Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war.
Lucius Annaeus SenecaRead
It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are difficult.
Interpretation
Our reluctance to take risks makes challenges seem harder than they are.
This quote by Seneca highlights the concept that our fears prevent us from attempting difficult tasks. It suggests that if we are courageous and willing to take the first step, we can often find that challenges are more manageable than they appear, implying that the act of venturing forth is what makes tasks seem less daunting.
In practice
In a motivational speech to encourage students to take risks in their careers.
Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war.
Everything is the product of one universal creative effort. There is nothing dead in Nature. Everything is organic and living, and therefore the whole world appears to be a living organism.
The things hardest to bear are sweetest to remember.
A kingdom founded on injustice never lasts.
True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.
A well governed appetite is the greater part of liberty.
One can either work or meet. One cannot do both at the same time.
The intellectuals' chief cause of anguish are one another's works.
If you listen through the screen of your desires, then you obviously listen to your own voice; you are listening to your own desires.
Doing good to others is not a duty. It is a joy, for it increases your own health and happiness.
All I can say is that it's amazing what you can accomplish when you're young and foolish.
How can we know ourselves? Never by reflection, but only through action. Begin at once to do your duty and immediately you will know what is inside you.
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