crisis, The Mechanics of Virtue, aphorism 308

308


There is a toggle switch already set before actualizing a plan: we have already accepted the challenge of unexpected and petty obstacles or we whine about their “unnecessary” existence.  Unfortunately, at the moment of crisis we are only a reflex.  To avoid tumbling down the stairs of “unmerited” or “shouldn’t have been” or “undignified,” we must first have prepared ourselves ... reconditioned our response.  We must recognize beforehand that such thoughts constitute that extra shove we permit when we would otherwise only be momentarily off balance.

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