One of the reasons I enjoy trips into the wilderness like this past week are the lessons I am able to take away from the experience and then apply to other aspects of life in the future. Quite often I know I could learn the same lessons without the experience, but there’s something about the openness in my mind during those trips. If I boil that down a bit I am pretty sure it is due to the extreme state of serenity and being present that isn’t quite the same in “real life.” That extra space, focus, and peace seem to allow my brain to see things more clearly then.

This trip was so similar in many ways. Here are a few of the lessons that have been running through my head over the past few days.

Everyone hikes their own mountain. We all have our own mountain and follow our own trail. Each of us has a different goal, a different why, and a different drive. Rather than minding others’ mountains I should focus on hiking mine. Always remember to help others when they need it on their mountain, but in the end it is their mountain to climb. Remember to not judge, envy, or curse the mountain of another. Mine is perfectly mine as long as I truly choose mine just as theirs is perfectly their own.

Pushing beyond fear can lead to incredible experiences. When doing something that causes fear I must remember what the worst case is. Will I die in this scenario? If so, maybe I shouldn’t do it unless I’m positive it is the last thing I wish to do. If I am very unlikely to die, I must be smart and safe, but I should also push past the fear. But what if I die? What’s the real loss – it was going to happen eventually anyway. So often the most beautiful, serene, and truly joyful experiences live just past fear. By avoiding all risk I would also avoid true joy.

Preparation helps create beauty and success through adversity. The more I prepare for all the possible contingencies the more likely I am to find success when confronting an obstacle.

The further away I am the more easily I can see the full picture and set my direction. The tighter I focus on each footstep the more likely I am to lose the trail. By focusing on each individual footstep one can climb the entire mountain. By focusing on the entire mountain I can quickly be intimidated by the size of the task at hand. The right answer to step back, set the vision, step close, and take one step at a time.

Always leave at least one mountain behind to haunt my dreams. The desire to hike it will bring me back to it in time more so than the desire to climb another mountain again. The mountain isn’t going anywhere before I go 😉

Great lessons for me to remember and apply to life. Great reminders of why I need to travel into the wilderness more 😉

Thanks!!!