The book “Peaks and Valleys” was written by Dr. Spencer Johnson. It is an incredible story – parable – of a young man that went through a journey. This journey, aided by a wise older man, helped him to properly view and deal with the ups and downs in his life.
Three of the goals of this book is to help you:
- Get out of your valley sooner
- Stay on a peak longer
- Have more peaks and fewer valleys
I didn’t notice anything specifically Christian or Biblical, but the principles are certainly based in Scripture. I’ll share a couple of the many takeaways from this book:
“It is natural for everyone everywhere to have peaks and valleys”
- Our life is filled with ups and downs. You are either going through a valley, coming out of a valley, or going into a valley. To be successful – even just to have joy – we need to learn to manage these times in our lives.
“Peaks and valleys are not just the good and bad times that happen to you, but they are also how you feel inside and how you respond to outside events.”
- With Christ, we can have peace and joy, even in the down times of our lives.
“Peaks and valleys are connected”
- “The errors you make in today’s good times create tomorrow’s bad times”
- “The wise things you do in today’s bad times create tomorrow’s good times”
- “Where does the highest part of the valley end and the lowest part of the peak begin?”
- Our life usually has transitions between our good and bad times. It’s sometimes hard to pinpoint a particular time or event. It’s a gradual chain of events that either leads us up or down.
“Share it with others”
- “For them”
- “For yourself”
Question: Will you check out this book and see how it can help you through your own valleys? If it helps you, share it with others.
I read this book about a year ago and it’s a great one. I was glad to get a refresher here.
It was so good! I actually got the audio version of it from the library, and I plan on listening to it again. So much in it!
Good idea, I might buy the audio version and listen to it while driving.
I haven’t read the book, but based on your description the one other take away might be the value of a mentor or someone to disciple you through lifes peaks and valleys. And then the value of you also discipling someone else.
There are definitely a lot of things about mentoring someone. I’ve started working on a post about it, should be up this next week.
Great reminder. It’s been a couple of years since I read it and I had forgotten how good it was. Might need to pull it back out.
You’re welcome. Definitely worth another look!