A Big Week Ahead!

Next weekend, I leave to climb a 6,800m (22,831ft) peak on another continent. Am I nervous? You bet. But I like that feeling of the unknown. Nothing is certain. Nothing is guaranteed. You train, you prepare, but at the end of the day, you cannot know how you will perform or what will happen on the side of that mountain.

One thing is certain, there will be tests. Of patience, of decision making, of courage, of pain endurance, of grit. There could be disappointment. That’s what I love about mountaineering. I am an ordinary person, not a professional mountaineer or athlete, with a strong interest in testing the depths of my courage and my mental toughness - because big challenges are inherently scary.

It's easy to become addicted to comfort. Comfortable things inherently give us a sense of security, safety, and in many cases, an outcome that feels validating. They also bring zero growth, and no opportunity to probe capabilities or discover new gifts.

This mountain is going to teach me a lot over the next few weeks, and that’s why I do it. The life lessons that I learn in the mountains are not just about being fit, or tough, or capable. The lessons I love are about calculated risk models, managing ambiguity, being humbled by things outside of your control, and remembering to stand in awe of forces much bigger than yourself. Those lessons enrich every part of my life.

The right thing to say is that the training was hard for all this. But the truth is that I love getting up at 4am to train run in freezing rain or doing a 5-hour climb on Saturday that starts at 3am. I love lifting heavy weights at the gym on a bench next to a gym bro who is giving me side eye. I enjoy packing my gear so I can climb things on business trips or pack my snowshoes so I can hit the backcountry at 15,000ft. Some people call me odd, too intense, or really weird. I stopped listening to that a long time ago, and if people are saying those things to you, you should stop listening too.

Go out there and find your version of a mountain, commit to whatever crazy thing it takes to get it done. No fear-based limits. No playing it small. Don’t waste your time on this planet or your potential. No unanswered questions. The biggest regrets we have in life are rarely about things we did – they’re almost always about things we wished we had done. So start today. Your mountain awaits you.