Beware the False Summit

For those that have not had the joy of mountain climbing it is (for me) one of the most challenging physically and mentally and most rewarding sports there is.

It takes physical strength, mental strength and sometimes…spiritual strength. There is no better metaphor for achieving goals then mountaineering.

Imagine…

There you are, up high on a mountain gasping for breath, you’ve been climbing since 2:00 AM. The view is spectacular and you’re deep in your rhythm. Then you see it…

The summit! 

You feel a sense of excitement knowing your struggle is almost over. You’ve been going for hours with a 50-lb. pack. You’re cold, hungry and probably dehydrated, but you feel oh so good, now that your goal is in view.

You start to think how nice it’s going to be to rest for a few minutes, grab something to eat, enjoy the view and feel the great satisfaction of accomplishing what you set out to do.

As you get closer your excitement builds and you might even back off a bit to save some energy for the way down. You get closer and closer…you start to climb the steepest part…you’re almost there and then you reach the top!

A sinking feeling hits you….it wasn’t the summit after all, it was a false summit and the real summit is still way ahead of you. Your enthusiasm disappears, your energy sinks and you feel depressed.   You gave it everything you got and you’re still not there.

Now what?

For most of us this happens too often in attempting to reach a goal in life. You think you’ve given it everything you can and then you reach your “false summit” and give up.

For those that have learned from the false summit, this is expected, you keep your rhythm knowing you’ll not stop or slow down until you have actually “bagged the summit.” 

The other type of “false summit” is when you really do see the end…your goal and you slow down to look around, tell others you’re that you’re almost there, or any other number of reasons. Then out of nowhere you get hit by something and never make it.

Ever watch a football player heading for the End Zone slow down and look behind them? When out of nowhere a defense player catches, and tackles him short of making a touchdown.  

THE SECRET OF THE FALSE SUMMIT

Here’s the secret of the false summit: once you accept the above and commit to climbing anyway, you’re free.

You can lighten your load of your emotional Resistance to this real work. You can leave that heavy pack of Resistance on this first plateau; it doesn’t need to burden you all the way to the top.

(Anyway, if you keep hanging on to it, it’ll just get heavier and soggier the higher you go.)

Successful people seem so unencumbered because they let go of all their baggage years ago. It isn’t much of a choice. They had to. Reaching the top is about traveling light.

(The guy who gets to the top still lugging all his baggage is incredibly strong . . . but he’s still deeply neurotic. It’s easier to let it all go on the way.)

You know the other secret of the false summit?

It’s that once you get to the real summit . . . you’ll look around for a few minutes in pure euphoria, utter jubilation, and then . . .

“What’s next?“

Because once you reach what you thought was the real summit, the next thing you’ll realize is: there is no real summit, ever. Once you’ve summited a mountain, there’s always another mountain to climb.

It never ends, not until final liberation, moksha, Nirvana, or the end of time.

Now, you can let this get you down. Or you can accept it as a type of liberation in itself. You can decide to never strive for anything; or you can decide to strive in the spirit of playfulness, not taking your striving too seriously. You can choose to play life from the biggest and lightest place possible.

If there is no true destination, there is only the journey, and you had better accept the happiness of the journey.

See there are four types of people. Those that:

• Start weak and finish weak – This type really never gets going and complain how cruel life is.
• Start weak and finish strong – This type tends to take a very, very long time in achieving their goals and often wonder “why.”
• Start strong and finish weak – This type gets distracted by other goals and opportunities and really never finishes any of them.

Start strong and finishes stronger – This type gets their goal and more. They blast through the finish line with so much momentum they keep going onto another goal and then another goal…you get the picture, right? 

So, let me ask you…which type are you?

Are you going to surrender to the false summit…or are you going blast through the finish line on to more goals?

This is a decision and choice only you can make. 

If you find yourself wanting to be in the “start strong and finishes stronger” and don’t know how, hire a coach a mentor…someone that can help you see and dissolve your limiting thoughts and beliefs.

Believe me it will be worth it….the view is great from the top and there’s plenty of room!

Gregg Swanson is a peak performance consultant and human potential coach and has authored several books and numerous articles on peak performance. Gregg specializes in developing mental strength in individuals that desire to reach their full potential. He has developed a unique online training program “Develop the Mental Strength of a Warrior.” You can also pick up your free eBook,” Why Change is So Hard” by going HERE.