We have done with Hope and Honour. we are lost to Love and Truth, We are dropping down the ladder rung by rung; And the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth. God help us, for we knew the worst too young!
Rudyard KiplingRead
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of maintaining equanimity in the face of both success and failure.
Rudyard Kipling's quote illustrates the idea that triumph and disaster are both temporary states that should not overly influence our sense of self or actions. By referring to them as 'impostors,' Kipling suggests that both success and failure can be deceptive, and that true wisdom lies in treating them with equal composure, allowing individuals to maintain a balanced perspective regardless of external circumstances.
Themes
TriumphDisasterImpostorsWisdomEquanimity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be a powerful reminder during a team meeting after a project has both succeeded and faced challenges.
More from Rudyard Kipling
All quotes βHumble because of knowledge; mighty by sacrifice.
Rudyard KiplingRead
Hear and attend and listen; for this is what befell and be-happened and became and was, O my Best Beloved, when the Tame animals were wild. The dog was wild, and the Horse was wild, and the Cow was wild, and the Sheep was wild, and the Pig was wild -as wild as wild could be - and they walked in the Wet Wild Woods by their wild lones. But the wildest of all the wild animals was the Cat. He walked by himself and all places were alike to him
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I keep six honest serving men.
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And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden, You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.
Rudyard KiplingRead
Savings represent much more than mere money value. They are the proof that the saver is worth something in himself. Any fool can waste; any fool can muddle; but it takes something more of a man to save and the more he saves the more of a man he makes of himself. Waste and extravagance unsettle a man's mind for every crisis; thrift, which means some form of self-restraint, steadies it.
Rudyard KiplingRead
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