When the river of your life is dammed, stay with the conflict.

Carl Jung, Psychological Types (1923), ch. II 'Schiller's Ideas upon the Type Problem'

What it means

When you hit a problem reason cannot solve, the old path splits into two opposing pulls. Jung says not to force a quick answer. Stay with the tension long enough and a way through appears.

The source

"When the river of your life is dammed, stay with the conflict." Carl Jung said it in Psychological Types (1923), ch. II 'Schiller's Ideas upon the Type Problem'. Translated by H. Godwin Baynes, 1923.

"But, before he is able to discover and follow this way, he must first abide a long time with the opposites into which his former way divided. The obstacle dams up the river of his life."

H. Godwin Baynes, 1923, Psychological Types (1923), ch. II 'Schiller's Ideas upon the Type Problem'. Text read at archive.org.

Who said it

Carl Jung (1875–1961). Swiss psychiatrist who broke with Freud and founded analytical psychology. He mapped the persona, the shadow, the collective unconscious and the lifelong work of becoming yourself, which he called individuation. Our lines come only from his writings published before 1931, in our own translations from the German or in English translations of the time.

Questions

What does "When the river of your life is dammed, stay with the conflict." mean?: When you hit a problem reason cannot solve, the old path splits into two opposing pulls. Jung says not to force a quick answer. Stay with the tension long enough and a way through appears.
Who said "When the river of your life is dammed, stay with the conflict."?: Carl Jung (1875–1961). Source: Psychological Types (1923), ch. II 'Schiller's Ideas upon the Type Problem'.
What is the original wording?: But, before he is able to discover and follow this way, he must first abide a long time with the opposites into which his former way divided. The obstacle dams up the river of his life (H. Godwin Baynes, 1923). Translated by H. Godwin Baynes, 1923.
Is "When the river of your life is dammed, stay with the conflict." on a shirt?: Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.

Cite this line

"When the river of your life is dammed, stay with the conflict." (Carl Jung, Psychological Types (1923), ch. II 'Schiller's Ideas upon the Type Problem', trans. H. Godwin Baynes, 1923). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/when-the-river-of-your-life-is-dammed