The myths and folktales of the whole world make clear that the refusal is essentially a refusal to give up what one takes to be one's own interest. The future is regarded not in terms of an unremitting series of deaths and births, but as though one's own present system of ideals, virtues, goals, and advantages were to be fixed and made secure.

refusal of praise is only the wish to be praised twice.

If one rejects laissez faire on account of mans fallibility and moral weakness, one must for the same reason also reject every kind of government action.

The way back to yourself is through refusal and rejection.

Forbid Us Something and That Thing we Desire

To refuse to fight for love that is both free and responsible is in a sense to reject the possibility of love itself.

When you stubbornly give one man a chance, you arbitrarily deny it to another one.

Rejection exists for a reason — it’s a means to keep people apart who are not good for each other.

if you just suppress your desire, and you attempt to renounce the object of your desire, you are likely to be tied to it.

You couldn't have it if you DID want it.

The desire to avoid rejection at all costs, to avoid confrontation and conflict, the desire to attempt to accept everything equally and to make everything cohere and harmonize, is a deep and subtle form of entitlement. Entitled people, because they feel as though they deserve to feel great all the time, avoid rejecting anything because doing so might make them or someone else feel bad. And because they refuse to reject anything, they live a valueless, pleasure-driven, and self-absorbed life. All they give a fuck about is sustaining the high a little bit longer, to avoid the inevitable failures of their life, to pretend the suffering away.

O Conde recusou com indignação.
Realmente a exigência era curiosa.
Virem aquele homem e aquela mulher de Penafiel, com os hábitos, os modos, as figuras, a fala de dois trabalhadores de Penafiel, viver numa casa onde se recebia a fidalguia de Lisboa, os representantes dos Reis estrangeiros, a flor da literatura, a Maioria!
Absurdo! Se o Conde, como ele dizia, não fosse um homem público, poderia sacrificar-se a essa companhia plebeia. Mas, como Estadista, a presença na sua casa daquele pai de feição reles, a comer o arroz com a faca, a escabichar os dentes com as unhas, a perguntar à s senhoras então como vai essa bizarria? com o seu catarro, cuja expectoração perpétua era repulsiva, só serviria para diminuair a autoridade moral do Conde e o prestígio do seu talento. Em nome dos superiores interesses do Estado, devia repelir aquela proposta.

The point is this: we all must give a fuck about something, in order to value something. And to value something, we must reject what is not that something. To value X, we must reject non-X. That rejection is an inherent and necessary part of maintaining our values, and therefore our identity. We are defined by what we choose to reject. And if we reject nothing (perhaps in fear of being rejected by something ourselves), we essentially have no identity at all. The desire to avoid rejection at all costs, to avoid confrontation and conflict, the desire to attempt to accept everything equally and to make everything cohere and harmonize, is a deep and subtle form of entitlement. Entitled people, because they feel as though they deserve to feel great all the time, avoid rejecting anything because doing so might make them or someone else feel bad. And because they refuse to reject anything, they live a valueless, pleasure-driven, and self-absorbed life. All they give a fuck about is sustaining the high a little bit longer, to avoid the inevitable failures of their life, to pretend the suffering away. Rejection is an important and crucial life skill. Nobody wants to be stuck in a relationship that isn’t making them happy. Nobody wants to be stuck in a business doing work they hate and don’t believe in. Nobody wants to feel that they can’t say what they really mean. Yet people choose these things. All the time. Honesty is a natural human craving. But part of having honesty in our lives is becoming comfortable with saying and hearing the word “no.” In this way, rejection actually makes our relationships better and our emotional lives healthier.

In other words, any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term grown, health, or integrity. Or, expressed another way, any act that derives from our high nature instead of our lower. Any of these will elicit Resistance.