As humans, we function like yo-yo’s in almost every area of life. We lose weight, then we gain it back. We feel financially secure, then we don’t. We feel close and connected in our relationships, then we don’t. Life ebbs and flows. It goes up, and then it goes down.
To think that life would not have its ups and downs would be foolish. Life, as I see it, is what it is because of those ups and downs. Heck, we wouldn’t appreciate the good times if it weren’t for the bad ones. You’re not going to find a group of people more appreciative of sunny, nice days than those of us in Cleveland. Why? Because we have SO MANY cloudy, gloomy days.
Expecting things to always be good is unrealistic, and probably sets us up for frustration, sadness, anger, and even anxiety and depression. However, I am a huge fan of trying. I feel striving for success in greatness, in ALL areas of life, is noble, appropriate, and worth it.
While ups and downs are to be expected, one key to success is to not let the downs go so low. As a species, we are very reactive. We often wait until things get really, really bad, then scramble to fix the mess. I see it in practice every day when working with patients. A new patient complains of lower back pain, with numbness into their leg. They have often been suffering for months or even years. What finally brings them in is that the pain has grown much greater, and it finally has interfered with too much in their life.
Why did they wait? Their body was giving them signs and signals (called symptoms), for a long time. They had time and opportunities to get help earlier. Yet they accepted the struggling, living life at a less optimal level.
I got to thinking about this more while fishing. When a fish hits your lure, it immediately tries to run. It will do anything to get free. Different fish have slightly different techniques to try to free themselves, but they all run, thrash their heads, pull on your line, and many try to head for underwater structures (like logs and docks) to tie up the line. Once the fisherman sets the hook, it is crucial that they retain tension on the line. ANY slack in the line creates an opportunity for that fish to dislodge the hook and spit out the lure.
We tend to be good at “setting hooks.” We usually start ventures with high energy and enthusiasm. We embark on new relationships with passion and attentiveness. We do great in the beginning with new diets and exercise programs. And we engage in new jobs ready to take on the world.
Maintaining tension on the fishing line is like keeping our work, relationships, and health initiatives going strong. The tension on the line is the small, daily stuff that not only keeps life great, it’s the stuff that keeps life optimal. Keeping tension on the line is not exciting, nor is the small action steps in life that keep things great.
A good fishing guide will give his or her clients some tips before they start. One of the most basic, yet helpful tips is to keep tension on the line once the fish is hooked. If you hook a fish, it is easy to forget, drop the tip of the pole, and allow slack in the line. It only takes a momentary lack in attention for this to happen, and for the fish to get away. A good guide will watch the tip of the rod and the line, and yell out reminders as you reel the fish in… keep tension on the line.
So, in life, do the initial work to get things off the ground and to get things going. It’s a must to pour all of your attention into a new relationship, all of your time into a brand-new job, and to put in all of your efforts to get a new workout program or nutrition plan going. But once set, you cannot let up. You must maintain attention, time, and effort if you are be successful in any area of life.
Don’t just be great at setting the hook. Keeping tension on the line will help ensure that the relationship, career, financial goals, and body of your dreams do not get away.
