If Rising Tides Lift all Boats – Then What Will Low Tides Do?
As the saying goes, rising tides lift all boats. When times are good, it’s easy to do good. When you are on a great team, it’s easy to do great. So, it doesn’t say much about you when you ride a wave serendipitously to success.
For a great athlete on a great team winning is normal, but that doesn’t make you a winner. Making money as an investor when the entire stock market is sky rocketing doesn’t make you a genius either.
On the other hand, when times are bad is when you find out who you truly are. When you are on a bad team, how do you perform? When the stock market is tanking during a recession, how good of an investor are you then?
True character becomes apparent when you can lift yourself up and others in an environment full of adversity and chaos. Psychologist and New York Times best-selling author Rick Hanson, Ph.D, explains that those who are able to “pursue opportunities in the face of challenges” have one of the signifying traits of success: RESILIENCE.
In his book Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness, Hanson states:
Resilience is more than managing stress and pain and recovering from loss and trauma. People who are resilient are also able to pursue opportunities in the face of challenges. They are able to start doing things that are beneficial, to stop doing things that are harmful, and to keep on going day after day without getting too stressed about it.
If this is you, bravo! If you find yourself sulking when the tides are low, stop it. Make things happen even if everyone else is not. You can’t practice resilience as the tides are lifting everyone to success. Yes, take advantage of rising tides, but never miss an opportunity to take advantage of low tides as well.