Today I hiked Mount Massive, Colorado's second highest 14er (A mountain 14,000' above sea level) Before you get all impressed, I'll let you know that just because it's the second highest, it's nowhere near one of the hardest.
As far as 14ers are concerned, Mount Massive is very straightforward. The trailhead is accessible by car, the trail is well built and simple to follow, and requires no technical skills.
Notice I didn't call it "easy".
I've hiked 20-something of the 58 14ers in the state, and so far none have proven easy. Some are short, others scenic, but all of them are steep and lacking the oxygen necessary to fuel my muscles adequately.
Today, about halfway up the steep, rocky, seemingly never ending trail, a thought popped into my mind.
I don't think I can do this.
I hike a lot, and I practice observing my brain on the trail, so this thought didn't surprise me at all. I've heard it countless times. I silently responded.
This is the hard part.
At a snails pace, I kept climbing.
Even though I felt like giving up, I never actually considered turning around.
As I moved up the mountain, I considered other times in life that feel hard, and how I make that difficulty mean something's gone wrong.
Business is slow = I'm a bad coach
No showed by a client = I must not be valuable
Argument with my husband = My marriage is in trouble
Skip a workout = I'm lazy
Lesson from Mount Massive: Don't give up, this is just the hard part.
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