As we neared the top of the climb I was a bit tired and breathing hard, I would be lying if the thought didn’t cross my mind to quit as I paused to rest. Even when I could see the end destination, I still had the thought pass through my head to quit… but that’s how it is always going to be. Whether on a hike or in life, we are always going to have the thought pop in our head to give up, but we don’t have to pay any attention to it.
This weekend with a large group of friends, I hiked a trail in the Superstition Mountains. It was manageable but it took some work. As I was hiking I realized this particular hike related to our journey to achieve a goal in many ways.
When we approached the trailhead we did so optimistically, a few people who had done the hike before pointed up to our destination which lay 1.5 miles in the distance. I looked up and even commented, “that’s it, that’s not very far at all.” As we set out the first half mile of the path was 50 yards wide without many turns. It was pretty flat save it were for hundreds of football sized rocks partially protruding from the ground. Every now and then we briefly stumbled over them. The path was very wide and fairly straight, with few turns. .
In our life goals, when we set out and decide what we really really want to go after, we are excited and smiling. We expect to accomplish our goal, sometimes we even look out at it and think that it looks really easy The first part of the journey is often scattered with challenges but they are so small that we don’t even really think much about them, except when they briefly cause us to stumble. Often the path is very wide and straight and we have a decent amount of flexibility to meander a bit as we get started.
The 2nd half mile of our hike , the difficulty began to increase. We encountered steeper climbs mixed with some flatter ground. We continued to the have the smaller rocks strewn across our path but now at times, there were boulders in our way, which we simply stepped over or around to a more open pathway. We also began to feel a little winded and began to wonder when we would arrive at the top.
In the 2nd stage of going after our goals, we often begin to see the journey get steeper. We encounter all of the smaller challenges that we had before but often now they are coupled with larger boulders. At times this can dishearten us and at this point some people even give up. However, for other people the new challenges can push them to get creative to figure out ways around them. Others may begin to feel a bit tired and wonder when or even if they are going to arrive at the finish line, but they keep trudging along.
The 3rd half mile of the hike, was much more difficult then the first mile altogether. It was much steeper and had many boulders. Quite a few people were on the path either climbing up or down which made us slow down a bit as we let them get around us. As I climbed, it was quite a bit slower than I had before. At times, I even paused to rest a little bit to catch my breath and also to admire the beautiful view down below. And Other times as I climbed, I would step on a rock covered in dirt and my foot would slip a little bit. The last 100 yards or so of the hike the mountain became fairly steep, it took more effort to get up, my legs even burned a little bit, and as I mentioned above for a brief moment I thought of just stopping – even right when I could see the end.
In the third stage of reaching our goals, the climb begins to intensify – SIGNIFICANTLY. Often times at the worst times, challenges and difficulties begin to arise. At times we are slowed down to sometimes a crawl, and it may even feel that we are not moving at all. However, when it feels like we are not moving, often times we are in the process of taking some of the biggest and hardest steps. As long as we keep moving our feet, we will reach the top. Though at this point, many people even though they are so close, give up. Why? They get frustrated, it becomes hard or they are not getting there as fast as they want to. The worst part is — They had what it took and could have reached their goals if they kept going but chose not to. On the other hand, in every group that starts there is a handful of finishers. Those finishers dig in even if it takes late nights and they have to sacrifice those things that they really love to do and they achieve their goal.
The top of the climb is incredible. As I arrived and entered the large cave, I was fairly tired and a bit dehydrated, I sat down and drank some water and just sat there for 5-10 minutes taking it all in. It had been over a year since I had done a hike like this and I was really pleased and content with finishing this hike. After a while of sitting down, I went over with the rest of the group and took pictures and celebrated our achievement.
When you accomplish your goal, you will feel a sense of aliveness and joy. You may be exhausted from all of the hard work and sacrifices that you made to get there, and you may even take a little bit to pause and rest – and mentally breathe. You may even spend some time enjoying the view and looking back at all the hard work that you had to do. There is no feeling like completing a goal that you set out to achieve.
And then there comes a time after the celebration and the excitement that you feel in your heart it is time to move towards your next goal, and so you head back down the mountain to prepare for the next goal – pondering, contemplating and deciding the next mountain for you to take on!
As a coach one of the things that I do is keep my clients going . We all have times that we want to quit – myself included. Don’t give up! Don’t quit, you will always regret it! I know it seems hard and challenging, but completing challenging things is what makes us come alive! And after a while we even begin to enjoy the challenge.
What challenge are you currently working on?
If you don’t yet know what challenge you want to work on or could use some help figuring it out, contact me to set up a coaching session, and let’s dive in to helping you figure it out. Don’t wait to figure out what challenge you want to take on. Now is the time!