Friedrich Nietzsche: “What does not kill us makes us stronger”

September 12, 2018
Psychology of thinking
Yulia Shishkina

Probably every person has heard the expression at least once in his life - “What does not kill us makes us stronger.” You will be interested to know who first voiced this wise thought. But it’s even more important to figure out what meaning is hidden in it and how to apply it in practice and, perhaps, learn something new.

Who said: “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger?” Meaning

The author of the catchphrase was the highly controversial thinker Friedrich Nietzsche. The quote is understood in different meanings, but the essence of the interpretation is the same: only by overcoming significant difficulties, and even troubles, and experiencing grief, will a person become a truly spiritually strong person.

The phrase, however, was taken out of context. Nietzsche did not want to put a romantic, motivational meaning into it and somehow urge his followers not to be afraid of life’s adversities. These words are connected with his doctrine of the superman.

It's important to be optimistic

Over time, the thinking of scientists and practitioners dealing with the psychological consequences of trauma has changed. The consequences of injury are very important .

In addition to suffering and the possibility of developing post-traumatic mental disorders, they include changes in the way the traumatized person thinks about himself and the rules that govern the world.

Three categories of general fundamental beliefs were identified that relate to various situations in a person’s life.

The first is faith in the benevolence of the world and the general goodness of other people .

The second is the belief that everything that happens to a person in life is governed by certain rules and is not accidental.

An important aspect of this assumption is the expectation of some kind of fairness.

The third category, self-esteem, includes models of a person thinking about himself as good, competent and worthy of a happy life .

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These beliefs are shaped by life experiences among people with varying levels of positivity.

Superman Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche devoted a lot of time to exploring the limits of human capabilities. And he believed that it was the superman who could go beyond these boundaries to become who he is. Let us note that Nietzsche characterized superhumans with a rather large list of qualities, where going beyond the limits of emotional forces was just one of the points.

You can learn more about this topic by reading the work “Thus Spoke Zarathustra.” Superman (Übermensch) in Nietzsche is the image with which he denoted a being who will surpass modern people in spiritual power as much as we surpass monkeys. According to the scientist's hypothesis, Übermensch is the next evolutionary step that will follow man.

However, F. Nietzsche noted that superhumans are already among us, moreover, they were born a long time ago. He included Julius Caesar, C. Borgia, and Napoleon into this category.

Psychological trauma

Everyone, regardless of their will and desires, can become a victim of psychological trauma. According to research, the vast majority of people experience some kind of terrible event at least once during their lives.

Such as an accident, serious illness or sudden death of a loved one. Traumatic events are always unwanted and unexpected . They occur against will and effort, and a person cannot protect himself from them. However, there are methods that help combat their consequences.

about the author

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher, thinker, philologist, poet, and composer. In addition, he is known to the world as the creator of an original philosophical movement.

If we look at the leitmotif of Nietzsche’s works, we will note his new criteria for assessing the entire surrounding reality. He questioned all the principles and forms of morality, culture, art, and social relations existing in his era.

His most famous works are “Thus Spake Zarathustra”, “Beyond Good and Evil”, “Twilight of the Idols”, “Antichrist”, Ecce Homo.

Opening liberates and strengthens

The results of a study conducted in 10 countries on four continents, published in July 2022, indicate cross-cultural differences. Which influence what factors contribute to post-traumatic growth.

But one thing is universal: the importance of disclosing your thoughts and feelings about trauma.

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In all 10 countries, respondents who told others about their trauma had higher levels of post-traumatic growth and lower levels of post-traumatic attenuation. This allowed them to better understand their emotions. See a traumatic event in a new light or figure out what happened in their minds.

It is important that a person knows how to listen carefully and with understanding to someone who is suffering from psychological trauma. This does not have to be a professional, i.e. psychologist or therapist.

This could be, for example, someone who has been in a similar situation themselves. Or, through his wisdom and experience , he can understand the story he is listening to. And refrain from advice and naive consolation.

Telling someone who actually listens is not only a source of emotional support. But also the opportunity to organize your thoughts. Name what the person feels. And, above all, to give the experience a coherent narrative.

The consequence of trauma does not have to be the replacement of positive beliefs with negative ones. For example, a certain realism and, thus, strengthening of positive thinking patterns.

This could be presented in such a way that people can be trusted. Not a lack of trust, but a belief that many people can and should be trusted.

It also happens that the experience of trauma provides information that reinforces previous positive beliefs. The Center for Trauma and Life Crisis Research has conducted several hundred interviews with traumatized people.

Many of them responded that the way they dealt with the problem showed them that they were much stronger than they thought .

Nietzsche and aphorism

It is no secret that the thinker’s teachings are divided into quotes. The reason is that, being a philologist by training, Nietzsche paid great attention to the style of presentation of his thoughts and views. They are not presented in a coherent system, but act as aphorisms - a laconic short statement, a fully completed thought. In this phrase, the author tries to maximally concentrate the essence of his judgments and reflect the context of the expression.

Of course, Nietzsche did not choose this style of presentation in order to become famous for quoting his words. He spent a lot of time on long walks, and it was also difficult for him to sit for a long time over notes - the thinker began to experience severe pain in his eyes. This is in particular why he chose such a short and succinct form of narration and reasoning.

The negative meaning of the aphorism

Every person wants to become stronger and learn to overcome even the greatest difficulties. At first glance, it seems that such a character will only bring benefit to its owner and help him achieve more. But it is believed that with such strength a person becomes more callous, incapable of pity. He always looks at people who cannot achieve the same results in the fight against failure, and perceives them as weak and not equal to him. Of course, not everyone becomes more cynical, however, hardening implies a hardening of character.

Also, this aphorism can be misunderstood by people and used for other purposes. After all, you can simply decide: since everything that does not kill us makes us stronger, why pay attention to the problem at all? You can ignore all difficulties, since they do not pose any danger. This attitude leads to indifference and accumulation of problems.

How to understand the phrase?

Each of us is free to look for our own meaning in the phrase “What does not kill us makes us stronger.” But still, let's see how other people understand it:

“You don’t need to be afraid of difficulties and trials, or “sour” if failure occurs. We need all this to strengthen our character.”
“You can’t try to avoid problems, you shouldn’t be afraid to face them. Only then, having overcome them, will we gain invaluable life experience.”
“If you feel bad now, it’s temporary. You will definitely pass through the test, transformed, becoming stronger.”
“To understand something, to achieve something, you need to overcome obstacles, disappointments, pain. Only this will make you a spiritually strong person.”
“A person needs a negative experience in order to understand and rethink something. Only personal experience of any difficulty can leave an imprint on personality, character, and worldview.”
“There are difficulties and obstacles that can crush a person morally - the death of a loved one, the loss of everything that was treasured, the collapse of one’s ideals, faith, love. But, if he copes with himself, finds the strength to move on, live and rejoice, this will be his victory. He became strong."

Author information

Friedrich Nietzsche was not only a philosopher, but also a writer. All his works were autobiographical, they talked about emotional experiences and the search for oneself. In order to fully understand the statements of this German philosopher, a person will need a lot of time and patience. But the result will help him understand the meaning of such a famous saying of Nietzsche as “what does not kill us makes us stronger”

Is Nietzsche wrong?

Not everyone echoes the author “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” Here's how people explain their disagreement with the quote:

“The more difficulties a person experiences, the more indifferent and callous he becomes. But is it stronger?
“When a person encounters something that can kill him, spiritually or physically, he needs to become cruel in order to defeat it, not to allow himself to be overcome. So it’s more correct to say: what doesn’t kill us makes us cruel.”
“Not all the difficulties and troubles that a person encounters will necessarily make him strong. Something will deprive him of faith in people, kindness, gullibility, faith in a happy future. And some difficulties can actually drive you crazy.”
“Constantly repeating troubles lead to neuroses, fears, depression, phobias. They make a person more embittered, more desperate, but hardly stronger.”
“The phrase applies only to mental trials. A person will not be made stronger by a cancerous tumor that he managed to overcome, or by a serious injury that crippled his health but did not kill him.”
“From this phrase it follows that everyone will someday encounter a test that they cannot cope with, and it will kill them. Not a very optimistic quote."

Why does what doesn't kill us make us stronger?

Those who have actually experienced serious shocks or problems know how difficult it is to cope with them. Being under severe stress, a person experiences serious psychological stress, and sometimes there is nothing left but to give up and withdraw into oneself. Meanwhile, the problems do not disappear; they only get worse due to inaction.

But if a person firmly told himself: “Everything that does not kill us makes us stronger,” and decided to take control of the situation, he is able to radically change his future life and thinking.

Finding new ways to correct everything that has fallen on his shoulders, a person overcomes internal boundaries and destroys previous attitudes. What seemed incredible became quite real and achievable. When the negative consequences of events are eliminated, he will think differently. Because his ideas about his capabilities have changed, which means that the next problems will not seem so global compared to what he has already experienced. Thus, difficulty will make us stronger. That it will not kill us, despite how terrible it seemed, will open a second wind, change our views on the world.

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger?

The authority of Friedrich Nietzsche, as well as the words of his authorship, are so convincing that many take what he said on faith. And they continue to live by the principle: the more difficulties I go through, the stronger I will be as a person. But is it?

Surely you will be interested in an interesting study conducted by a team of scientists from the University of California (USA) led by S. Charles. Experts, of course, did not try to check exactly the relevance of the brilliant phrase “What does not kill us makes us stronger,” but decided to prove the fact that negative experience does not lead to good consequences.

In 1995, psychologist D. Almeida (USA, Pennsylvania) conducted an extensive survey in which 1,483 respondents of different ages, men and women, took part. They were asked to rate on a 5-point scale (from “never” to “always”) how often over the past month they experienced negative states: they felt unhappy, useless, nervous. People also had to note how many times they felt depressed, the feeling that nothing was working out, that the whole world was against them.

In another part of the test, the respondent noted whether he was stressed the day before participating in the survey. The last part of the questionnaire included questions about whether the participant had ever been treated for emotional disorders, prolonged depression, etc.

Ten years later, D. Almeida again tried to contact the respondents. However, some were no longer alive by that time, and some did not want to take the survey again. As a result, 711 people passed the second test. The questions in the questionnaire were the same.

A group of scientists led by S. Charles analyzed the results of D. Almeida's research. What this activity showed fundamentally negated the phrase “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger!” It turns out that the more often a person ten years ago felt unwanted, abandoned, useless, fell into depression and was in stressful situations, the more likely it is that he currently has a serious mental disorder.

Of course, this tendency is individual. Some people are strengthened by difficulties, while others are destroyed morally. But one cannot deny the fact that life’s troubles, weak or strong, can not only strengthen the psyche, but also greatly weaken it. Therefore, Nietzsche’s phrase “What does not kill us makes us stronger” is not relevant for everyone.

What is meant by the word "kills"

Each person has his own understanding of the difficulties in life, despite the fact that it is generally accepted that a problem is only considered real if it threatens a person’s life and health. Otherwise, you can call it a life turmoil or a nuisance. But all people are different, they have their own unique characters. Some people are able to survive huge shocks and still maintain composure. And some fall into a stupor and panic from things that others will not cause such a violent reaction. Doesn't mean they are dumber or smarter. This speaks more of a tempered character.

Therefore, when you hear the saying “what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger,” don’t take the words about death too literally. Perhaps there is no real danger from the situation for you, but you perceive it as something that can disrupt your plans or ruin your life.

On the other hand, the expression may also mean that death is the only thing that can break you and your fortitude. All other bad and difficult events that happen in your life are just a reason to become even bolder and achieve more.

Other quotes from the author

We will present to you the lesser-known aphorisms of Friedrich Nietzsche, but just as interesting, inspiring and meaningful:

“Superficial people always lie. After all, they are devoid of any content.”
“I don’t understand, why slander? If you want to annoy someone, tell some truth about him.”
“Winners don’t believe in coincidences.”
“The herd is not attractive in any way. Even if it follows you."
“He who is poor in love will be stingy even with politeness.”
“A good marriage is built on friendship and talent.”
“Duty is the right of others to us.”
“There is a danger of being hit by a carriage for a person who has jumped out from under another carriage.”
“A man is what he has overcome.”
“Excessiveness is the best guarantee of success.”

So we got to know both the phrase itself and its author better. Although it is not known in the deep sense that Nietzsche put into it, the quote is very widespread and causes a lot of controversy and reasoning.

Why it might not work for some people

You cannot take a quote, even from a famous philosopher, as a truism that would be close to everyone. It would be wrong to say that emotional shock makes every person stronger. What doesn’t kill us can lead us not to gaining iron willpower, but to enormous stress that will haunt us for a long time. It all depends on the character of the person and the sensitivity with which he approaches problems. This does not mean that he is weak and helpless, but the body is designed in such a way that some people can get injured after a huge load on the nervous system. Therefore, if you are experiencing serious emotional distress, do not rely only on the fact that what does not kill us makes us stronger, but seek help. Otherwise, difficult times will not strengthen you, but will threaten you with a nervous breakdown.

Life's challenges really make you stronger

Study participants reported negative events throughout their lives; They also recorded some mental health indicators.

Other studies have found that life's challenges have a negative impact on mental health and well-being.

2389 people participated in this study. Scientists have found that people who have experienced adverse life events have better mental health and well-being than those who have not experienced them .

“We analyzed the impact of adverse events on indicators such as general mental exhaustion, functional impairment, post-traumatic stress, and life satisfaction. Previous research suggests that adverse life events have a direct negative impact on measures of mental well-being. However, we were able to find a U-shaped relationship, that is, people who have endured a large number of life adversities, as well as people who have not experienced them at all, have good indicators of mental health and life satisfaction ,” explains the study’s lead author Mark Seery (University at Buffalo , USA).

They also found that people who had previously faced life challenges were better able to cope with recent adverse events than others.

Although it is impossible to establish a cause-and-effect relationship, the study authors suggest that, to some extent, life's challenges teach us how to maintain and restore mental balance.

“Although we only looked at major life experiences, such as the loss of a loved one, it is likely that less tragic events also contribute to the development of mental resilience,” adds Mark Seery.

Based on materials from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Prepared by Anastasia Maltseva. Source: Medlinks.ru

PS The material was recommended for publication by Olga Tutina (a regular reader of the blog and participant in the distance training “AntiBoredom”). By publishing research results on the blog, I hope that it will help many people to accept and overcome life's challenges with dignity. Everything passes. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Thank you Olga!

Sincerely, Dmitry Poslavsky.

What doesn't kill us?

It is extremely important in the love of philosophy to find meaning not in the authorship of the thought, because the thought itself, the reasons and circumstances and its author are unnecessary noise that does not allow us to evaluate the thought itself without context.

Actually, this is why I am least interested in the origin of the thought, and therefore I can easily enjoy the thought of a madman if the words are interpreted by me as magnificent.

I don’t like Facebook, I don’t read it, but recently I accidentally came across a passage that, like an elephant trying to clean up a china shop, caused me some irritation (once again proving that Facebook is not a place for philosophical conversations).

“Everything that doesn’t kill me makes me stronger!” - that’s what Nietzsche said, then he went crazy, and then he died. Because these are beautiful words, but they are not true. Everything that does not kill us immediately kills us little by little, imperceptibly. Kills our kindness and gullibility. Tenderness and sincerity. Openness, generosity, clear eyes and a soft heart... Everything that doesn’t kill me just doesn’t kill me right away. But does it make you stronger or more insensitive?

The authorship of these words was not indicated, but later I found that they belonged to Kiryanova, Anna Valentinovna.

I don’t like to find fault with words, but excuse me, when they belong to a writer, and as she writes about herself to a philosopher, I am slightly indignant at such a frivolous misinterpretation of them. Misrepresentations that change their essence. And the context in which they are presented radically changes their connotation, although it helps the author to deceive the reader and make him believe in the truth of his words.

1. Nietzsche wrote: “What does not kill us makes us stronger.” Tell me, is there a difference between ALL and THAT? Can we say that a small difference between something specific and everything in principle is a huge difference that radically changes the meaning? Sorry for me, but yes.

2. “He said, he went crazy and died” - what is this even about? A brief history of Nietzsche's life, which should explain to the reader that these are the thoughts of a madman on the verge of death? Thus proving that they are false and the power of the author’s thoughts significantly exceeds them in depth and meaning?

But this is pure manipulation, despite the fact that deception in the first lines can somehow pass for ignorance.

But that's not the point.

Nietzsche expressed the meaning of the law of evolution extremely succinctly: “the survival of the fittest.”

Moreover, if he survives, he does not survive just a little and not half. Not because I was a little wounded, and not because I lost my kindness, trustfulness, openness and generosity. But because he surpassed his opponent in strength, dexterity and intelligence. And here it doesn’t matter what tricks and tricks he had to resort to. In life there is no bench or second half. You must either follow the path further, or give way to the strongest - this is a dry, harsh and fair law of evolution.

Another thing is that there is a problem in the formula derived by Nietzsche. But she is of a different nature.

How have we been taught to understand Nietzsche’s words: “What does not kill us makes us stronger”?

So, if we managed to survive trouble, war, conflict, catastrophe, tragedy or any other trouble, we have grown above ourselves.

And this is where the problem lies. The sizes are about the same as confusing “that” and “everything”.

Tell me: how, or how much do we grow above ourselves after surviving a collision with a car?

How much stronger have we become if our spine is broken and we are forever tied to a bed?

We survived, right? - Yes

Have you grown up? — For some reason, it seems to me that: No.

It makes no sense to say that the great German philosopher did not see (or did not show) the difference between “survive” and “win.”

Most likely, in his matrix of conclusions, this nuance could simply slip away as insignificant in the context of his work.

But it is very important for us to know and remember that there is an abyss between “Survive” and “Win.”

That you won’t be able to solve a problem by avoiding it, fencing yourself off from it, surviving it, bypassing it.

The problem can be solved if we emerge victorious from the battle with it.

And so it is in almost everything.

We can say that every day we live conquering death. Death is on our heels and our whole life, in a philosophical sense, is a fight with it, since it is an invincible enemy and all our progress is largely connected with how far we have been able to advance in the search for an opportunity to defeat it.

But of course there is another way.

We may not go to war against the problem, we can run away, hide, ultimately adapt to the problem and move on with our lives, but...

Life is not the reason for our meaningful choice and the motto in it cannot be chosen by us; it is governed by other laws - the laws of evolution, which are much more pragmatic and cruel.

Therefore, the condition that life sets before us sounds short and harsh: “Win or die!”

At the same time, we can preserve the attributes of our humanity: kindness and trustfulness, tenderness and sincerity, openness and generosity only if they do not become our weakness.

And here is just the place for a series of truly scary questions:

Does the person in us die when our animal self wins?

Is the resulting victory worth the price we are willing to pay for it or have already paid?

Is this the process for which we actually live?

What dies in us when we win?

Does this method always work?

Telling others about your experience can also have risks, including increasing stress.

This is evidenced by the results of studies of the method that was used in crisis intervention. Typically consisting of a group reconstruction of a traumatic event shortly after it occurs.

It is now believed that the positive effects of revealing experiences to others, in the form of a story. Especially when the recognition occurs no earlier than a few weeks after the event.

And they consist not so much in recreating what happened, but in analyzing its significance for the life of the affected person. Everything that does not kill us makes us stronger: everything that destroys a person and helps him to be stronger.

Telling others about your experiences promotes post-traumatic growth. Especially in the case of people who are more reflective and have a better understanding of their mental state.

Such people not only know how to name them correctly, but also do not shy away from complex thoughts.

The positive importance of constantly rethinking what happened is emphasized. And what significance it can have (so-called reflections).

Thinking about difficult things is unpleasant, but over time they can lead to positive effects. Including accepting what happened and finding new meaning and purpose in life.

When a person faces trauma and its consequences, there is not a passive, positive expectation that everything will be fine. And hope based on two interrelated beliefs: the power of human will and the ability to find solutions.