This post is from a great short book I recently read titled, "Peaks and Valleys" by Spencer Johnson. It's an easy read and for many of you would take less than two hours. Don't let the length fool you, it's much more than a comic book. Some of the most notable things I found in this little gem that I plan on adopting into my life are what follows.
No matter where we are in any phase of our life, we no doubt have seen ourselves in a valley of sorts from time to time. By this, I mean we feel like we are in sort of a low place either economically or socially and would like to get on a higher plane. The problem is that we don't often realize the value of what we have or where we are. This in part keeps us in the valley we find ourselves in. We do have to work in order to climb to a higher place, no matter where we find ourselves.
One problem many people have is that when they do finally get to a higher place (or peak) we aren't properly equipped to stay there. This isn't a physical thing as much as it is a mental/emotional thing. Just as a mountain climber may not have the proper clothing or supplies to remain at the peak of a mountain, people don't often find themselves properly prepared once they climb to a new economic or social peak. Often times there is a feeling of complacency and we don't realize what it takes to stay at the peak. Other times there is a feeling that due to the new position, we are somehow better than those we see 'below in the valley'. Still other times we don't feel we "deserve" to be there and more or less sabotage our way off the peak.
Some of the simple (not necessarily easy) things we can do to get out of the valley sooner revolve around the simple idea that "The path out of the valley appears when you choose to see things differently." Look for instance at a high mountain and the valleys below. There is little at the top besides rock & snow. Below in the valleys is green vegetation and life. Most of the wildlife that goes up to the peak needs to climb down periodically in order to be "re-nourished" or warmed. Granted the view from atop the peak is fantastic, but there is little there to sustain life. Once you've been to the peak, you will normally see the valley differently as well as what you see there.
It is simple to realize that we can change our valley into a peak when we find and use the good that is hidden in the bad time. Now granted we may have to look hard to find out what the good it when we are feeling down, but it is there. We serve ourselves much better when we look for something to learn from being in the valley than we do by just commiserating because of where we find ourselves. It is true that the way we manage our valleys determines how soon we reach our next peak. We can find good in where we are and start climbing toward the next peak or we can choose to stay in our valley and throw ourselves a pity party. Which will you choose?
The most common reason people stay in a valley to long is fear. This fear is often masquerading as comfort. The question not asked enough is this: Why settle for good when better is available? A pain being felt in the valley can often wake us up to a truth that we've been ignoring. That's why it's important to look for the good when you're in a valley. The truth may be something we need to change in ourselves.
On the way up to the next peak, there are often plateaus along the way. At these plateaus people make a decision to either become a climber, a camper or a quitter. The way we see those plateaus speaks a lot about what and who we are as well as what our future holds.
Some people use the plateaus as a place to take a short rest before continuing there climb to the next peak. These people are the climbers. After a short rest, they continue their climb up toward the peak and once there gain a new perspective of both the valley and the plateau. Once they reach the peak, they often find another peak that they feel like climbing toward. They keep doing what they can and never feel that where they are is where they must stay.
Other people use the plateau as a place to go back to regularly because they can sort of forget about what else is available if they would climb further. They instead sort of look at the plateau as their peak. They come back often, some do so on weekends, others every night and some do so more or less often. These people are the campers and they look at the plateau as a place to stay temporarily and camp out before going back to the valley to get what they need for their next camping trip. For some reason they don't feel they can make it to the peak or are just content with the plateau being their own personal peak. They typically settle for less than capable of.
Perhaps the saddest group of people are the quitters. They get to the plateau and just want to stay. They numb their senses to the point where they don't want to do much of anything except stay at the plateau. They don't go down to the valley in order to prepare for the next trip to the plateau, and they don't see the point in climbing any higher. They may ask others who come up to the plateau to help them stay there. regardless of how they go about it, they more or less have just quit trying to be productive. Once they quit, they don't think about their future or where they might be able to go. They commiserate and stew in their own situation. They're here not because they can't do better, but because they choose to be quitters.
One of the final points made in this book is that we often find ourselves leaving our peaks too soon. The most common reason people leave a peak too soon is arrogance. Normally this arrogance is masquerading as confidence. In order to get to the next peak it is important to follow your 'sensible vision'. Imagine yourself enjoying your better future in such specific and believable detail that you soon enjoy doing what you need to do to take you there. This helps you enjoy your work on your way to your dream. This another way to say, visualize yourself having the things you want to have. This visualization is a way to plant in your subconscious things that your mind can see. In life we don't often get what we want, we don't even get what we deserve. Instead we get what we picture. In the words of Napolean Hill, "What the mind can conceive and truly believe can be achieved." Once an idea or want is conceived, it is important that we truly believe that not only is it attainable, but that we already are in possession of the very thing we desire. You get what you picture, so picture yourself where you want to be. Picture yourself as who you want to be. Picture yourself having what you want to have. If you cant' picture it, you most surely won't ever actually realize it.
Again this is a great book in my opinion. Read it for yourself and see what you think.
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