Allow Your Eyes to Adjust to the Dark

Every now and then an analogy stops me in my tracks because it's just. so. perfect.

Confession, I'm listening to David Goggins' most recent book, Never Finished. His grind-it-out, self-proclaimed 'savage' lifestyle isn't usually my jam. When my husband saw the title on our shared Audible account he texted, "Goggins, hey? Hard core."

I'm a collector of stories and inspiration and sometimes going to the opposite end of the spectrum provides much-needed perspective. It was listening to the book when I heard this quote:

Yes, he was referring to part of his training for the Navy Seals and how they literally had to adjust while in dark, underground tunnels. But to me, it's the absolute perfect analogy for my approach to building resilience.

It brings to mind all the nights in my life, often around a campfire, where I've been treated to magnificent star gazing. The longer I sat, the more the distant world would come into focus. As my eyes would adjust, I would often become restless thinking I had seen it all and it couldn't get any better. Then a shooting star would streak across the sky.

Pure magic.

Magic that I would have missed had I turned my flashlight on and re-engaged my 'good vision'.

When we're going through a hard time, it's so tempting to get on with things as quickly as possible. We look for quick fixes and often deny our responsibility in how we got in the situation in the first place. We look to others to validate us and get us out of our mess. Essentially, we turn our flashlight on and lose our night vision.

• What feelings might we discover if we allowed ourselves to actually feel them?

• What insights might open up if we asked the question, "Why is this happening FOR me?"

• How might new perspectives emerge if we got curious?

The next time you're going through something hard, try trusting your "night" vision. If you engage it long enough, you'll likely see new, wonderful and expansive ways to grow.