Three simple things you can do to climb out of the slump you’re in

Luther, exhausted, had become separated from his team on a Bolivian jungle trek.

He soon found himself in the unrelenting grasp of quicksand.

Stuck in the fragile, wet earth that pulled him in further with every panicked kick, he faced a choice that would change his life forever.

He could keep floundering and eventually starve and die, or he could make the composed, slow movements he needed to survive.

He chose the latter.

Consciously slowing his breathing, he ceased any sudden movements. Then he lay back on his walking stick. He could cover more surface area, and his hips would stay upright.

He inched backward until he felt for the thick stem of a plant.

Now he could pull his way out to safety.

The grand old journey of life often presents us with suffocating quagmires that feel impossible to slide free from.

An alarming number of us don’t make it. And yet there are ways to do what Luther did: taking composed and tiny steps.

When we’re in hell, we don’t need a complex strategy. We just need to get back on firm ground.