Mencius – 孟子《生于忧患,死于安乐》

故天将降大任于斯人也,必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨,饿其体肤,空乏其身,行拂乱其所为,所以动心忍性,曾益其所不能。
故天将降大任于斯人也,必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨,饿其体肤,空乏其身,行拂乱其所为,所以动心忍性,曾益其所不能。

 
 
 
 
 
生于忧患,
One thrives and survives under suffering and hardships,
死于安乐。
and withers if left overly-protected and contented with current situation.
孟子曰:
故天将降大任于斯人也,必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨,饿其体肤,空乏其身,行拂乱其所为,所以动心忍性,曾益其所不能。
解:上天将要降落重大责任在这样的人身上,一定要道先使他的内心痛苦,使他的筋骨劳累,使他经受饥饿,以致肌肤消瘦,使他受贫困之苦,使他做的事颠倒错乱,总不如意,通过那些来使他的内心警觉,使他的性格坚定,增加他不具备的才能。
故天将降大任于斯人也,
When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on man,
必先苦其心志,
it will first fill his heart with suffering,
劳其筋骨,
toil his sinews and bones,
饿其体肤,
exposes his body to hunger,
空乏其身,
subjects him to extreme poverty.
行拂乱其所为,
confounds his journey with setbacks and troubles.
所以动心忍性,
so as to stimulate his alertness, toughen his nature,
曾益其所不能。
eventually bridging his incompetence gap and prepare him for the task.
For every hardships and adversities you are facing now, you should treat it as Life is preparing you for some larger responsibility that requires a more matured and upgraded version of you so as to not screw up later 😀

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