It’s imperative to get back up when we fall. It’s also imperative to fall in the first place; falling is a fundamental indication of ambition, of something worthwhile. If you are not falling, if you find that you’re the smartest person in most of the rooms you occupy, ask yourself why. Are you looking forward instead of up?

If we are failing often, perhaps we have positioned ourselves within the unknown, if we are winning often perhaps we have positioned ourselves within the known

Are you focusing on what’s right in front of you instead of the stars? Are you coddling yourself within what you know rather than what you don’t. Humans throughout history looked up into the stars for answers, they endeavoured towards the unknown. The below image is the Flammarion Engraving, so called as it’s first known appearance is in Camille Flammarion’s 1888 book L’atmosphere (3). It seems to be a more complex representation of the Taoist Yin Yang symbol which represents the relationship between chaos and order, the known and the unknown.

The left symbolises all that we do not know and what better way to represent that than space, whereas the right symbolises the known, here on Earth. The man represents the optimal position for us humans to occupy; his feet are planted within the known keeping him stable whereas his head is within the unknown with a hand reaching forward towards it. We must be aware of all that we know and use it to reach forward towards what we don’t. Staying within the known persistently leads to an aversion to the unknown, a fear of ambition. Staying within the unknown leads to chaos, running without direction. We can tell when we are optimally positioned when we enter flow states, when everything external fades and the task in hand is all that we can see. We can tell when we are optimally positioned when we fail whilst making progress. If we are failing too often, perhaps we have positioned ourselves within the unknown, if we are winning too often perhaps we have positioned ourselves within the known. Fail occasionally and winning will follow.

Keep On Struggling,

Gregor

Album I Loved - Dead Club City by Nothing But Thieves

Last week, I recommended the song City Haunts from this album and now I can recommend the whole album it’s from: Dead Club City. From start to finish, this album is brilliant. A particular favourite is Overcome, which brings Don Henley’s Boys of Summer to mind.

My Favourite Album Of The Year So Far - Unreal Unearth by Hozier

As much as I loved Dead Club City, this album from Hozier was incredible, each song better than the last, bringing emotional and poetic lyrics and warm instrumentals.

Your Struggle Short For The Week

Watch here

Quote to Ponder

Whenever I am trying to decide whether to accept an invitation, I just pretend it is going to happen tomorrow morning. It is easy to say yes to something happening six months from now, but it has to be super fantastic to get me to go tomorrow morning - Kevin Kelly

References

1) Image Credit - RawPixel

2) Flammarion Engraving Image - Wikipedia

3) Wikipedia - Flammarion Engraving Image

4) Nothing But Thieves Image - Amazon

5) Hozier Image - Wall Street Journal