--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a world where survival is always seen…" description: "\"In a world where survival is always seen as a struggle, and in which some pitfalls always exist, if something brings into question our confidence in ou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/willard-gaylin-26360_ability_in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen_3195964.png" --- # In a world where survival is always seen as a struggle… ![“In a world where survival is always seen as a struggle, and in which some pitfalls always exist, if something brings into question our confidence in our own coping ability, it will threaten our safety.” quote by Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/willard-gaylin-26360_ability_in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen_3195964.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/willard-gaylin-26360_ability_in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen_3195964.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/willard-gaylin-26360_ability_in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen_3195964.png) > “In a world where survival is always seen as a struggle, and in which some pitfalls always exist, if something brings into question our confidence in our own coping ability, it will threaten our safety.” [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When doubts about our coping abilities arise, they can undermine our sense of safety and security. **In simple terms:** Self‑doubt threatens safety. Key Takeaway Build confidence through skill practice. Themes psychology resilience security confidence Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - stressful projects - new challenges - health crises Key Concepts self‑efficacy risk perception Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports your self‑doubt? - How can you reinforce coping skills? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on fear can paralyze action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Coping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coping/) [Pitfalls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pitfalls/) [Safety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Now that I have created moe, men of the world will never know peace as they struggle with the pitfalls of 3D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoshi-kon/now-that-i-have-created-moe-men-of-the-world-will-never-know-peace-as/) [Satoshi Kon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoshi-kon/) > [“Not anymore. To bring an outsider in could threaten the safety of Ephani. What if I were on a date and she needed me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/not-anymore-to-bring-an-outsider-in-could-threaten-the-safety-of/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [We must never allow tax dollars to be given to violent, rouge nations that support terrorism and threaten the safety and security of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-johnson/we-must-never-allow-tax-dollars-to-be-given-to-violent-rouge-nations/) [Mike Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-johnson/) > [It is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/it-is-clear-the-future-holds-great-opportunities-it-also-holds/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [The corruption of the good by the belief in their own infallible goodnes is the most bloody dangerous pitfall in the human spectrum. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fielding/the-corruption-of-the-good-by-the-belief-in-their-own-infallible/) [Helen Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fielding/) > [All deductions having been made, democracy has done less harm, and more good, than any other form of government. It gave to human existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/all-deductions-having-been-made-democracy-has-done-less-harm-and-more/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The enormous pitfall is devotion to oneself instead of to life. All works that are self-devoted are absolutely ineffective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-martin/the-enormous-pitfall-is-devotion-to-oneself-instead-of-to-life-all/) [Agnes Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-martin/) > [At a very young age I was predicting outcomes, trying to take all the information and find the best route to wherever I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-carpenter/at-a-very-young-age-i-was-predicting-outcomes-trying-to-take-all-the/) [Jennifer Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-carpenter/) > [The wolf dreads the pitfall, the hawk suspects the snare, and the kite the covered hook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-wolf-dreads-the-pitfall-the-hawk-suspects-the-snare-and-the-kite/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [You know, it's just a matter of working through the pitfalls sometimes and working through the challenges that lie ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busch/you-know-it-s-just-a-matter-of-working-through-the-pitfalls-sometimes/) [Kurt Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busch/) > [Good planning avoids the need for fixing up a project that plowed ahead without thought... about potential pitfalls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-knight/good-planning-avoids-the-need-for-fixing-up-a-project-that-plowed/) [Bobby Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-knight/) > [The more thou dost advance, the more thy feet pitfalls will meet. The Path that leadeth on is lighted by one fire - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-blavatsky/the-more-thou-dost-advance-the-more-thy-feet-pitfalls-will-meet-the/) [H. P. Blavatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-blavatsky/) > [There are pitfalls in World Cups, there are players who can win penalties and players who get the slightest touch and go down holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-owen/there-are-pitfalls-in-world-cups-there-are-players-who-can-win/) [Michael Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-owen/) > [I am well aware that the path of the biographer is beset with pitfalls, and that, for him, suppressio veri is almost necessarily suggestio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dodgson-collingwood/i-am-well-aware-that-the-path-of-the-biographer-is-beset-with/) Stuart Dodgson Collingwood > [I hate the stereotype of the pitfalls of the child actor. There are so many amazing examples - Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jodie Foster,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/i-hate-the-stereotype-of-the-pitfalls-of-the-child-actor-there-are-so/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) ## More by Willard Gaylin > [A man may not always be what he appears to be, but what he appears to be is always a significant part of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/a-man-may-not-always-be-what-he-appears-to-be-but-what-he-appears-to/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [Feelings are the fine instruments which shape decision-making in an animal cursed and blessed with intelligence, and the freedom which is its corollary. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/feelings-are-the-fine-instruments-which-shape-decision-making-in-an/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [We must live in groups; other people are like nutrients for us, and are absolutely essential for our survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/we-must-live-in-groups-other-people-are-like-nutrients-for-us-and-are/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [We are what we seem to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/we-are-what-we-seem-to-be/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [Our imagination and reasoning powers facilitate anxiety; the anxious feeling is precipitated not by an absolute impending threat-such as the worry about an examination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/our-imagination-and-reasoning-powers-facilitate-anxiety-the-anxious/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [To probe for unconscious determinants of behavior and then define a man in their terms exclusively, ignoring his overt behavior altogether, is a greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/to-probe-for-unconscious-determinants-of-behavior-and-then-define-a/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [Feeling good and feeling bad are not necessarily opposites. Both at least involve feelings. Any feeling is a reminder of life. The worst 'feeling'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/feeling-good-and-feeling-bad-are-not-necessarily-opposites-both-at/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature, I think Mother wants us to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/i-not-only-think-that-we-will-tamper-with-mother-nature-i-think/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [All of us inevitably spend our lives evolving from an initial to a final stage of dependence. If we are fortunate enough to achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/all-of-us-inevitably-spend-our-lives-evolving-from-an-initial-to-a/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [Life is to be enjoyed, not simply endured. Pleasure and goodness and joy support the pursuit of survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/life-is-to-be-enjoyed-not-simply-endured-pleasure-and-goodness-and/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [Jealousy, which serves the struggle for survival, can deteriorate into the envy which draws defeat even from victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/jealousy-which-serves-the-struggle-for-survival-can-deteriorate-into/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [We occupy a space of our own creation-a collage compounded by bits and pieces of actuality arranged into a design determined by our internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/we-occupy-a-space-of-our-own-creation-a-collage-compounded-by-bits/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [Man, the most complicated of the animals, has a relatively short gestation period. Beyond that, he will be born, unlike most mammals, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/man-the-most-complicated-of-the-animals-has-a-relatively-short/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [Because we are intelligent creatures-meaning that we are freed from instinctive and patterned behavior to a degree unparalleled in the animal kingdom-we are capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/because-we-are-intelligent-creatures-meaning-that-we-are-freed-from/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) > [Expressing anger is a form of public littering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/expressing-anger-is-a-form-of-public-littering/) [Willard Gaylin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) [Explore all 22 Willard Gaylin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a world where survival is always seen as a struggle, and in which some pitfalls always exist, if something brings into question our confidence in our own coping ability, it will threaten our safety.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Willard Gaylin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen-as-a-struggle-and-in-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen-as-a-struggle-and-in-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/willard-gaylin-26360_ability_in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen_3195964.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/willard-gaylin-26360_ability_in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen_3195964.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/willard-gaylin-26360_ability_in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen_3195964.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In a world where survival is always seen as a struggle, and in which some pitfalls always exist, if…” — Willard Gaylin", "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": "Willard Gaylin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-gaylin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In a world where survival is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen-as-a-struggle-and-in-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-gaylin/in-a-world-where-survival-is-always-seen-as-a-struggle-and-in-which/#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 } } ] } ```