I’ve drawn a diagram to go with this short story, here: https://www.50odd.co.uk/lifeshapes/.
Lifeshapes.
Over the last few years.
Deep down.
Hidden away from everyone around me.
Even those closest to me.
I had been visualising my life as the wrong lifeshape.
I had been visualising my life as a Flat Diamond.
And that really isn’t good.
So I’ve changed it.
To a Drunk Isosceles.
And you know what?
I feel much, much better.
Lifeshapes.
A Flat Diamond shaped life is not good.
It made me sad.
Because the left half of the Flat Diamond represents life’s acceleration.
Life’s learning.
Life’s improvement.
Life’s growth.
Life’s expansion.
Life’s successes.
The widest part of the Flat Diamond is called ‘The Peak’.
And the right hand half of the Flat Diamond is called.
Well.
I suppose.
Decline.
You see; I started to believe that I’d peaked.
In about 2013.
At the age of about 45.
And as a consequence I’d labelled everything to the right of the widest part of the Flat Diamond.
Everything i was doing ‘now’.
As decline.
Change.
I had to change something.
My perspective was all wrong.
This silly Flat Diamond lifeshape story that I was telling myself was hurting me.
First of all mentally.
And then it was hurting me in how I was performing and making decisions as well.
So I chose a different shape.
I chose the Drunk Isosceles.
So these days, an isosceles triangle lying down – drunk – on its side.
Is my brand new lifeshape.
And I LOVE it.
It basically means that I have chosen to go on learning, improving, growing, expanding and succeeding.
And just at the point that I peak.
When I am at maximum power.
When I am having an absolute fucking ball.
Riding higher than ever before.
I die.
Perfect!
(I’ve not sorted out ‘not dying’ yet.
I’ll keep you posted).
Lifeshapes.
A Drunk Isosceles shaped life is a good life.
But I also learned a hard lesson by choosing a Flat Diamond shaped life.
I learned that, basically, the only way to be sure if you have peaked.
The only way to be 100% sure that you have moved completely through acceleration, learning, improving, growing, expanding and succeeding – on past Peak and into Decline.
Is if that is what you choose to believe.
In summary, because I chose to believe that I’d peaked.
I had.
8 Comments
Love it
Thank you for taking the time to read David.
And to comment.
Bye for now
M.
Great read, very insightful and i never really thought of the importance of shapes. Love it
one of my favourite
Great read. Thankyou for taking the time to get it down and with the picture too! Growth mindset forever. Funny you mentioned death.. or lifespan. There’s a term called healthspan I heard someone use in a podcast (Think it was Dr Rhonda Patrick on Joe Rogan) . Where the biohackers of the world are talking about having a functional fitness as long as possible. Laird Hamilton talks about this alot from a physical point of view. Once you class yourself as past it…you are. You could apply a similar term to this philosophy; Impact span? Growth span? Thankyou for this reminder to keep that start up mentality.
When you write you write with such honesty and this story really resonates with me. It’s definitely time for me to think of a new shape. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I need to redraw the shape of my life right now. I’m not happy with the current geometry, it looks a lot like yours used to. Thank you for another dose of inspiration. I’ll let you know how I get on.
Your life, it seems to me, is filled with joy and possibility.
Your wife.
The children.
Your hobbies and music.
And your adventurous face fur.
It’s all good looking from the outside in.
But I do know that things don’t always feel that way.
For you, me and maybe everyone.
And that’s what good friends are for.
So never forget that we can chat anytime OK?
M.