--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To succeed in life requires a total…" description: "\"To succeed in life requires a total inability to do anything that makes you uncomfortable when you look at yourself in the mirror.\" — Nassim Nicholas T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_inability_to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inab_658537.png" --- # To succeed in life requires a total inability to do… ![“To succeed in life requires a total inability to do anything that makes you uncomfortable when you look at yourself in the mirror.” quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_inability_to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inab_658537.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_inability_to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inab_658537.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_inability_to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inab_658537.png) > “To succeed in life requires a total inability to do anything that makes you uncomfortable when you look at yourself in the mirror.” [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success demands confronting discomfort and rejecting self‑deception; true growth comes from honest self‑assessment. **In simple terms:** Success requires facing uncomfortable truths. Key Takeaway Accept discomfort for growth. Themes self‑discipline honesty growth Mood challenging motivational Type self‑help philosophical When to use this quote - career development - personal health - skill acquisition Key Concepts psychology resilience Questions to Reflect On - What uncomfortable truth are you avoiding? - How can you turn discomfort into advantage? A Different Perspective Avoiding discomfort can lead to stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inability/) [Inability Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inability-makes-5252464/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Look at yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-at-yourself/) [Look at yourself in the mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-at-yourself-in-the-mirror/) [Look Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-mirror/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Succeed Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed-life/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Total Inability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/total-inability-4541752/) [Uncomfortable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncomfortable/) ## Related quotes > [What best defines a child is the total inability to receive information from anything not plugged in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/what-best-defines-a-child-is-the-total-inability-to-receive/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [If you're going to cheat and take people's history and you're not writing the Bible, you ain't really so great. But if you try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/if-you-re-going-to-cheat-and-take-people-s-history-and-you-re-not/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [When you look at yourself in the mirror, don't pinpoint the things that you aren't happy with. 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Some might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/like-anybody-i-like-clothes-and-i-enjoy-what-i-like-to-wear-we-might/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [It's not weird to look at yourself in the mirror at the gym - that's why they're there! You have to make sure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-sweeney/it-s-not-weird-to-look-at-yourself-in-the-mirror-at-the-gym-that-s/) [Alison Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-sweeney/) > [Then again, Solomon was human. And that meant he was flawed (Go on, take a look at yourself in the mirror. A good long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-stroud/then-again-solomon-was-human-and-that-meant-he-was-flawed-go-on-take/) [Jonathan Stroud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-stroud/) > [If you chase the art, you really can't fail because you'll always be able to look at yourself in the mirror. And that's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/if-you-chase-the-art-you-really-can-t-fail-because-you-ll-always-be/) [Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/) > [But my drive to win is so great ... I just step over that line. ... It's very embarrassing, ... one of the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/but-my-drive-to-win-is-so-great-i-just-step-over-that-line-it-s-very/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [It's kind of like when you look at yourself in the mirror and you say your name. And it gets to a point where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/it-s-kind-of-like-when-you-look-at-yourself-in-the-mirror-and-you-say-2/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [Every morning you put on your clothes to cover your nakedness and protect your body from inclement weather. Why don't you also clothe your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/every-morning-you-put-on-your-clothes-to-cover-your-nakedness-and/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More by Nassim Nicholas Taleb > [To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-become-a-philosopher-start-by-walking-very-slowly/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/wittgenstein-s-ruler-unless-you-have-confidence-in-the-ruler-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [My nightmare scenario is that the government saves Citibank once again, as well as the other banks, and business resumes as usual. 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Does it mean that the work involved in the trip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/one-needs-to-go-out-and-buy-a-lottery-ticket-in-order-to-win-does-it/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Individuals should think about the worst-case scenarios and plan for them. The world will be crazier than you think it will be. Put money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/individuals-should-think-about-the-worst-case-scenarios-and-plan-for/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“If you are looking for your misplaced wallet in your living room, in a trial and error mode, you exercise rationality by not looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/if-you-are-looking-for-your-misplaced-wallet-in-your-living-room-in-a/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Most humans manage to squander their free time, as free time makes them dysfunctional, lazy, and unmotivated—the busier they get, the more active they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/most-humans-manage-to-squander-their-free-time-as-free-time-makes/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We learn the most from fools ... yet we pay them back with the worst ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-learn-the-most-from-fools-yet-we-pay-them-back-with-the-worst/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We are victims of the post-Enlightenment view that the world functions like a sophisticated machine, to be understood like a textbook engineering problem and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/we-are-victims-of-the-post-enlightenment-view-that-the-world/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“loss of bone density and degradation of the health of the bones also causes aging, diabetes, and, for males, loss of fertility and sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/loss-of-bone-density-and-degradation-of-the-health-of-the-bones-also/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“It takes a huge investment in introspection to learn that the thirty or more hours spent “studying” the news last month neither had any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-takes-a-huge-investment-in-introspection-to-learn-that-the-thirty/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Explore all 635 Nassim Nicholas Taleb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## More Inability quotes > [Our real illiteracy is our inability to create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedensreich-hundertwasser/our-real-illiteracy-is-our-inability-to-create/) [Friedensreich Hundertwasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedensreich-hundertwasser/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The inability to recruit recognition from others cripples an identity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-w-fuller/the-inability-to-recruit-recognition-from-others-cripples-an-identity/) [Robert W. Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-w-fuller/) > [God does not ask your ability Or your inability. He asks only your availability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-ash/god-does-not-ask-your-ability-or-your-inability-he-asks-only-your/) [Mary Kay Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-ash/) > [No one seems to have learned, or can remember, the magic words that calm people when they are frightened or threatened: "I'm sorry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-tavris/no-one-seems-to-have-learned-or-can-remember-the-magic-words-that/) [Carol Tavris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-tavris/) > [“insanity is the inability to communicate your ideas. It’s as if you were in a foreign country, able to see and understand everything that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/insanity-is-the-inability-to-communicate-your-ideas-it-s-as-if-you/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I could never rule out my own inability to focus on things that didn’t interest me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-ciana-doidge/i-could-never-rule-out-my-own-inability-to-focus-on-things-that-didn/) [Meghan Ciana Doidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-ciana-doidge/) > [In issues of recent ethnic wars and genocides - particularly if you look at Darfur - one of the most remarkable things is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-daldry/in-issues-of-recent-ethnic-wars-and-genocides-particularly-if-you/) [Stephen Daldry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-daldry/) > [The inability to lie is far from the love of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-inability-to-lie-is-far-from-the-love-of-truth/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Well, I think everybody is frustrated by the finances of the U.N. and the inability to solve problems of war and peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/well-i-think-everybody-is-frustrated-by-the-finances-of-the-u-n-and/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [With all the chaos, pain and suffering in the world, the fact that my adoption of a child from who was living in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/with-all-the-chaos-pain-and-suffering-in-the-world-the-fact-that-my/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [Loneliness is the inability to share your story, your Unique Self story. For most people, the move beyond loneliness requires us to share our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-gafni/loneliness-is-the-inability-to-share-your-story-your-unique-self/) [Marc Gafni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-gafni/) > [When I say that a thing is true, I mean that I cannot help believing it... But...I do not venture to assume that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/when-i-say-that-a-thing-is-true-i-mean-that-i-cannot-help-believing/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [As always, I am saved by the inability of living creatures to believe anything that might cause the walls of their little mental assumptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/as-always-i-am-saved-by-the-inability-of-living-creatures-to-believe/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [It pleases our heavenly Father when we acknowledge and confess to Him our inability to run our own lives. That is what we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/it-pleases-our-heavenly-father-when-we-acknowledge-and-confess-to-him/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) [Browse all 587 Inability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To succeed in life requires a total inability to do anything that makes you uncomfortable when you look at yourself in the mirror.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inability-to-do-anything-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Inability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inability-to-do-anything-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_inability_to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inab_658537.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_inability_to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inab_658537.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_inability_to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inab_658537.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To succeed in life requires a total inability to do anything that makes you uncomfortable when you look at…” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nassim Nicholas Taleb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To succeed in life requires a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inability-to-do-anything-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-succeed-in-life-requires-a-total-inability-to-do-anything-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```