"I have the true feeling of myself only when I am unbearably unhappy"

This quote by Franz Kafka speaks with the concept that real self-awareness and understanding can only be accomplished through suffering. He recommends that it is just when we remain in a state of extreme misery that we can genuinely comprehend ourselves. This could be interpreted as a caution versus complacency and a tip to require time to assess our lives and our feelings. It could also be seen as a pointer to appreciate the good times, as it is just through the hard times that we can genuinely comprehend ourselves. Kafka's quote is a suggestion that life is a balance of highs and lows, which it is just through the lows that we can really understand ourselves.