a wild beast or fellow-man that is stronger than himself? Does not a woman redden all over when she feels her lover's eyes on her? How then should one doubt the mysterious power of one individual over another?
How many precious things do we not already possess which others have not - have hardly an idea of! Let us enjoy these, then, and bless God that we are permitted to enjoy them, rather than importune His goodness with vain longings for more.
I declare I would rather be a kitten and cry, 'Mew!' than live as I see many of my female acquaintances do, tearing each other's characters to pieces, and wearing out their lives in vanity and vexation of spirit.
One feels as if it could never, never be less. And yet all griefs, when there is no bitterness in them, are soothed down by time.
But what are friends? What is a husband, even, compared with one's Mother? Of her love, one is always so sure! It is the only love that nothing - not even misconduct on our part - can take away from us.
Never does one feel oneself so utterly helpless as in trying to speak comfort for great bereavement.
What matters are not the truths other people tell us or the practices that we are able to mimic, but the spiritual discoveries we make through personal investigation.
The genius of man is hidden in the silent, settled state of mind from where every thought emerges.
It's so important to realize that every time you get upset, it drains your emotional energy. Losing your cool makes you tired. Getting angry a lot messes with your health.
Just be yourself, there is no one better.
But neither of us knows, because a fight's worth nothing if you know from the start that you're going to win it.
Always remember that your calmness under fire is your best defense in any argument or discussion.
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