How to Create Upward Movement When Life Gets You Down

Everyone’s talking about U2 front man Bono, who was saved from possible paralysis by emergency back surgery this past Friday. His rehab program requires an eight week recuperation necessitating postponing the North American leg of the band’s U2 360 Tour and canceling next month’s Glastonbury, England, appearance.

What happens to you when you have a setback like Bono? Do you let it get you down? Does your energy become negative, causing a downward spiral? Do you let “bad” events become free falls or do you work to make them chances to rise up to new heights?

Rabbi Nachum Ish Gam, one of our Talmudic rabbis, might have responded to such an event by saying, “Gam zu l’tovah. This also is for good.” This is one of my favorite sayings and teachings from Judaism. However, some people have a hard time seeing an injury or other “negative” event as “for the good.”

I’ve recently learned that Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, my Jewish life coach, discussed these types of “negative” occurrences in our lives as “falls and rises.” He said falls were inevitable and even necessary for the next rise to happen. While we may not find it possible to avoid a fall—just like Bono might not have been able to avoid the injury that caused him to need surgery, we can decide how low we fall and how we transform it into a new rise. Seeing a setback in this light then becomes not an obstacle but an opportunity.

Of course, we might simply allow ourselves to become negative and depressed and fall lower and lower, deeper and deeper until, as they say, we hit rock bottom. At that point, we likely will begin to rise back up anyway. We can avoid this scenario, though, by consciously choosing to see what has happened to us as an opportunity to use our mind—our thoughts—to create a positive situation. Gam zu l’tovah. We make the situation work for us with positive thinking. This creates positive energy that helps us begin climbing upward, creating a rise that hopefully brings us to a higher peak than before.

I can imagine that all the people who didn’t bother to get tickets to U2’s upcoming concerts might actually run out to buy tickets…or that after Bono’s recuperation the band could add shows and make more money because of the publicity Bono’s surgery provided—a rise out of a fall. In any event, the band is getting lots of publicity. This could be construed as “for the good,” no? At least these thoughts generate more positive energy than just focusing on money and time lost.

We need to learn not to fight against what happens to us. You can see this as paddling upstream or fighting the rapids when white water rafting. Instead, you want to go with the flow or paddle with the current. That doesn’t mean that when something bad happens you want to to see that event as a path of negativity to follow downward. That can actually feel easier sometimes. Instead, see it as one patch of white water to maneuver through, one current that sets you spinning for a moment. Then you guide your raft toward the current that allows you to flow freely and easily down the river of positivity.

Or see this like mountain climbing. You might slip and loose your footing, sliding downward a bit only to be caught by your belay. The rope stops you from continuing your fall. The fall represents just one moment, one event, during the whole climb. Then you gather your energy and begin your upward climb once again continuing until you reach the top of the mountain.

Seeing our lives as falls and rises, learning to say, “This too is for the good,” allows us to reach our goals, to achieve our full potential and to pursue personal growth on all levels. It helps us make the best of any situation, and that helps us live our lives with more acceptance–and peace.

I’ve written several posts lately on similar topics. There were great comments, which I learned a lot from (some of which I shared here), that you can read here.