That which does not kill you can still hurt

I've always been annoyed with the phrase "that which does not kill us makes us stronger" or similar. That simply isn't true. For example, consider being punched repeatedly in the face. This normally does not kill you, but does leave you in a considerably weakened state. I suppose that this is meant to refer to things like catching measles where, if you don't die from the measles, then after you recover then you are immune to catching measles again and hence are in some sense stronger. But this doesn't seem like a general principle, but rather a particular situation. And there aren't all that many situations like that.

One case where this might apply has occurred to me recently. I cycle to work along a fairly busy road, on which there has been ongoing building work for ages now. The road used to be quite pleasant to cycle along, because although it was quite busy, it had wide shoulders, so I could cycle along in these and let the traffic whizz past me in the main lanes. But recently, they have narrowed the road to do something strange to it, leaving room for only two lanes of traffic, with no shoulders. The first day after this happened, I was cycling along to one side of the road as usual, when an enormous lorry came thundering past with a few inches to spare, causing me to wobble, and almost come off the road into the adjacent hillside. After recovering my poise, I shook my fist at the departing truck [Ed: actually, he stuck his finger up and shouted that the driver enjoyed sex without a partner].

So, since then I have been adopting a more aggressive mode of travel: instead of cycling along the side of the road, giving the impression that it is possible to pass me, I cycle along in the middle of the lane as if to say "Don't fuck with me". Then, if some idiot does try to overtake, I do at least have a larger safety margin. But still, when you are chugging along at 10mph, and there's an enormous truck breathing down on you, it's certainly an incentive to pick up the speed and get along to the section of road where it widens again and the hulk can safely pass. Hence, I've been really exercising myself along these parts (about a mile or so). The upshot being, that if I don't end up being mangled to death under an eighteen-wheeler, then I will end up being stronger. But only in this case, and not in all other situations.