“Accept — then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously transform your whole life.”

Eckhart Tolle

This quote makes me think of how one should react if caught in a rip current at the beach. The reason rip currents are so dangerous is that most people will panic and try and swim against the current. Expending your energy going against the current is futile and will only serve to tire yourself out, which is when tragedy can strike. Instead, you should do these four things:

• Don’t panic – Rip currents don’t last forever and will typically end in 50-100 feet.
• Don’t try to swim against the current – Trying to go against the current is futile and how you will wear yourself out. You aren’t strong enough to do it, don’t try.
• Try and swim parallel to shore – Keeping shore in sight and moving at an angle with the rip current. The current typically isn’t more than 20-40 feet wide so this can give you a chance to exit the current so you can then swim to shore.
• Relax & enjoy the ride – Because the currents don’t normally last more than 100 – 150 feet then you can ride it out and once it dissipates you can then try and swim to shore or call for help.

How do these tactics apply to the metaphorical rip currents that can, and will, pop up in life? Taking the time to think through each of these steps whenever something comes up that you didn’t plan for or expect can put an entirely new perspective on whatever you are dealing with. The bottom line is this, when you are caught in a rip current, don’t put all your energy into resisting it, you won’t win…