Last summer, on my road trip up the West Coast, I met a friend who is a life coach. In addition to working with clients, Wendy sends out weekly e-mails to devoted fans with a thought for the week (cleverly called Wendy's Weekly Words of Wisdom, appropriately sent out on Wednesdays). I have enjoyed reading her insights, and, this summer, I found myself thinking in WWWW mode as I went mountain biking. I revisited the same idea today, and decided to write it up for Wendy... and then figured I may as well share it here, too.
When you have a big project ahead of you, people often to tell you to "see the big picture" or to "begin with the end in mind." Sure, it's helpful to have an idea of where you are going, but what if that end seems so intimidating or unreachable that picturing it actually deters you from getting started? Sometimes, it's more helpful to take it a step at a time.
This summer, I found myself mountain biking while on a trip in England. The sport is pretty new to me, so I felt really challenged by the hills on the trail. We would come around a corner, and there was this huge hill in front of me, staring me down. I would get discouraged, start to feel tired, be tempted to give up, and struggle my way to the top. Then, on one particular hill, I decided to try a different approach. I kept my eyes focused on the ground under me, and, rather than wondering if I could make it up the hill, I asked myself, "can I go one more peddle?" Peddle after peddle, I pushed myself up the hill, until suddenly, without the typical struggle, I was at the top. By ignoring the intimidation of the challenge and focusing on each moment instead, I didn't psych myself out or give up on myself.
I thought about that experience this afternoon, as I hiked up a mountain behind my house. The trail has several steep sections, including the last mile or so to the top. The last time I hiked this trail, I felt very much as I did early on in that bike ride, thinking I couldn't make it up that mountain without a huge struggle. Today, though, I decided to take the same approach I took when biking. I didn't allow myself to look up the trail during the final steep section, but instead focused on my feet and each step I took. I didn't need to be strong enough to make it all the way up the trail, but just strong enough to take one more step. One more step. One more step. Then, just like that, I had reached the end of the section and made it to my goal, without stopping once.
The completion of a big project or challenge is always worth it, but sometimes in order to get there, you have to focus on each step, rather than looking up the trail.
This summer, I found myself mountain biking while on a trip in England. The sport is pretty new to me, so I felt really challenged by the hills on the trail. We would come around a corner, and there was this huge hill in front of me, staring me down. I would get discouraged, start to feel tired, be tempted to give up, and struggle my way to the top. Then, on one particular hill, I decided to try a different approach. I kept my eyes focused on the ground under me, and, rather than wondering if I could make it up the hill, I asked myself, "can I go one more peddle?" Peddle after peddle, I pushed myself up the hill, until suddenly, without the typical struggle, I was at the top. By ignoring the intimidation of the challenge and focusing on each moment instead, I didn't psych myself out or give up on myself.
I thought about that experience this afternoon, as I hiked up a mountain behind my house. The trail has several steep sections, including the last mile or so to the top. The last time I hiked this trail, I felt very much as I did early on in that bike ride, thinking I couldn't make it up that mountain without a huge struggle. Today, though, I decided to take the same approach I took when biking. I didn't allow myself to look up the trail during the final steep section, but instead focused on my feet and each step I took. I didn't need to be strong enough to make it all the way up the trail, but just strong enough to take one more step. One more step. One more step. Then, just like that, I had reached the end of the section and made it to my goal, without stopping once.
The completion of a big project or challenge is always worth it, but sometimes in order to get there, you have to focus on each step, rather than looking up the trail.
Standing in front of Harvard Lakes, with Five Fingers and Mt. Columbia hiding in the background.
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