Do you find yourself in serious trouble getting out of indebtedness? Indebtedness like the “quicksand is certainly hard to get out of, but it doesn’t suck people under the way it always seems to in the movies.”[1]
What to Do When You’re Stuck
If you do step into quicksand, says study co-author Daniel Bonn, you’ll only sink in a little deeper than your waist. “I would say there would be some pressure on the chest, but not enough to cause serious trouble.”
So how do you get out? Don’t ask your friends to tug on you; they’re likely to pull you “into two pieces if [they] try hard to pull [you] out,” said Bonn, a physics professor at the Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute at the University of Amsterdam.
“The way to do it is to wriggle your legs around. This creates a space between the legs and the quicksand through which water can flow down to dilate [loosen] the sand,” he explained. “You can get out using this technique, if you do it slowly and progressively.”
Origins of the Myth
A person will gradually begin to sink in quicksand, and movement will make the victim sink faster. This may be the origin of the advice to “never struggle if you’re caught in quicksand.”
But no amount of struggling will send you in over your head. Bonn suggests that it isn’t struggling that can get you into trouble, but getting caught in quicksand near the sea, which is generally where quicksand is found.
When the high tide comes in, you could drown.[2]
Taking the metaphor of a quicksand, here are some tips when battling against indebtedness:
- No time for blame.
- When faced with indebtedness, there is no time for you to blame on anyone nor yourself.
- It is time for you to acknowledge your state of being indebted.
- Seek for a good advice.
- Seek a sound advice from people you can really trust.
- Do not just seek for any advice as this can bring you more harm than good.
- Don’t fight against it, nor should you surrender.
- Do not create new debts to pay for an old debt. This can break you just like asking your friends to tug you when you’re trapped in a quicksand.
- Don’t get me wrong: to loan can indeed help expand and grow your business as long as you can be up-to-date with your payments. Being trapped in indebtedness is a different story.
- Don’t surrender. Being indebted is not the totality of you. You still have YOU.
- Act slowly, surely, yet progressively that is by:
- Communicating to your creditors. Most of them can appreciate your honesty and willingness to pay.
- Paying your debts regularly no matter how small it is. Do not promise any amount you cannot fulfill. When graced with a real opportunity to pay your full debt, pay in full.
- Watch your step and learn from the experience.
- I remember a popular Latin phrase during my secondary schooling: Experientia ducet, which means experience is the best teacher. But there are just some who refuses to learn from the best teacher.
- It is time to be more cautious as you travel the business road.
- If you are in doubt – stop, look, and listen before stepping into another loan.
- Be more prudent when thinking about getting into another loan be it for business or personal reasons.
- It is time to avoid unnecessary debts.
Works at iBizLeverage Web Services, Internet/website marketing company in Cebu Philippines, for SMBs (small- and medium-scale businesses).
