You know the old adage: Plant an expectation, reap a disappointment.
Elizabeth GilbertRead
That’s the thing about a human life-there’s no control group, no way to ever know how any of us would have turned out if any variables had been changed.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life is unpredictable and unique for each individual, with no way to compare outcomes if circumstances were different.
This quote by Elizabeth Gilbert highlights the complexity and unpredictability of human existence. It suggests that every person's life is shaped by a multitude of variables, and since there is no way to create a 'control group' to compare different life outcomes, we can only embrace our own unique journeys and the experiences that come with them. The essence of this idea is that life is inherently uncertain, and each individual's path is influenced by countless factors that cannot be replicated or controlled.
Themes
LifeUniquenessUncertaintyPhilosophyExperience
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about embracing life's uncertainties.
More from Elizabeth Gilbert
All quotes →Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.
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I had always been taught that the pursuit of happiness was my natural (even national) birthright. It is the emotional trademark of my culture to seek happiness. Not just any kind of happiness, either, but profound happiness, even soaring happiness. And what could possibly bring a person more soaring happiness than romantic love.
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When I tried this morning, after an hour or so of unhappy thinking, to dip back into my meditation, I took a new idea with me: compassion. I asked my heart if it could please infuse my soul with a more generous perspective on my mind's workings. Instead of thinking that I was a failure, could I perhaps accept that I am only a human being--and a normal one, at that?
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And when you sense a faint potentiality for happiness after such dark times you must grab onto the ankles of that happiness and not let go until it drags you face-first out of the dirt - this is not selfishness, but obligation. You were given life; it is your duty to find something beautiful within life no matter how slight.
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But never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilling yearnings.
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