Know Thyself—Even When You Don't Want To

There’s a verse I keep returning to—one I first read in The Art of War. You’ve probably heard it:
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
But the part that haunts me comes after:
“If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

I’ve read that sentence aloud to myself more t…