Back to Article index To print this page, click on the Print icon in your browser.   Climbing the Lake   As the story goes, there was a woman who spent her whole life climbing a mountain. From early childhood and year after year she climbed the steep cliffs and became adept at the motion of climbing. Eventually climbing felt as natural as breathing to her. One day she reached the top of the mountain and couldn't wait to conquer another mountain. As she looked out over the horizon from the top of the mountain all she saw was a beautiful blue lake stretching as far as her eyes could see. Being a climber all of her life she'd never seen a lake and wasn't sure what it was. She was attracted to the strange blue expanse concluding it was some kind of blue mountain. Since the only way to continue her journey was to cross over the blue form, she decided that's what she'd do.   She walked to the water and began trying to "climb the lake." The only motion she knew was what she'd used to climb the mountain. She couldn't understand why she wasn't making any progress. She mustered all of her energy and tried "climbing" harder, faster, stronger . . . her fingers grasping the blue water, her legs pumping up and down as she was so used to doing. Her efforts were useless; she wasn't going anywhere.   One day as she was "climbing" she noticed another person floating by on top of the blue water with only the slightest movement of his arms and legs. He saw the woman struggling in the water and called out to her. After she told him she was climbing the lake, he shared with her the only way to travel through the water was to swim.   Being such an experienced climber, the woman insisted there was some way for her to climb the lake. The man acknowledged her prowess in climbing and explained there was another skill needed here.   "I'm sure you are an excellent climber," the man of the lake replied politely. "That skill won't help you here in the water. It took one kind of wisdom to get you to the top of the mountain; you had to make your power stronger than the mountain. Now you need to learn another kind of wisdom to get across the lake: You need to surrender to the power of the water and allow it's force to be stronger than you. You don't have to try hard. In fact, the less you try, the better you'll do!"   A pretty simple message, really. (Aren't the most profound messages and lessons often the simplest?) We've all learned a way of living and have acquired skills that make it easier for us to move forward in our lives. We have a wisdom we carry with us and we apply our wisdom to circumstances and events in our lives.   One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting to get different results. The woman of the lake was acting insane. She climbed and climbed the lake expecting to get to the other side.   All she needed was to do something different. For the woman to cross the lake, she had to learn to swim , to move out of her comfort zone of climbing. You can bet she wasn't comfortable when she started swimming. As she ontinued, though, she gained confidence, strength and power in the skill of swimming. The next time the woman comes to a mountain or a lake, she'll have the power and wisdom to climb over or swim through. If she encounters something new, she'll have the flexibility to climb, swim or earn something totally different.   Apply this lesson to your own life. Where are you struggling or doing the same thing over and over expecting to get different results? What is the strength you need right now that's different from the strength you've been using effortlessly – though getting nowhere?   Focus on a new (or rediscovered) wisdom you could benefit from in your life right now. What needs to change? This could be anything from meeting new people to learning a specific skill to changing your responses to others. Be flexible. Acknowledge you have a great wisdom already that's allowed you to get to where you are today AND there's something more for you to learn.   "Climbing the Mountain" is a marvelous metaphor for how so many of us live our lives. It is also a great model for what is possible for us when we choose to look at other options.   You are at choice always. In coaching we say struggle is optional. It's true and it's amazing how many of us choose to struggle. There is another way. Choose to surrender to the lake and learn to swim. Whatever mountain you are ooking up at or lake you are standing at the shore of, you have what you need. The wisdom is inside you. Learn the ower of strength and surrender, of wisdom and questions.     © Copyright September, 1997. Laura Hess, MCC 702.252.3657