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August 5th

SILENCE IS STRENGTH

“Silence is a lesson learned from the many sufferings of life.”

—SENECA, THYESTES, 309

ecall the last time you said a really boneheaded thing, something that
came back to bite you. Why did you say it? Chances are you didn’t
need to, but you thought doing so would make you look smart or cool or
part of the group.
“The more you say,” Robert Greene has written, “the more likely you
are to say something foolish.” To that we add: the more you say, the more
likely you are to blow past opportunities, ignore feedback, and cause
yourself suffering.
The inexperienced and fearful talk to reassure themselves. The ability to
listen, to deliberately keep out of a conversation and subsist without its
validity is rare. Silence is a way to build strength and self-sufficiency.