We recently returned from a trip to the Canadian Rockies and I have never seen mountains so majestic and vast… truly spectacular! Everywhere we looked we were surrounded and they seemed to go on forever.
On one of our last days we hiked a peak that was like no other that I’ve climbed. A peak (at 9000 feet!) with a scramble that was sketchy at best.
I didn’t know what I signed up for. The hike started off so beautifully, with streams and wildflowers and gentle inclines that were the perfect challenge. It was a joy to take it all in.
And then…
And then I looked up and there it was. A peak so high with an incline so steep that “HELL NO!!!!” was my first thought and immediate retort!
But Danny, my youngest, egged me on…
“Come on mom.
If you do this it will be the highest peak you’ve ever climbed.”
And so I took a step, and then another.
The altitude and incline were getting to me. I was huffing and puffing and breaks were happening every few minutes. I didn’t think I could do it.
Then it became somewhat of a game… I strived to take 20 steps at a time to reward myself with a nice break. I was breaking more than I was hiking.
It got harder and breaks came at every 10 steps.
I kept going, ever-so-slowly, motivated by Danny’s refrain.
After what seemed to be forever (but was only a couple of hours) I summitted the peak that I said Hell NO to. I surprised myself and it felt so damn good.
The truth is, I’m so much stronger than I thought.
And so are you.
The next time you’re overwhelmed and don’t think you can do the thing, take a step. Then a break. Then another step.
All goals happen one step, and one break, at a time.