I went to bed in Tulsa and woke up in a swamp

Ever get stuck in a swamp?

For Treasure Hunters, a swamp is that place that you don’t like, didn’t want to go to, and land in over and over. Some examples of swamps are:

• Ending up in that same kind of job situation. Again!
• Being in that same kind of unfulfilling relationship. Again!
• Failing at the new diet. Again!
• Getting into the same fight with someone you care about. Again!
• Racking up the credit card bills and getting angry with yourself. Again!
• Having way too much to do and handle. Again!

We all have our personal swamps. When you’re thinking ugh, here I am again, you’re in a swamp.

There are a few ways we usually handle swamps:

• Sometimes we deny that we’re in a swamp. We tell ourselves, that’s just the way it is.
• Sometimes we get down on ourselves for ending up in the swamp, and vow never to let it happen again.
• And sometimes we work and struggle really hard to get out of the swamp, and scratch our heads wondering how we got there again in the first place.
• Ignoring the swamp or berating ourselves for being in a swamp just keeps us in place. And struggling to escape never works. That just brings the alligators, making things much worse.

We end up in swamps because we keep traveling the same comfortable paths with the best intentions. We don’t notice that we’re heading to the swamp again, or we notice, and don’t see any other options.

The key to getting out of the swamp–and to avoiding it in the future–is curiosity. Curiosity about what the swamp looks like. Curiosity about the path that took you to the swamp once again. And curiosity about other paths that you’ve been missing.

Get curious enough, and you never need to end up in the swamp again.

Here’s a quick Treasure Hunt you can go on in under five minutes
Write down some of the areas of your life that seem like they have a swamp. You may be even be in one right now.

You can tell a swamp because it seems familiar. There are patterns in the way you think, feel or operate that you recognize, and they don’t feel good. There may be aspects of the physical world that are tied to this swamp (the person storming out of the room, the checkbook seeming thin, or the car looking like a recycling bin).

Choose a swamp that you’re in now, or suspect you may be in soon. Spend a few minutes describing your swamp in as much detail as you can. Describe the path that gets you to the swamp.

Just get really curious about the swamp. Throughout the day, let the phrase “hmm, I’m curious” percolate in the back of your mind. Keep getting curious about the swamp.

And for the next few days . . .
Keep getting curious about more of your swamps. Notice what they look like, feel like, sound like. Notice the thought patterns going through your mind, and the words coming out of your mouth. Notice what happens in the physical world.

Just keep noticing the swamp. Keep getting curious.

Notice other paths that you don’t usually take. Notice where else you can go.

If you want to stay in the swamp, stay in the swamp. There’s nothing wrong with the swamp. It’s just a swamp.

And if you want to take another path, take another path. Get curious and see what happens.

You’re a Treasure Hunter. Explore the swamp, get curious!