A certain kind of resignation is involved in willingness to face the truth about ourselves; this kind, though it may involve pain in the first moments, affords ultimately a protection - indeed the only possible protection - against the disappointments and disillusionments to which the self-deceiver is liable. Nothing is more fatiguing nor, in the long run, more exasperating than the daily effort to believe things which daily become more incredible.
Source: The Conquest of Happiness, 1930, by Bertrand Russell
More info.: https://russell-j.com/beginner/OE06-030.HTM
* a brief comment:
Unshakable confidence in oneself has both positive and negative aspects.
When such confidence is grounded in a deep understanding of oneself, it can become a powerful force for doing what one truly wants and achieving what one desires.
However, when one clings to a strong facade out of the belief that "showing weakness means losing to the other," and in doing so ignores objective facts or refuses to admit any fault, such an attitude ends up harming not only others, but ultimately oneself as well.
Of course, today's "Words from Russell" were not directed at President Trump. And yet, strangely enough, many of Russell's criticisms seem to apply to him.
That said, Russell's observation --
"Nothing is more fatiguing nor, in the long run, more exasperating than the daily effort to believe things which daily become more incredible." --
is a remark that fits many politicians.
But perhaps it does not apply to President Trump, whose nerves seem made of steel and who appears to believe in himself without the slightest doubt.
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