Hone In On Your Values With the I-Beam Test

By Mark Brown

I-beam are steel beams used for support in construction. They typically measure about 6 inches wide, 8 inches high, and 140 feet long. They are one of the most essential building elements.

They can also be used as an exercise to determine what we really value. And once we determine what we value, we can spend our time, money, and effort accordingly.

Suppose an I-beam were laid on the ground with a $100 bill on one end. If all you had to do was walk along the length of the beam to collect the money, would you do it?

Of course you would. You may slip off once in awhile, but you would give it a shot.

But what if that same I-beam were fastened between the tops of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur? (These buildings, standing 1,483 feet tall, were seen in the movie “Entrapment.”) Would you still give it a shot?

Factor in the wind, which at that height is a constant and would cause the beam to sway from side to side. By the way, no parachutes are allowed.

Would you cross for $100? No? How about $10,000? $10 million?

No sane person would make the attempt, no matter how great the potential reward.

So what have you learned? Though you probably value money, you put a higher premium on your safety.

Makes sense–$10 million dollars is hard to spend from the morgue. Is there any way you would give it a shot?

But suppose your spouse or child were on one side and you had to cross to save them before they die.

Are you starting to think about crossing? Are some of you already halfway across? I would be.

I like this exercise because it helps to really organize what is important to me and where things in my life rank in importance.

The daily grind makes it easy to forget what we truly value. Even for those who do remember their values, it’s easy to forget to let people we value know how much we value them.

Some people will read this and think “That’s a cute idea.” They’ll quickly do the exercise in their heads and then life will get in the way.

Those that can take that passion and can connect it with their real lives and can tap back into it when life’s little mundane activities are facing them are the ones who truly embraced the exercise and hopefully will emerge with a greater understanding of value.

Isn’t it nice that we don’t have to cross an I-beam to protect the things we care the most about? Some of us need only to cross the living room or pick up the telephone.