The Climb

If you have ever climbed a mountain, then you are no doubt familiar with what climbers refer to as a false summit. 

That’s when, after having hiked for hours, you think your “destination” is within reach. There you are way above timberline, the views are expansive, close to the peak.

Then, you step up over a rise and discover that looming above you in the distance is the true mountaintop. In that moment what’s left of the journey feels insurmountable. Yet you can see it…

To regain strength you look inward.

With eyes closed you imagine the 360-degree view that’s in store for you, a place where the sun and moon appear to hang within an arms reach and the quiet promises a sense of peace. Then, with eyes opened you look around and realize part of getting there is honoring where you are right now.

These visions pumps through your veins as you gather yourself to take that next steps forward. And despite the whisper of doubt in your head and the fatigue that has leached into your feet, you put one foot in front of the other and begin again.

In life there are lots of false summits, moments in time when a goal feels illusive, if not impossible.

When doubt wraps itself around me like a blanket sometimes I forget that only I can cast it to the side.

During those times I may even grant power to my self-doubt, which much like a mounting storm, will only grow. When that happens I really have to work hard to re-frame my thoughts and search for a different set of truths.

This much I know–what I give power to–gets it.

Whether standing at the base of a mountain or at the summit, the view is what I make of it and turning my dreams into tangible outcomes requires me to continue to step forward.

Taking time out to be in the moment to feel, to be, allows me to take care of myself and focus on the journey—the moment that is now—for it is as important as reaching the “summit.”

Working toward a goal has a series of wins and celebrating the mini-triumphs and where I am right now makes each peak I arrive at all the richer.

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