I think we I read these quotes, I'm reminded by how hard the world is. There are constant sturggles and things to overcome. We spend a large part of our lives preparing and engaging in the "hardness" of our lives. At the same time if we were to only live hard lives, and not make room for soft gentleness for ourselves and the people around us our lives would be but half lived.

Finding the right balance between being "hard" and "soft" may seem to be contridictory but they may have more in common then at first glance. Often, I find my self being very tough, tough on myself, tough on my efforts, in general very tough on a tough world. It has it's benefits of pushing me further and keep me from becoming too complacent. But at the same time, I remind myself time and again to be soft and gentle when needed. Gentle to myslef, to the people around me, and gentle on a tough world in need of gentleness.

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References

• Goodreads quote for David Goggins
• Goodreads quote for Raymond Chandler
• National Library of Medicine: Imposter Phenomenon, when people are tough on themselves.
• Check out Writer spotlight: Raymond Chandler a quick summary and discussion about the writer and his stories.