A couple weeks ago, I took an 11-mile hike (with 2,500 feet of elevation gain) to a mountain lake with my sweetheart.
As I was limping back to the trailhead at the end, 7 hours later, I felt completely exhausted but also totally exhilarated.
It reminded me why we do hard things.
In this case, it wasn’t because there was anything particularly special about this specific destination. (There were lots of beautiful mountain lakes we could have seen that required a much shorter hike).
It was more about the desire to push the edges, have an adventure, and feel a sense of actualization in having done a hard thing.
Ease + comfort are wonderful. I want a lot of both in my life.
But I’m also aware that we’re here to climb mountains.
We’re here to reach for the impossible, do the gritty work of healing, push the edges of possibility, and become the person we want to be along the way.
Which asks us to work through the hard stuff that comes up along the way.
Like the creek crossings on our hike, we sometimes encounter obstacles -- moments when we’re not sure we can make it to the other side -- or if it’s even worth it to try.
Going after what matters often brings up all of our self-doubt, insecurity, and fear of failure -- but working through these moments of freak-out help us get to the breakthroughs that open a way forward.
Meeting obstacles on a rough road isn’t necessarily a sign we’re doing it wrong or that taking the journey was a mistake.
It's often just a sign that we’re living into the edges + depths of what life offers -- and digging for the treasures that are available within + around us.
So what's your next step up the moutain? And what might it look like to embrace that journey in an even deeper way?