0006: BEYOND THE FALSE SUMMIT

Beyond The False Summit

328 words, < 2 minutes

Sometimes when we look up, we can see the light through the trees. It’s a clue, but it could also be a tease. We tell ourselves we must be close. It’s not really about how much farther we have to go. What we really want to know is can we make it.

Challenges hide goals and obscure progress. It is easy to think that if we can reach that spot ahead of us, we will have made it. However, there are usually more false summits than we realize – in life and when climbing mountains.

When trying anything new the climb is longer than we think, and the chorus of “are-we-there-yets” feels never-ending. Ask any person who has ever hiked with young adults.

That’s one of the reasons why it is hard to be young or inexperienced. The more experience we have, the easier it is to imagine the challenges ahead and also how we can overcome them.

Without experience or a guide, we tend to aim for what we can see just ahead. How do we overcome the darkness of not being able to see beyond the false summit or the disappointment of realizing we’re not there yet?

We must tell ourselves and others, just a little bit more, and we’ll get there.

There is a simple rule when hiking, the more light we see, the closer we are to the top. We know we’ve reached the summit when we see the sky in every direction. That may seem obvious, but it’s easy to forget if we don’t look around.

So next time we are out there facing a challenge or helping others overcome a challenge, it’s helpful to remember to look around, search for the light, and embrace the idea that how much farther we have to go is almost always a little further.

As Robert Pirsig said, “It’s the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here’s where things grow.”