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How to Be Strong and Resilient

Presenter:

School of Life

Time:

2:31

Summary

Much of the reason why we give up far too soon, fall into despair and abandon our projects is not because things are hard per se but because they are harder - far harder - than we had ever expected them to be. It isn’t necessarily difficulty that sinks us; it’s bad notions about what a noble task should legitimately demand.

Transcript

As much of the reason why we give up far too soon fall into despair and abandon our projects is not just because they're hard per se, but because they are harder, far harder than we ever expected them to be. It isn't necessarily difficulty that sinks us, it's bad ideas about what a noble task should legitimately demand of us. We operate with dangerously inadequate views of what it takes for anything good to happen, of what it might take, for example, to have a moderately good relationship to run, or more or less viable business, to have a circle of friends to be healthy, to build a home, or to achieve a balanced mind. So we lose our tempers cry and scream, because we perceive in justices where there are in fact only encounters with entirely reasonable and predictable degrees of pain.


A wiser society than our own, would include in every school curriculum, a weekly class titled hell, your future, which would systematically induct young people into the necessary degrees of suffering required by any worthwhile life, we would realize that we make people strong, not by enchanting them with descriptions of a life full of opportunities, but by being honest about how things tend actually to go, it isn't cute to educate young people.

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