[WIWIK Series] What I Wish I Knew…About Arriving
Imagine you are climbing a mountain. It is beautiful at times, with fresh air and the birds cheering you on. It is also hard at times, with mud on your shoes, steep hills, and crumbling rocks. Throughout the hike, you learn how to position your feet for better adherence, you strengthen your leg muscles and understand when to hydrate, eat and rest for best performance. Then you arrive at the top – WOW! It’s awesome here! It’s a great feeling of accomplishment!
Then, you realize 2 things:
- This is not the top of the mountain. This is only a different level to the mountain.
- You are running out of water. You either have to go back down or use the skills you acquired and newly grown muscles to continue on your journey up. Even if you decide to stay still, soon enough you’ll be going down.
You take a deep breath, choose a track and continue on your journey. You know a lot more now as new challenges arise. You are stronger than before and use your wisdom and muscles to move forward.
As you get to the top, you stretch and smile, content.
This is when you realize:
DAMN IT! This is not the top of the mountain either!??!! WHAT?!
If you continue on your journey up, here is what you will find out: there is no top to this mountain. You just get better at climbing and navigating it, as you achieve different levels.
So, is this journey about arriving somewhere?
Or is this journey about every step of the way?
Whatever you want to achieve is a beautiful process. You will achieve milestones, which are part of this process, not an end to it. You are constantly in movement, growing and evolving. If it is not in the direction of your goal, it is in another.
No matter where you want to ‘arrive’, this new level will still require you to show up and build new muscles and skills so you are able to handle it. There is nothing else but growth – this is what you are here for. You are meant for this! <3
What is WIWIK?
Introducing the WIWIK series: What I Wish I Knew
A series of short articles demystifying many of the misconceptions about what your personal development journey should look like and what is truly possible for you.
In a world where people mostly only talk about their success – let’s talk about the process.
Find all the WIWIK articles HERE.
“You are running out of water.”
Now that’s a snippet asking to be developed…
Do you know where to find water ( a metaphor) on this climb?
Do you know how much water you need to stay refreshed and hydrated in the climbing conditions?
Is your water bottle large enough and suitable for collecting water from small trickles? Have you alternatives?
Oh, clever! Genevieve. I hope you take this aspect further.
Thank you, Andrea! I like the ideas that you bring! The metaphor of the water is to express that staying still is an illusion, we are always in movement and if we are not moving in one direction, you are moving in another. Within the context of the climb, whether we are going up or down, our bodies will sooner or later need water, food, etc. We can’t decide to stop our bodies from digesting and needing fuel.
It is the same with our minds. We can arrive at a certain point but we can’t stop the mind from evolving at that point. If we decide to stop exploring, challenging ourselves, we are eventually going in another direction.
I also love how water represents self-care and making sure we are at our best to keep going – know yourself and how much water you need! Thanks for your input!