The Valley of Disappointment
If you start pursuing anything in life, you set yourself goals, and consciously or not, expectations. At one point (probably somewhere near the very beginning) you will find yourself in that dreadful place. The Valley of Disappointment.
Despite the graph above, to me it sounds almost like a place from a fantasy novel. A place where exiled kings and queens are sent off to. However, in reality the Valley is filled with people who were on their way up, and are now looking at the ashes of their passions and goals, as they never found the passage out of the Valley.
The thing is, the way out is not complex or hidden. You don’t need to be a genius or a prodigy to figure your way out of it. The only reason it’s so difficult is because the Valley covers a really long distance in your journey. It is also unfruitful and ruthless. There is no salvation when you’re going through the Valley. No rewards, nothing to keep you going. It’s a true test of your passion for whatever you’re pursuing.
I hold the hope that the people who come out on the other end of the Valley never regret it. I can’t imagine actually getting through it and realizing that it was all for nothing. So I’m living with the assumption that if you do traverse the Valley and come out on the other side, the rewards will be greater than you ever thought. There’s no rational reason for me to believe that other than to keep myself going through the Valley.
And that’s exactly the toughest thing about traversing the Valley. Reasons to keep going. This is why I called it ruthless. There’s nothing that will keep you going, except yourself. That’s why it’s important to find some innate reason or belief to cling on to, anything that will make you think: “It’s going to be worth it.”
I’ve only mentioned the bad aspects of the Valley, which makes sense since it is the Valley of Disappointment after all. However, the Valley does have a positive side. It’s almost unnoticeable, as the hardships of the Valley darken the light of these positive aspects.
But one thing that the Valley does well is teach commitment and resilience. Not only that, but it teaches you to find those things within yourself, and not draw on them from external factors. The Valley teaches you to find motivation within yourself.
Now, for how long does the Valley span? I don’t know. What I think is that for each person the Valley differs. It could be a few weeks of hardship. Or it could be months and even years of tedious and constant work.
I don’t know how long my Valley is or what even is it that awaits me on the other side. I will keep writing until I either traverse the Valley of Writing or find another Valley of Disappointment to tackle.
