The One-Rung Ladder

No matter how strong that one rung might be, a one-rung ladder isn’t very useful. Imagine trying to climb anything with only that one rung!

And imagine what would happen if that rung were to break – or heck, even get a little slippery. On a normal ladder you can shift your weight around, rely on other rungs, or even skip the faulty one entirely and still make the climb. But with just one rung? You’re not going anywhere but down.

In your life, your mental health is a constant climb. Sit around and do nothing, ever, and it will erode. Keeping yourself mentally fit requires activity of all kinds. And the more rungs on your ladder, the better.

Some people invest what seems like ALL of themselves into one thing, one “rung.” Maybe they’re 100% driven by their job, so much so that it becomes their identity. Or maybe they’re so absorbed in their romantic relationship that they seem to have no identity outside of it. It could be any number of things, but that’s not a secure way to climb.

Consider what happens when someone loses their job if they’ve completely wrapped their lives up inside it, versus a person with many other things going on in their lives. The person with a well-rounded life can lean on hobbies, family, relationships, professional associations, lots of things to keep their attitude up while they replace that one slice. But for a person for whom that’s the whole pie? It’s a much darker time.

A person whose romantic relationship is one of many things going on in their life can react to slight turbulence in that relationship very easily – they have other people to talk to, ways to decompress, and a better attitude overall. But for someone whose entire identity is as “such-and-such’s spouse,” even a minor disagreement can send them into a spiral.

Think about the things that are important to you. If you want to preserve them as healthy sources of joy, then diversify! Be more than just one thing – the ladder works best with many rungs.