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| Precipice Trail – Acadia National Park |
What you see here is not exactly what you get.
YES, I am on a Mountain.
YES, I am almost 1000 feet above the ground.
YES, there is no railing next to me.
NO, I am not calm.
What my lovely girlfriend has captured in this picture is everything but the anxiety and just plain fear I felt at that very moment.
Caution I don’t know if you caught the last sentence on this side, but I believe they made reference to people dying. Now honestly, the anxiety started creeping in right about there.
Some of you may have had similar experiences, while others find this type of activity as nothing but a walk in the park.
I am here to tell you 3 reasons to climb a Mountain.
1. The Pendulum Effect
Ever hear of the theory that if you haven’t experienced true sorrow, you can’t really experience true happiness? Kind of the same principle here. It is not until you experience a true fear or anxiety to genuinely appreciate the opposite swing of the pendulum, courage and certainty.
What you end up witnessing is that the event that caused you fear, actually took courage to be a part of and eventually confront.
And trust me, you will very much appreciate and recognize what tasks take true courage and bravery from there on out.
2. Breaking Down the Wall
When a runner claims they “hit a wall”, they are (hopefully) just expressing a metaphor for how tired they are.
In the picture at the top of the blog I was about 75% percent up the face of the Mountain. When the anxiety and fear kicked in, I had a few choices.
A) Stand there until the anxiety and fear went away.
Realistically, it wouldn’t have simply disappeared, at
least in no short period of time. So option A is out of
the question!
B) Jump
I love my life, didn’t have a parachute, and probably
would have increased my anxiety by simply thinking
about this. So option B is out!
C) Turn Around and Go Back Down
Next to that warning sign at the beginning of the
Mountain was another sign that said you are at an
extremely high risk of injury if you attempt to retreat
down the trail. This sign plus the fact that I was 75%
complete = option C not being an option!
D) Continue Forward
At this moment on the Mountain I was confronted with
a simple decision mixed a ton of complex thoughts. I
was forced to break down the “wall” in front of me
and tackle my anxiety.
I made it, I survived, and I would it all over!
3. Breeding Ground
After I completed my decent and got back on level ground, a deep breath was to be had.
After that deep breath I acknowledge an extremely important thing,
I WAS PROUD OF MYSELF!
Even with all the fear, anxiety, and stress (physical and mental) of climbing that Mountain, in the end, I was proud of myself and that is a breeding ground for confidence.
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| Top of Precipice |
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| Starting line for fear and anxiety! |
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| Beautiful View from the Top |
Great post Jon! Love it!