Rock climbing teaches you life lessons ... who knew!?

I'm in Arizona this week and took my brother-in-law Mike, up on his offer to go rock climbing. He's an avid climber himself and an amazing teacher. Through his business, Educational Endeavors http://educationalendeavors.com/, he teaches others to learn trust. Today, I became another student in a long line of successful rock climbing achievers by way of learning to trust myself.

Climbing a rock using a skinny rope and the help of a be-layer below, doesn't exactly give you a sense of total safety 50 ft. in the air on solid rock. What I loved about this climb is that Mike talked me through the footholds and handholds and helped me take the best path up the rock. Isn't that just like life? We always want to take the right path and we usually get there by making a series of good and not-so-good decisions. Ultimately we want to end up at the top...safely. I have to say that occasionally I got myself into a pickle on my way to the top. The rope got between my feet a couple of times which is not exactly optimal placement. Other times I could see the hand hold I wanted but it required that I leave my ledge of safety and take a leap of faith to the next level (never look down before you leap!). There again, it's like life. Only a tiny amount of faith in yourself and a tad in those who are supporting you is needed to let go and make a leap that will ultimately get you closer to your goal. It can be scary, no lie, but if you don't try, you'll be stuck on the same ledge forever clinging to inadequate toe and finger holds.

Inching my way over the pinnacle I was surprised that I still felt a little scared even after "arriving" at my goal. I was sitting on top which shouldn't have been scarier than clinging to the side ... but it kinda was. At the top I caught the full view of where I started out and how far up I had come. The fact that our goals and dreams are always something not yet attained--that's why we call them goals--we can actually fear something we've never accomplished. My experience tells me that there's a little fear even after we accomplish it--crazy isn't it? So let me ask you this: in your heart of hearts, do you believe you can achieve that ONE THING that would create ultimate happiness for you? I think we doubt our ability to be so great as to make our dreams (happiness) come true. Maybe even that we don't feel we deserve that kind of happiness. But guess what? We CAN be that happy! And whether you deserve it or not is not even a question--OF COURSE YOU DO! We actually ARE great/talented/smart/gifted enough but we won't know it until we prove it to ourselves by taking the steps needed to accomplish our dreams.

Once I was up there, it took me some time to get comfortable being on top. Funny, huh. I thought I'd be elated, thrilled and energized. That came later, in a more quiet sense of "what a great day it has been!" Is there a right or wrong time to acknowledge we've arrived? Not really. I didn't get the sense of accomplishment until I had climbed back down and then reflected on my journey up and back on the ride home.

So choose something today, start very small if you like, but choose something that will bring you happiness and then do what it takes to achieve it. My message to you is this: you never know what your true potential is unless you try! Go get 'em!