Ngoc & Love

I love analogies- to compare something unfamiliar with something that I know helps me understand things so much easier. Sometimes I make up my own or use known ones made by others.

The Stairwell at Work.

Everyday at work, I use the stairwell. It goes from the third floor from where I walk in from the parking garage to the seventh floor where my cubicle is located.

Before starting my ascend, I feel refreshed, full of energy and ready to start my day. However, as I start climbing, my steps slow down and every step appears to be a challenge. My feet start to ache. The muscles in my legs work harder. I think I can. I think I can. My breath slows down. It’s harder to breathe as I inhale and exhale. My lungs are yelling at me. Every step requires a deeper breath as I try to take in as much oxygen as I can in the tiny stairwell. At least there’s an end in sight. The stairs are designed in a zig zag pattern. There are no windows. Just one direction up and down with each level allowing you to enter through the door it provides. What is behind the door remains a mystery. The seventh floor door is all I know.

Every time, on the sixth floor, I take a long pause. Just one more level I tell myself. You can do it. Just push through and the door will be right there. I take a big breath. In and out. I start my ascend again and give it my all. The last steps are the hardest. My lungs burn. They are screaming at me. My legs want to stop. Every muscle cries in pain. But I push forward. I know I can. And at last, I see the door. My mind is already ahead of me. It displays images of me reaching my goal. I take my last step. Exhausted. I scan my badge, turn the knob to the door and enter. Job well done. Mission completed. I walk to my cubicle, sit down and relax before I tackle the next thing- my day at work.

So why did I write this analogy? For me, it summarizes the challenges I face throughout life. Every goal I make is a walk up the stairwell. At first, I have so much energy and ready to tackle it; but as I move forward, it gets more complicated and seems difficult to accomplish. There are set backs. Obstacles I have to push through and at one point, I feel like giving up. That is the sixth floor. I have to remind myself to keep going. I can do it. I take a much needed long pause or break before I start again. I work harder, and then the end appears. My goal is within reach; and as I walk through the door, my goal is accomplished. Task complete. I can check this one off until the next goal is set, and I’m back at the start of my stairwell journey. For every accomplished goal, comes another. Always pushing us to be better.