When The Rope Gets Slippery, Tie A Knot And Hang On
61. When the rope gets slippery, tie a knot and hang on.
There are going to be times when we are challenged in life. Things are going to occur in your life that will create self-doubt and shut down the growing process. Every once in awhile things get so bad it might be very hard to find the will to go on. Winners are judged by how they handle change, challenges and troubled times. Anyone can bask in the glory and strut their stuff when things are going good. It is the true character of a person who is tested when the water is choppy. How will you handle stormy weather? If you can’t find an immediate way out of a storm, tie a knot and hold on.
As you go through life there are peaks and valleys. The peaks are a time for celebration and the valleys are a time for learning. I learned this Tool from the book Peaks and Valleys by Spencer Johnson. This book fell into my lap just as I was writing this book. Coincidentally, I read the book shortly before expounding on this Tool. Now Mr. Johnson had been mentioned earlier for another book on handling change. And to be quite honest, I was hesitant to reference the same author again, even if it was for another one of his writings. In this case the message of the book was too hard to ignore, and as the author states himself, “It is a message you must promise to share with others.”
The good times and bad times in our lives are connected. Peaks and valleys go hand in hand because as the valley starts to end, that is where a peak begins. There are some things we need to learn about peaks and valleys. If we pay attention to what is going on at these times, we can make peaks last longer and learn how to get out of valleys quicker. Understanding that tough times are a part of life and are going to happen then only leaves us with a couple questions. How do we deal with them and what can be learned to avoid or shorten these periods in our lives.
When things are spinning out of control, grab on to something and hold on the best you can. Knowing that a peak is bound to arrive, sometimes just holding on tight is what we need to do to get out of the darkest of times. Sometimes when we’re holding on to that rope, there are a few people grabbing our leg so we’re really holding on for others too. So holding on for dear life can also affect those in the storm around you. Be strong, hold on and once that flash flood rolls through the valley, find your gear, clean yourself off and start that climb to another peak.