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Life becomes easier when you don't have expectations.
Life becomes easier when you don't have expectations.
Description
Book Introduction
“The moment you let go of expectations, life becomes lighter and stronger!”
The original text of Baltasar Gracian with the philosopher's reflections and
The most realistic advice, read through the lens of a communication expert's relationship skills.


A book has been published that interprets the wisdom of Baltasar Gracian, a 17th-century Spanish philosopher highly regarded by Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, in contemporary language.
This book, "Life Gets Easier When You Stop Expecting," confronts the problem that the weight of expectations weighs down our lives and shows how life can become stronger and more flexible when we let go of expectations.

This book is particularly noteworthy because it was written in collaboration with philosopher Kim Hyung-cheol and communication expert Kim Beom-jun.
The two people said, “It is not the ‘event itself’ that makes us unhappy, but the ‘expectations about it.’
Starting from the empathy that “life became difficult because we had expectations,” it provides life guidance that combines philosophical insight and relationship skills.
Rather than simply translating Gracian's classic, it is a reinterpretation of the most realistic advice applicable to our daily lives and relationships.

For modern people, for whom comparison, pressure, and anxiety are part of their daily lives, this book does not recommend simple positivity or resignation.
Instead of relying on unstable external goals like the approval or results of others, it offers concrete and practical alternatives that can build a foundation for inner growth.
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index
Starting with the text _ I decided to put more effort into preparation than I expected.

PART 1: The Wisdom of Revealing Only What Is Necessary

01 Careful silence makes me stand out
02 The moment you try to hide your flaws, they become your real weaknesses.
03 If you show a lot today, you will have nothing to show tomorrow.
04 Perfection is an excuse for laziness.
05 Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing
06 The less you show, the more you shine
07 Don't state your opinion definitively.
08 Hide your efforts as much as possible.
09 Get up from where you fell and start again
10 Silence is better than complaint
11 Wise evasion is courage
12 The less you talk, the less you argue.
13 One mistake destroys a hundred successes.
14 Sometimes silence speaks loudest
15 It is more foolish to be certain than to doubt.
16 Words are the shadow of the mind.
17 Even advantages become disadvantages when taken to excess.
18 Absence Makes Relationships Stronger
19 The art of war is to win without fighting.
20 Reasons Why I Should Hide My Weaknesses
21 Retreating is not an escape, but a strategic retreat.
22 If you appear human, you lose your reputation.
23 Excessive perfectionism takes away the joy of life.
24 The longer the words, the more the message fades.
25 A small cloud can block the entire sun

PART 2: The Relationship Skills of a Person Who Doesn't Make Enemies

26 Become a person who is needed rather than a person who is appreciated.
27 Stars do not compete with the sun.
28 Surround yourself with people who can teach you.
29 If you surround yourself with wise people, you will become wise.
30 Praise is a bait to get a lot.
Five minutes is enough to ruin a reputation that took twenty years to build.
32 Luck favors the prepared mind
33 Other people are mirrors that reflect our own appearance.
34 When you reject, leave hope.
35 The more successful you become, the more approachable you become.
36. Seriousness with humor is a catalyst for communication.
37 Seeing what is visible as it is is also a skill.
38 You don't need to know everything
39 The power to appear truer than the truth
40 Not all five fingers are the same length
41 Authority comes from character, not position.
42 Criticizing others makes you reflect on yourself.
43 The way to make an enemy your friend is to ask him for a favor.
44 You can't repair the roof when it rains.
45 The attitude of becoming accustomed to one's flaws is a priority.
46 Manners maketh man
47 Kindness is an expression of a mature mind.
48 The moment you evaluate others, you also begin to evaluate yourself.
49 Walk slowly but don't go backwards
50 Speaking is sowing seeds, listening is reaping.

PART 3: An Attitude That Releases the Weight of Expectations and Fills It with Flexibility

51 What makes us unhappy is what we expected to happen.
52 If you are not prepared, luck is a passing cloud.
53 It wasn't the timing that was bad, it was the countless hesitations.
54 Every moment's choice determines the quality of life.
55 The Courage and Wisdom of Being First
56 Adventure is just a kind of poorly planned vacation
57 Luck can only be contained in one's own vessel.
58 Prepare an oasis before leaving the desert.
59 Don't get caught up in small things
60 Let the world miss your absence
61 If it's not visible, it doesn't exist.
62 The more complex it is, the more you should break it down into smaller pieces.
63 Hope is seeing what can be seen
64 Flexibility, not stubbornness, is the answer.
65 Know how to pass on misfortune to others
66 Do not keep anyone around you who obscures your light.
67 There is nothing more dangerous than living without thinking.
68 Never doubt friendship.
But if in doubt, believe it.
69 Cross the river by feeling for stones
70 If you walk slowly, you can see a lot at once.
71 Don't be an easy person to approach.
72 What matters in life is your attitude toward life.
73 The only thing that is eternal is change.
74 A life of doing nothing is dangerous.
75 When it comes to asking for what you want, timing is everything.

PART 4: The Ultimate Insight into Creating a Meaningful Life

76 A character without knowledge is weak, and knowledge without character is dangerous.
77 Dig Deeper
78 The most dangerous moment is when only a flower path is visible before your eyes.
79 All's well when all ends well
80 Rolling around in the mud will only result in mud.
81 The winner needs no explanation.
82 What doesn't kill me makes me stronger
83 When the soul is beautiful, everything follows.
84 When doing the right thing seems impossible, that's when you do it.
85 The most common disease is not knowing what you are.
86 The pain a jealous person experiences is greater than anything else.
87 One man's misfortune is another man's fortune.
88 If you make your enemy your friend, you have eliminated him.
89 A true warrior knows how to avoid a fight.
90 Happiness and unhappiness live under one roof
91 The most personal is the most universal
92 Doubt, question, and ponder
93 The most important job is to live.
94 Excessive kindness ruins relationships.
95 Even if ten friends help me, I cannot defeat one enemy.
96 Even small tasks are difficult to accomplish alone.
97 The impossible is only impossible until you do it.
98 Elegance comes from inner dignity and respect for others.
99 Fear is more controlling than love.
How to Live a Life Shining with 100 Virtues

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Into the book
The title of this book, “Life is easier when you don’t expect anything,” is not simply a resigned sentence that says, “Don’t expect anything.”
It is a suggestion to let go of the weight of expectation and fill its place with choice, preparation, reflection, and growth.
If you let go of your expectations, you'll be less disappointed.
An empty mind allows for flexibility and allows for freer choices.
The condensed wisdom that Gracian left behind 400 years ago is still applicable to all areas of life.
The strategies and insights in this book will help you protect yourself, maintain healthy relationships, and learn how to thrive in a changing world.
Instead of looking at expectations, you can look at today's self, instead of an uncertain future, you can look at your present choices, and instead of the approval of others, you can look at your inner growth.
--- From "Introduction"

The secret to success lies in finding the right balance between careful thinking and quick action.
It's a kind of 'slow rush'.
Rather than simply a matter of time management, it is the wisdom to read the situation accurately and take the appropriate action at the appropriate time.
If you go into the forest to dig for mushrooms, the deeper you go, the better the colonies you will find.
But as you go deeper and deeper, you will eventually end up on the other side.
You have to dig deep enough to find really good mushrooms.
More important than doing things quickly is doing them right.
It's better to do it right, even if it takes a little longer.
Slow can be faster.
--- From "PART 1 04 Perfection is an excuse for laziness"

Being needed by others is not simply a selfish strategy, but a way to realize your own value within the community.
But the important thing is to continue to be needed by someone.
Oranges that have lost their juice are usually thrown away.
To become someone everyone needs, you need to possess a unique skill that no one else can match.
To be indispensable to even one person, you must have something that that person cannot receive from anyone else.
But you don't have to be the person everyone needs.
But what if you become someone no one needs? That would be a miserable life.
--- From "PART 2 26 Become a person who is needed rather than a person who is grateful"

Only those who know how to step down from the stage are remembered as true protagonists, but reality is not that simple.
A glamorous retirement is only a story of a few stars, but for most people, making a living comes first.
In today's world, it's not uncommon for those who dream of an "honorable retirement" to end up being kicked out without even receiving a severance pay.
That's why many office workers can't easily leave when an opportunity comes, and they persevere and live until the end.
This is also a fierce choice for survival, and a reality that must be respected.
Ultimately, we need to learn both skills simultaneously.
The courage to know when to leave, and the patience to stay when you must.
It is foolish to leave the desert without preparing an oasis, and if it is already a desert, you must learn how to find water within it.
What we need is not the ‘aesthetics of exit’, but the ‘strategy of exit’.
--- From "PART 3 58 Prepare an oasis before leaving the desert"

Of course, as we live in this world, we are pressured to do more, for longer.
But the laws of nature always tell us that everything in the world has a climax.
Just as it's difficult to predict the peak of the stock market, it's equally difficult to pinpoint the peak of our personal success.
Knowing the right time is the foundation of wisdom in life.
If you want to live well, you must recognize the peak, make the most of that moment, and then distance yourself.
Practicing 'victory moderation' is the key to sustainable success.
Shi-jung-shi-jung means “doing the most appropriate thing at that time.”
It's an important concept in Confucianism.
That's when it's most dangerous, when you only see a flower path ahead of you.
--- From "PART 4 ​​78 The most dangerous time is when you only see a flower path in front of you"

Publisher's Review
Baltasar Gracian, who inspired Schopenhauer and Nietzsche,
Living in this era based on his wisdom
The attitude we should have toward life!


Why do we always feel tired and worn out? Why does life feel burdensome? The answer may be that we harbor too many expectations.
We expect recognition and praise from others, fair compensation for our efforts, and lasting relationships, but reality betrays those expectations every time.
Unmet expectations lead to disappointment, and disappointment soon becomes hurt and destroys us.
The two authors, a philosopher and a communication expert, delve into the root causes of this problem.
The wisdom of 17th-century Spanish philosopher and theologian Baltasar Gracian is translated into contemporary language, offering ways to lighten the burden of expectations and solidify life.


Schopenhauer translated Gracian's work into German and widely disseminated his insights, and Nietzsche praised it, saying, "There is no clearer guide to life than Gracian's."
The reason Gracian's reflections remain relevant 400 years later is because the nature of the problems we face in life has not changed.
The key point the authors emphasize, based on Gracian's insight, is simple.
It's about letting go of expectations.
This is not a message of resignation to “hope for nothing,” but rather advice to reset direction.
When we free ourselves from the insecure external goals of others' approval or results, our hearts become lighter, our relationships become clearer, and we become more flexible in responding to moments of opportunity.

Gracian said, “The brighter the torch, the faster it burns out.
“Make sure you don’t reveal all your excellence,” he said.
The two authors explain that one should humbly build one's skills in normal times, but be able to boldly reveal one's value at crucial moments.
It also teaches you the art of refusing intelligently without unnecessarily hurting the other person, following Gracian's wisdom that "when refusing, you should take your time so that the other person is not greatly disappointed."
This book doesn't offer comforting words like "It's okay" or vague hopes like "Think positively."
It contains specific life skills that will help you protect yourself in the harsh reality and achieve what you want.
Through this, readers will be able to guard against perfectionism, break free from excessive obsession, and focus on their own growth through preparation and reflection.

The condensed wisdom of a wise man from 400 years ago
"The Art of Protecting Myself," now translated into our own language.


This book is divided into four parts.

PART 1: The Wisdom of Revealing Only What Is Necessary
Through the concept of 'strategic mysticism', it is emphasized that revealing only what is necessary rather than revealing everything is the way to gain greater trust and respect.
Excessive perfectionism and overexposure only exhaust oneself and tire out relationships, and moderation, silence, and exquisite self-expression are the wisdom that protect oneself.

PART 2: The Relationship Skills of a Person Who Doesn't Make Enemies
It suggests ways to wisely deal with conflicts in human relationships.
He emphasizes that avoiding unnecessary confrontation is sometimes the most courageous choice, and that careful management of one's reputation can determine the success or failure of one's life.
He advises that one mistake can ruin a hundred successes, so we must handle relationships and reputations carefully, and live as "necessary people" with irreplaceable value, rather than as people who depend on others.

PART 3: An Attitude That Releases the Weight of Expectations and Fills It with Flexibility
It speaks to the importance of an attitude of preparation and building up inner strength rather than vague expectations.
A life focused on the choices of the present moment, rather than an uncertain future, ultimately determines the quality of life.
Letting go of expectations isn't resignation, but a release of a burden on the mind. It shows us that by filling that void with flexibility and freedom of choice, we can live life more lightly and firmly.

PART 4: The Ultimate Insight into Creating a Meaningful Life
It deals with the ultimate meaning and dignity of life.
Happiness that is not supported by knowledge, character, and inner growth is short-lived, and only by using trials and failures as assets to reflect and grow can one truly live a meaningful life.
It offers the ultimate insight to guide you on the path to self-growth: preparation over expectation, process over outcome, and personal information over others.

This book, which condenses the wisdom of a sage from 400 years ago into four themes, covers relationships and success, reputation and inner strength, and even life balance, offering the most realistic and solid advice for us living today.
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Date of issue: September 20, 2025
- Page count, weight, size: 312 pages | 398g | 130*190*30mm
- ISBN13: 9791193540374
- ISBN10: 1193540372

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