You Against The Mountain

It's just you against the mountain.  What are you going to do?

The summer I turned 18, I visited my brother in San Diego, California.  He was an officer in the Navy and stationed aboard the USS Enterprise.  David was six years older than myself and it was my first adventure since graduating high school.  I was a shy, introverted country girl dropped into the middle of a big city and completely out of my comfort zone.  To add to my confusion, one of my brother's Navy buddies had taken a liking to me and wanted to go on a date.  A date.  Something that I had NEVER been on in my life (thanks, Mom, for making me a social dork...lol) but I decided what could it hurt to go out with him?  I was expecting something to eat, maybe a movie, and then back to my brother's apartment.  Something cookie-cutter safe for the first time out with a virtual stranger.

But noooo...

I should have realized I was going to be out of my comfort zone when he picked me up in a muddy jeep.  My date decided he wanted to test my adventurous side.  Just how adventurous is a "mouse" gonna get?  Trying a new flavor cheese, perhaps?  After driving to a local quarry, he thought it would be "fun" to challenge his jeep against a mountain of gravel with a straight vertical climb of about 200 feet!  I don't think I have ever been more scared in my life.  At least up until that point.  We managed to slide our way to the top and while he was exhilarated by the challenge, I was simply glad to still be alive!  Now, I thought, we will somehow make it back down this slippery slope and I can go back to my brother's apartment and never go on another "date" in my life.

I was wrong... 

Taking my silence as a sign I approved of his plans for the day, my date decided we should then tackle a REAL mountain so we headed to the Devil's Punch Bowl.  The name should give you a clue what I was in for.  Once again, I was taken out of my comfort zone.  For the next 2 hours I hiked up the side of a mountain as we used a trail that, at times, was little more than following goat tracks through brush.  We finally made it to the top and yes, I must admit it was worth it as I looked out over the beautiful "punch bowl" valley below us.  I had not let my doubts or fears hold me back and this was my reward. 

To this day, I can close my eyes and I can be back on the side of that mountain...breathing the fresh air and soaking in the tranquility of being one with nature. And I say a word of thanks to that person who did not allow me to hold back, but encouraged me to keep moving forward until I had overcome not only the mountain itself, but all my doubts and fears as well.

What mountains will YOU face in the new year? And more importantly, how will you handle them?

Are you going to let your self-doubts or fears stop you from achieving your goals for 2012?  There are a lot of things you can do to keep moving forward...



You can climb over every obstacle that prevents you from becoming the best you can be.



You can find constructive ways to bridge old ideas with new ones to overcome the obstacles which prevent you from completing your stories.



You can tunnel through the years of wondering if you are good enough to be a writer, wondering if anyone will want to read your work and just create the best work you can so you can go from there.

Or you can simply fly over those obastacle like they never even existed!  Moving straight ahead, eyes forever focussed on the prize, you can simply ignore all those silly obstacles that strain to hold you back and sail into the new year with confidence!  And when you reach that summit,  you will know that in the battle between you against the mountain, YOU will always come out on top!