Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M3756

The Struggle

The Struggle
BehaviorHigh supportPsychology
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Proposed by Ben Horowitz. The long, dark, seemingly endless period of despair in entrepreneurship. When you don't know what to do, and everyone expects you to know, you are in 'the struggle.'

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Normalize despair. When you feel like vomiting, crying, or giving up, tell yourself: this doesn't mean I did something wrong; it's just The Struggle. This is the norm for a CEO, not an abnormality.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

The struggle refers to the psychological and behavioral state of difficultly maintaining and breaking through amidst resistance and uncertainty, often accompanied by internal friction and repetition. It is both a signal of pain and contains tension before a breakthrough.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_StruggleZH · Explicit
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