What Doesn’t Kill Me, (Only) Makes Me Stronger

I am not exactly the biggest fan of Friedrich Nietzsche but he is responsible for the quote in the title and it is a classic bolt of truth that speaks of the effects of trial, persecution, troubles, distresses, and tribulation on the person who does not give in.

For the third time now I have used the following Tom Peters quote which encourages us to not be too concerned when people, whether employees or family, are treated badly or are under a lot of pressure, provided they can draw on some love and support, or get some respite:

“Excellent companies provide two things simultaneously: tough environments and very supportive environments.”

Like the Nietzsche quote it speaks volumes on the tenacity of the resilient. Not just excellent companies, but brilliantly strong people have a habit of rising from the ashes. They know that at times the pain of change and of confrontation, and the trials and challenges, are all infinitely worth it.

When we go deeper into the subject we discover that theorists take into account existentialism and the view that the individual holds relating to it. Courage resists despair by taking anxiety into itself. The antithesis of courage is Neurosis, which is the way of avoiding non-being by avoiding being.[1] Again it is Nietzsche who says in essence, ‘Life has many aspects--it is ambiguous. Courage is the power of life to affirm itself in spite of this ambiguity.’[2] The resilient are courageous in the face of much anxiety and in threat of their being and non-being. In many respects they will healthily deny the negatives, but they do so from the source of faith, not ignorance.

Indeed, what we can endure will make us more capable for the next round. Life submits to it and the experience of humankind approves of it. It’s a natural and spiritual law well proven and easily applied at a personal level.

The next time we find ourselves on the outer, or hemmed in with our pressures and deadlines, or experiencing tormenting loss, or living in the tension of despair, we best remember dimly this prospect; it may keep us going in hope when all around us is nothing hopeful. We may then see what cannot be seen, which in all reality may still be true. It will help us bear up in faith.

Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

S

ENDNOTES:
[1] Paul Tillich, The Courage To Be (Yale University Press, 1952).
[2] Paul Tillich, Ibid.