Three Lessons From The Mountains
Focusing On Distractions that Can Cloud Your Vision
The White out
We are currently enjoying a holiday vacation in a beautiful lodged perched atop a mountain. The lodge has wrap around windows and a view that is breathtaking. From my bedroom, I can see a massive range of pine tree clad mountainous snow capped peaks that extend into the heavens in a serene setting where you can’t tell exactly where the mountains end and the clouds begin. We’ve gazed out the windows watching the sunrise and sunset over this spectacular landscape. However, this morning, we awoke to heavy snowfall and close to a white out situation. All I could see were a few pine trees right outside the window. There were no mountains, forest, or peaks extending into the clouds in the background. Just white, a solid sheet of white. I had to stop and think to myself that so often, we are distracted by the current circumstances that can keep us from seeing the whole vision. The mountains are still there. They are still waiting to be climbed, skiied, and traversed. They haven’t gone anywhere. There is just simply a blanket of snow clouding the view and keeping us from being able to truly see them and the endless possibilities.
HOW THIS APPLIES IN LIFE:
Often times, we cast our vision on the goals we wish to achieve. We decide to start a new career, begin a healthy lifestyle, or venture out onto our very own purpose journey. We write down our goals that we wish to achieve in the future. We create action plans and set time frames. We can feel the excitement of the vision we have casted. We can imagine ourselves at the end goal, seeing the vision come to fruition. And, then, a whiteout begins: A friend or family member says something negative about your vision and the sun becomes a little less bright as the view gets a little less clear and precise. An advisor, investor, or prospective partner tells you no and that it will never work. The snow begins falling and you start to squint to see the top of the mountain. You realize how much hard work this vision is going to take and the snow falls harder. You’re only seeing the mountains closest to you at this point. You realize the financial investment this vision will require of you and before you realize it, the sheets of snow in the form of doubt, insecurity, rejection, and mental exhaustion have completely blanketed the vision in one giant white out.
The vision is still there. It is still waiting for you to bring it to fruition. You have to accept the distractions for exactly what they are: obstacles that will hide your vision momentarily. However, when the snow stops falling, the vision is there. You just have to see beyond it.
TWO STEPS TO A VISION:
Mental: Your vision has developed in your mind. You’ve dreamt it and can see it vivid detail.
Physical: You have to take action in order to achieve your vision.
Most people never get past the mental stage. They see the vision and then let the whiteout shut them down.
The mountains are still there but you have to physically take the steps to fully explore and enjoy all that they have to offer.
Once you can accept the distractions in your life as simply a mental block, you have to put one foot in front of the other and put the work in to achieve your vision.
Not Casting Your Vision Where You Want to Go
I’ve been working with my god daughter this year to help her learn to ski. Last year she did ski school but this year she felt confident enough to take on the mountain without an instructor. We are in a new place and a mountain that she and I don’t know. But, I wanted her to know that I believed in her and she could do it. So, as we disembarked from the life, I went over our plan. I talked to her about the slopes we would be skiing, reminded her to make her big swooping “S’s” and told her to just follow me and do what I did. We took off down the mountain and I was so incredibly proud of how well she was doing and how great she had listened. I told her to keep her eyes on me because, just as her instructor had taught her, where your eyes go, your skis follow. She followed my path like a permanent shadow for the rest of the day. There wasn’t one turn I made that she didn’t take as well. When I sped up, she sped up. When I stopped, she stopped. However, along the way, I forgot to heed my own advice. We were making our way down a bit of a difficult blue that had uneven terrain with piles of fresh powder as well as a few patches of ice. Very aware of the two little girls that were following my tracks, I was doing my best to stay on the smoothest path possible. As I was trying to avoid the powdery mounds, I didn’t quite make the turn as smooth as possible, crossed the back of my skis up, and couldn’t get them uncrossed. I was quickly lying on the ground on my back, skis uphill, and my goddaughter standing there watching me as I heaved myself back up. I had broken the most important rule. Don’t look down. When you look down, you go down. My goddaughter wasn’t on the ground because she wasn’t looking down. She was looking up, at me and following where I went. (I’ll also add that I was thrilled that she was able to stop quickly and not plow into me. That is all on her here!)
When I looked down the mountain and at the trail I was skiing, that’s where I went. I didn’t focus on my current location and the ground below me because that wasn’t where I was going. I was going down the mountain so that is where my focus needed to remain.
HOW THIS APPLIES IN LIFE:
Cast your vision on where you are going.
Find a leader that has already accomplished the goal that you wish to accomplish and follow them.
Set your eyes on your future vision and not your current postion.
Our vision was to reach the bottom of the mountain and hop on another lift to find another slope to conquer. In order to accomplish that, I had to set my focus on the vision and she had to set hers on me. Together, we reached our goals.
Unforseen Dangers & Chasing The Wrong Things:
We were enjoying a lazy New Year’s Day morning in the lodge. Some of the group had headed out for skiing while the rest of us had chosen to stay near the fireplace as the snow fell. The kids at the house decided to bundle up and head outside for some snowman building, snowball fights, and sledding down the driveway. We adults huddled around a table near the window, sipping coffee and mimosas, while we watched the kids play in the snow. As we were visiting, I mentioned that on one trail that we ran the day before, I had seen signs posted warning of a moose in the area and how they can be aggressive. We all laughed about this because we knew the odds of seeing a moose were incredibly rare. It was literally less than 5 minutes later when my best friend in the middle of recording the kids playing in the snow shouted “There’s a moose!” We all jumped to the window to see much to our horror, a moose charging up the driveway and hillside towards our kids. We scrambled around the large house trying too find the quickest way possible to warn the kids and scare the moose off. As we tried to determine the quickest way to warn the kids, the moose turned from having a stare down with the oldest, and decided to charge towards the house. The kids, unaware that these are aggressive dangerous animals, began running after him. As my husband bolted out a lower level side door to shoo the animal away, we opened windows from the upstairs shouting at the kids to get in the house and stay away from the animal because it was dangerous. We were able to safely get the kids in the house and shoo the moose off into the trees where it plopped down and staked its territory. The entire event was both terrifying, hilarious, and exhilarating. I marveled at the innocence of the kids and how they never realized they were in danger.
HOW THIS APPLIES IN LIFE:
How often do we see an opportunity present itself that is actually an unforeseen danger. It swiftly appears along the journey of reaching our vision and we can’t help but take notice. It’s impressive, grand, and like nothing we’ve ever seen before. We want to grab a hold and welcome it into our journey. However, often times, these “opportunities” are detrimental to your vision. They can cost you time, money, and harm. They can send you chasing after the wrong things and further distance you from achieving your vision. You need to be cautious before accepting people or things that want to further your vision in life. You need to be aware of the unforeseen dangers. You need to educate yourself.
If you are starting a new business, build a team of advisors that you trust that you can go to for advice along the way, that will help you understand the parts of business that you struggle with. But, do your research while assembling this team.
If you are beginning a health journey, don’t accept everyone and everything that claim to help you along the way. Ask those you trust for recommendations as to what has helped them. Find what is best for you and your personal journey.
If you are embarking on a journey of purpose, make sure that you stay true to what you value. Seek out mentorship. And, while I am an advocate of expanding your network and welcoming new people in, make certain that those you bring alongside your journey have the best intentions for your vision.
Bottom line, the world is full of moose and they are highly aggressive animals. Do not chase after them.

As we embark on the first day of a new decade, I hope you have cast your vision for 2020. I hope you have set your goals, and I hope that you are able to identify distractions that may hinder your vision along the way. 

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