Tag: behavior

In truth, the recommendation to be true to oneself, to chart one’s own course in life, to make a deliberate plan a reality through conscious choices, applies only to a specific type of personality—one with a rather uncommon predisposition. It seems crazy to point this out; after all, who does not want to live the life he has chosen? However, that is the way it is: there is another, more common type of person who does not want this; what he longs for is simply to live a life planned by others, or rather, by consensus—and satisfaction, for this type, lies in enjoying acceptance. There is nothing to lament or criticize. For both, there is a formula that leads to genuine satisfaction—and, therefore, the best recommendation will always be the one that best suits individual needs.

A decade is usually enough to transform a beginner into an expert. But what is more striking than the knowledge acquired in a discipline or profession is the obvious change that study tends to bring about in one’s surroundings. So much changes! Ten years later, the beginner has become a different person; physically, he is someone else, and it is sometimes difficult to connect the new expert with the person he once was. Someone who did not know him will no longer find those traits that led to his current state. And someone who knew him before, even if they try, even if they force it, even if they refuse to accept the change, will likely fail to strike old chords, and will end up realizing that they—thank God!—will never vibrate again.

Churchill is credited with the famous statement that success is going from one failure to another without losing enthusiasm. It is a beautiful and profound phrase; to a certain extent, it is even true, just like that other saying which states that to be successful, one need only not give up. The fact is, however, that failure is a fundamental and enriching experience; dealing with it time and again shapes one’s character and brings maturity. But assimilating this, as with other experiences, is a conscious act: one must allow oneself to be transformed by it and begin to act in accordance with that transformation. Thus, the experience acquires meaning, becomes useful, and each failure is left behind as a step on a staircase. Unfortunately, not everyone incorporates it in this way. There are those who do not learn from their failures, whose lives boil down to a cycle in which the same mistakes are followed by the same consequences, in a degrading repetition that gradually destroys everything around them. Instead of perseverance, there is stubbornness, and the result is very sad to witness…