And by striving to soar as high as possible, we will once again feel the sunshine on our face and the wind at our backs.Are you brave enough to face the gods? Find out here! Lessons and Themes in the Myth There will be regret and heartache and pain. There is always a risk in pushing past our perceived limits. We need to actively pursue our potential.

We need to dictate the trajectory of our lives. We are not here to let the winds push us around. We are not here to merely exist and coast. Whatever our passion, there is no upside in playing small. Our lives should be spent in constant pursuit of warm sunshine. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. We will be motivated to emerge from the cold water. If we have lived outside our comfort zone and pushed our limits, we can once again tap into that mindset. If we have given maximum effort in the past, we will be conditioned for the fight. Instead of accepting our fate, we must summon the strength to fly once again. But we cannot allow this fall to be fatal. In these moments, we empathize with Icarus as we plunge to the icy waters below. We overstep our boundaries and damage a relationship. Doesn’t everything worthwhile involve some sort of struggle?īut what happens when we soar too close to the sun and get burned? We lose a major client. It’s okay to introduce risk if it could translate to infinite security for our family. It’s okay to branch out and meet new people.

We cannot constantly push down our true feelings. But do we stifle our own opinions to avoid damaging a relationship? Do we shy away from new connections and hold tight to our familiar friendships? Do we maintain the status quo at the expense of enormous upside? It’s okay to voice our beliefs even if it means creating friction. There is nothing wrong with stability and staying above the drama. At some point, we can coast into a comfortable lifestyle. How else can we know how high we can soar? As long as it not illegal or immoral, why not strive for more? Why not head towards the sun? But are we maximizing our potential? Or are we heading down a runway of complacency? In our sales careers, are we satisfied with meeting our quota or do we get creative and blow our numbers away? Do we have surface relationships with our clients or do we dig deep for intimate knowledge of their needs? As teachers, do we follow the same routine each year or do we adjust our methods to maximize the personalities in this particular class? As business owners and leaders, are we looking to get a comfortable payout or are we striving to transform lives? In order to impact our little corner of the world, sometimes we have to push past our own comfortable routines and climb into dangerous territory. In our work lives, soaring at a comfortable altitude can prolong our careers. If we don’t test the boundaries in our work and personal lives, how will we ever know how high we can fly? But, while I applaud the message and the subtext (“Hey kids, if you don’t listen to your father, bad things will happen!”), I am not sure this lesson applies to modern resiliency. The classic fall of Icarus imparts a powerful lesson in humility, and the wisdom of living within your limits. The intense heat destroyed his wings and sent Icarus plunging to the despair of the seething ocean below. But early in their journey, Icarus became excited and soared toward the heavens, dangerously close to the sun’s powerful rays. It was better to maintain an even, steady course. On the day of the ingenious escape, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, as the heat could melt the wax and ruin the delicate wings. Undaunted, Daedalus cleverly constructed wings made out of bird feathers and wax. King Minos was so protective of the secrets that lay within, he jailed Daedalus and his son, Icarus, and refused them any contact with the outside world. For those not up to speed on their Greek Mythology, Daedalus was the brilliant inventor of the original Labyrinth on the island of Crete. My daughter came home from school this week excited to share the story of Daedalus and Icarus.

Story of daedalus and icarus summary