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About this quote

What does it mean?
Seeing incompetent people succeed where we have failed feels deeply humiliating.
In plain terms
It hurts to watch idiots win at what we couldn't.
What can you take from it?
Avoid comparing yourself to others' success.

Where it applies

  • career setbacks
  • personal projects

Putting it to work

  • focus on personal growth
  • redefine success

Questions to consider

  • What truly defines success for you?
  • How can you learn from others' mistakes?

Another view

It may also motivate improvement rather than just humiliation.

More from Gustave Flaubert

  1. Exuberance is better than taste:

    Permalink to quote #11
  2. He is so corrupt that he would willingly pay for the pleasure of selling himself.

    Permalink to quote #13
  3. Axion: hatred of the bourgeois is the beginning of wisdom.

    Permalink to quote #10

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