Vertical Thinking

Introduction Sometimes it’s useful to call up a meeting with your personal board of directors when faced with difficult decisions. In this article, I’ll call in a few of mine to see what I can learn about the interplay of commitment and flexibility. Tolstoy’s Young Man with a Big Problem Nikolai Rostov was a young man with a major dilemma. He was betrothed to his cousin Sonya but he wasn’t in love with her.

One golden afternoon last October, while taking a walk, I wrote a thought down: “Eventually, my life will just be as good as my days. So I need to enjoy my days if I am going to enjoy my life." Embedded in there is the idea that no one state or achievement will likely “make” my life. Instead of some grandiose event, life’s quality is subject to more prosaic influences like the quality of our relationships, sleep, self-talk, hobbies, and food.

There are special times in life to go all out. Last year, I went all out on a 50-mile hike alone, completing it in 19 hours. I learned some invaluable lessons like Don’t trust Google maps over mountains (I got lost) Always pack an extra almond poppyseed muffin. Stopping to rest only makes your legs hurt more. More importantly, I learned that after being alone and exhausted for hours, all the noise in your head quiets down, and you come to know yourself and your limits.