#helplessness

Learned helplessness is the giving-up reaction, the quitting response that follows from the belief that whatever you do doesn't matter. ↗

— Arnold Schwarzenegger

#follows #helplessness #learned #matter #quitting

The basis of tragedy is man's helplessness against disease, war and death; the basis of comedy is man's helplessness against vanity (the vanity of love, greed, lust, power). ↗

— Dawn Powell

#basis #comedy #death #disease #greed

It's going to be a hard time; we can count on that. But with all the misery, what opportunities to show mercy and brotherly love in our land, which has sinned so greatly against love. And patience! For now is the time when the victors, in the blind triumph of their victory, are likely to make mistakes. But that's not our concern, for we shall only be the sufferers, not the agents of suffering. What a power for peace will lie in our own powerlessness if we can only glimpse in it the sign of grace! ↗

— Margot Benary-Isbert

#peace #suffering #war #love

Of all men’s miseries the bitterest is this: to know so much and to have control over nothing. ↗

— Herodotus

#men

As the plane got closer to Miami, I had this terrible feeling he was dying. Maybe he was telling me that he was going. I felt anger, panic, despair and helplessness. ↗

— Robin Gibb

#closer #despair #dying #feeling #felt

Defeat is for the valiant. Only they will know the honour of losing and the joy of winning I am not here to tell you that defeat is a part of life: we all know that. Only the defeated know Love. Because it is in the realm of love that we fight our first battles – and generally lose. I am here to tell you that there are people who have never been defeated. They are the ones who never fought. They managed to avoid scars, humiliations, feelings of helplessness, as well as those moments when even warriors doubt the existence of God.’’ Manuscript Found In Accra – Paulo Coelho ↗

— Paulo Coelho

#defeat #denial #doubt #god #helplessness

Power is fortified not just by what it destroys, but also by what it creates. Not just by what it takes, but also by what it gives. And powerlessness reaffirmed not just by the helplessness of those who have lost, but also by the gratitude of those who have (or THINK they have) gained. ↗

— Arundhati Roy

#helplessness #human-nature #humility #power #powerlessness

Children who are not encouraged to do, to try, to explore, to master, and to risk failure, often feel helpless and inadequate. Over-controlled by anxious, fearful parents, these children often become anxious and fearful themselves. This makes it difficult for them to mature. Many never outgrow the need for ongoing parental guidance and control. As a result, their parents continue to invade, manipulate, and frequently dominate their lives. ↗

— Susan Forward

#boundaries #children #control #controlled #failure

Loss of hope rather than loss of life is what decides the issues of war. But helplessness induces hopelessness. ↗

— B. H. Liddell Hart

#helplessness #hope #hopelessness #induces #issues

I am afraid of reduction. After a lifetime's independence- yes, selfish independence- I am terrified of being reduced to childhood once more, to helplessness, to seas of confusion from which the cruel lucid intervals poke up like rock shoals. I don't want to sit in my chair and be fed, much less do I want to be handed over to medical professionals. ↗

— Rosie Thomas

#fear #helplessness #death