Just Do It.
- The AHA Group
- Feb 17
- 2 min read
In March 2021, I decided to take up running again for the first time in two decades. My first run that year was one mile. Running along the city streets turned into a few hikes, which turned into rock climbing, trail running, and then an addiction to higher and higher altitude and a passion for mountaineering. All along this way, people questioned my resolve, my fitness, and my mental toughness.
Shout out to the jerk who told me, “You should turn around” on my first 14K ascent. Shout out to vast number of male guides who turned down guiding me on my first big ascent because I might be too slow or mentally too weak to get it done. Thank goodness, one of those guides had a girlfriend who threatened to break up with him if he didn’t take me.
During these past four years, my outdoors passions also led me to sell most of what I owned and move solo across the US to a city where I knew no one, so I could be in the mountains every day that I was home. Everyone in my life questioned that decision too, but they don’t have to live my life. I do.
What have I learned from these experiences?
💫 Find what you love, get good at it, and do it as much as you can.
💫 Don’t let anyone - even those closest to you - make you doubt yourself or make you think you can’t do it, or shouldn’t do it. You don’t have to have a support system to pursue your passion. Plenty of us are out there getting it done, anyway.
💫 Act. Thinking about doing something or talking about doing something produces nothing. Get out there and go for it. You might fail, but if you want it, you’ll keep getting back up and going after it again. Sometimes you’ll do it scared but do it anyway. Trust me. It feels great in the end.
We spend way too much time concerning ourselves with what others think about us, our achievements, and our capabilities. While support and encouragement are nice, the lack of these is never an acceptable reason to not do something you truly want to. While I don’t wear Nike shoes anymore, I still live their motto every day. Just Do It.