The Mount Everest of Personal Achievement

Everyone has their own model of happiness and achievement. Some envision a happy little boat sailing across a calm sea. There are occasional squalls and the isolated shark, but their goal is the return to serenity, to calm.

Others follow the NASCAR approach to life, racing as fast as possible, trying not to wipe out completely, with the life goal of being first. There’s a LOT of these types on the highway near my home, racing towards the beach.

And then there’s me. .

I’m not much for speed; I prefer to meander slowly, learning along the way. But the quiet ocean, with everything the same day after day after day would drive me insane. I’d start doing crazy things, just to make life interesting! (you know, like trying to attract sharks and make them into pets! “Look! Sharky will eat right out of my hand!")

Let’s face it, I have issues.

My happiness model is more like Mt. Everest – intimidating, occasionally threatening, but success IS possible (not likely, but possible!). But, unlike Mt. Everest, most of the challenging events, the “wrench in the works” is self-inflicted.

Every time I seem to be getting my life under control I add yet another element to juggle. I’m a terrible juggler, and yet I’m always pushing myself to juggle MORE. Actually, the more difficult things are, the more likely I am to succeed. Otherwise I’m bored, and don’t even make a real attempt. (In college I would ace the killer classes, and wash out in the “easy A’s".)

Maybe that’s it! I know, deep within, I thrive on challenges. Therefore, I continually throw things into the mix to keep me on my toes. That could explain the 1900’s house of horrors, the three kids within 3.5 years, the decision to homeschool said kids, the 2 dogs and 3 cats and the latest addition, 8 baby chicks.

And don’t forget the vegetable garden, making homemade bread & bread products, and moving my entire family from junk food junkies to eating whole foods.

There was also the whole home birth saga and alternative medicine decision, but those are either in the past or under control. So…two things crossed off the list, 927 remain. Really, if I do this to myself because I like the challenge – shouldn’t I be BETTER at handling it by now???

Case in point, the HOUSE. (my husband just looked up and uttered, “Oh crap, she’s writing about the house again!” I was apparently looking around the room with disdain.)

Anyway, we fell in love with this broken down 1900’s house FIVE YEARS AGO. We took the first six months to make it livable, new roof, hot water, a second bathroom. Then we moved in and…stopped.

We had put out the main fires concerning the house, and were now dealing with other fires: children, education, career, etc. Since we moved in we’ve added a dog, 3 cats (mice!) and 8 chickens.

Now we’re also adding home businesses and my writing career to the mix.

This is my Mount Everest – not hurdles to overcome but events and routines that become a part of my foundation, allowing me to continue building skyward. THAT’S IT!! I’m not climbing Mount Everest – I’m BUILDING it! (can you say, “writing as therapy?").

I am building my own mountain. Every choice I make is another layer in my foundation. My mountain is imperfect and bumpy. I couldn’t keep my balance on a perfectly smooth mountain, I’d slide right off. My ledges allow me to catch myself and address the problem at hand, thus making my foundation even stronger.

And what good is building a mountain, you ask? Once you climb to the top, you can only come down. I disagree.

There are two possible scenarios. One is that you never reach the top, you build your mountain your entire life, always enjoying the thrill of new heights and new challenges.

I prefer door number two: You build your mountain with care and love, learning along the way. You conquer your fears; you learn to trust in yourself, in your loved ones, and in the Universe. If your foundation is strong enough you eventually reach a pinnacle and stand upon it, gazing at the distance.

You look at your mountain with love, and realize this is your home, your heart, and your strength. You close your eyes, leap off of the top of your mountain, and soar! You have grown wings, and your wings will carry you far. But you will always, always return to your mountain, the source of your strength.

Here’s to growing into yourself. May each of us become the person we always meant to be!

Namaste.