170 Quotes by Eric Greitens

If we want to change something, we must begin with understanding. But if we want to love something, we must begin with acceptance.

Resilience is the virtue that enables people to move through hardship and become better. No one escapes pain, fear, and suffering. Yet from pain can come wisdom, from fear can come courage, from suffering can come strength – if we have the virtue of resilience.

Accept that you are imperfect and always will be. Your quest is not to perfect yourself, but to better your imperfect self.

The work of reflection is something you have to do for yourself. No one else can make you wise.

What you will become is a result of what you are willing to endure. Are you willing to work hard? To think hard? I know that you are. You always have been.

Yet the basic fact remains: we live in a world marked by violence, and if we want to protect others, we sometimes have to be willing to fight.

The first step to building resilience is to take responsibility for who you are and for your life. If you’re not willing to do that, stop wasting your time reading this letter. The essence of responsibility is the acceptance of the consequences – good and bad – of your actions.

You are not responsible for everything that happens to you. You are responsible for how you react to everything that happens to you.

And it’s often in those battles that we are most alive: it’s on the frontlines of our lives that we earn wisdom, create joy, forge friendships, discover happiness, find love, and do purposeful work. If you want to win any meaningful kind of victory, you’ll have to fight for it.