Sunday, June 24, 2018

An achievement today is but a challenge for tomorrow.

From The Passionate State of Mind by Eric Hoffer.
27

The independent individual constitutes a chronically unbalanced entity. The confidence and self-esteem which alone can keep him on an even keel are extremely perishable, and must be generated anew each day. An achievement today is but a challenge for tomorrow. When standing at a stay however high he is a prey to nagging fears.

The soul of the autonomous individual has the aspect of a volcanic landscape. There is a seismic line running through it —the line of separation from the self. All our enthusiasms, passionate pursuits, dreams, aspirations and outstanding achievements have their origin along this line of cleavage. The strivings of such a soul are either to heal over the cleavage by a reconciliation with the self through achievement, or camouflage it by self-forgetting, or eliminate it by self-rejection.

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