Experiencing peaks and valleys: "Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough"
“To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.” - Lao Tzu
Michael Jordan was my favorite basketball player growing up.
My dad introduced me to him while he was playing at the University of North Carolina. Getting to watch him become one of the greatest basketball players of all time playing for the Chicago Bulls was a treat. I still have a bunch of his posters, which my son now has hung up in his bedroom.
This Michael Jordan quote is very interesting to me because as a fan of Jordan, I only remember the shots he made.
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
We all experience peaks and valleys.
We can’t get too high about our peaks and we can’t get too low when we are in a valley.
As part of the process, we need to accept that there will be peaks and that there will be valleys. We can choose to respond or react to the peaks and valleys.
Although I only remember Jordan making game-winning shots, he clearly missed his fair share. If he had chosen to react to all the game-winning shots, maybe he would have never taken and made all the game-winning shots he made.
Forward, always!