Enjoy the Journey

Recently I was out West with Barb and decided to hike the Chief Mountain in Squamish B.C. It is a tough hike and is essentially an uphill climb for over 3k and another 3k down the mountain. In many spots it is so difficult that they have attached steel chains or ladders that are required to help you pull yourself up very steep inclines.

I started the hike at approximately 3:00 p.m. and with the sun setting at 5:00, I knew I had to get up and down the mountain in 2 hours. The problem was that when I had done some research online, most people that had completed the hike indicated that it was a 2 hour hike each way(4 hours in total). This 4 hour hike would put me in total darkness coming down the very steep mountain.

So off I went at an almost running pace as I knew i had to get up as far as I possibly could(and hopefully the top of the mountain) in one hour as I only had 2 hours in total until the sun would set.

I was about half way up the mountain, still maintaining a very quick pace when I stopped at a gorgeous lookout for a few seconds. The last time I had hiked the Chief I had done it with my daughter Lauren and remembered that we had hung out at this particular rock and enjoyed the views, had some snacks, fed some chipmunks, etc.

I suddenly realized that I was rushing so much to get up the mountain, that I wasn’t enjoying the unbelievably beautiful views, the plush green forests, the sun shining through the trees etc. I was so focused on the destination(getting to the top quickly), that I wasn’t enjoying the Journey along the way.

I decided at that point to slow down, enjoy all aspects of the hike and not worry if I was not able to make it to the top of the Chief in the time frame I had set. From that moment on, my mindset and enjoyment of the hike increased immensely. You have likely heard people refer to the phrase of “living in the moment”. Well I made a point of using all of my senses to enjoy every step of the hike and truly be in the moment and it totally shifted my mindset.

I think in life we often focus on the destination and not enjoy the Journey along the way. In life, what really counts is enjoying every moment we possibly can of the journey and not the destination. Think of this in terms of your own life and the goals or things you are trying to achieve. Are you focused so much on the Goal or end result that you are not enjoying the journey? A good question for all of us to ponder…..

In the end, I did manage to get to the top of Chief in approximately 1 hour and therefore was able to hang out at the top and enjoy the amazing views of Howe Sound, the Mountains and Whistler and feel the amazing cool breeze. It was a truly amazing experience. I also made a point of taking the nice relaxed pace on the way back down so I could enjoy the entire experience coming down the mountain as well.

Remember, Life is fleeting and we need to do everything we can to enjoy and experience every moment as we will never ever be able to experience that minute or second again in our lives.

So lets all do what we can to enjoy the Journey…….

Yours in great health, Kev