For those of you who saw our elevation map posted yesterday you know what I mean when I say today was another day marked by ups and downs. Very high climbs followed by descents that seemed to lead right back into climbs. What a metaphor for life !!
There were a few hills that I really struggled with—the grade was 9+ and they seemed to go on forever. On such climbs it is utterly useless to look behind you—you have to continue to look ahead, and even though you can’t see the top, you have to have faith that there will be, eventually, a summit followed by a decline. Despairing as you struggle up doesn’t help either—it just increases your heart rate thus making the climb ever more difficult. Basically, the only thing that helps is staying focused and steady and continuing to move forward with encouragement from those around you. And so it is with life.
I think it’s fair to say most of us are struggling up a hill right now and we really don’t know when the hill is going to level off—and the same guidelines apply:
1. Don’t look back—lamenting the past just wastes precious energy you need to move into the future.
2. Keep the faith—as Sir Isaac Newton said: what goes up must come down (except your age ?). This too shall pass.
2. Don’t stress, it doesn’t help and actually makes things more difficult.
3. Stay focused and keep moving forward and remember to offer encouragement to others around you.
Stay strong and steady. You can do this. ❤️