Some people think they can find satisfaction in good food, fine clothes, lively music, and sexual pleasure. However, when they have all these things, they are not satisfied. They realize happiness is not simply having their material needs met. Thus, society has set up a system of rewards that go beyond material goods. These include titles, social recognition, status, and political power, all wrapped up in a package called self-fulfillment. Attracted by these prizes and goaded on by social pressure, people spend their short lives tiring body and mind to chase after these goals. Perhaps this gives them the feeling that they have achieved something in their lives, but in reality they have sacrificed a lot in life. They can no longer see, hear, act, feel, or think from their hearts. Everything they do is dictated by whether it can get them social gains. In the end, they've spent their lives following other people's demands and never lived a life of their own. How different is this from the life of a slave or a prisoner? . Liezi
About This Quote

The power of persistence and the lesson in this quote is that we must be persistent to make our dreams come true. Our success depends on how we persist and how we accept failures. When we want to accomplish something, we should not be discouraged by failures. Failure is part of the process to success, and the more failures we have, the better our chances of success become.

Source: Liehtzu: A Taoist Guide To Practical Living

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