Summer Impact Series #8 - Life And The Climb
Aug 13, 2017
by Stephen Conca
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As we roll into week 8 of our Summer IMPACT series, it was just about a week ago that on 8/8/17 (1+7=8) I wanted to experience the true metaphor of life…a tough physical climb. 8/8/8 and week 8 of our IMPACT series seems to be a perfect fit!
We all want the view from the top, but it seems as though we spend the majority of our time “climbing” instead of reveling in a string of success.
At some point we all face adversity, a setback, or challenges that force us to dig deep and climb out of our uneasy situation.
We have also had times where we were feeling “on top of the world” just absolutely embracing life. While we often want more of these mountain-top moments, it seems like they don't happen as often as we want.
So last Tuesday myself and about 50 others set out to Mt. Quandary (14,252 feet high) just outside ofBreckenridge, CO. It was tough and together and we faced rain, sleet, snow, mud, wind, and yes, even some sun.
FOR THIS WEEK’S SUMMER IMPACT SERIES #8 – HERE ARE MY TOP 5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE CLIMB:
1. Life is always about the Journey! While we typically always want to hurry to the top of life, it seems like we spend a lot more time on the actual climb. Whether your goal is to lose weight, get stronger, improve your physical or financial health we often feel like we’re scratching, clawing, and fighting to get there as quickly as possible. It's human nature, however, we often forget to actually ENJOY THE PROCESS as tough as it might be. Life is a journey and meant to be embraced along the way. It's important to be in the moment and stay focused on the here and now.
2. Embrace the Elements of doubt and negativity. The Rain, hail, wind, snow, mud and cold made the climb tougher than normal but then again, isn't that the essence of life? There will always be distractions, doubters and things coming at you to derail your efforts. You just keep focusing on one step forward at a time and deal with the situation you are facing. Overcome that, and get ready for the next round of elements.
3. What’s your Mindset? Mindset Matters Most. It can be athletics, work, home, fitness, or climbing a mountain, mindset is always critical. As my friend and mentor Todd Durkin preaches all the time about getting the mind right was 90% of the battle on this climb. Those little voices of doubt begin to creep up in my head that said, this is going to be really tough,my knees are going to hurt on the way down, are my lungs going to hold up.. etc. I just had to keep Todd’s words in my mind… GET YOUR MIND RIGHT. And that's something I try say to myself every single day, and you should as well.
4. Stay Locked in…and keep Climbing.I must admit when I got to the parking lot and looked up at the snow capped peak in the clouds, I said to myself, wow, this is going to be tough. As I got closer I looked up to see where I was going and that was motivational and daunting at the same time. I knew where I wanted to go. Keep your head down, stay locked in to your goals and it’s ok to look up to see what’s ahead. Sometimes, you’re closer then you think.
When I would have to stop to catch my breath I would look down the mountain where I came from. It was inspiring to stop and look back and realize how far I had already climbed.
5. Celebrate and Create. The more magical moments we can create in our lives the more we can celebrate! It can be anything, losing 10lbs, doing a mile on the bike in under 4 minutes, making the travel team…whatever you’re shooting for. You don’t have to climb a 14,000 mountain. Since that was my task at hand there was nothing like the exhilaration at the top of that mountain. We celebrated, and now we have to look to create the next magical moment. As you should as well!
Commit to doing something outside of your comfort zone that scares you a little bit. It will set you up to ultimately experience an incredible journey, and make you a stronger person for doing that. What are you going to do
Continue to climb and enjoy the process!
