How do you climb a mountain?

One. small. step. at. a. time.

Yup, that’s it!

There are no quick ways to the top of this mountain, my friend.

This mountain is your challenge, your problem, your struggle.

And to get on top of it just takes small steps.

There are no helicopter rides up, no parachutes down; just lace up your boots and get walking.

And get used to taking small steps…

Weight loss can happen with a glass of water before dinner.

Muscles can be strengthened with 10 squats each morning.

Money can be saved by dropping quarters in a swear jar (assuming you continue swearing.)

Basically, it’s the small, seemingly insignificant, steps built up over time that get you beyond what looked like a huge challenge.

So why don’t we do these things consistently?

Because small steps can seem so insignificant, or even too easy, that we discount them.

But take a moment to imagine with me.

Imagine if the first step of your journey to the top of your mountain (insert challenge, problem, struggle) felt easy.

Imagine that because the first step felt easy, you were actually willing and able to take the next step.

Imagine, propelled by this momentum of easy steps, you kept adding more steps and new steps and ….

Suddenly, you’re looking out at the amazing view from the top of your mountain.

Now, come back.

What’s are you thinking?

If it’s not “I can do this!”, then I’m guessing it could be one of three things:

1. You think this small step thing would be too slow or easy; you want results now!
2. You’re busy trying to ignore the mountain… What steps?
3. You think that you can’t take a step, because the whole mountain is someone else’s fault and you’re tired, have no time, or don’t have the money to get to the top.

So let’s go through each one.

Here’s what the first one might look like as a thought:

1. “If I do something extreme, I’ll leap ahead and get there faster!”

This is the song of desperation.

Desperation shows up like:

• A crazy restrictive soup diet.
• Saying you’ll work out for an hour every day at the gym, and you haven’t been once in 2 years.
• Cutting out all expenses other than basic food and shelter.

I think of it like this:

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Your house is a mess, and you’re overwhelmed by the pile of work you’ll need to do to clean it.

So, you put your house up for sale.

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Sound crazy?

That’s desperation.

It’s when you want the end result so badly that you’ll do just about any crazy thing to get there.

But when you do that, (and maybe you did that and actually even got to the top of the mountain) you usually discover you can’t stick it out, and you find yourself back at square one, at the bottom of the mountain, looking up.

So what’s the solution to making a change stick and never having to go back to square one?

Taking the first small step that you’re ready, willing, and able to take in the direction of your mountain top.

Then doing it consistently.

Then adding another small step.

And doing it consistently.

Then adding another small step…

You get the picture.

When you do this daily you’ll find that your focus shifts from the looming mountain to the ease of the next step.

That’s the key.

Lose your desperation by changing your focus to what’s do-able right in front of you.

Now, here’s what the second thought might be:

2. “If I close my eyes, it’ll all go away.”

Pretending is fun, right?

I learned all about pretending and make-believe from Mister Rogers.

Loved it.

And it’s great to use your imagination.

But…

Not when you use it to conveniently avoid reality.

And to be honest, this is where my mind tends to go when faced with big stuff.

Just close my eyes, hands over my ears, and “la, la, la, la!”… “I can’t hear you!”

But it sucks as a way of dealing with problems and challenges.

Because it keeps you stuck where you are, and when you open your eyes, the issue – surprise! – is still there.

Nothing gets resolved.

So, how do you handle this one?

Same way.

Small steps.

First step: Open your eyes.

And then think of something small you are ready, willing, and able to do.

I mean ridiculously small.

And then do it.

Finally, here’s what the third thought might look like:

3. “It takes too long, it’s too hot, it’s too expensive… And it’s all your fault!”

With this thinking, you get to play the innocent victim, and everyone else is cast in the role of villain.

Sounds like a great story.

But believe me, no one wants to hear it.

Look, some stuff in life is hard. 

And we all go through hard stuff.

But don’t go thinking that your stuff is harder than everyone else’s (complaining), and that you can’t fix it because it’s not your fault (blaming).

This thinking keeps you stuck because it makes you believe that you’re completely helpless.

There’s nothing you can do because you’re waiting for someone else to do the work and come to the rescue.

But I can tell you, no one’s coming.

To take a step forward in this case, you’ve got to assume some responsibility.

When you take some of the responsibility onto your shoulders, you actually empower yourself with the solution.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but it’s the only way to begin to crawl out of the complaining/blaming hole.

For example, you can complain about the amount of sugary foods tempting you at the grocery store, and blame the government for allowing companies to sell this crap, but unless you take responsibility for your role in buying these foods, you’ll be stuck – bitter and angry – waiting for someone else to solve the problem.

And nothing will get done.

Instead, notice what you can do.

As a human being, you’re creative and resourceful by nature.

And you have the freedom of choice.

Use these powers.

And take a small step.

Try that fruit that you’re curious about instead of the box of cookies for dessert tonight.

Go for a 10 minute walk after that.

And then add a few dollars to your swear jar if needed.

Do whatever moves your needle towards “TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN.”

And know that just because the mountain looks big doesn’t mean the climb has to be hard.

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So, what do you find yourself thinking when faced with big challenges or problems?

Like I said, my mind tends to get stuck at 2.

I pretend I don’t see it.

And it’s something I’m not proud of, but very aware of, and working on with my coach.

Because I really want to get to the top of my mountain.

And I don’t want to end up back to square one.

Are you ready, willing, and able to get the top of yours?

Keep moving – with small steps – forward, my friend.

Debbie

P.S. I’ve got two more spots for a coaching at 50% off for 5 sessions. If you’ve got questions, or want to know more about coaching, just book a free session with me: www.momentum-fit.ca/book-a-session

P.P.S. Pass it on!