Climbing a mountain is easy...*

Lessons from the Mountain 1

Have you ever climbed a mountain? ⛰️

This is going to sound flippant, but…

Climbing a mountain is easy.

I know that everyone’s own mountains are a huge challenge (in case you haven’t guessed, we’re using the mountain as a metaphor here…)

Whether you are scaling Everest, Kilimanjaro, Ben Nevis, Ingleborough, or Baildon Hill, we set ourselves the personal challenge to get to the top.

Sure, you are going to come across obstacles, there are times where you’re not going to know the way, there are times when you just want to give up, and there are times when you question whether you’re climbing the right mountain.

But it is easy, because it is just THERE. It is right in front of you, a reminder, every step, of where you are heading,. And once you decide which mountain to climb, you can forget about the big questions, and focus on the climb and the challenges on the way, step after step.

So… what happens when you reach the top?

This is something I come across all the time. You’ve hit the numbers you wanted. You’ve scaled your business and stepped back. You’ve got the work-life blend you wanted. You’re spending more time with the kids.

What now?

⛰️ I take a lesson here from the mountain.

When you reach the top of the mountain (and after heading down for a well-deserved drink and meal in a warm pub or café – celebrate the wins and all that), I turn my attention to the *that* big question 👆

This is both an exciting and scary time – no longer am I just trying to get to the top of the mountain in front of me: I now need to choose a whole new mountain.

How do you do this?

➡️ For me, it’s all about re-connecting with why I climbed it in the first place. It’s about reflecting on the last mountain, exploring what it meant to me, whether it fulfilled what I wanted or left me feeling empty, and working out what, in my head, heart and soul, I want to do next.

Now, this is always a good idea to do, at any point in your journey. But it is especially important once you reach the top of the mountain, because the view changes SO MUCH when you reach the top.

And the single best way to I find to do this big thinking (and here is where the metaphor comes a full circle) is to… go out and climb a mountain.

💡 Do the big thinking, ask the big questions, and go deep, away from distractions, in an extraordinary environment which sparks extraordinary thinking.