Half-Way to the Top: Goal-Setting, Determination and Celebrating the Wins!

Aren’t We Always Half Way to the Top? The key to moving forward in life is clarity through effective goal-setting, persistent determination and of course enjoying and appreciating the journey and celebrating those delicious wins.

Almost every Sunday morning is another ‘Grouse Grind morning’. The alarm is set for 4:15 a.m. because I definitely need an hour of coffee-drinking and wake-up time before biking to the ferry for a 6:20 a.m. boat. Yeah, I feel a wee bit self-righteous being a Sunday morning and all; but, I have set myself a goal of a minimum of one hike per week, and other than a long weekend family reunion camping trip in the Okanagan, I have a perfect record. I’m pretty good about telling a few people that I’m going so if I change my mind, I know they’ll check in with me to see how I did and what my time was. Accountability is a strong motivator.

After a big climb it is important to celebrate the WINS!
I want to get up and ‘er done early – it's another make-it-last final day of summer, and I have a date with my air mattress, bathing suit and some beautiful West Coast waves.

The first half of the climb is typically fairly uneventful. It’s the hardest part for me as my lungs try to get used to the elevation and intense activity. I put my head down to focus on the goal at hand – beating my personal best time now set at 50 minutes – that’s almost 3 km straight up or 2,800 feet in less than 50 minutes.

Eventually I look up to see the ½ Way sign. My breathing is deep and full (beginning to feel a wee bit like a steam engine) and my legs are throbbing, I know I’ve hit “The Zone”… that place where you are so tuned into your body that you are no longer ‘stuck in your head’. It’s typically when I get my very best ideas, creative inspiration and solutions.

Half-way, I thought to myself. Thank God, I’m half-way. Then it hit me – Aren’t we always half-way between where we’ve been and where we’re going? Aren’t we always half-way to reaching our fullest potential while acknowledging how far we’ve come?

It’s amazing – when we need a boost or a little kick in the butt – who shows up. One Sunday when I was somewhere between the ½-way and ¾-marks and starting to tucker out, I was trying not to slow down even though my breathing was laboured and my legs were as heavy as bricks. After all, I had a record to break. Then, just like that I was offered a shot of inspiration. A young mother was doing the climb with a toddler on her back – yes, a toddler – likely an extra 25 pounds or so anyway. When I commented to her how amazing I thought she was, she gave me a big smile. It was just the inspiration that I needed to carry on.

Shortly thereafter I began watching for the ¾-mark sign. It didn’t feel like it was coming fast enough. I started to think that perhaps I wasn’t going to beat my time and immediately started to come up with excuses as to why. Again, as if on cue, the second shot of inspiration. There on the trail ahead of me was a dad stopped at the side taking a rest with his little boy. The son (maybe 5 or 6) was tired and close to tears. As I passed by, I could hear the dad say, “Your body wanted you to be the first to the top but your mind got scared. It’s just your mind.” I so wanted to high-5 the dad for starting to instill some valuable truths.

We can do whatever we want. Our mind is our only barrier. I told the little guy how great I thought he was and what a fabulous job he was doing to get to the top. He tried to muster a smile, and I carried on for the final leg of my journey. My God, if a little 5 or 6 year old can conquer this darn hill, the least I can do is give it a good final push over this last quarter.

With that, it was one more push. High on the life lessons that were provided to me today, high on endorphins and high on the chance of setting a new record. As I sprinted my last 20 steps or so – and yes I count them when I get that close – I just had to smile. It’s amazing to me the lessons I learn about life, business, success and happiness through my body.

That smile got bigger when I glanced at my stop watch and noted a new personal best time!