Coming Forward

Times are changing. The direction towards social status isn't.

Piotr Arendzikowski, Grunwald 1410, 2016, digital art

The posts have been geopolitically heavy lately for mainly personal reasons. Ironically, despite being disinterested in politics. And for the same reasons. Realizing the system was fake and terminal always limited the appeal of the rah ree show. But actually witnessing all the inevitabilities actually happening in real time is priceless. How can any observer not track the end of an age? At the same time, this sub does have different themes. Convenient then that this fascinating autarkic declowning also makes organic socialization more valuable. Clown ideology and credentialism have warped advancement in a lot of areas. Decoupled “career” from talent, competence, and work ethic. Anything more production-focused is by definition more materially real. It has to be. [Producing things] being the tell. And socialization in the material real is more in line with natural human behavior.

So a high-status pattern that can be life changing for the dissatisfied. And useful for anyone in uncertain or changing times.

Come forward, especially when under duress of just about any kind

Personal anecdote. Sometimes insight comes from your own experience. It’s a hard truth that preconscious imprinting is almost impossible to change. But self-awareness identifies unhelpful impulses and allows them to be managed. A big one for me is a mildly pathological reaction to being blocked or prevented from doing what I consider important. It’s not over until you say it is as life motto. The managing part is curbing irrational aggression where inappropriate. And the insight is the practical value of not giving up. Or, when emotionally disciplined, coming forward.

Disciplined doesn’t mean rigid. It means clear purpose that guides actions in the moment. “Forward” is a directional word. It implies movement from one place towards another. Which implies going somewhere. Challenging situations come in all shapes and sizes. Everyone’s milage varies. What is consistent are the two most common responses in a crisis - freeze or flail. Neither is productive. Athletes and fighters know you’re on offense or defense. Indecision kills. Life is similar, just more abstract and hard to see. The House of Lies makes it easy to feel like treading water is possible. The boomer vision of “making it” then enjoying endless summer. Except entropy is real. There is no treading water. It’s slowly losing ground to time. Like Floyd’s Dogs or Time. Look at the boomer legacy…

Defense or offense. [Biding time, just taking it, outright losing, etc.] or [coming forward]. The difference is profound. Psychologically, there’s a 180 swing from punching bag to self-empowered. There was an earlier sub on three goal ranges - synching short, medium, and long term planning. This builds on that by internalizing the motivational attitude that moves them along. Obviously be realistic. But simply refusing to accept failure has led to my biggest successes. When coming forward is reflexive, even ghastly setbacks are just a new obstacle to have to power through or around. It becomes inexorable, like water getting downhill.

Jeffrey Hummel, Sisyphos, photo art

The related issue is momentum. We all know what it feels like in life when the wind is at your back. Hail Marys are real, but they’re also rare, which is why they’re so memorable. In most cases, momentum is the precursor to winning. Same with life. Strategically, getting off the defensive - gaining momentum - is imperative. Sometimes there’s a deft reversal. More often tanking damage and gradually firing back. Because unlike sports, when life is on offense, there’s no obvious opponent. It’s cascading crises. Seemingly unrelated things going wrong at the worst times. The dark synergy of a life attack can be scary. And fear saps the ability to think clearly at any level. It really is the mind killer.

Perhaps this cycle rings familiar…¹

… when the furnace or transmission goes.

Sometimes it’s a negative vortex of personal setbacks. Getting dumped, evicted, and losing a job that next year depended on at once. Often it’s a mix of both. Mental health or family issues resurface for those so afflicted. It’s when a lot of people cave, compromise, or give up in some way.

Fighters that get rocked or teams that get blown out early only have one option other than lose. Get the offensive movement back. Regain momentum. IRL, that means take initiative somehow. Do something. Can’t be more specific without specifics, but knock something down. Solve one problem. If it’s unsolvable, figure out how to get out of its influence so it stops being a stressor. Or take the hit, fail faster, and start the rebuild. Anything that reverses direction. No matter how trivial. If the problem is ennui from the contemporary cultureof uselessness, do something not useless. Learn something. Get in the habit of productive, cumulative behavior. No matter what the offensive, turn the tide by doing whatever it takes to come forward into it.

Edwin Austin Abbey, The Golden Tree (Sir Galahad receiving the Holy Grail and ascending to heaven), from the Abbey Room Murals: The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail, 1893-1902, Boston Public Library

A few things happen. Success - even small - is empowering. It counters some of the psychological impacts of constant fear. That counters the House of Lies at the emotional root. It also restores hope. Which is a traditional virtue for a reason. Resolving a problem … resolves a problem. The cascade is objectively smaller than it was. And they’re synergistic. The same cascading feeling of overload means dealing with one can unexpectedly help another.

Bigger picture, doing something purposeful changes your position in the game, whatever it may be. When everything is blowing up, it can seem like there’s no where to find traction. Continue the spatial-directional metaphor. If that’s the case, get out of the vulnerable position. Coming forward changes relative location. New perspectives open up. Will open up if you keep coming. Because if losing is certain where you are, the worst response is to keep everything the same.

If circumstances are really unfavorable for any reason - everyone’s scale is different - the truth of this response is mathematical. It’s not [don’t be afraid to shake up a hopeless situation}. It’s [if the situation is hopeless, there’s no choice]. If you’re self-aware, be willing to bet on yourself. Sometimes it takes some lucky breaks. But you can’t you can’t get lucky if you’re not playing. And possibilities always open from inside that aren’t visible outside. As Lord Mhoram said “discover a way”. If there isn’t one handy from the fetal position, standing up has a much better vantage point.

In life, parameterize success. Define what is needed to realistically deliver an acceptable life. Realistic. Nothing wrong with taking a shot at a dream, but an attainable one. And keep that in focus. Work the steps backwards starting out to see what’s possible, and what’s going to be needed. Then stay on the path. Regardless of delays and setbacks. That way when things look bleak, you always have a heading. And coming forward is a lot easier if you know where you’re going.

David Wright, Gateway to the West: Daniel Boone Leading the Settlers Through the Cumberland Gap, 1775, 2014, giclee print

1. William Blake, Job and his family returned to prosperity, from The Book of Job (Linnell Set), pen and ink with watercolor over graphite 1821, National Gallery of Art, Washington; Johan Coenraad Hermann Heyenbrock, Brass Casting, 1914, oil on canvas, Grohmann Museum, Milwaukee School of Engineering; Frederick Morgan, A Father’s Return, before 1927, oil on canvas, private collection