The Mountain Doesn’t Care

Climbing mountains is my passion and drives me in life.?There is something about the clear air, the vistas, the absolute solitude, and even the danger that draws me (and many others) to major peaks.?There are many parallels between climbing large mountains and pushing through hard things; between summiting a peak and accomplishing a challenging objective.?One major parallel is that mountains and life’s challenges are both just objects to overcome. Below is a quote from one of the most intense and accomplished mountaineers I know:

“The mountain doesn’t care if we are here or not. It is not burdened by our hopes and dreams. It doesn’t compete with us. Everything it means to us is only what we bring to it. It is only what the mountain reveals in us about ourselves that has lasting value.” – Dean Cardinale

When it comes to climbing mountains, achieving new milestones, or overcoming life’s challenges, there are many commonalities.?Dean Cardinale clearly suggests that there are challenges and opportunities that we need to face and those we need to cease.??

Doesn’t Care

The mountain, just like the opportunities that we have, doesn’t care that you are there or not.?The mountain doesn’t care whether you are striving to master it or not.?Whether you care or not, it is always there. The challenge is facing you and it doesn’t care if you are ready for it or not.?It is there regardless of your desire to attain it or not.?It just exists.?This frame of mind is key because it defines your outlook.?Often, we think that the challenge is unfair, or that the opportunity is too daunting to achieve.?Regardless of fairness or difficulty, it is still there, and you still must confront it. It’s your mountain to tackle and it doesn’t care if you want to or not.??

Hopes and Dreams

When Cardinale speaks about the mountain and how it relates to your hopes and dreams, he states quite plainly that the mountain is not burdened with them.?Often, we have great hopes and dreams.?We sometimes feel like just because we have these hopes and dreams, they will surely be achieved. We tell ourselves that we should be allowed to achieve what we want to achieve. This is a false sense of entitlement. Just because we have the dream or aspiration doesn’t mean we deserve anything.?Our challenges and opportunities are not burdened by our hopes and dreams.?The only thing that moves us closer to realizing our dreams—is action.?When climbing the mountain, it is about taking the first step and then the next. When overcoming obstacles, it might be doing just the next best thing.?Hopes and dreams get you to the mountain, but it is the action that allows you to see its majesty.?

Doesn’t Compete

The mountain is not in competition with us.?Often, we personify the challenges and obstacles that confront us.?At times we see them as competition and characterize our challenge as if the mountain was competing against us or an obstacle was making our life hard. ?Challenges and obstacles do not compete with you.?Just like a mountain they simply exist. Planning and action are the keys that allow you to overcome it.?The only real competition is the competition that we have with ourselves.

One of the greatest lies we tell ourselves is that someone is out-competing us.?The reality is that we are our only competition.?The only thing and the only person that we can control is ourselves.?We cannot control what others do.?We can only change what we do, thus we are only in competition with ourselves.?Focusing on being better than we were yesterday is powerful. ?If we compete only with ourselves and avoid getting lost in thinking the world or the mountain is competing with us, only then can we come out on top.?How are you improving daily? What are you doing to make yourself stronger in overcoming obstacles? How are you learning and innovating? How are you training? How are you competing with yourself and not the obstacle or mountain that faces you??

What We Bring To It

The only thing that matters is what we are willing to bring to the table. The preparation and the energy we have expensed is pivotal in creating the greatest probability of success. When we look at challenges that we have failed to overcome, or opportunities that we have ignored, one of the most important questions is what was it that you were not willing to give up in overcoming that challenge??What are you not willing to do to achieve that dream??These are crucial questions. There are times that you should hold back, but more often you allowed other things to get in the way of your success.?What are we willing to bring to the table as we confront daily challenges and opportunities?

What it reveals in us is true value

The true value of overcoming the challenges and obstacles we face is what we learn in the process and what is revealed to us as we go through this process. When climbing a mountain and moving through difficult, hazardous, and technical terrain you learn a lot about yourself. ?You learn how you react in tough, life-threatening situations.?You become aware of your instincts and how you respond to different circumstances. We learn the most as we go through the difficulties and obstacles in our way.?When we are faced with a big challenge or an opportunity, we often must do things that are uncomfortable. We have to be brave.?We must step into new terrain where you will learn more about yourself.?It will become clear why you do the things you do and also what motivates you to push past hard things and achieve your dreams.

It Is Coming

When it comes to mountaineering and life we are faced with intense and complex opportunities and obstacles.?Regardless of who you are, they will come.?They don’t care who you are, and they don’t care about your hopes and dreams.?They are not there to compete with you. You need only to compete with yourself to be able to bring your best self to the table when the time arises, and it will.?Lastly, the most important thing that both mountains and opportunities provide is that they reveal who you truly are.?What you learn about yourself is the most rewarding part of overcoming life’s challenge and obstacles.?