Crawl to Fly

“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” – Nietzsche

This quote is an interesting concept, which I think is important to consider in human pursuit. To often we want to be really good at something before we will try or even attempt. We want to be awesome at it, and if we are not, we give up easily. In careful consideration, I think this comes out of a desire to be perfect, or what is called as perfectionism. The root emotion that causes this is fear.

When you have this desire to be perfect at something before you will even start, you must realize that you are rooted in a primal emotion. Fear is a very real and constant force in our life. We were designed to have a constant flow of impulses to our brain, and fear is one of those that are imperative for survival. Except for the fact, that rarely, in modern society are we impacted by anything serious or deadly in our environment. I realize that I am living in a part of the world where this is true, there are certainly areas of the world where legitimate fear for survival is part of everyday existence. However, I am going to assume for a moment that anyone that is reading this blog on a digital device, with a connection to the Internet, is somewhat free from deadly creatures or things that might maim or kill you.

I think we would be surprised at just how much we are motivated by this primal feeling of fear. In fact, it is probably out of control for us in many instances. It is completely unnecessary for us to have fear of failure or fear of what could happen. Just admit it, you are not a perfectionist, you are afraid. You will work yourself to exhaustion, or worry yourself to exhaustion in hopes that you will somehow feel worthy. You base your self worth on the external accomplishments that you seen in others. You feel like you have something to prove, because you have not achieved what they have. This leads to self hate, guilt, and you beat yourself up every time you try something and it does not come out looking like ‘it is supposed to.’

So the reason you want to fly into flying is because of this sense of perfectionism, or in reality, fear of failure. You want to know you can fly before you learn to fly. When expressed like this, it sounds ridiculous. Of course you must learn to crawl, walk, run before you can fly. However, in daily life, we do this all the time. We forget that it is ok to learn some steps before we try what we feel is what we should be capable of. We start to dribble the basketball, and because we do not look like Michael Jordan the first time, we throw the ball down with disgust and say, I am never going to be good at this. To afraid to admit that you need to start small? To afraid that you will not achieve the results you believe others want? Well, you better love paralysis because that is exactly where you are headed.

So in essence, Nietzsche was right. We must learn the next step in our progress and not simply achieve the final step just because we want to.

Guy Reams

0 Comments

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Share the Post:

Recent Blogs

Day 331 – Are You in Control?

Humans have a unique ability to cope with uncertainty by creating an illusion of control, often attributing cause and effect to unrelated actions. This phenomenon, explored through examples like superstitions and personal anecdotes, suggests that while we may not have complete control over our environments, our brains are wired to find patterns and connections, even if they are not always accurate. This ability to fool ourselves into believing we have more control than we do can be beneficial, but it’s important to differentiate between actual impact and coincidental association.

Day 330 – Cognitive Magic Pills

The article discusses the phenomenon of “cognitive magic pills,” which are alluring solutions to problems often peddled on social media. It uses the example of cortisol being rebranded as the “stress hormone” to illustrate how these concepts gain credibility and lead people to believe in quick fixes for complex issues. The author encourages readers to be critical of such trends and to focus on understanding their own bodies and minds rather than seeking easy solutions.

Day 329 – Art is Capturing the Form

The author explores the concept of art through the lens of form and function, using two tape measures as an analogy. They then delve into Charles Ross’s Star Axis project, which aims to capture the journey of the North Star, suggesting it as a powerful example of art capturing form and connecting humanity across time.

Day 328 – Would You Trust Your Brain?

The author explores the idea of copying a human brain into an AI and questions the trustworthiness of such an AI, highlighting human biases and limitations. The piece argues that AI excels in repetitive tasks and factual recall but will never truly think like a human. It also delves into the author’s personal frustration with an AI agent, revealing that the frustration stemmed from their own inadequacy and unwillingness to plan, rather than the AI’s limitations. The author concludes by suggesting that AI’s “flaws” often reflect human tendencies and a lack of clarity in communication.