Chunks of Manly Wisdom | Quotes from Søren Kierkegaard
Welcome to another episode of Manly Chunks of Wisdom on the Manlihood ManCast. At Manlihood, we understand that many men lead busy lives and may not have the time to read lengthy books or philosophical treatises to gain insight into how to live life to the fullest. That’s why we’re here to offer you bite-sized chunks of manly wisdom that you can apply to your life today.
In this episode, we’ll be exploring the profound wisdom of Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, theologian, and poet who lived in the 19th century. We’ll be sharing some of his best quotes and insights to help inspire you to be a better man. As always, if you enjoy these Manly Chunks of Wisdom, be sure to check out our free book at Manlihood.com/chunk. Thanks for tuning in, and let’s dive into the wisdom of Soren Kierkegaard.
“I stick my finger into existence and it smells of nothing.”
― Soren Kierkegaard
“People understand me so poorly that they don’t even understand my complaint about them not understanding me.”
― Søren Kierkegaard, The Journals of Kierkegaard
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”
― Soren Kierkegaard
“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”
― Soren Kierkegaard
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”
― Soren Kierkegaard
“The most common form of despair is not being who you are.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
“What labels me, negates me.”
― Soren Kierkegaard
“Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yourself, and you will regret that too; hang yourself or don’t hang yourself, you’ll regret it either way; whether you hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret both. This, gentlemen, is the essence of all philosophy.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
“The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.”
― Soren Kierkegaard, Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard
“It is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey.”
― Soren Kierkegaard
“God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners.”
― Soren Kierkegaard, The Journals of Kierkegaard
“The proud person always wants to do the right thing, the great thing. But because he wants to do it in his own strength, he is fighting not with man, but with God.”
― Soren A. Kierkegaard
“A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. The clown came out to warn the public; they thought it was a joke and applauded. He repeated it; the acclaim was even greater. I think that’s just how the world will come to an end: to general applause from wits who believe it’s a joke.”
― Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or, Part I
“If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!”
― Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or: A Fragment of Life
“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.”
― Soren Kierkegaard
“The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins.”
― Soren Kierkegaard, The Journals of Kierkegaard
“To venture causes anxiety, but not to venture is to lose one’s self…. And to venture in the highest is precisely to be conscious of one’s self.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
“Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday, I walk myself into a state of well-being & walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, & the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Thus if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
“How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn’t it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the manager—I have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint?”
― Søren Kierkegaard
“There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming.”
― Soren Kierkegaard
Thanks for listening, and if you like these Chunks of Manly Wisdom, you’ll love the book that we put together for you. You can get it FREE at http://Manlihood.com/chunk
