Ronan Keating says it in one of his pop songs very clearly. If you can’t ride the rollercoaster you’re not ready for life. Up and down, loop and rotation, a sudden fall and the way up again.

Lean forward and be proactive in the ride

Like in life there are forces who help you — also a rollercoaster is a helping machine. When you move uphill the rollercoaster machine helps you „climb up“ — makes it easier for you to move up. But when you move down the machine makes the movement faster (in theory) because of its sheer weight.

Take the rollercoaster of life and learn to handle its dynamics, weight and power and all the challenges (up, down, left, right, rotation, curve, etc.) that come along the way.

Reach a state of zero preoccupation

Ultimately, doing so will make you happy not only because of the enjoyment of the ride but what happens in your head which is exactly zero: You stop thinking. Your head is free. You can reach the same state with meditation.

You’re happy when your head is free. You’re not happy when your worried because worrying means thinking about things too much, things that haven’t happened but could happen in the future.

You’re the master of the rollercoaster

In a rollercoaster, you let things happen in a controlled environment. You know you can let happen because nothing will really happen. Sure, the construction can break, the wagon can derail, you can fall off your seat. It’s all possible but unlikely to happen.

The takeaway from today: You learnt three things today from a rollercoaster. You need to ride it because it’s a metaphor for life with its various elements of up, down, rotation, curve, and so on. When I saw teenage kids being asked on TV what they thought after having taken the rollercoaster they replied: „Nothing“.

They simply enjoyed it and were totally in the moment, living the moment, not caring what would happen in a few seconds. You reach this state when you feel safe, warm, welcome and secure. You’re ruling the rollercoaster because you trust in where it will take you, just as you trust in your life path that is eventually taking you where you want to be: If that means being old grandpa telling and reading out loud stories to his grandchildren, like I have in mind, then this will be your rollercoaster journey — just gotta ride it.

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This was episode 56 of the #weekdaykickoff 🌊 Every weekday (Mon-Fri). Also find me on Anchor so we can talk — literally talk from person to person!

Also published on Medium.