A Mountaintop Experience: Lessons from the Climb of My Life! | Ep #13

This episode features a story about a time when I had to face perhaps the biggest challenge of my life. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, I was pushed to the edge, literally. As I attempted to climb to the top of a huge mountain, Huayna Picchu, in Peru, I was unprepared for the journey ahead. This is a climb that rises over 1000 feet in elevation, and all of it is almost straight up. The path and stairways are primitive. They even named part of the trail “The Stairs of Death!”

What do you do when you want to quit and turn back, but know you can’t live with yourself if you do? How do you approach those kinds of challenges? In this episode, we discuss seven steps that will support you when you make a commitment to break a habit, start a new habit, accept a challenge, set a new goal, or pursue something you’re passionate about.

Those steps:

1. Commit. Make the commitment to complete the task at hand. If you’re new at this, start small. The goal is to set yourself up to succeed!
2. Prepare. What do you need to do to help you be successful? Set boundaries. Build in accountability. Reward yourself with boxes to check each day, or find a way to track your progress!
3. Stop now and then to Breathe! Sometimes when I begin a new endeavor, I’m afraid if I stop, I will never start again. I don’t like breaking my streaks, so instead, I often burn out. I don’t allow room for rest. You can run 10 marathons, but not all at once! So give yourself some grace and allow yourself and life to unfold around your pursuit. * The exception? If you are trying something like quitting smoking, you may not want to give yourself permission to slip. The addiction to nicotine is strong and in that case, you don’t want to experience a huge setback! Set yourself up to win.
4. Ask for help. You can ask others, or you can pray, and ask God or angels or a loved one to help you with the challenge before you. There is a spiritual law of non-interference that says your guardian angel cannot step in unless you ask… so don’t forget to ask!
5. Perspective. It helps to get a perspective on how far you’ve come, and how far you have left to go. Don’t allow either of those to discourage you but do give yourself credit for the progress you’ve made.
6. Expect Setbacks. With any good challenge, you are most likely going to experience a setback. Go with it. Don’t let it derail your motivation. I like to plan for it so that when it arrives, I’m ready. But that’s my controlling nature! Setbacks are not an excuse to quit. But sometimes, no matter what we do, progress is not being made. In that case, it’s always good to evaluate and determine how to pivot or change the timing. That comes from a gut feeling, a knowing, not from our ego that tells us to give up. So pay close attention to where the information is coming from.
7. CELEBRATE! Bask in the glory of accomplishing your goal. It doesn’t matter if you set the goal for seven days or seven weeks or one year! Celebrate the completion of that goal. Then set your sights on a new one!