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For the robust, an error is information; for the fragile, an error is an error. (72).
To a resilient person, an error is just something to help them along the way. For someone who is not resilient, an error could be the end.
Making errors when training for powerlifting may cost you in the short run but can help you not run into the same mistake in the long run.
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For the robust, an error is information; for the fragile, an error is an error.
With the right mindset, failure is simply a moment of learning. Without that mindset, you don’t learn from your mistakes.
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently” (Henry Ford) & healing my fear of rejection.
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What fools call “wasting time” is most often the best investment (24).
What some people consider irrelevant or not important can sometimes be the key to success and the key to growth as well.
When working out or lifting, I figured out that some minor exercise movements or accessory movements can be what really stimulates muscle growth and a lot of people call them irrelevant or not important even though they really do help sometimes.
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You are guaranteed a repetition when you hear the declaration “never again!” (98).
When people say “never again” to those around them with what appears to be confidence, they continue to repeat that behavior or mistake over and over.
One of my closest friends struggles with how she feels about this one guy. She starts seeing him again and then he disappears, is unfaithful, or something along those lines and she comes running back to all of us saying she would never go and do that again. This repeats time and time again like a pattern.
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If your anger decreases with time, you did injustice, if it increases, you suffered injustice
Once you have had time to think about a situation and feel it out, you are more likely to come to peace with it if you were the one who committed wrongdoings because you forgive yourself and are possibly even able to justify your own actions. If you have had time to sit with a situation and your feelings of anger only grow, you were most likely the one who was wronged in the situation because you have had more time to think about what the other did and how they actually deserved to be responded to.
The story I am most likely going to relate this to is when my ex boyfriend cheated on me and at first I acted peacefully but in time I just grew anger for the situation.
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Nothing is more permanent than “temporary” arrangements, deficits, truces, and relationships; and nothing is more temporary than “permanent” ones. (11).
I think what this means is that things that are ephemeral, can make long lasting impacts on our lives. And the things that we view initially as permanent, tend to only make appearances or affect us temporarily.
Analogy’s I might consider using in my writing are jobs, relationships/friendships, housing, and schools
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They think that intelligence is about noticing things that are relevant (detecting patterns); in a complex world, intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant (avoiding false patterns). (78)
In the world we live in today, it is more beneficial to eliminate unhelpful information than to search for correct information.
Something about how hard and complex it is to find viable information in today’s world: Something about fake news possibly? Also could mention benefits of trial and error.
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It is the appearance of inconsistency, and not its absence, that makes people attractive. (13).
People are more attractive when they’re a little unpredictable, not when they’re always the same. I feel like people can feel or be seen as boring when there isn’t much to them. This could be personality wise and it could make them be seen as unauthentic.
My best friend of 10 years is someone that I will always stay close with because she is confident and outgoing, but also shows vulnerability and insecurity sometimes. I think I have been so close to her for such a long time is because she has flaws and it allows her to feel real and relatable.
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Friendship that ends was never one; there was at least one sucker in it. (15).
A friendship that falls apart was never real, but rather, at least one person was being used or misled from the start.
An example can occur when two people appear to be friends, studying together each day, and one is sharing their notes and work, but as the semester ends, they stop seeing each other as one was just using the other for their work.
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Friendship that ends was never one; there was at least one sucker in it.
If a friendship ends, especially if it ended poorly, then it was never a true friendship. One person cared more, and that hurts to realize.
During my senior year of high school, I found out that someone who I thought was one of my best friends was actually spreading rumors about me and that she never considered me to be a friend.
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You exist if and only if you are free to do things without a visible objective, with no justification and, above all, outside the dictatorship of someone else’s narrative.
When people act genuine and not differently when they are in front of others they are more of a real person than people who change themselves to fit someone else’s version of them.
This change in behavior is very evident in middle and high schools. Kids at that age can be very judgmental and some kids can feel they have to fit into a certain box to be liked by others, even when that means they act differently.
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“What fools call “wasting time” is most often the best investment (24).”
People often dismiss the “in-between” moments of life as a waste of time, but pausing to take in these moments is where the magic in life lies.
In late May of 2025, I was sat at my vanity putting the final touches on the same makeup routine I’ve been doing since I was 15, but this time, I took care when putting the finishing touches on. As I placed the final bobby pins in my head to firmly hold down my graudation cap, something changed in me. I became overwhelmed with a feeling to slow down, and really stare at myself in the mirror before I left. By taking the time to pause and take in what is normally an every day moment, I was able to see myself as a kid, one last time. The simplicity of my makeup routine became so significant when I took the time to take it all in, and realize that small moments, even something as insignificant as the perfect amount of blush, is where life really happens.
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“Love without sacrifice is like theft.”
Love with no giving of a part of yourself is just taking the life from the other person.
A possible example I will use is when someone is catfished into giving a person they love money without getting anything from the person in return.
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Love without sacrifice is like theft.
If you love someone without sacrificing or giving up part of yourself for them, you are taking their love and sacrifices without giving them anything in return, which is basically the same as stealing from them.
I’ve witnessed and even experienced a few situations in which I can see that myself or someone I know is giving a lot more than they are receiving, and it ends up hurting them in the end. For example, I had a really close friend for a few years that I had to help out a lot, so they ended up taking up a lot of my time and energy. I realized that while I was giving them so much love and support that they never cared to return any of that love or support, so I often felt like they never really cared about me because they really only used me to make themselves feel better and never returned the favor.
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What makes us fragile is that institutions cannot have the same virtues (honor, truthfulness, courage, loyalty, tenacity) as individuals.
An institution as a whole may believe something, but the individuals may not be able to follow the same things because of experiences they have in their own lives that affect what virtues they have.
My high school was an anti-bullying high school, but they never did much to reprimand bullies.
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1) “You exist if and only if you are free to do things without a visible objective, with no justification and, above all, outside the dictatorship of someone else’s narrative.”
2) Your individuality is derived from living and acting freely regardless of external influence.
3) When I was younger, a few of my teachers criticized me for my lack of work ethic, and they made me feel as though I would never succeed academically. I chose to not let it get to my head, and I continued through school doing things my own way, which ended up working well for me.
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It is a very recent disease to mistake the unobserved for the nonexistent; but some are plagued with the worse disease of mistaking the unobserved for the unobservable. (17).
The most destructive tendency is to devalue significant occurrences because they appear to be insignificant.
There is a you that has walked into an old, dirty McDonald’s for a small fry and a milkshake. Behind the counter is an older man in his 70s with a welcoming look that contrasts with his tired demeanor. To pay, you hand him a $100 bill, since your exuberant wealth prevents you from carrying small bills. As you hand it over, you ask why he spends his days here, because from the moment you saw him, you thought how unsuccessful he must be to have to work long hours at his old age. In response, he mentions his need to pay his bills and the extra work he does to pay his granddaughter’s medical bill. Though he doesn’t need to, he spends hours of his day working towards something that brightens his life. And, within every moment of his past life, he has lived it doing things that fulfill him, even if they seem insignificant or almost invisible.
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It takes a lot of intellect and confidence to accept that what makes sense doesn’t really make sense.
True intelligence and confidence involves accepting that seemingly logical ideas could be misleading or flawed.
For the longest time, the deciding factor for choosing my major was based on what seemed practical and financially secure, one that promised a stable career. However, as I gained more experience and self-awareness, I realized that my interests and strengths were not fully aligned with that choice. Accepting this required confidence, as it meant questioning a decision that once felt rational and reasonable.
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It takes a lot of intellect and confidence to accept that what makes sense doesn’t really make sense. (84).
Part of becoming more knowledgeable is not being afraid to question one’s “obvious truths.”
I chose this thesis because I think I relate to it and it resonates with how I have thought for a long time. Although, because I have thought this, I do not have a very good example of it. I think the best example would be deciding what to do throughout high school leading up to after I graduated. Most of my actions were conformed by what people told me and I made it make sense because I had no experience to form my own. Once, I gained experience I was able to create what made more sense.
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