Ask yourself whether you are happy', observed the philosopher John Stuart Mill, 'and you cease to be so.' At best, it would appear, happiness can only be glimpsed out of the corner of an eye, not stared at directly.
Oliver BurkemanRead
True security lies in the unrestrained embrace of insecurity - in the recognition that we never really stand on solid ground, and never can.
Interpretation
Real security comes from accepting uncertainty rather than seeking absolute guarantees.
This quote emphasizes that true security is rooted in the acceptance of life's inherent uncertainties. By recognizing that we cannot always have a stable foundation, we can embrace our vulnerability and navigate life's challenges with resilience and adaptability.
In practice
During a motivational speech about facing challenges and embracing risks.
Ask yourself whether you are happy', observed the philosopher John Stuart Mill, 'and you cease to be so.' At best, it would appear, happiness can only be glimpsed out of the corner of an eye, not stared at directly.
Uncertainty is where things happen. It is where the opportunities - for success, for happiness, for really living - are waiting.
Reassurance can actually exacerbate anxiety: when you reassure your friend that the worst-case scenario he fears probably won't occur, you inadvertently reinforce his belief that it would be catastrophic if it did. You are tightening the coil of his anxiety, not loosening it. All to often, the Stoics point out, things will not turn out for the best.
The effort to feel happy is often precisely the thing that makes us miserable. And that it is out constant efforts to eliminate the negative - insecurity, uncertainty, failure, or sadness - that is what causes us to feel so insecure, anxious, uncertain, or unhappy.
My psychoanalysis has equipped you with the equivalent of a train ticket to recovery. It is now your decision whether or not you choose to make full use of it.
O Divine Providence, I ask not for more riches but more wisdom with which to make wiser use of the riches you gave me at birth, consisting in the power to control and direct my own mind to whatever ends I might desire.
Compassion is a muscle that gets stronger with use.
The world is bad but not without hope. It is only hopeless when you look at it from an ideal viewpoint.
What we have learned from other becomes our own reflection.
I wish to have as my epitaph: 'Here lies a man who was wise enough to bring into his service men who knew more than he.'
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