Hidden Dangers
Nature amazes me. Coming here to this small town in rural Costa Rica always inspires me, helps to ground me, and reminds me of the powerful natural forces that we can not control.
Today, I left the house to make a quick run in to town (about a 45 minute round trip). When I left, the conditions were amazing.
It started raining shortly after I started my journey and the sky really opened up for a monsoon like downpour (this is common during this time of year). In a short time, the dirt roads became rivers and many areas became impassable.
Here’s a picture of what I returned to in one of the lower-lying areas on my return trip.
When you look at this picture, you may just see a road with some water on it. It looks wet, but it could potentially still be passable. In fact, I drove through similar areas without incident before reaching this one. What you don’t see when looking at this picture is that there is a small bridge, just wide enough for one car, that is totally submerged.
A driver that is unfamiliar with the area, might attempt to drive through the water thinking it was similar to previous puddles, only to drive off the side of the bridge (unfortunately, this happens more often than you might think).
If you do successfully find the hidden bridge and navigate across, on the other side is a decline. The water that was 10-15 centimeters (4-6 inches) over the bridge suddenly becomes a meter or more (3-4 feet) deep on the other side (about waist high). If you are driving a car or a small SUV, this depth of water combined with the current will most likely stall your vehicle, leaving you at the mercy of the rushing water to possibly push you off the road into a flooded ditch (which creates a whole other set of challenges for survival).
It is exciting! You have to constantly be aware of the changing conditions. It is also a great reminder of the hidden dangers that exist and can pop up with very little notice.
When we are trading, investing, starting our own business, or really doing anything in life, we are taking risks. Sometimes we have beautiful conditions where the risks seem minimal. Other times, we see murky waters over the road. We know that it can be passable, but we need to be mindful of the hidden dangers.
Understanding the hidden dangers allows us to examine our tools, level of experience, and possible outcomes. From there, we can make a decision for whether or not we want to push forward or wait a bit for better conditions to present themselves. Maybe we need to find an alternate path.
It is easy to get caught in the moment. When it is raining and waters are flooding your path, sometimes it is tough to consider that the conditions will change if we just wait. This can cause us to be hasty and take chances that are not in our best interest and could have catastrophic outcomes.
The same is true for when it is sunny and everything is going better than planned. It is hard to consider that the conditions might turn at any moment and risk will increase.
The “take away” from this article is to remind you that we always want to be aware of
What happened with my return trip? I waited 40 minutes. The rain stopped and the road cleared as quickly as it had first flooded. I didn’t take unnecessary risk and made it home safely.
Remember that everything is cyclical. Wait for the right conditions and take action only when it is in your best interest.
