This past weekend we went on our first camping trip since moving to Colorado. We camped just east of Aspen and hiked up to Buckskin Pass (12,000 feet) past the Maroon Bells, some of the most beautiful mountain formations I’ve seen yet. The hike was about 8.5 miles round trip with 3,000 feet in elevation gain. I’m getting more acclimated to the elevation but I was still huffing and puffing by the time we reached the pass.

To occupy my mind and distract it from the pain in my lungs, I thought about how much hiking is like building a business (or building a life, for that matter). Much of the trail is already broken by others who came before, although you can certainly forge your own way at any time. Sometimes the trail is easy, cool, and shady; sometimes it’s rough, rocky, and steep. And sometimes it’s just plain boring.

You can breathe easily some of the way, enjoying the scenery around you. Then there comes a stretch where it’s all you can do to put one foot in front of the other. It’s essential at this point to stop, nourish yourself, catch your breath, and take in the view.

There were times as I was hiking where I thought, “What’s keeping me going here?” It could have been my ego wanting to keep pace with my husband; it could have been the promise of a good snack at the top (and an even better meal at the pub afterwards!). It could have been the knowledge that this strenuous workout was good for my body.

I think it was all those things, plus something else. The same thing that keeps me going when my business gets frustrating or monotonous or uncertain. That undefinable sense of “me-ness” that gets to call the shots in my life. The freedom to choose how I want to act and the realization that those actions define my self-image. You see, when you make a commitment, whether it’s to climb a mountain or launch a business, there’s a strong drive to act consistently with that commitment.

And from that desire for consistency comes the urge to keep going long after the rest of me wants to sit down and take off my boots.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 1:41 pm and is filed under General blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.