Heading Towards the Falls

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin... But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, still time to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life." ~ Alfred Souza

Recently, while discussing ideas for my book with my very close friend, I talked about the concept of life carrying you along to the point that you lose track of where you're headed.  She mentioned the term "Niagara Syndrome."  It sounded interesting.  The Niagara Syndrome is actually from Anthony Robbins' book, Awaken the Giant.  Basically, the syndrome is when people get caught up in the river of life and lose control of where they are headed.  By the time they realize it, it's too late.

Here is my question: How the hell do you get out of the river once you fall in?  Depends at what point you fall in or at what point you recognize it, I suppose.  At some point, going over the edge is inevitable, right?  If you happen to fall in, and recognize the misstep early enough, the correction is much less panicked.

So, perhaps the first step is to keep checking your progress.  Often, it seems, if things are moving too fast then odds are you're in the river already and don't realize it.  You'll feel a loss of control.  But, if you keep an eye on your goals and surroundings you're more likely to notice the misstep.  It comes down to assessing and reassessing your position, constantly.  A misstep, noticed early enough, gives you time to look ahead, plan a correction and act on it.  The self-saving can be calculated.

What if the misstep is too far downriver or you don't realize it until you hear the roar of the falls ahead?  You really have two options: fight like hell or fall with cognition.  One approach sends you into a panic and threatens your ability to stick to your principles.  The other, albeit less than ideal, allows you to learn from the situation, prepare for the fall and regroup.

So many euphemisms here, let me explain.  Sometimes we get caught up in a behavior, good or bad, and lose sight of where we're headed.  This could be something as simple as letting our ego guide the way.  The earlier we recognize that the behavior is not consonant with our goals the easier it is to fix.  But, at some point it may be too late and we fail or hit bottom...the falls. When this becomes inevitable the best course of action is to accept the path and begin to learn from the mistakes.  It's a crazy balance between pride, control, drive and acceptance.  Fighting to swim back upstream is filling your mind with regret.  There is no way to rewrite the past or turn back time.  There is no way to swim up a waterfall.

"In the end you really have no choice but accept what happens in your life.  The only choice is whether you accept what it is now or look back and accept what it was then." ~ Jason Huntsinger