Mindy's Monday Motivation – Blog Post #36 – Give a little spark to help someone shine

I have to say that a lot of lessons and insights I gained over the years, I have gained from others. So, thank you for all those who interacted with me, provided me with advice and guidance. One such advice came a few Sundays ago while I was hiking with my favorite hiking group in Phoenix. That day, we had a large group, at least 24 individuals, hiking up Victory steps in Verrado, Arizona. You can look it up, but there are 340 steps built into the side of the mountain and then there are a few short trails up on top that take you back down to the parking lot if you don’t want to walk back down. For this hike, we had a few beginners, one especially had just moved to Arizona for a month. She came with a friend and has never hiked in Arizona before. She made it up the 340 steps but wasn’t so sure about hiking further with us through the trail to the parking lot since it looked a bit rough. She was thinking that it would be too tough for her to get through. She declared that she would go back down the steps. The hike was estimated to be about 0.3 miles to get to the parking lot, but it was a daunting task for someone who has never hiked before. She was not prepared mentally to push through. With some persuasion, she ended up finishing the hike. She was ecstatic as was everyone else. We were elated that she made the decision to give it a try and pushed forward. Afterward, I was talking to another fellow hiker about the situation. She mentioned that sometimes it was just a mental barrier more than anything but once you can overcome that mental block, you find that you can accomplish the challenge. So, sometimes we just need a little push to help us overcome that mental barrier. I thought that was insightful. This brought me to my mind a short video I saw that showed a young man, putting a cigarette lighter in a cup. Then, he filled it up with water until it was fully submerged. Of course, once he took it out, the lighter would not work. However, using another lighter, he was able to get the wet lighter to work again. In his final words, he said sometimes you just needed a little spark from someone else to help you shine again. Or, something to that effect. I honestly don’t remember his exact words.

This got me thinking how true that was. Sometimes you just need a little encouragement. Everyone can be a little braver if there is someone who may have a little more experience to encourage them along. On Sunday, I was at a hike calls the Subway Cave. There is a narrow ledge that you can walked out and get an incredible view of the mountain. It’s a bit scary and most people are afraid to walk out that way. There was a young man who asked me to take his photos. He asked if other people had gone out further on the ledge; I had said yes. He nodded reassuringly to himself and said that it was good that someone had done it before, so he was more confident in doing it as well. What’s the point I am making here? For those who have already walked the path of success, I urge you to provide that spark of light to the next person who wants to walk that same path. You may not know how much your words and guidance matter at the time, but they do. You can help them overcome the mental barrier of starting something new or going down an uncharted path.

What’s about overcoming mental barriers yourself? Well, now that we know how effective a little encouraging can be to overcoming mental barriers, I would say find yourself someone who are a positive influencer, someone who can provide that little bit of encouragement and help you overcome your own mental resistance. ?It’s best if that individual has gone down that path before and can provide the sound advice you need to step toward your goal. However, having someone who is a close friend who provides that cheering to get you motivated can also help cue you up to take that next step toward your goal.

I’ll cut this blog short tonight since it's quite late.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Mindy