The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

Primed For Fear

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Once we develop the habit of living in fear, it will not matter how good things get. 
"You will be frightened out of your wits, not only by real, but by fancied dangers, and will be tossed for ever on the sea of illusion. What benefit will it be to 
'Have threaded all the towns of Argolis,
A fugitive through midmost press of foes?'
For peace itself will furnish further apprehension. Even in the midst of safety you will have no confidence if your mind has once been given a shock; once it has acquired the habit of blind panic, it is incapable of providing even for its own safety. For it does not avoid danger, but runs away. Yet we are more exposed to danger when we turn our backs." (Seneca, 104)
If we train our mind to worry, then we train ourselves to live in misery. We are primed for fear.

The solution is to re-train in order to thrive when good fortune comes. Training takes work, that's why it's called "confidence building." We need to take every action, every thought captive and use them as building blocks for a secure, safe place. 

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