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If I said that you are going to be sitting in a fishing boat this evening with your friend, and you’ll be facing a 1,719-foot tsunami, what would be your initial reaction?
I'd order a new set of underwear, too.
This actually happened to Howard G. Ulrich and his 7-year-old son on July 9th, 1958, in Lituya Bay, Alaska.
Rewind 65 years ago, and the world’s largest-ever tsunami was recorded due to a 7.8-8.3 earthquake magnitude on the Fair-weather Fault in the little fishing town of Lituya Bay.
For context on how big this is, this wave would tower over the Eiffel Tower in Paris, be 10 times bigger than Niagara Falls in Canada, and be twice the height of the Empire State Building.
The earthquake struck at about 10:15 pm, and Ulrich and his son were in Lituya Bay onboard their boat, Edrie, just south of the bay.
Ulrich observed the wave’s formation from the deck, and I have no idea what he must have been feeling.
He was faced with two choices: react straight away, try to get to land and just hope for the best, or take control and go full throttle towards the mountain of water.
He chose the latter.
My palms are sweating just writing this.
If you've been in big surf or seen a big swell, with a lot of water moving and currents, the water can have tremendous energy underneath the wave, causing it to create a suck back.
Before the wave even hit, Ulrich’s vessel started to do just that—being sucked towards the incoming wall of water, which Ulrich described as “It wasn’t even a wave; it was like an explosion.”
Instead of fighting what was happening, Ulrich went with 'the flow' and navigated what he could, making it over the first wall of the tsunami before enduring subsequent waves, up to 20 feet high.
Incredibly, Ulrich finally regained control of the boat and escaped the bay.
Looking back, he beheld an unimaginable scene and what he didn’t realise would be the biggest tsunami ever recorded in history.
Okay, you can take a breath now. The story is over…
Doesn’t life feel like this sometimes?
I often turn to analogies and metaphors to help me navigate through life, especially during tougher times.
This one I think about often.
When life feels like a metaphorical big wave, we tend to have only two choices before us: React to everything that happens or try to regain control as best as we can with each wave.
Reacting to everything around us could involve getting easily aggravated by the late-running train on our way home (this is me, for sure).
Reacting could involve trying to control every aspect of each wave, making things very stressful and overwhelming.
Or one I experience nearly every day: reacting to myself and putting myself down for making a slight mistake or error.
Mum, I am sorry for swearing at myself.
Regaining control is about taking a breath when something isn’t going according to plan.
Regaining control involves chatting with a friend about a situation you can't see a way out of, instead of overthinking it.
Regaining control involves reminding yourself that you're doing the best you can and giving yourself more credit.
I see you; I recognize this in you—reacting, stressing, and overwhelming yourself over things. I am the same.
So this week, you and I are going to practice being like Ulrich and his son in that boat—navigating the waves ahead and regaining control of what we can.
If we can practice this, I truly believe we will experience a mind with less stress, reduced anxiety, and lighter worry about the inevitable waves ahead of us.
And hey, let’s be honest.
Sometimes the waves will smash us.
Sometimes we will remain in control.
But practice simply makes the latter more achievable.
After this email, take a breath and ask yourself:
What can I do this week to regain control of my situation as best as I can?
Because eventually, you'll overcome the wall of water, finding calmer seas once more.
I am with you on this one.
Keep going.
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