Schopenhauer's Quote 67: Where pride is broken, self-esteem blossoms.
To begin with, for an absolute life, not a relative life.

Chapter 1: Forty: Why Life is Suffering / Schopenhauer's Truth

01 Life is all about will |Pain|
The will to live is a human instinct.
-You have to realize pain to realize life.

02 Because humans desire, they look for reasons to desire |Desire|
-Humans desire specific things.
-There is no good or evil in desire.

03 Life is a pendulum that swings back and forth between pain and boredom |Excess|
-Maximum satisfaction and maximum deficiency of desire
-Excess and inadequacy are the same.

04 Intentional rejection is also necessary |Deficiency|
Happiness that depends on changing conditions does not last long.
-Distinguish between positive and negative curiosity.

05 Desire is inevitable | fulfillment |
-The source of fear and hope is the same.
-How to quench the thirst of desire

06 Living happily means enduring pain |Happiness|
-There is nothing in this world that is taken for granted.
-A sure way to get closer to happiness

Chapter 2: Why We Must Accept Things as They Are / Schopenhauer's Self

07 Change your perspective on happiness and unhappiness | Personality |
-My path is in my temperament.
-If you can't fix it, you can rewrite it.

08 Distinguish between what you want to do and what you can do |Ability|
-The most important starting point for happiness
-Happiness is a highly subjective choice.

09 Don't imagine happiness and unhappiness |Emotions|
-Memory and foresight are illusions.
-Don't look back, don't look forward

10 The total amount of suffering does not change |Death|
-The world turns well regardless of me.
-Death is not a means to resolve suffering.

11 All human history is a history of suffering | The will to live |
-The denial of life as the affirmation of life
-You can't be happy without existing.

Chapter 3: What Should We Fill Our Inner Self with? / Schopenhauer's Happiness

12 90% of happiness depends on health |Health|
- Make an effort to maintain a healthy mental state.
-You have to be cheerful to live well.

13 There can be no happiness without peace of mind |equanimity|
Four Ways to Find Peace of Mind
- Say goodbye to things that make you anxious

14 Have a sense of art |Contemplation|
-Human suffering is nothing in the face of nature.
-Music resonates with the will

15 Shift your life's center of gravity from outside to inside |Enjoyment|
-One thing that determines the quality of life
-Don't be disturbed by others.

16 Life is short and time and energy are limited |Reading|
-Three conditions for reading a good book
-Think like a monarch

17 Style is a reflection of the mind |Writing|
-Two things necessary for writing: firmness and steadfastness.
-Don't try to make it look good, just write for yourself.

Chapter 4: What Kind of Person Should We Live? / Schopenhauer's Relationship

18 Love for Eternity |Instinct|
-Love symbolizes that it lives forever
-Metaphysics of Love

19 Love is both an ideal and a reality | Romance |
-Why falling in love makes you blind
Love is a happy illusion if we only remember each other's differences.

20 Marriage is a shared existence |Marriage|
-Look beyond love and marriage.
-If you don't expect too much, you will get closer to happiness.

21 Humans love to become more perfect |Condition|
-The existential reason why I'm attracted to people who are my opposite.
-Accept love realistically

22 Keep Your Distance |Relationships|
-Don't hurt or be hurt
-We need to strike a balance between togetherness and distancing.

23 Learn to be alone | Solitude |
-When you gain the ability to be alone, you can live a worthwhile life.
-Try being completely alone.

24 Feel compassion for the suffering of others | Empathy |
-Human ambivalence
-Don't hate even if you don't love

Chapter 5: Where to Find Happiness / Schopenhauer's Life

25 Happy moments are so short |Satisfaction|
-Happiness is always in the past tense
-There is a happiness that suits you.

26 The present will never come again |present|
-Live in the present
-Every day is a life in itself.

27 Find your own color |Personality|
-If you know what you want, you can live the way you want.
-Be happy with yourself

28 It doesn't matter how much you own |money|
-Happy rich man, unhappy rich man
-Money management is more important than the amount of money.

29 Other people's opinions are not important |Self-esteem|
-I cannot judge others, and others cannot judge me.
-Give up on being a likable person.

30 It's important to know who I am |Self-affirmation|
- Personality determines perspective, and perspective determines the world.
-My world is as much as I realize.

You have to deal with a crisis of the mind
Philosophy Lessons for Forty-Somethings

Forty is the golden age of life, the time when you live with the utmost passion, and when you come to the realization that 'life is suffering.'
As you pass numerous tests and begin to establish yourself in knowledge, experience, work, and relationships, you will also experience the joy of success and achieve what you desire.
But at the same time, we still experience a lot of pain from failure, both personally and in society, and in life.
In our busy daily lives, we have no time to reflect on ourselves, and in the face of relationships and death, doubt and loss are mixed together.

So, at forty, you stand at a crossroads and your mind becomes complicated.
There's still a lot of life left, but rather than looking forward to what lies ahead, I find myself thinking that the same things will happen again and again.
I've become so used to most things that they feel boring and predictable.
Ironically, I am not comfortable in my own world, which has become hardened by familiarity and routine.

For those in their forties, those approaching or looking back on their forties, those seeking to overcome a crisis of the heart, and those seeking to focus on themselves, Schopenhauer's sober advice is in demand.
Schopenhauer believed that human desires are endless, and therefore life is inevitably accompanied by suffering.
However, he said that happiness can only be achieved when we control that desire.
Beyond the lament of, "Why were we born to suffer?", it is a growth-oriented insight that, "If that's the case, then we must suffer for our own happiness."
This provides a wise solution for those in their forties who are struggling with life and experiencing a mental crisis.

Except for Schopenhauer
Don't discuss life

Schopenhauer is a world-renowned philosopher who has provided theoretical foundations and influence to various fields, including philosophers, scientists, psychologists, writers, lawyers, musicians, and politicians.
He inspired countless people, including Friedrich Nietzsche, Søren Kierkegaard, Charles Darwin, Einstein, Carl Jung, Wagner, Hermann Hesse, Tolstoy, Franz Kafka, Dostoevsky, and Émile Zola.
In particular, Nietzsche started his path as a philosopher with just one book by Schopenhauer, and Wagner admired Schopenhauer all his life.

Even Schopenhauer was not recognized from the beginning.
He had the opportunity to lecture at the University of Berlin in his 30s, but deliberately opened a lecture at the same time as Hegel, the greatest philosopher of the time, and failed to attract a single student.
He also criticized Hegel, Fichte, and others in his thesis, and was unable to win an award, which led to his seclusion from the philosophy world.
Nevertheless, Schopenhauer endured with the pride that his genius would be recognized by future generations.
Schopenhauer's fame grew from his mid-40s onwards and he became world-famous.
For him, too, his 40s were a time when he overcame a crisis and a turning point when his life began to change.

Author Kang Yong-su, who, like Nietzsche, entered the path of philosophy with a single book, is currently a researcher at the Korea University Philosophy Institute and lectures at the same university.
He goes beyond nihilism and shares ways to achieve self-affirmation and happiness. In his book, “Reading Schopenhauer at Forty,” he includes 30 points from Schopenhauer’s philosophy and writings that will help overcome mental crises.
You can encounter stories of Schopenhauer in his 40s and the precious words he left behind about what he realized and put into practice.
Schopenhauer's words have been translated and refined from the original German text to avoid misunderstanding.

“Living is painful.”
“Humans are a mass of countless desires.”
“Life swings like a pendulum between pain and boredom, but these two are the ultimate elements of life.”
“In heaven, where all human suffering and pain has been sent to hell, there is nothing left but boredom.”
“The richer your mind becomes, the less space there is for inner emptiness.”
“The wise man seeks not pleasure, but the absence of pain.”
“You have to know what you want to do and what you can do.”
“You have to live long to realize how short life is.”
“Even trees need wind to grow strong.
“Humans also need exercise to stay healthy.”
“People often confuse buying a book with making its contents their own.”
“Love is what allows you to experience both heaven and hell at the same time.”
“A wise man keeps his hand at a proper distance from the fire, but a fool sticks his hand in, gets burned, and runs away to the cold of solitude, lamenting that he is burning.”
“All our unhappiness comes from our inability to be alone.”
“Live with self-esteem.”
“Remember, today is your only day and you will never come back again.”

Forty, I want to do it
Focus on what you can do

Schopenhauer, who was recognized only in his middle age, expressed his feelings as follows.

“I can look back with joy on what I have done because I never wavered, no matter what anyone said.”

Schopenhauer constantly pondered the meaning of life.
As a result, although he said, “All life is suffering,” he did not conclude that life is only about suffering.
There are two kinds of pain.
One is the pain of chasing 'false happiness' where the center of gravity of life is outside of oneself.
The other is the suffering for 'true happiness', which shifts the center of gravity of life from outside oneself to inside oneself.
Schopenhauer said that a certain amount of suffering and pain is necessary in life, and that we must endure pain in pursuit of true happiness.
There you can gain self-affirmation, self-esteem, independence, dignity, and dignity that no one can take away from you and that will never disappear.

The key to achieving true happiness is to focus on what you want to do and what you can do.
Then, you can live firmly centered without shaking or collapsing.
Forty may have been suffering from the pain of chasing fake happiness until now.
So from now on, you must be willing to endure the pain of pursuing true happiness.
The reason so many people across generations seek out Schopenhauer is because every word he writes is realistic and readily understandable.
Schopenhauer is often known as a pessimist who praised suicide, but he was actually an optimistic person and a person who laughed a lot.


His writing is imbued with humor.
Although he was keenly aware of the world and money, he valued culture and enjoyed reading and art.
I also took care of my health by walking my dog, Artman.
Schopenhauer knew how to enjoy life and live in balance.
For those in their forties who have begun to understand happiness and pain, for those in their forties who want to see life realistically, for those in their forties who want to shift the center of gravity of life within themselves, Schopenhauer, the 'philosopher of life,' guides them on how to overcome their mental crises and live life wisely and enjoyably.