39 Aphorisms On The Human Experience

I am the Master of my Fate and the Captain of my Destiny. – Nelson Mandela

Destiny: the undeniable “mystery” (i.e. the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future) which unravels itself with time.

Are we free from the clutches of destiny? Can a man completely control his destiny? Are we the puppets of fate, or the masters of our own fate? These are questions which pose themselves before every man at some point in his life, depending on the circumstances he finds himself in. We didn’t choose what we were born as, or what or whom we were born with; but at the same time we can choose whom to associate or relate with, or where or what we could be.

Katsumoto: You believe a man can change his destiny?

Nathan Algren: I think a man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed.

Life at times appears as a mixture of pre-determinism and free will: but most of the time our free will helps us to shape the reality we can create—even if it may be through extensive effort.

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. ― C.G. Jung

Yet the more you see at life, the more one realizes that man’s control over his circumstances, no matter how great it may be, is still limited. And more so, is his control over fellow beings. The impermanence of circumstances and people’s behavior due to the certainty of change in life renders most of man’s control over these factors in life as: limited. Sometimes shit happens when you least expect it….

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..yet, you can still decide how to deal with it.

Thus, the greatest (and most complete) control what a man can actually achieve in his life is over his own self—which unfortunately most men fail to accomplish, or even pursue.

Modern society often argues that it is easier to control others, than ourselves—but in reality on the flip side, it is also easy to control the self, which would help us better control and influence others if we devote ourselves to learning how to do it.

You will never have a greater or lesser dominion than that over yourself…the height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment. …And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish dominion over himself will have no dominion over others.
― Leonardo da Vinci

The mastery of one’s own self to forge one’s own destiny is possibly the ultimate test a man could face in his life. How we maintain our frame in the face of life’s uncertainties can give us important clues on how far we have gone down the path of self mastery. There are only two things in life which are certain: change, and the grim reaper. Every human being has to experience them some time or the other, so the time we have in life is what is our greatest possession.

Self mastery possibly represents the ultimate goal that a man could achieve (or could seek to achieve)— for it is a potent tool that helps us to create the reality or destiny that we seek for ourselves…

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

…and self mastery plays an important role in that, as it encompasses the attributes necessary for often creating a self-willed reality.

If you do not create your destiny, you will have your fate inflicted upon you. – William Irvin Thompson

We can only control what we can control. And the most cherished thing that we can control is the self.

If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.” – Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

Since the journey of self mastery is possibly the most difficult (and important) journey  a man can undertake in his life, there are certain factors which are extremely important and necessary for the process, and the subsequent attainment of it. They are:

1.The knowledge of self-discovery, and courage

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. – Aristotle

This is the seed, the first step towards self mastery. Who are you—as a person, taking in regard the complete sum of your nature-given gifts and flaws? Do you really know yourself? Have you discovered your true self and the purpose of your life?

You cannot control or estimate who you are or what you can do, unless you know first who you are or what you can do. Answering these questions honestly is the least a man can do for himself, to begin self-discovery. You cannot master the self until you know what your own self is – for many are often afraid to take the plunge into the abyss of their own selves to face their personal “demons” – but rather choose to “safely” spend their lives trying to “discover” others.

And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself? ― Rumi

We can control others because we know what they think, how they’d act, or what they can or would do; but do we know what our own selves are capable of?  Thus self discovery becomes very important for the formation and correct estimation of the true self in one’s own mind, as we can’t see ourselves in first person as others do.

The formation of the true self image after self discovery leads to the correct visual reality or the goals we can properly visualize for ourselves. Such is the power of self-discovery, for it grants us with the true knowledge of what we realistically are and what we are capable of, which itself is Power. This power, coupled with courage, is an important catalyst on the path to self mastery.

Courage in the context of self mastery is not recklessness; rather it is the ability to face the truth (knowledge) of the flaws within ourselves and the dangers (fears) around us which limit us, and to make efforts to overcome them.

A man’s fears often limit him unnecessarily, which stunt his identity. Fear can be of two types: the known and the unknown—but can be overcome with the shrewd, sincere, and dedicated use of courage, coupled with knowledge – for the masterful man knows which battles to pick wisely. The man who rises up to his fears is thus the master of his own self, and can take charge of his destiny.

Knowledge and Courage are the elements of Greatness. They give immortality, because they are immortal. Each is as much as he knows, and the wise can do anything. A man without knowledge, a world without light. Wisdom and strength, eyes and hands. Knowledge without courage is sterile. – Baltasar Gracian, The Art of Worldly Wisdom

2. Self-Belief

Within the self, that is. If you don’t believe or trust in yourself, no one can help you.

To be a champ you have to believe in yourself when no one else will. – Sugar Ray Robinson

Belief (or faith) in oneself is possibly the greatest belief that a man could harbor (after belief in God). The human body and mind is incredible, when it comes to feats of greatness. All of these were possible with the power of belief.

To become masters of the self, we must first believe that we can become masters of the self. That self-belief is the dynamo which unrelentingly fuels the journey of a man on the path of self mastery, in face of failures and pitfalls.

3. Willpower and Discipline

 Will power is to the mind like a strong blind man who carries on his shoulders a lame man who can see. –  Arthur Schopenhauer

“When there is a will, there is a way,” as the saying goes. To control the self, willpower is undoubtedly necessary. Man, created free, is possibly the greatest slave to his own volition. But how many men ever manage to control their own volition—and train their own minds?

If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do… the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. ― George S. Patton

Willpower and discipline are important tools in the arsenal of the masterful man. Learn how to generate them, even if the process may be mutually exclusive.

4. The art of delaying self-gratification

As mentioned above, most men are slaves to their own volition.

Find out each man’s thumbscrew. ‘Tis the art of setting their wills in action. It needs more skill than resolution. You must know where to get at anyone. Every volition has a special motive which varies according to taste. All men are idolaters, some of fame, others of selfinterest, most of pleasure. Skill consists in knowing these idols in order to bring them into play. – Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658)

Now imagine, if a man knew his own thumbscrews—and mastered them. Would he be at the easy disposal of others who would set “his will into action”? The masterful man who is  the master of his own pleasure is not only the one who can attain or create his pleasure easily, but also the one who can delay its gratification – at his own will.

5. Minimalism

To be a true master of yourself, you must be free from others. The more you’re free from external obligations, the more you’re free to lead the life you’d want. That’s where minimalism can be expressed in your life – by de-cluttering and making your life free from external interferences as much as possible.

Live a minimalist life—free from unnecessary things, ideas and even people—which and who limit your freedom. Learn the ways of how to create your own freedom. Cultivate simplicity, frugality and austerity. In today’s commercial times, not only will this help to conserve your resources and maintain your financial freedom—which lubricates other types of freedom—but it will also bestow onto you the survivor’s mindset, which will help you to make the best of any situation, how matter how difficult and trying it may be.

6. Emotional Detachment

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Directly linked to the factor above, the virtues of emotional detachment cannot be explained enough. You cannot become the master of your own fate, as long as others continue to have a say in to ‘control’ and determine your actions, thoughts, and thus eventual fate.

The man who finds security and fulfillment within himself is the true master of the self. He doesn’t let things, myths, unfounded beliefs, or people rule his life , as he is free from attachments to such which would limit him. The real reason of his fulfillment is because he lives his life naturally as a free being, as nature created him to be—to discover his own unique identity and create his own destiny.

The most important aspect of my personality as far as determining my success goes; has been my questioning conventional wisdom, doubting experts and questioning authority. While that can be painful in your relationships with your parents and teachers, it’s enormously useful in life. – Larry Ellison

Emotional detachment is, if you think deeply about it, a liberating form of self-love that a man can and should develop.

7. Perseverance and Patience

The only time you fail is when you fall down and stay down. ― Stephen Richards, Cosmic Ordering: You can be successful

On the path towards self-mastery, there are bound to be innumerable mistakes, what people may brand as “failures.” But a mistake is not a failure, as long as you continue to pull yourself back onto the path of self-mastery. Enlightened men went through a period of “failures” during their metamorphosis into self-masterful men; for no one learns self-mastery from the mother’s womb.

The key is not to lose focus, and more importantly, patience with the process. A great quality of the men who attained self-mastery was patience: not only with others, but more so with the self, when they failed. As the teacher is patient with the student’s mistakes during the learning process, they were patient enough with themselves to stick onto the path of self-mastery and continued to persevere without quitting.

8. Self Reliance

The great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. ― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

Self-explanatory as it is, the power of self reliance is one of the core strengths of the master—which he develops and guards persistently. He thus becomes the rock to which others lean onto, just like the mountain to which the dew gravitates to.

9. Acceptance

People around you, constantly under the pull of their emotions, change their ideas by the day or by the hour, depending on their mood. You must never assume that what people say or do in a particular moment is a statement of their permanent desires.  ― Robert Greene, Mastery

The value of acceptance is explored quite vividly in Robert Greene’s bestseller “Mastery”,which teaches important lessons on the subject. Some of the greatest challenges we often face in life involve accepting life for the shit it throws at us through the unpleasant circumstances, events, things and people we may encounter.

True social intelligence—the hallmark of a master—also involves guile, and sometimes suffering fools gladly, and trying to see yourself as how people see you —so as to be in a better position to deal with them, once you know their perception of you. This acceptance is thus not easy to practice by all, but only by the initiated as it involves a lot of patience and endurance—qualities necessary for both self-mastery, and mastery over others.

Conclusion

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self. – Aristotle

Many successful men live their lives mastering others without mastering themselves. Happiness from success is not a goal, but a journey. But the greatest fulfillment comes from freedom, for it allows us the leverage to shape the destiny we desire for ourselves—which is often and truly created by self-mastery of the self, which itself is a journey.

Read Next: How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World

32 thoughts on “39 Aphorisms On The Human Experience”

  1. “If we were always fully self-conscious we’d always be in a state of shock, for our awareness of our own being is freakish.”
    This is why I’ve always been too afraid to try acid.

    1. LSD-25 and Cannabis are wonderful introspective experiences, don’t be afraid of the rabbit hole.

  2. one of the more thought-provoking articles i’ve read on here. Although some, such as #38, look like they went through Google Translate a handful of times. Could someone explain it for my dumb ass?

  3. #40. Make your own mistakes, not somebody else’s.
    #41. Sometimes, you’re just going to have to be a stronger man.
    #42. Tell the truth and bear the consequences.
    #43. Sometimes, you just don’t see it coming. When that happens, refer to #41.
    #44. Don’t stick your dick in “crazy”. Or, if you are a woman, don’t let “crazy” stick its dick into you. If you’re a gay man, don’t do either, and if you’re aIt’s a Big, Bright, Beautiful World, kids. Don’t fall asleep and find out you missed it. lesbian, well….I guess you’re on your own.
    #45. Beauty is as beauty does.
    #46. When in doubt, knock’em out.
    #47. If God lives inside us, like some people say, I hope he likes booze, ‘cause that’s what he’s getting.
    #48. My most successful New Year’s resolution ever was to be less charitable to people who cross me.
    #49. Never, ever let anyone monkey with your swing.
    #50. It’s a Big, Bright, Beautiful World, fellas. Don’t fall asleep and find out you missed it.
    À bientôt,
    Mistral

    1. These addendums here are at a different level than the ones in the article. Lower. They are of a completely different kind, and lack the deepness and ingenuity of the first 39.

  4. On point. Our complexity is both our gift and our curse. Theres something within all complex brings trapped in this weaker and limiting form and constrained by society. We strive to prove otherwise. That is the essence of our condition and how we cope. As Dylan best put it….Rage rage rage against the dying of the light.

  5. All this boils down to the fact that homo sapiens has degenerated from its beginnings as a symbiotic prey to a symbiotic predator to a parasite and has now transformed into a planet-devouring pathogen.

    1. That’s old school 1990’s self loathing, dude. The whole “man is a parasite/disease” thing is quite passe. Update your self loathing accordingly.

      1. It is not the host (the earth) I am concerned about it, it is the pathogen. Consider the following:
        1. The planet’s most relentless predator comes equipped with the animal world’s most finicky digestive tract. We cannot absorb a whole host of key essential nutrients that other creatures routinely can.
        2. Every species of large animal has, at one time or another, been butchered by a Homo sapiens somewhere. In the wild, a small predator does not attack a large predator.
        3. Despite its craving for carnage, the world’s most efficient carnivore generally disdains eating raw meat. We are the only predators to waste valuable energy slowly savoring the chewing of our dinner instead of bolting it down, as is the preference of all the others.
        4. Homo sapiens has a ridiculously small mouth; the dullest, feeblest canines; puniest jaws; weakest chewing muscles; tiniest tongues; and thinnest-enameled, smallest teeth of any other serious meat-eater. Truly, a Homo sapiens’ eyes are much bigger than his stomach. The disparities between our culinary ambitions and the reality of our alimentary canal are so great that it would be worthwhile to investigate these nutritional oddities.
        5. Homo sapiens’ gut handles essential nutrients in a manner that, when taken as a whole, represents a significant departure from the way every other creature digests its meals.
        6. There are twenty distinct amino acids. Most animals can assemble any one of them on the backbone of the carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen present in the fats and carbohydrates in their diets. Homo sapiens, along with several other primate species, cannot manufacture eight of the twenty amino acids.
        7. Another extremely odd feature of the human digestive system pertaining to iron is vitamin C, which we have lost the ability to produce internally.

        1. You’ll have to excuse my not taking people who talk of humanity as a pathogen quite as seriously as they take themselves.
          Slainte

        2. There’s nothing wrong with being a parasite so long as you do not become a pathogen and cause serious disease to the host organism.
          For example, women have always been parasites on men but as of recently they are turning into pathogens.

        3. By that standard, all forms of life are a “parasite” on the inert ball of lifeless dirt called earth.
          Anywho, I find the view rather boring.
          Hope you have a good weekend.

        4. 1, Which is why we’re all dead.
          2. You’ve never raised ants.
          3. We are the only animal with control of fire. A number of other animals exhibit a distinct preference for cooked meat. Some raptors use their ability to fly to scan for smoke, thus a source of cooked meat.
          4. It is true that we evolved from small prey specialists. By the time we became large prey specialists our primary claws and teeth were external, a fact that contributes to our being such efficient predators, as you stipulate, but which is contrary to your implicit premise that we are somehow defective as a species.
          5. You haven’t raised a variety of animals. At least we don’t have to eat our own shit to survive.
          5. You haven’t raised rats, the animal that the essential nature of amino acids was discovered in. They have 10.
          7. You haven’t raised guinea pigs or passerines.
          And finally, you haven’t in any way introduced evidence that man is a parasite, never mind a pathogen. Similar arguments can be made for nearly everything above the level of cyanobacteria. You seem to be one of the neo-Calvanists, searching out evidence of man’s essential depravity, and thus guaranteed to find it.

        5. None of those make humans a pathogen to the planet Earth. Some of them don’t even make sense. I’m not gonna answer all of the but…
          2. Off the top of my head wolverines and honey badgers don’t agree with you.
          3. We have fire, other animals don’t. We use fire to kill off bacteria in the food which gave us a huge advantage. That’s why we generally disdain raw meat in favor of cooking it. If any other animal could light a fire to cook it’s meal, it would do that instead of eating a carcass loaded with viruses, parasites, and bacteria.
          Other animals scarf down food as fast as they can because they don’t want to lose the meal to another animal. You put humans in a situation where they can steal each other’s food, they eat much faster.
          4. For the last many thousands of years we have not needed to increase the strength of our jaws or the size of our teeth merely to survive. We developed tools to substitute for the functions of strong jaws and long incisors.
          None of what you posted makes us a pathogen.

        6. Think of the entire planet, with its blue oceans and pristine mountains, as a host. The roll call of species that humans have dispatched to the Land of the Extinct, when combined with deforestation, pollution, strip mining, overgrazing, or overfarming, has distinguished the bipedal primate as the planet’s most exasperating parasite—all in the space of 150,000 years. We have arrogated many of the earth’s resources simply to satisfy our craving for material comfort. While we have been congratulating ourselves on our species’ unrivaled domination, alarm bells are beginning to sound in all regions of the planet. From the perspective of other life-forms, we have transmogrified into the planet’s most virulent pathogen, and our frenzied degradation of our host, Earth, signals that we may be just another stupid parasite too feebleminded to realize that one should never bite the hand that feeds one.

        7. Now you are at least approaching the factor that distinguishes the pathogen, something which your previous line actually argued against:
          Overwhelming competitive success.
          You still have the problem that you have defined life as parasitic, not merely humanity, again indicating a neo-Calvanist point of view. You fit your evidence to your model, rather than the other way around.
          You also ignore the very nature of pathogens in a system. What do you suppose would happen if you removed them from the environment?
          Something to think about, where I am right now, the human species is aboriginal. Indigenous would be more accurate, if the definition of indigenous didn’t circularly restrict human activity from itself. That is to say the environment developed with humans in it from its beginnings and thus depends on human activity to maintain its natural state.

        8. The reason I was mentioning the problems with our digestive tract is because they are due to our way of life. It all started with the domestication of fire and it was accelerated with the adoption of agriculture.
          The impact of food waste is not just financial. Environmentally, food waste leads to wasteful use of chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides; more fuel used for transportation; and more rotting food, creating more methane – one of the most harmful greenhouse gases that contributes to climate change. Methane is 23 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas.
          Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted.
          With the growth of the global population and the ever growing appetite for material comfort this problem is only going to get worse.

        9. Hmmm and despite all these findings we somehow still manage to be the absolute top of the food chain for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. Your described weaknesses are all apart of our strengths, since any part of us is, in some part, responsible for our position in the food chain. We aren’t carnivores either. We are omnivores. And I eat raw fish, raw eggs and raw pussy all the time.

        10. I reject your term completely. I am VERY discriminate. And your attempt at self loathing of human kind falls on deaf ears here. If you believe in divine agency, then you believe in your god having created a place for you and your kind in this universe. If you believe in stark cold science and evolution, then you accept that humans evolved to be exactly what and who and where we should be, and are. Regardless, self loathing serves no purpose other than ushering you and any of your offspring into genetic oblivion.

    2. Existence draws blood from the Earth. This is accepted as wisdom. Unfortunately Modern man, unlike Ancient man, does not respect the proper temperance necessary to live in balance with the Earth.

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