“All those inspirational quotes with cheesy sunsets about enduring adversity and “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” they all kind of mislead you into thinking that just enduring some form of hardship is enough to steel yourself against future hardship. That’s not entirely true. It’s what comes after the trauma that really matters. It’s not the survival of trauma that makes you stronger, it’s the work you put in as a result of the trauma that makes you stronger.”
Mark Manson, Blog
“He hit her again, knocking her to the ground. She stood right back up, looked him in the eye, and calmly said, ‘Hit me all you want, but you can never hurt me.’ I have never forgotten that. The idea that he could hit her body but somehow she was in control of what ‘hurt’ her? I wanted to be strong like that.”
Will Smith, Will (Page 13)
“Mental strength is not just hoping that nothing ever goes wrong. It is believing that we have the capacity to handle it if it does.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 127)
“The human mind is not fragile—it does not need to be protected and cushioned from the hard surfaces of reality like a vase or piece of fine china. The human mind is antifragile—that is, it gains from discomfort and strain. That means to grow stronger, the human mind needs to regularly be confronted with difficult and upsetting experiences to develop stability and serenity for itself.”
Mark Manson
“The joy of your spirit is the indication of your strength.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, via A Calendar of Wisdom (Page 164)
