Live Boldly So You May Prosper

As I have gotten older my interest in Austrian psychologist Carl Jung and his associated theories have taken on more importance for me. The more I read him, or probably more accurately, others’ writings about him since his works are very challenging to absorb, the more his points of view make so much sense to me. Jung has some very powerful statements that can serve as guideposts to life. Some of his more notable ones are:

1. Don’t hold on to someone who’s leaving, otherwise you won’t meet the one who’s coming.
2. Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
3. If you are a gifted person, it doesn’t mean that you gained something. It means you have something to give back.
4. The heaviest burden for a child is the unlived lives of its parents.
5. Everything about other people that don’t satisfy us helps us to better understand ourselves.
6. Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
7. Loneliness does not come from having any people around, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.
8. Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you.
9. We reach for the past to our parents and for our children in the future, whom we will never see but whom we want to take care of.
10. What you resist, persists.
11. Depression is like a woman in black. If she turns up, don’t shoo her away. Invite her in, offer her a seat, treat her like a guest and listen to what she wants to say.
12. Quite often, the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.
13. A dream is a small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens up to that primeval cosmic night that was the soul, long before there was the conscious ego.I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.
14. We may think that we fully control ourselves. However, a friend can easily reveal something about us that we have absolutely no idea about.
15. Our personalities are part of the world around us, and their mystery is also boundless.

According to Jung we can learn so much about ourselves from those feelings and stirrings that are at the unconscious level by doing what we can to bring them into our consciousness. This means paying close attention to our dreams as they are the language of the subconscious and have no constraints related to space and time. We also need to pay attention to what we are resisting in life because the more we push back against something the more power it can have over us and it’s critical to know why we are avoiding what we’re resisting. In addition, we can learn a lot about our instantaneous reactions that others can trigger in us and ask ourselves what these reactions are saying about our own personality defects. 

And when we are feeling anxiety and the associated physical ramifications of this, this too is our subconscious wanting to get our attention that something needs to be addressed. In other words, the most important things we need to focus on in our lives often don’t come to us via the intellect as our ego can influence our minds to justify, rationalize, and avoid. Rather, by paying attention to our bodies and the pain and discomfort we feel and the symbols and signs we come across in life, as well as our dreams, this is where the true insights lie. The treasure is often buried deep below the surface and it is usually guarded by dragons that must be slayed to get to it.

As Peter Gabriel sings, “I’m digging in the dirt, to find the places I got hurt.”Click To TweetAlbert Einstein, one of history’s greatest scientific minds, said that all of his major insights and scientific breakthroughs came from his intuition and never from his rational mind.

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” —Albert EinsteinClick To Tweet

And if you don’t think that intuition and the subconscious can play an important role in making sound investment decisions, then pay attention to what legendary trader George Soros had to say in his book Soros on Soros:

I rely a great deal on animal instincts. When I was actively running the fund, I suffered from backache. I used the onset of acute pain as a signal that there was something wrong in my portfolio. The backache didn’t tell me what was wrong—you know, lower back for short positions, left shoulder for currencies—but it did prompt me to look …

I recently read a book that I enjoyed very much called A Life of Meaning by James Hollis, a very well regarded Jungian analyst. Relatively early in the book he discusses fear and how destructive and soul crushing it can be. He cites a Jung quote that he believes is so powerful and important that everyone should commit it to writing and memory and do our best to always keep it in our consciousness. It goes as follows.

'The spirit of evil is negation of the life force by fear. Only boldness can deliver us from fear. If the risk is not taken, the meaning of life is somehow violated and the whole future is condemned to hopeless staleness.'Click To Tweet

Technically in the book Hollis only cited the quote as follows. 

The parts I added above were from another person using the same quote. Although he was the only one I could find that quoted Jung in this way, I felt like his addition made it even more powerful because he tells us what the consequence is of the meaning of life being violated, which is hopeless staleness, or being perpetually stuck. This is a terrible place to be.

As I reflected upon my life I realized how much of what Jung wrote and said resonated with me and has proven to be true. Every major life changing move that I have made that has exponentially grown my financial well being, health, relationships, and formative experiences that have given me great joy were almost always bold leaps that were taken in spite of feeling fearful. As Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have said over and over, it doesn’t take many decisions implemented successfully to dramatically improve the outcomes in one’s life. But when the odds are strongly in one’s favor then courage, decisiveness, and action are necessary to take advantage of them.

After reading Jung’s quote and reflecting on it I started thinking more deeply about boldness and what are the characteristics of a bold person. I decided to turn to one of the many A.I. assistants and ask the question: What are the characteristics of boldness? This is what came back and to me was quite a satisfactory answer.

Boldness refers to the quality of being brave, confident, and willing to take risks. Some key characteristics associated with boldness include:

Courage: Bold individuals are not afraid to face challenges or difficult situations. They have the courage to take actions that others might find daunting or intimidating.

Confidence: Bold people have a strong belief in themselves and their abilities. They are self-assured and do not shy away from expressing their opinions or standing up for what they believe in.

Risk-taking: Boldness often involves a willingness to take calculated risks. Bold individuals are not paralyzed by fear of failure or uncertainty; instead, they are willing to step out of their comfort zones and embrace new opportunities or challenges.

Assertiveness: Bold people are often assertive in their communication and actions. They are not afraid to speak up, make their presence known, and advocate for their goals or beliefs.

Decisiveness: Boldness is associated with the ability to make decisions quickly and with conviction. Bold individuals do not hesitate or second-guess themselves excessively; they trust their judgment and act decisively.

Resilience: Bold individuals tend to be resilient in the face of setbacks or obstacles. They have the determination and perseverance to bounce back from failures or challenges and keep pushing forward.

Authenticity: Boldness often involves being true to oneself and embracing one’s unique qualities or perspectives. Bold people are not afraid to be authentic and stand out from the crowd.

It’s important to note that boldness should be balanced with wisdom and consideration for others. Reckless or thoughtless behavior is not true boldness. Boldness is about having the courage to take calculated risks, express oneself authentically, and pursue one’s goals with confidence and determination.

What a powerful prism through which to judge one’s actions and live one’s life. I now see why Jung said that “only boldness can deliver us from fear.”  I wanted further clarification of what it means to be delivered from fear so I went back to Claude.ai and asked what this expression meant. Here is the part of the answer that most resonated with me.

So in essence, the phrase expresses a desire to be emancipated from the constraining, distressing and inhibiting effects of fear in one’s life – whether those fears are psychological, physical, spiritual or existential in nature. It represents attaining a state of freedom, security and peace of mind.

Putting all of this together I believe that what Jung was saying is that if we truly want to live and feel that powerful sense of aliveness then we have to figure out how to live a fearless life. This doesn’t mean we don’t experience fear, it’s just that through bold action we not only act in spite of our fear, but as we exercise that muscle more and more then we can evolve towards our emancipation from fear and allow us to attain a state of freedom, security, and peace of mind.

Mr. Spock from Star Trek made famous the Vulcan greeting “Live long and prosper.” (although it’s true derivation is from Judaism), I’m now inclined to alter it to: 

“Live boldly so you may prosper.”

Next week I intend to tie boldness to some interesting tennis statistics that I also believe can shine an interesting light on boldness and success.