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To venture causes anxiety, but not to venture is to lose one's self.... And to venture in the highest is precisely to be conscious of one's self.
Soren Kierkegaard
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Venture into new experiences can create anxiety, yet avoiding them means losing touch with your true self.

This quote by Soren Kierkegaard highlights the duality of human experience regarding risk and self-awareness. While venturing into the unknown may bring anxiety, it is through these ventures that individuals discover and realize their true selves. Embracing challenges and uncertainties is essential for personal growth and understanding, illustrating the importance of taking risks for self-actualization.

Themes

VentureAnxietySelf-AwarenessPersonal GrowthRisk

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational speech about overcoming fears, this quote can inspire individuals to take risks.

More from Soren Kierkegaard

Faith is the highest passion in a human being. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further.
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Men think that it is impossible for a human being to love his enemies, for enemies are hardly able to endure the sight of one another. Well, then, shut your eyes--and your enemy looks just like your neighbor.
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How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn't it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the managerβ€”I have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint?
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A possibility is a hint from God. One must follow it.
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And when the hourglass has run out, the hourglass of temporality, when the noise of secular life has grown silent and its restless or ineffectual activism has come to an end, when everything around you is still, as it is in eternity, then eternity asks you and every individual in these millions and millions about only one thing: whether you have lived in despair or not.
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I am so stupid that I cannot understand philosophy; the antithesis of this is that philosophy is so clever that it cannot comprehend my stupidity. These antitheses are mediated in a higher unity; in our common stupidity.
Soren KierkegaardRead

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