“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves” ~ Sir Edmund Hillary.
Sometimes the effort of bringing our dreams to life can feel like standing at the bottom of the mountain looking up, intimidated by the steep and rocky climb to reach the summit. It feels unattainable. Undoable. Our fear keeps us rooted in our comfort zone at the foot of the mountain. Our dreams remain just that: dreams.
When we choose the dream, the journey isn’t always easy. We could get stuck on a ledge, panic when looking down at how far we could fall, we may need ropes, crampons, harnesses to help us, we may take wrong turns and have to back-track and find another way, or discover we’ve hit a false summit and have to dig deep for the final stretch.
As we gain height, however, we notice the views changing. It opens up our thinking, our fears lose power. The mountain starts to reveal itself as we progress up its slopes. We start to become aware of our own stamina and resourcefulness, of our strengths and sheer willpower to get to the top. That dream really means something, and we bloody want it!
And when we manage to reach that summit, wow! We feel energised and proud because of what we’ve achieved. We open our arms wide. We breathe in deeply. We soak in our new perspective and sense of achievement, and we see there are lots more mountains to climb in the mountain range of life around us and plenty of valleys to navigate between those peaks. And they don’t seem quite so scary anymore, because we’ve transformed on our journey between the foot and the summit of our mountain.
As a coach I see my role as a journey companion, one who encourages and champions my adventurous clients to take their first brave steps into the unknown, who secures the ropes, pushes them to keep going, to be curious and explore, and to coax them away from the ledges when they feel stuck. To conquer their mountain!
And to celebrate like crazy when we get to the summit and they’ve discovered how much power and determination lies within them, and how truly capable they really are to conquer any mountain in their future.
I love being a mountaineer of the mountain ranges of life.
❓What meaning do your dreams have for you?
❓What are you willing to invest to get to the top of your metaphorical mountain?
❓Are you ready to take your first step with me as your guide?
