Establish Your Pursuit While You Are Young

March 25, 2020,

Is your dream taking longer than you thought to achieve?

No worries.

Most often that is simply a part of the process.

You are on a heroine’s journey. Don’t give up. It is simply part of the process.

It is your pursuit.

You’re only young once.

Do you need inspiration? It abounds everywhere.

We always love film.

fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, fcielitecompetitor.com, Netflix photo credit

The King is a 2019 historical drama film based on several plays from William Shakespeare‘s “Henriad” (Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II, and Henry V.). It is directed by David Michôd, written by Michôd and Joel Edgerton, and stars Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Lily-Rose Depp, Robert Pattinson, and Ben Mendelsohn.

The young ruler, highly influenced, perhaps beguiled by leaders in his court finds that he must answer threats and slights by France regarding his new kingship.

To answer that threat he will have to pursue an incredibly dangerous journey taking his smaller army to powerfully established France, to fight the French on their home turf.

As far as pursuits go, this lands near the top of the risk meter.

The film received mix reviews from critics, some even describing as boring thus we are glad we watched ourselves before reading their opinions and agendas.

The King is a masterful film.

Captivating and emotional too.

Yes, it builds slowly. The writing is exceptional. The acting quiet and stellar.

Moody and atmospheric.

You feel like you’ve been transported by in time, unlike so many modern day series and movies where the culture of the modern world has clearly influenced and even poisoned the past with today’s speech, mannerisms and above all, values.

Besides, what is the measure of a film that speaks to a high risk pursuit that may, at least here, end in death?

It is how it makes you feel.

You are most likely young and early in your pursuit.

So was he.

You know what the challenge is in listening to supposedly older and wiser heads?

What is real and what is not?

It will be extremely hard to discern and you just don’t have the experience.

If you continue on your journey, your pursuit, you will gain it.

Sometimes the hard way.

Don’t give up.

fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, fcielitecompetitor.com, pexels.com Spencer-Selover

“As long as we are persistence in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time.”… Denis Waitley

Once again, what is your heroine’s journey?

Not sure? Our suggestion?

Think on it. Think hard. Find it early in life. Make sure that it what you want.

Then pursue it.

For another take on the importance of staying with your pursuit, we appreciated the thoughts of a visiting writer and sense that you will too.

Life is Pursuit – And Nothing Else

By Gianpaolo Pietri

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

| DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE |

In life we are always moving towards something. We are always heading in a certain direction, toward some goal. Or some dream, or individual pursuit we have for one reason or another defined for ourselves. We are constantly in motion, even when we are standing still. When we are not physically going somewhere, our minds begin to run wild. We begin to ask ourselves questions. We doubt whether we’ll ever get to where we want to go. We wonder whether we’ll find the things, people, careers that we always dreamed of. At times we’re confident, convinced we are succeeding, and that we will get there, wherever there is. Other times we’re tired, exhausted really, and don’t know if we’ll ever make it to the finish line. We pursue the things we love, hate, buy, sell, need, desire. We pursue truth. We pursue satisfaction, tranquility, productivity, fulfillment.

We are in a constant state of pursuit. But each of us defines it in a different way. Some of us pursue helping others. Some of us pursue financial success. Some of us pursue love, finding it, and nurturing it. Some of us chase after titles, accolades, and attention. Some of us pursue career opportunities, while others seek out opportunities for travel. Most of us go after all of these at the same time. The Declaration of Independence of the United States refers to it as the pursuit of happiness (appropriately vague). This notion of the chase permeates every aspect of our lives. It is one of the fundamental reasons why autocratic or semi-autocratic regimes are unsuccessful and free democracies succeed. Autocracies stifle growth, both social and economic, because they restrain our natural inclination to pursue. It is what we were born to do.

A chef seeks out the best ingredients. An artist anguishes over the perfect composition. The philosopher ponders the most challenging questions. The scientist tries to answer them. The athlete wants to dominate the competition, again and again and again. An alpinist travels the world climbing peaks, hoping he’ll one day get the chance to conquer Everest. The housekeeper wants to provide for her family. The man sitting next to you on the bus is searching for the love of his life. We all want something, and most of us want many things simultaneously. For our purposes here, we’ll call it the Pursuit Principle.

So how do we get what we want?

How do we satisfy the ravenous desires that burn deep within our Soul? There are an infinite number of theories out there. Countless books address the Pursuit Principle and how to maximize its potential. With the rise of weblogs, the availability of material has skyrocketed to immeasurable heights. The premises of the most successful blogs revolve around the Pursuit Principle. They all want to offer us something. They are about how to do this, or how to achieve that. Ten steps to maximize productivity. Twenty steps to a more fit, healthy, and nutritious lifestyle. They try to provide a simpler way to… pursue.

One theory, from a blogger I greatly respect, Leo Babauta, is simple: learn to want less. And in his blogs, mnmlist.com and ZenHabits, he offers tips, suggestions, and strategies on how to actualize the old adage that “Less is More” in your own life. He strongly believes that by conditioning our minds and bodies to need/want less, we will reduce the amount of time we spend having to pursue what we think we are after, and enjoy the things we have, and eventually give some of that away as well (once you realize you don’t need them either).

Another theory, delineated in books such as The Secret and Think and Grow Rich, emphasize the opposite side of the equation. The position here is that we are entitled and indeed endowed by the Universe to receive all the things we may desire, whether in the realm of money, love, success, and everything else. They suggest we want as much as we want, and even more, and then we focus all of our attention, focus, and effort into getting it. By consistently practicing visualization techniques, we will somehow, and its never been clearly defined exactly how, we will begin to attract that which we desire. The proponents of this line of thinking refer to it as the Law of Attraction.

In his book, The Pursuit of Perfect, Tal Ben-Shahar talks about the aspiration to a life that is not just happier, but perfect. We don’t just want to be happy, we pursue perfection. He makes the distinction between positive (optimal) and negative perfectionism. Ben-Shahar points out that “the perfectionist rejects failure, painful emotions, success, and reality. He limits himself with worry of failure, producing anxiety and procrastination. The optimalist however, accepts failure, painful emotions, success, and reality; he lives the full scope of the human experience. Though the optimalist may fail, he accepts the reality of the situation and moves forward.” (hence continuing to pursue)

No matter which of these you subscribe too, and I think there are merits to each, there is one thing you should always remember. Life is pursuit, and nothing else. So tread with caution. And be a Ben-Shahar optimalist. We are naked without the things we are going after, even if what we’re after is having less things. Once you realize this, you will be in a better position to enjoy the ride.

Gianpaolo Pietri is an architect and a writer. Based in Miami, Florida he has helped design some of the towers that have shaped the new Miami skyline. He has also designed buildings in Dubai, Brasil, and Las Vegas. In addition to his design work, he writes bi-weekly articles on the Optimalists ([http://theoptimalists.net]) a lifestyle blog dedicated to facilitating self improvement and personal development by tapping into our creativity and discovering the inspiration within us. His articles approach the subject of creativity from a singular perspective based on history, philosophy, and his own experiences doing what he loves.