Dr Shiam Chuttoo

Part 2 of my ladder series. New here? Start with Part 1: The Ladder That Lets You Climb Back On.

No ladder stands in perfect weather

In my first piece on the ladder I wrote about six rungs, two rails and the freedom to climb back on. Since then a question has stayed with me. What happens to the climber when the wind gets up? Over the years since, on poles, on wards, in classrooms and in coaching rooms, I have watched good people climb well on calm days and lose their footing in a storm. This piece is about the weather, and about the climber we choose to be when it turns.

From the pole to the page

Before nursing, before the classroom, my first ladders were real ones. For eight years I worked for the Central Electricity Board (CEB) in Mauritius, first as an apprentice electrician and then as a lineman. Climbing was my daily work, whatever the weather: blazing sun, pouring rain, even the cyclone season that every Mauritian knows. The power still had to flow, so I still had to climb, with live lines above and hard ground below. On those days safety was paramount. A lineman learns quickly that the ladder forgives nothing. So when I speak of climbing, I speak from rope burns and cold hands as well as from books.

Every safe climb I ever made followed the same habits. Years later I realised they are the same habits that keep a person steady in life.

• Check the ladder first: look for cracked rungs before you climb. In life, check your health, your rest and your support before you start something big.
• Set the footing: firm, level ground, never a loose stone. Your footing is your values and the basics of food, sleep and safety.
• Get the angle right: we used the one-in-four rule, one unit out for every four units up. Too steep and you tip back, too shallow and the feet slide. Balance is a measurement, and it needs checking every time.
• Tie it off and have it footed: a ladder secured at the top, with a mate holding the bottom, is a ladder you can trust. Nobody climbs well alone. Name the people who foot your ladder.
• Three points of contact: two hands and a foot, or two feet and a hand, on the ladder at all times. In a hard season, keep three things you never let go of.
• Rung by rung, facing the ladder: no skipping, no climbing backwards, no looking down for long. Progress you can repeat beats progress you rush.
• Never overreach: keep your belt buckle inside the rails. When the job is out of reach, climb down and move the ladder. Moving the ladder is part of the job.

That last lesson saved more linemen than any piece of kit, and it has saved me more than once off the ladder too.

Three Fs that steady your feet

• Frameless: refuse the frame others draw around you. Age, background and past mistakes are all frames. Step outside them and the ladder grows longer than you were told it could.
• Fearless: fear will still visit. Fearless means you climb with it in your pocket and keep your eyes on the next rung.
• Faithful: stay true to your values, your people and your purpose, especially when nobody is watching the climb.

The F that shakes the ladder

Frantic. I have seen it in students the night before a deadline and in managers chasing targets: two rungs at a time, hands slipping, energy everywhere and direction nowhere. Energy is a gift on the ladder. Frantic energy is that gift spilled. Slow your hands, place one foot, then the other.

When the storm comes

As a lineman I learned that a storm is often the very moment you are needed most. When a cyclone brought lines down, people were waiting in the dark, and somebody had to climb. We never climbed in a hurry. We checked the ladder, tied it off, had it footed, and only then went up. Rushing in a storm gets people hurt. Care in a storm gets the lights back on.

Life storms arrive the same way, without asking: illness, loss, a cruel word, money worries. In a storm the climber has one job, to hold both rails. Resilience in one hand, determination in the other. You may not climb a single rung that day, and that is still a good day if you are still on the ladder when the sky clears.

The tip of the iceberg

When people see someone near the top, they see the tip of the iceberg: the certificate, the title, the win. Beneath the water lie the years of practice, the early mornings, the quiet setbacks nobody photographed. Remember this when you compare your hidden climb with someone else’s visible summit.

The ivory tower

Some reach the top and build an ivory tower there, comfortable, sealed, and out of earshot of the people still climbing. I met leaders like this in my working life, and I met their opposite: the ones who kept walking the ward. The sixth rung of my ladder is Give Back for exactly this reason. The view from the top is meant to be shared with the climber below.

The poster personality

Then there is the poster personality: a perfect smile, a perfect caption, a perfect pose at the top of a ladder they never really climbed. Posters fade in the sun. Look at the hands. Real climbers have rope marks.

Two sayings from home

Nehle pe dehla. In a card game, you play a nine and someone answers with a ten. In life, someone shakes your ladder and you want to shake theirs harder. Try it and see what happens: both of you are now holding on with one hand. A climber who spends the day trading blows climbs nowhere. Let the ten go, and take the next rung.

Tu daal daal, main paat paat. You on the branch, me on the leaf: there will always be someone a step ahead, or one move cleverer. Let them. The only climber worth racing is the one you were yesterday. One rung higher than yesterday is a victory.

Questions to sit with

• Which of the three steadying Fs do I need most this week: frameless, fearless or faithful?
• Where am I being frantic, and what would one slower step look like?
• Whose iceberg have I judged by its tip?
• Is there a nine I am waiting to answer with a ten, and can I let it go?

Check the ladder. Climb steady. Hold both rails. Share the view.

Read more on my blog, and subscribe to receive each new piece by email: drshiamchuttoo.com/blog

A word of caution. This piece is for education and personal reflection. It is not medical, psychological, financial, legal or ladder-safety training advice, and it does not replace care from a qualified professional. Please understand any technique before you use it. Anyone who uses these ideas does so by their own choice and is responsible for their own actions. For work at height, follow the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance and your employer’s training. If stress, worry or low mood stays with you, talk to your GP or another health professional. In the UK you can call NHS 111, Samaritans free on 116 123, or 999 in an emergency.

© Dr Shiam Chuttoo 2026. Weather on the Ladder, Shiam’s Ladder and the three steadying Fs (Frameless, Fearless, Faithful) are the original work of Dr Shiam Chuttoo. Credit: Weather on the Ladder, created by Dr Shiam Chuttoo. You may share or use this work only with my permission, or with clear credit to me as its author. Contact: shiamduth@outlook.com. Work record: Ref DSC-2026-LADDER-03. Title: Weather on the Ladder. Author: Dr Shiam Chuttoo. Created 15 October 2026. All rights reserved.