What to do when you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, literally
Recently, I watched a very powerful movie that taught me one of the most important life lessons anyone can learn in their lifetime. The movie was based on the true life story of Aron Ralston, an avid mountaineer who suddenly found his arm stuck between a rock and a hard place for five whole days!
The movie tells the story of how Aron managed to survive rain, sunshine, loneliness, and deliriousness for those five days; all of which he spent while standing — I thought that was incredible!
When I set out to watch the movie, I had prepared to spend the whole of 93 minutes being entertained (as with any movie), but I gained a lot more than entertainment. I feel like I took a crash course on surviving out in the wild, but beyond that, I learnt about the significance of a having a survivor’s mindset.
As I watched the actor who depicted Aron, I couldn’t help but wonder how I would survive if I found myself in such situation. First, I am not very athletic, so I am certain that my legs would have failed me by the end of the first day. Secondly, I am far too panicky to have thought with any rationale in the midst of the situation. I often tell a private joke about how, if I found myself in that situation, I would be praying to the god of my elders to save me, all the while anticipating a miraculous overturn of the boulder. Bleh!
But Aron, finding he was stuck, did something that I can only describe as bold.
HE CUT HIS ARM!!!
And this is after surviving on very little food and water.
What struck me about Aron’s situation was not even so much the situation he found himself in, as much as the action he took in the middle of what was no doubt full of despair: seeing the open sky but being unable to reach it beyond the confine of that small space; seeing birds fly freely while being tormented by the thought of the freedom he had only a while ago.
Despite this, Aron found the strength in himself to take action. This is where I learnt the first lesson.
A lot of times, we are so blinded by the seeming bleakness of our circumstances that we lose ourselves to them, forgetting that nothing will happen if we do nothing.
There are times we take rejections personally, refusing to put ourselves out again, for fear of another rejection. There are also times when we fail and refuse to try again, choosing to make those failures a personal label. But ACTION — not regret or remorse — is the antidote to stagnation. You really cannot afford to stay in the same place out of fear or self-doubt. Choosing to do so will only leave you a passive member of society.
I believe Aron Ralston felt regretful and remorseful, but it doesn’t matter how deeply he felt those things, if he did nothing, he was going nowhere.
Intrigued, I watched with a deep sense of admiration as Aron willed himself to survive. Seeing him endure the pain of his amputation, I thought about how real the will to live is, and the role it plays in enabling survival.
Literally, you can survive anything if you have the will to do so.
That realization made me think about how little human beings often value willpower, whether it is in life, at the gym, in school, or in business.
Arguably, willpower can only take us so far, but it is undeniable the force that it introduces into any situation. The willpower to graduate is what makes a repeat student press on in their bid to graduate. It is what keeps businesses alive despite harsh economic climes. Without willpower, a lot of ideas, businesses, energy, and even people will die prematurely.
As I contemplated this — and how his visibly dry lips weren’t bleeding — it occurred to me that Charles Swindoll knew the truth when he said that 90% of life is determined by how we react to it. However, I would say that rather than react, we should respond.
Reacting would have been panicking, crying, and regretting something that cannot be undone; but in choosing to respond, solutions are inspired, which is how Aron was able to do something about the situation.
I believe that it pays to respond by asking important questions, questions like:
What do I have in my arsenal for this situation?
How can I get myself out of this mess?
How can I get out of this situation alive?
Because even in the deepest of despair, we can choose not to be victims of our reality.
I am learning that as human beings, we have the ability to think ourselves out of any mess. God has gifted us with so much problem-solving ability that if we think deeply enough, we can come upon solutions that will give us the results we want.
We are only victims to the degree that we give in to helplessness. And we can choose if we want to be victims or survivors.
