Are the Valleys as important as the Mountaintops?

I was privileged to attend my local Toastmasters District Conference recently. Friday night’s opening event was a Table Topics Contest. Table Topics is impromptu speaking that allows participants to “Think on Their Feet”. Table Topics is also fast, that is unless you’re the speaker.

In Table Topics the idea is to tell a mini-story with a beginning, a body and a conclusion all within 2 minutes. The contestants must speak for at least 60 seconds to qualify. A Timer switches on a green light and the contestant knows they are at least in the running. At 90 seconds the speaker sees a yellow light. Now, the speaker should be thinking about tying their story together and it’s ending. At 120 seconds the speaker gets a red light and must wrap up their thoughts in 15 seconds. It’s a real talent to do this well. However, each contestant will tell you all it takes is practice.

The contestants were secluded and one by one they where invited to the stage and asked the same question by the Table Topics Master.
Are the Valleys as important as the Mountaintops?
I did my own personal judging on each contestant as they spoke. There were seven participants in all. As the judges were scoring the contestants, the question seeped back into my head, like a song that you can’t get out of your mind. The answers were thoughtful, insightful, funny and witty. The individual I chose to win didn’t even place in the top three. What were the judges looking for that I did not see? I knew they had to be as objective as possible. They all had guide sheets to keep the judging as fair as possible. I was missing something.

The person that did win had done an excellent job. Then, I got the “ah ha” moment of why the winner had won. They had “connected” with the audience. They took the question of the “Valleys” as being as important as the “Mountaintops” in a way that “connected” with the judges. The winner’s answer went from the judges ears and transcended to their hearts. All during the conference this word “connect” keep cropping back up. “Being Connected.” “Getting Connected.” “Connecting” your goals to your Speaking". Like the Valleys and the Mountains, the question “connected” me to the idea that one does not exist without the other.

Our lives are very much like this. We strive for the top, for the Mountains vistas which are often uncluttered and empty. The Valleys are where we mostly dwell and often don’t challenge ourselves to get out of. The challenge in Toastmasters and in life is to “connect” the two so there is balance. To appreciate the mountaintops and their rewards we start off in the Valley. We also know well that we are often brought back to the Valley. The process is ongoing. My life is now is transitioning from the green light to the yellow. One day it will go from the yellow to the red. Until then the goal for me is to appreciate the pinnacle when there and work towards it’s summit when I am back in the valley.