03/03/2021
How to Climb a Mountain
A few years ago, on New Year’s day, I was looking forward to hiking up the mountain with my family and possibly making this an annual tradition. Even though it took a little prodding and persuading, I finally convinced my children and husband that this would be a fun way to remember the first day of the new year.
At the bottom of the mountain, when I got out of the car, I froze with fear as I realized that there was ice everywhere...and no, I had not remembered to bring any special foot gear other than my hiking boots.
Oh no! You see, I have a fear of walking on ice and falling. But what was I going to do ---- just back out now after I finally got my family to come out? Not wanting to swallow my pride and sit this one out, I looked up at the mountain. And I was overwhelmed.
Then I looked down at my feet on the icy snow, and I just took one step. Crunch. Ok, that wasn’t too bad. Crunch. Another step, and I didn’t slip. Maybe I can do this after all.
So I decided to walk up that mountain; I just had to do it one step at a time. Of course, holding my husband’s hand also helped. When we got to the top, I saw the beautiful view of sky and scenery. On the way back down the mountain, the kids sat on their bottoms and slid on the icy path, laughing all the way, while I “crunched” every step, slowly but surely. What started out as terrifying turned out to be terrific, as I now treasure the beautiful memory of how that day evolved when I decided to face my fears.
Since then, hiking up the mountain on New Year’s Day has not become an annual tradition, but the lesson of taking one step at a time has. And on a more frequent basis. Taking it one step at a time continues to be a regular part of my mindset when I face challenges and tasks that seem daunting.
No matter how overwhelming I can feel. There is no better cure than to just take one step. And I find that I get to the top of the mountain quicker than if I looked up at the mountain and stayed overwhelmed.
This attitude also reflects the way I work with people in my work as a psychologist. One step at a time.
I understand that it is not easy for any of us to face our fears or difficulties.
But some days, we must go against what we have always known. In this instance, with a literal guiding hand for support and encouragement all along the way, I was able to overcome my fear of walking on icy surfaces.
But there are other situations we can become stuck in that will take more than a few hours to get unstuck. I see the same principles operating. Take it one step at a time. Sometimes, those steps have to be broken down into even smaller steps, so that it is more do-able.
When I face my own personal mountains -- whether it’s in the mundane things such as the mountain of laundry, dishes or paperwork or the ones that dog us day in and day out in between life stuff -- as in the mountain of anxiety or self-doubt, I have learned to apply this principle to just start the process of doing just to gain some momentum.
And I find that it gets somewhat easier. Sometimes, I have to keep restarting and asking myself, what is the next step? And then 30 minutes later, ok, what is the next step now? Eventually, those “steps” string together and I find that I really have made progress.
Maybe, you are at a point in your life, like I was, at the bottom of that mountain, looking up feeling overwhelmed and anxious. I encourage you to take a step. And then take another. Keep going. It will get easier as you gain some momentum.
To read more posts like this, please click here: https://jeanpaowilsonphd.com/blog/
Provide therapy, support and inspiration for mental health and wellness
