Sometimes metaphors reveal themselves in ways you’d never expect.  Recently I spent an afternoon outside carrying a truckload of chopped wood across the yard, and stacked it in a neat pile.  At the end of it I had two things: a nice pile of wood and the realization that stacking wood is a lot like life.  Here’s why.

1. Starting with a plan is a good idea.

A stack of wood without a plan is just another pile of wood.  Mine needed to be tall and straight, and located in a key spot next to the fire pit, because that’s what I wanted.  We begin a lot of tasks by determining what we want and tracing the steps we need to take to get there.  So why don’t we approach life that way?

Determining what we want out of life can be challenging, but it’s not impossible.  Visualize what you want your life to look like.  Then map out the steps you need to take to get there.

2. Optimism and confidence can only take you so far.

I’m a big believer in optimism.  Keeping an open mind allows you to take chances other people might not.  You can’t drown in what-ifs when you’re optimistic – you start things – you learn and grow from everything new you try.

However, when you’re building up a stack of wood, optimism doesn’t keep the stack from falling down.  You still need to place each piece in a stable position if you expect it to stand up for long.  Life is like that.  Optimism helps you get started and get over those unavoidable mistakes.   It doesn’t keep your life from falling apart, it helps you pick up the pieces when it does.  Laying down a strong foundation is what supports your stack, so take the time to do it right.

3. One bad log can’t take down the whole pile.

In my final stack of logs there was more than one that was a little unsteady.  But if my pile collapsed it wasn’t because of any one log, it was usually because it wasn’t supported from below.

Work, relationships, health, finances and spirituality– these are all things that play a role in our lives in one way or another.  Keeping a balance helps us deal with the odd log that starts to roll out from under us.

4. Things don’t always fit together the way you think they will.

Sometimes it’s tough to tell where to put a piece of wood.  You can tell by the shape if it’s going to fit on top of the others, but you never really know until you slap it on to see if it wobbles.

Relationships, jobs and many other parts of your life are like that.  You think you have an idea of what’s perfect for you, but you really have no idea until you try it out.