When something really matters, you should never give up or give in – Gordon Brown
Small But Mighty
Have you heard of the Mariana Trench? Located in the Pacific Ocean, it is the deepest section of the ocean on Earth at 7 miles below the surface of the Pacific. Putting it in proper perspective, if Mt. Everest were placed in the Pacific Ocean where the trench is located, there would still be about a space of one mile between its peak and the ocean’s surface. While many people have scaled Everest, only two have descended the Trench. Why? According to the University of Washington, pressure at this depth resembles an elephant on your thumb. Think about that!
Is it Possible?
How are fish that are bigger and more dangerous unable to live at such depths, yet these tiny creatures, about a foot in length, don’t fold under such immense pressure? They thrive! Though small on the outside, these fish are mighty on the inside. First, the snailfish possess flexible skulls and bones that appear transparent on the outside. Second, they produce chemicals that provide stability under what appears to be harsh conditions.
Using the imagery of the Mariana snailfish and their ability to thrive under extreme pressure, we can extract two factors to employ so we don’t fold under the pressures of life.
Transparency
Without transparency, we can get tangled in the jungle of suffocating thoughts pressurized by worry, fear, and anxiety. Like a pressure relief valve placed in a system to release pressure build-up, we all need safe places or people to be transparent with. Such safe relationships can succor us when pressure puts us on the ropes. Do you have people in your life you can be fully open with? Most people are crushed under the weight of pressure, either because they have no one to be transparent with or they choose to hold it in, and eventually, it comes out in destructive ways that interfere with our intention to be our best.
Transparency aligns pressure and progress to form an enormous wave called productivity in our lives. When we share the pressures we are dealing with, and there are many, its adverse effects are dispersed. Our minds stop marinating in the pressure and challenges which have debilitating effects on our thinking. Instead, our mental faculties are freed to bring our best thinking to the table. Transparency helps unlock the mental logjam created by pressure. Through transparency, we develop more excellent internal stability, which, like the Mariana snailfish, is crucial under pressure.
Transparency aligns pressure and progress to form an enormous wave called productivity in our lives.
Internal Stability
Living under external pressures can turn us into mental and emotional ping-pongs. We jump from one extreme of thought or emotion to another. How do we maintain internal stability and avoid fraying?
The words we speak to ourselves are crucial to staying internally stable. Pressure has a way of creating self-sabotage. Negative self-talk can induce internal combustion as our heart rate is elevated due to the strain from the pressure. I have become a student of my own words. I track my speech in high-pressure situations and watch what I am inviting into the topography of my mind. Are my words colliding with my faith, values, and beliefs in this situation? What words can I adopt to stop the collision and instead develop coordination? Pay attention to the words you speak to yourself.
Final Thought: We are evidently living in unprecedented times filled with unrivaled tension. The pressure only seems to increase as we foray into the future. Our level of transparency and internal stability helps us thrive under pressure and emerge shining like a diamond, which, according to Henry Kissinger, “is a chunk of coal that did really well under pressure.” Never fold.
Keep on keeping on!
Notes
https://www.washington.edu/news/2017/11/28/theres-a-deeper-fish-in-the-sea/
http://www.deepseachallenge.com/the-expedition/mariana-trench/
https://www.fastcompany.com/3014160/how-radical-transparency-kills-stress
Discover Your Treasure 