The choices we make in relationships can be compared to climbing a mountain. Take, for example, this couple I saw for marital counseling.
Two Paths Diverge: Climbing Upward or Falling Away
She listened to every description of her mistakes as a human being and a partner. She told the truth, she felt loved, and she began to make different choices.
He chose to defend himself, blame her, and refuse any responsibility for his personal unhappiness or the contention in his marriage.
I continued to observe her and admired her climb upward in life. As I spent time with both of them, it occurred to me that climbing a mountain—much like life—can involve any number of routes.
With each step, we choose to climb left or right. We choose where we put our hands and feet. We choose to take the gradual path or the steep one. We choose to scale the north face or the south one. So many choices.
But falling off a mountain involves far fewer choices. Gravity takes over, and we simply bounce our way to the bottom. We can’t choose which face of the mountain we’ll fall down, or which handholds we’ll use. We just fall.
And so it is with life once we ignore the laws that govern happiness.
When we ignore them, we begin to fall. As with a physical fall, at first, we fall slowly. We may not even notice. But the fall accelerates—because of gravity as we fall physically, but because of foolish choices as we fall emotionally.
Climb. Climb the mountain of life. There are so many choices to make—so many good and enjoyable choices—and the view becomes increasingly exhilarating as we go.
Don’t choose the steps and paths that are known to fail. Don’t choose to fall and lose all ability to make any more choices.
Make the choices in your relationships that lead upward, and the choices will continue to multiply.
Find genuine happiness now and forever.
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