Featured Image Credit: Mathias P.R. Reding on Unsplash
All journeys have to start somewhere, and if it's a real good story, it starts in the valley's depths. Our hero walks along a pathway well lit by the shimmering sunlight; the trees and leaves block out parts leaving the ground dotted like a dance floor. As our hero ventures further into the woods, the adventure and the light slowly vanish. Once full of life, the trees look rotted and decayed.
The dark sky fails to yield even light from the stars or moon. The full and lush grass bringing life to the various creatures you're sure live in the surrounding area becomes replaced with barren soil and cracked rocky terrain. Our hero feels truly alone.
With more significant difficulties come stronger resolve. More breakthroughs. More obstacles. More resolve, more extraordinary breakthroughs. Our hero, weary from conquering the evils of the darkness, villains, and their inner turmoil, finally crawls out of the darkness and emerges at the foot of the mountain. The journey not quite over continues with our hero finding strength they never knew they had or "You had the power all along."
Finally, we leap out of our seats in celebration when they triumph. With each obstacle, we knew that because most movies follow formulas, the hero would succeed. The question is how they overcome the obstacle. The greater the obstacle, the better they had to become, and the more we root for them to win. In sports, people flock to the underdogs. They get all of the attention in playoffs and tournaments. We like a good story.
Think about how the TV shows pitch the story when you think of those underdog stories. It's a miracle the team made it as far. They aren't as big or as talented as their opponents. Still, a more significant part of the story is their struggle to get to this place. To get this far. Losing their star player, losing streaks, losing patience, and fighting with teammates.
Why Valleys are Important
The focus is on the valley because the further we have to climb out of the valley, the more compelling the story becomes to people. Movies, even if you have no idea how they will end, are fun because of the depth of the valley and the level of growth the character must have to succeed. Rags to riches are popular stories for the same reason.
Clues are apparent, all the tools are available, and eventually, they conquer the bad guy. But in the movies, the journey, although slow, is very linear. The hero struggles then overcomes, struggles then overcomes.
The valleys, challenges, and struggles make our accomplishments more meaningful. Sure, you may obtain success right out of the gate, and I feel most people would prefer it. What about those moments you worked so hard on something and eventually made it work. Can you remember a time when you overcame a challenge?
If so, can you remember what it felt like when you finally did it?
Valleys make the accomplishments meaningful. But our lives are not like the movies. We don't overcome every obstacle. We won't always have a team ready and able to help us at a moment's notice. We don't always impress our dates, make the critical flight, or come back from an injury to win our tournament.
If you find yourself in one seemingly endless valley, keep working your way through it. Sometimes we will be in those valleys for weeks, months, and years; Sometimes, we have to detour into another valley because this other one is too difficult. We don't have producers editing our lives to make them fit right.
Struggle Creates Strength
There will always be struggles no matter who you are, where you are, or what you do in life. All struggles are relative to you and your experience. For example, someone from a middle-class lifestyle may complain about problems someone in different life circumstances would love to have. You see this often on these reality shows where cameras follow people who've always been wealthy.
People laugh at the trivial issues, but it is simply the circumstances they are used to versus those you have faced.
These valleys operate like the weights in the weight room; they train you. When you want to get more muscles or get stronger, you strain your muscles. The more weight you lift, the stronger you get (eventually). More problems give you more opportunities to solve them and, more importantly, give you experience and tools you may find helpful for future problems.
I've had experiences where some problems came up, and I finally worked through them and accomplished the task. Later down the road, I experienced a different problem, but the tools gained from the previous issue allowed me to get through the problem faster.
Of course, we would rather avoid the valleys as much as possible, but they are a natural part of life. We will all have our battles. Some will be worse than others.
The problems you face could be the worst thing you've ever faced. Try to learn from the experience. Also, don't be afraid to admit you may not have the strength to shoulder the weight alone. It is delicate and recommended to lean on others for help in many cases.
Too often, we hurt ourselves, our business, or our relationships by trying too hard to shoulder all of the pressure, work, or effort. You wouldn't try to lift 1000 pounds after only lifting 100, don't let yourself trick yourself into unhealthy behaviors for pride.
What's Next?
The higher the goal, the harder they push to achieve it, the more obstacles you face, and the more you have to battle. No traveler gets through the journey without encountering issues and problems. They may be significant, or minor, or somewhere in between. These issues may be spread out or right on top of each other. We never know what the future holds.
We know that our struggles give us essential experiences and knowledge we can use in future situations. We build a stack of skills we can use whenever we need them. Our brains are a muscle. We need to work them out to keep them strong, and when faced with an issue, we have our chance.
Know when to ask for help. Don't be afraid to ask for an assist when the weight begins to drive you down. We can accomplish more than we think, but everyone has limits. Don't try to be tough; call out when you need the hand.
Keep working and enjoy the mountaintops when you summit. Also, keep in mind nothing lasts forever. Even our darkest moments will eventually give way to the light the same way the light will sometimes get swallowed by the dark.
Every great story has stories of obstacles overcome, sweat (and sometimes blood) expended, and an eventual triumph of the spirit. I look forward to your success.