Navigating the Storm
Values and meaning are the coordinates that you have on a life map. Tapping into them gives you a direction to go even when you’re bogged down in a storm.
Years ago when I was a student on a 30-day mountaineering course (The National Outdoor Leadership School) in Glacier Peak Wilderness I remember being fogged in, in a cloud bank. To makes matters more challenging this was on a glacier. Everything around us was white. Our objective was to get to the lower reaches of the glacier onto a moraine and down into the valley below. While we didn’t know exactly where we were. We new the coordinates of where we were going, the landmarks took for, and had a general sense of where we needed to go… we created an action plan, and started moving forward. We followed the contours of the glacier going down, looking for even the most imperceptible landmark. We moved our way to the moraine following it further down until eventually we reached the valley and could pick out more obvious landmarks to find our way to our destination.
Like the coordinates on a map our Personal Values act as coordinates and landmarks. They are things that we can always strive for. Think of the value - adventure. We don’t ever reach a place of adventure, yet, if we follow the coordinate of adventure - we are having adventures. WE can create goals that are adventurous.
The fantastic thing about values - If we have goals that are temporarily unachievable due to injury, or say something big like COVID we can take a step backwards and ask ourselves what is the value behind the goal? Can I focus on the value right now in a different way?
Importantly and not to be missed, are their other values that have been neglected that I can focus on if the value can not be addressed right now? What will give me meaning?
The one constant in life - it’s going to throw you curve balls. How you adjust to that curve ball is going to come from the things you’ve held sacred: your values, and the meaning you prescribe to them.
Know your landmarks and coordinates. Hold them tight so when you’re in white out conditions the direction you go can become apparent.