--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I waver, continually fly to the summit of…" description: "\"“I waver, continually fly to the summit of the mountain, but cannot stay up there for more than a moment. Others waver too, but in lower regions, with ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/franz-kafka-214_quote_i-waver-continually-fly-to-the-summit-of_1687611.jpg" --- # I waver, continually fly to the summit of the mountain… ![“I waver, continually fly to the summit of the mountain, but cannot stay up there for more than a moment. Others waver too, but in lower regions, with greater strength; if they are in danger of falling, they are caught up by the kinsman who walks beside them for that purpose. But I waver on the…” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/franz-kafka-214_quote_i-waver-continually-fly-to-the-summit-of_1687611.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/franz-kafka-214_quote_i-waver-continually-fly-to-the-summit-of_1687611.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/franz-kafka-214_quote_i-waver-continually-fly-to-the-summit-of_1687611.jpg) > ““I waver, continually fly to the summit of the mountain, but cannot stay up there for more than a moment. Others waver too, but in lower regions, with greater strength; if they are in danger of falling, they are caught up by the kinsman who walks beside them for that purpose. But I waver on the heights; it is not death, alas, but the eternal torments of dying.”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes the perpetual struggle of striving for lofty goals while being unable to sustain them, contrasted with others who stay lower but steadier. **In simple terms:** High ambition leads to constant instability. Key Takeaway Accept limits or find balance. Themes ambition instability human frailty Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - creative pursuits - leadership roles - personal relationships - spiritual quests Key Concepts existentialism psychological conflict Questions to Reflect On - Can you find steadiness without abandoning ambition? - What supports help maintain balance at high levels? A Different Perspective Constant striving can cause burnout and isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Waver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waver/) ## Related quotes > [“You waver, because you don’t really want to know … but you haven’t been a coward for some years now. So you steel yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-waver-because-you-don-t-really-want-to-know-but-you-haven-t-been/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [I'm consistent, and they know I don't waver and all that. I'm dependable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-m-consistent-and-they-know-i-don-t-waver-and-all-that-i-m-dependable/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I may waver a lot, but I'll work really hard and keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoyeon-jung/i-may-waver-a-lot-but-i-ll-work-really-hard-and-keep-going/) [HoYeon Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoyeon-jung/) > [“We can't go back, though we're apt to waver even as our wheels spin on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brook-emery/we-can-t-go-back-though-we-re-apt-to-waver-even-as-our-wheels-spin-on/) Brook Emery > [Never ever waver. Be on record. Don't be on the wrong side of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/never-ever-waver-be-on-record-don-t-be-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [My confidence will never waver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jameis-winston/my-confidence-will-never-waver/) [Jameis Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jameis-winston/) > [Sometimes I feel 15; other times, I feel fully grown and mature and handling all my business. It can waver from day to day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fka-twigs/sometimes-i-feel-15-other-times-i-feel-fully-grown-and-mature-and/) [FKA twigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fka-twigs/) > [“We are more alarmed by leaders who waver than by those who screw up. (p.174)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/we-are-more-alarmed-by-leaders-who-waver-than-by-those-who-screw-up-p/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [If you're not confident in yourself, you're going to waver. I've wavered, and I've lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/if-you-re-not-confident-in-yourself-you-re-going-to-waver-i-ve/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [In a general way, I want to be a kind of flag-waver, bunting hanger-up, drum-beater, you name it, for poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-motion/in-a-general-way-i-want-to-be-a-kind-of-flag-waver-bunting-hanger-up/) [Andrew Motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-motion/) > [My father was my mother's greatest flag waver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finty-williams/my-father-was-my-mother-s-greatest-flag-waver/) [Finty Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finty-williams/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Waver quotes > [“You waver, because you don’t really want to know … but you haven’t been a coward for some years now. So you steel yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-waver-because-you-don-t-really-want-to-know-but-you-haven-t-been/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [In a general way, I want to be a kind of flag-waver, bunting hanger-up, drum-beater, you name it, for poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-motion/in-a-general-way-i-want-to-be-a-kind-of-flag-waver-bunting-hanger-up/) [Andrew Motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-motion/) > [If you're not confident in yourself, you're going to waver. I've wavered, and I've lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/if-you-re-not-confident-in-yourself-you-re-going-to-waver-i-ve/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [“We are more alarmed by leaders who waver than by those who screw up. (p.174)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/we-are-more-alarmed-by-leaders-who-waver-than-by-those-who-screw-up-p/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [Sometimes I feel 15; other times, I feel fully grown and mature and handling all my business. It can waver from day to day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fka-twigs/sometimes-i-feel-15-other-times-i-feel-fully-grown-and-mature-and/) [FKA twigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fka-twigs/) > [My confidence will never waver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jameis-winston/my-confidence-will-never-waver/) [Jameis Winston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jameis-winston/) > [Never ever waver. Be on record. Don't be on the wrong side of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/never-ever-waver-be-on-record-don-t-be-on-the-wrong-side-of-history/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [“We can't go back, though we're apt to waver even as our wheels spin on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brook-emery/we-can-t-go-back-though-we-re-apt-to-waver-even-as-our-wheels-spin-on/) Brook Emery > [I may waver a lot, but I'll work really hard and keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoyeon-jung/i-may-waver-a-lot-but-i-ll-work-really-hard-and-keep-going/) [HoYeon Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoyeon-jung/) > [I'm consistent, and they know I don't waver and all that. I'm dependable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-m-consistent-and-they-know-i-don-t-waver-and-all-that-i-m-dependable/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [My father was my mother's greatest flag waver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finty-williams/my-father-was-my-mother-s-greatest-flag-waver/) [Finty Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finty-williams/) [Browse all 12 Waver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waver/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I waver, continually fly to the summit of the mountain, but cannot stay up there for more than a moment. Others waver too, but in lower regions, with greater strength; if they are in danger of falling, they are caught up by the kinsman who walks beside them for that purpose. 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