If you look back at your life, can you see the peaks? Maybe some fulfilled desires or goals were achieved. Can you see the valleys just as clearly? The moments of cloud cover, confusion, and forced rest. If you're a high performer – somebody who's used to creating results in your life through action, discipline, and consistency – you're used to the peaks. Perhaps peak after peak is the most comfortable pace for you. There are goals to hit and summits on the horizon, so keep moving. If you watched 14 Peaks, Purja is notable for having climbed all 14 “eight-thousanders” (peaks above 8,000 meters or 26,000 feet) in a record time of six months and six days. He was also the first to reach the summits of Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu within 48 hours. As a culture, we're focused on the peaks. We don't really give the valleys energy, we'd rather keep hitting the highs and trudge through the lowlands, and the lows don't make it into the story much. So let's talk about the valley and the lowlands… If you hit the valley with grit and determination, white-knuckling – you're wasting precious conscious energy that could be better used for the climb. Maybe in the valley, you kick off your boots, start the fire, and turn inwards instead. What is the relationship to the valley that you find yourself in? Are you judging yourself while you're here? Do you think something is wrong with this part of the story? Do you think this could be the end if you don't pull it together quickly? If you are somebody who is identifying as being in a valley right now, how can you begin to look at this territory as something that you can invite into your life more fully? Maybe it's fully feeling the pain of this stuckness or the lack of motivation due to the cloud cover and confusion. How can you find rapport with yourself while being in the valley? Taking solace that, although the movies don't celebrate it, this too is a part of the hero's journey. How can you take this time as a period of rest and question all of the assumptions that make you think you need to kick things into high gear or push through this? When you can just pause and be in this valley from a place of acceptance rather than fear and judgment, there will be a new aspect of you that is born, a part of you that can begin to play a quantum game of creating results. A place where results are created through stillness and flow rather than grit and effort. So try that on, drop the resistance to the valley and get curious about what aspect of you is emerging in this space. It may just be as heroic as the climber summiting 14 peaks in record time. What are your thoughts on this? Send me an email at clayt[email protected] and let me know your thoughts. If you'd like to have a transformative conversation, drop me a line at that same email above and let's start the dialogue to see if we're a fit. If you’d like a guide to help navigate the dating waters, tune into our webinar: The Three Keys to Being Relationship Ready—How to Attract and Keep A High Quality Man. This webinar will teach you how to notice if you’re powerless around men, distinguish subconscious roles that a lot of women fall into, and reorient yourself so you can rewrite your love story. Click this link to find a time that works for you. | 
