“I don’t accept that I am what I am and that ‘that’ is what I am doomed to be. NO. I do not accept that. I’m fighting. I’m always fighting. I’m struggling and I’m scraping and kicking and clawing at those weaknesses—to change them. To stop them. Some days I win. But some days I don’t. But each and every day: I get back up and I move forward. With my fists clenched. Toward the battle. Toward the struggle. And I fight with everything I’ve got: To overcome those weaknesses and those shortfalls and those flaws as I strive to be just a little bit better today than I was yesterday.”
Jocko Willink, Discipline Equals Freedom (Page 17)
“Defining yourself by your suffering is an effective way to keep suffering forever (ex. incels, trauma).”
Ideopunk, LessWrong
“Realize the following: the word personality comes from the Latin persona, which means ‘mask.’ In public, we all wear masks, and this has a positive function. If we displayed exactly who we are and spoke our minds truthfully, we would offend almost everyone and reveal qualities that are best concealed. Having a persona, playing a role well, actually protects us from people looking too closely at us, with all of the insecurities that would churn up.”
Robert Greene, The Daily Laws (Page 204)