It’s said that life is like a ride in a roller coaster.
You start the ride going up slowly… all the sudden you go in a drop, bounce back up, have some smooth ride and so on. Basically, there are ups and downs — some really highs and some really lows.
I kind of like to compare life more like a row boat.
The main reason is because a roller coaster is a set path… it’s pre-planned and inflexible. You know can anticipate what will happen and can’t just stop or take another path.
In another words, you don’t have control of it. You just take what they give you and make the best of it until the end of the ride.
Life is not that way. At least, not to me.
In my perspective… you have more control of your life. You make things happen in your life.
When you get in a row boat for the first time ever… you have little knowledge of how to use it. You develop your skills as you go and learn. You might be clumsy at first. But, you get better as you go…. like when you first started to walk.
You might start to row your boat in a calmed cove. But, as soon as you mastered that cove… you might want to go into something more challenging. You can row out of little further out to a lake or a river.
As you get better at rowing (as in life)… you can take some challenging course. It might be some river with some stronger current. It might have some rocks. Just like life… where you might have obstacles or fight against the crowd.
In many ways, you also can slow down. Not all the time. But, most of the time. Just like in life.
There will be time where you make a mistake or take very challenging course. You might end up rowing against a strong current… something that you are not yet ready to handle. But, that also happens in life.
You might barely survive… or you might find fulfillment and success. Just like in life… you take a large risk and you can barely make it or hit it big.
There might be a time where you can damage your boat. As in life, you can get hurt. Your boat can be repaired… but it will never be new… same as life.
As in life, you can row hard and get nowhere. You must be effective and efficient to get to your destination. In life… it’s the same – hard work doesn’t guaranteed success.
So, the next time you think of life as a roller coaster ride… don’t. It’s more like rowing a boat. You control it. You make the decision of where you want to go. You can take risks.
Overall, life is like rowing a boat.