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Mountains
If you ever want to feel small, try climbing up a mountain. It’s during times like these that I feel like my journey is huge, almost impossible.
When I’m at the bottom, the mountain feels insurmountable, its peak rising in the air so high that it towers over the rest of the area. At the bottom, there’s a slight fear present. Can I do this?
Whereas at the top, I now feel insurmountable. I’ve conquered the mountain with my own two legs, and it feels incredible. Furthermore, the fear I had at the bottom seems ridiculous. Of course I was able to climb the mountain!
But it’s the journey between these two states that is so interesting. How did I go from two very extreme states of emotion? What changed as I climbed the mountain?
The answer, it seems, is that I broke my journey down into smaller steps, and then got to work. I didn’t look up to see how much climbing was left to do every minute, nor did I look backwards to admire my progress. I didn’t lose sight of my micro-goal: putting one foot in front of the other. I put my head down and got to work.
That’s how you accomplish these kinds of big goals. It’s not through looking at the big picture, but through focusing on the small steps, concentrating on completing those before worrying about the big picture.
And when the big picture is revealed, it’s a wonderful shock to the system, because you weren’t expecting it. You’ve gone from bottom of the mountain to top of the mountain in one go, which creates a sensation of euphoria.
Therefore, the key isn’t to stand in awe at the immense grandeur of your journey. Instead, it’s to buckle down and do the work, letting yourself appreciate it afterwards.
By taking small steps towards your goal, you’ll soon find that you have climbed the mountain.