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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.