Riding the rapids

In the midst of upheaval at work these days, I am reminded of advice I got during a whitewater kayaking class many years ago. When facing rapids at the limits of our skills, the instructor told us,

Remember, it's over in 20 seconds. It doesn't matter if you go through right-side-up or upside-down, you'll be done in 20 seconds.

The advice is not very warm and fuzzy, but the reminder is clear. We spend a lot of time worrying about the rapids of life. Rapids that will nearly always be over shortly (20 seconds, a month, a year) no matter what we do. Stressing is rarely worth it.

So ride the rapids. Right-side-up if you can, upside-down if necessary. It'll be over soon enough either way.