What Doesn’t Kill You…

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” -Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche

I know today’s quote was never meant to be taken in the literal sense. I’m well aware that it’s meant to be more psychologically. For example, if you’re in a car wreck and you survive, it obviously doesn’t make you stronger physically. With that disclaimer out of the way, I still feel this old proverb needs to be modified. Perhaps the word “can make” in front of “us stronger.” I say that because, in this day and age, mental illness issues are far more out in the open than when the quote was originally said. We know that certain occurrences can traumatize us and break us mentally even if we survive physically. So in many cases, we can indeed come out stronger after a pivotal moment, physical or emotional. But that’s not always the case. Hence, we need to advocate that what doesn’t kill us can make us stronger given the right circumstances and environment. But it’s not always easy and needs to assessed on an individual basis.