Have you ever noticed that your life is filled with ups and downs? It is never all ups or all downs. Last week I was at the Barnes and Noble just looking around when I saw this book on one of the display tables — “Peaks and Valleys: Making Good and Bad Times Work For You — At Work and In Life” by bestselling author Spencer Johnson. Interesting title I thought. I just glanced at it and kept on walking. Well something pulled me back. I had read this author before and like his work and writing style. So I bought the book and a couple days later sat down and read it in one sitting. It’s an easy read, only 101 pages.
Anyways, the book is a story about a guy who lives unhappily in a valley, who wants to get to “the Peak.” He meets a wise old man who lives on a peak and it changes his work and life forever. The old man tells him that all our lives are full of peaks and valleys. He likens it to our heartbeat. “Like a healthy heartbeat, your personal Peaks and Valleys are an essential part of a normal, healthy life. So are the Plateaus, if they are times of healthy rest when you take stock of what is happening and pause to think about what to do next. Peaks and Valleys are not just the good and bad times that happen to you. They are also how you feel inside and respond to outside events.” So, he goes on to say that we can make good use of our time in the Valley. There are valuable lessons to be learned in the Valley and, you can’t stay on the Peak if you are not prepared. Even though the old man lives on the peak, he goes down into the valley from time to time for provisions. He says that both physical peaks and valleys, and personal Peaks and Valleys are connected. How? He says…”The errors you make in today’s good times create tomorrow’s bad times. And the wise things you do in today’s bad times create tomorrow’s good times. People who use a Peaks and Valleys approach during bad times make things better when they return to basics, and concentrate on what matters most.” If you look back over the course of your life I’m sure you can see the Peaks and Valleys. I know I can. He says…”the path out of the valley appears when you choose to see things differently.”
At first after reading the book I thought — cute story. But like with most everything I read, I see if it can be applied to my life. The answer is yes. Can it be applied to your life? Probably. I’ll let you be the judge of that. Buy the book if you want to know more. He’s got tips for you in these areas:
- To manage your good and bad times
- To get out of the Valley sooner
- To stay on the Peak longer
- To get to your next Peak
- To help People
To learn more about Peaks and Valleys visit their website www.PeaksAndValleysTheBook.com
Ups and downs like a roller coaster… life’s full of it. Will you be the person who throws up on the ride or the one who puts his hands up and yells with excitement through the downs and gets jumps with anticipation for the ups?
You’re right! Wish I could have said it like that. Thanks for taking the time to stop by the blog and leaving a comment. I’ll be sure to visit your site.
what a great quote — ”the path out of the valley appears when you choose to see things differently.” so few words but such a powerful statement. thx for sharing. *kae* http://www.kaelovinlife.wordpress.com
Glad you like it. I agree – it’s a powerful statement. Instead of keeping our head in the sand and having a pity party when things seem down, we can choose to see things differently. We can adjust our attitude, look for the positive, look for ways to make things better, and we can look for ways to improve our circumstances. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
My fellow on Orkut shared this link and I’m not dissapointed at all that I came here.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. Hope you will come back again. Take care, A.
This is pure Kevin Johnson all the way. I only learned who he was and what he was all about in recent years and love his very elementary wisdom.
It’s taken me 52 very long years to figure out that my life and life in general is all about the paradigm…all about perspective…the perspective of peaks and valleys. In my blog I often write about bad things happening to good people. It’s the peaks and valleys once again. How can we appreciate the sweet if we don’t have the bitter to which we can compare?
I’m going through a rather negative period right now and while I desperately want to give in to the bad feelings and break something I’ll regret later, I have somehow mastered resistance, because I know….I know for a fact, that this too, shall pass.
And back up to the summit, I go.
Thanks,
LK
Houston
it is important to see things from a different perspective. however, it is even more important to see things as they really are. lots of the sufferings we have, mainly those afflictive emotions, are a result of exaggeration of the positive or negative qualities of the things. peaks are only what appears to us, maybe it is not peak, so it is with the valleys. this is the only way to uproot our sufferings.
Life is tough people tend to follow their mind or worse other people’s minds .and they don’t belive in them selves