Quotes About Adversity

Jordan B. Peterson

That would be fine if trouble did not compound, like interest—but we all know that it does.

Conversely, just when everything seems lost, new order can emerge from catastrophe and chaos.

All these heroes act out what was perhaps the greatest discovery ever made by man's primordial ancestors: if you have the vision and the courage (and a good stout stick, when necessary), you can chase away the worst of snakes.

Whenever you are cut off at the knees by one of life's many catastrophes, whenever a dream collapses, or someone close to you is hurt in some fundamental way—especially a child or another loved one—then you can easily find yourself thinking, "Perhaps it would be better if the whole mess was just brought to a halt.

Even a man on a sinking ship can be happy when he clambers aboard a lifeboat!

Not everyone who is failing is a victim, and not everyone who is at the bottom wishes to rise.

Jordan B. Peterson

Too much protection devastates the developing soul.

Conscious human malevolence can break the spirit that even tragedy could not shake.

Face the demands of life voluntarily.

We become stronger by voluntarily facing what impedes our necessary progress.

Be grateful in spite of your suffering.

Standing up means voluntarily accepting the burden of Being. Your nervous system responds in an entirely different manner when you face the demands of life voluntarily. You respond to a challenge, instead of bracing for a catastrophe.

I will be your worst nightmare," was his phrase of choice, in such situations. I have wished intensely that I could say something like that, after encountering unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles, but it's generally best to let such things go.

We must have something to set against the suffering that is intrinsic to Being.

If your life is not going well, perhaps it is your current knowledge that is insufficient, not life itself.

If someone is badly hurt at some point in life—traumatized—the dominance counter can transform in a manner that makes additional hurt more rather than less likely.

Somos animales de carga y tenemos que aguantar lo que nos ponen encima para justificar nuestra miserable existencia.

We are not helpless. Even in the rubble of the most broken-down lives, useful weapons might still be found.

not everyone who is failing is a victim, and not everyone at the bottom wishes to rise,

Jordan B. Peterson

If you stick your neck out, then the sword will come.

it is much harder to extract someone from a chasm than to lift him from a ditch.