If there's one thing I've learned over the past several decades, it's this: positive experiences often come from negative experiences handled consciously. To explain what I mean, I'd like to tell you a story about a hiker who had rocks in his pocket, chains around his ankles, a brick in each hand and a bale of hay strapped to his back. Yep, that was me, and there I was hiking up a hill, hoping to make it to the top by sun fall. As you'll soon see, I am offering my lesson metaphorically. There is great power in metaphor.
Half way up a hill that I was climbing, I came across a fellow who asked, "Why do you have that bale of hay strapped to your back?" I replied, "My gosh, I didn't realize I had a bale of hay strapped to my back." I immediately removed the bale, and felt wonderfully relieved. I felt like I was standing tall once again.
As I continued up the hill, feeling a little lighter about things, I met a lady who asked me what I was going to do with the bricks in my hands. I said, "Oh goodness, I hadn't noticed that I was carrying bricks." I immediately dropped them. Wow, did that feel exhilarating! My arms were swinging with a youthful gait that added a skip to my motion.
And soon thereafter, as I advanced nearer the top of the hill, I ran into a young man that asked, "What's the point of the chains around your ankles?" I looked down at my ankles and said, "There is no point, and I'm glad you pointed that out." I removed the chains and felt more mobile than I'd felt in years. My stride was wide as my pace quickened.
You guessed it; right before reaching the top, I came by an older gentleman who asked me what was bulging in my pockets. When I realized that I'd collected useless rocks from the past, I emptied my pockets. For the first time since I could remember, I felt completely free. I felt as light as the wind, and quickly breezed to the summit.
Having been made aware of my many burdens, combined with my willingness to drop them one by one, I felt like a new man. I found myself standing victoriously at the top of the hill, still full of energy, looking across the valley at the challenge of that high mountain that I'd always dreamed of surmounting. It was no longer a dream, but a definite passion. I made that challenge my # 1 aspiration," and within a year I made that ideal real, which was half the time I'd imagined it would take.
Now, what in the world does this story have to do with you? You tell me, or better still - tell yourself. Of what burdens do you need to rid yourself so you can climb higher mountains in your lifetime? What limiting beliefs, what fears, what doubts, what old feelings of inadequacy might you relieve yourself of, so that you might feel like a new person?
There is no better way to help yourself than by noticing the burdens you've placed on yourself that cause a misuse of your incredible energy.
The motto of my story is this: The sighting of an old burden and the willingness to let it go must precede the acquiring of a new strength. Wait there's more. Dare to live by that motto and you will find yourself looking at life from the view of a mountaineer, a view that offers a much broader perspective than that of a hill climber.
Perhaps you'll share a burden you've spotted and are willing to drop, by leaving a comment?
International Bestselling book author, Rob White, offers other inspiring short stories that reveal ordinary gurus who come to you to prove there's no such thing as a final failure unless you say so in his book And Then I Met Margaret.