See the way forward.

Adam Laurie/Rescue Canada photo and video.

I pull out in a snowstorm on my way to work, onto a easy section of straight road in my Tacoma pickup, and suddenly fishtail.  Automatically, I focus on the straight road in front of me, the way forward, where I want to go.  Foot off the gas before I even think about it, and back on track I am.

Last spring, I get my BC Class 1 driver's license. It's the British Columbia equivalent of the CDL: commercial driver's license, qualifying the driver to drive 18-wheelers, the big semi-trucks you see on the highway. That training, with the driver commanding such a large, heavy vehicle, underscores the consequences of an out-of-control rig.  When you start to slide, if you focus on what you're afraid of hitting, you'll hit it every time.  Focus on where you want the truck to go, and you have a chance.

It's the same in swiftwater.  Strainers are partially submerged objects, usually trees, but they can be mattress springs, fishing line, you name it.  If you're canoeing, or rafting, or swimming in swiftwater there are going to be hazards.

Sometimes you can't avoid them, as above, and you have to take them on.  That's dangerous.  The video above occurred in a controlled setting for training purposes.  It's best  -- and it will likely save your life -- to avoid them.

Focus on the hazard and you will hit the hazard.  Focus on a safe way through and you maximize your chances for safe travel and even a fun ride.

It's the same with life.  Life has risks.  There are challenges.  Maybe they "just happened," and maybe you know exactly what you did to get there.  There are hazards.  There are hazards downstream, things coming up that can derail you.  There are hazards upstream: events from your past that may come back and bite you.  There are slippery sections of road.  There are risks and there are "what ifs."

What are you going to focus on?  Focus on the problems and the problems will be right there in front of you, looming larger when, before you know it, you're overwhelmed.

What are you going to focus on?  How will you mitigate, or reduce, the potential of hazards to derail your journey?

Focus on the way forward and you have a chance.  It's your only chance.  And hey, you might even have fun.