Are those hills in your life really THAT big?

Never underestimate the power of a strong life metaphor! This has been my experience as I conquer the BIG hill that has led to many AHA moments, physical feats and even chest pumping prowess. It all started one day when I veered off of my usual walking course and wandered up a hill. As I was going up this new hill, I was huffing and puffing/cursing and gasping. I did make it to the top thinking that is quite a hill!

A few days later my husband and I were out for a walk so I said “Oh let’s go up the BIG hill.” He seemed quite perplexed and asked, “What BIG hill?” like he’d never seen or experienced this on our daily doggy walks. So I led him on the route and we were at the bottom of the BIG hill and he kind of smirked and chuckled, “This hill is not really so big.”

As I walked up the hill, I was very deep in thought and quite surprised that he thought the hill was not a challenge. I started to question my view of this BIG hill – was it really a moderate hill that did not require Herculean exertion? Was it possible that I made this BIG hill much bigger in my mind than it actually was?

I had to get inside my head and truly ask what else in my life have I made a BIG hill because my view saw it as something insurmountable, but in reality it was not. This was really an AHA moment for me and I kept returning to conquer the BIG hill. I would walk it faster, feel less out of breath and eventually set the goal to run up the hill. Little by little I achieved this feat. It took me a while to learn the BIG lessons that this hill needed to teach me.

1. We often have a distorted view of how large the challenge or issue is.

2. We can take this on with one step at a time.

3. We do not need to "conquer," but rather embrace the lesson.

Now I am able to scale this hill and run all the way to the top without feeling the need to collapse, which feel s amazing! I am also able to step back and see things more clearly, OK the hill was not so big – it was actually me that needed to change.

It was so easy to focus on the BIGness of the hill and deny my lacking mental and physical fortitude to get up the hill. Once I realized this and made the changes to become a healthier and happier person, I now have clarity and can embrace the hills in my life(of all sizes)!

So ask yourself are those hills in your life really that BIG??