WHAT'S YOUR GOAT PATH?
This last weekend a friend of mine and I went away for a Girls Gone Wild Weekend and by most peoples standards it was pretty tame. We went on a 25-mile bike ride the first day and an 11-mile hike the second day and the third day involved shopping. We ate lots of junk food, talked, laughed, sang karaoke, watched movies and just relaxed which we all need from time to time. Admittedly our version of Going Wild may be tame by comparison but when all was said and done we had a fabulous weekend of fellowship and challenging ourselves physically.
Our 11-mile hike was through some of the most beautiful landscape ever created - it was simply breathtaking. I really enjoy getting to play outside in the playground that God created and I can't remember the last time that I enjoy pushing myself physically as hard as I did during that hike. The only down side for me is that I am terrified of heights and there were times when I had to 'Buck Up Little Cow Girl' and just keep going. On the way out I was fine, in fact, the small trail and steep drops didn't bother me much until the end of our hike. We only had 2 miles to go and about a half-mile into it was the steepest drop off of our hike that lasted for about a mile. I started referring to it as a goat trail while we were on it - it was a little wider than my shoulders. What really surprises me is that while there were trees on the side of the drop it was okay but as soon as there weren't any trees and I could actually SEE the drop is when I had challenges.
It's funny even though I was tired (the hike took us 5 hours and 21 minutes start to finish) I wasn't exhausted and coming back that mile of goat trail that had the steep drop off really freaked me out. I was at a point that all I could do was reassure myself that the path was as big as I needed it to be, that I was strong and had fabulous balance and that I would be fine - over and over and over that entire goat trail mile. What I really wanted to do was just sit down but I knew that if I sat down I would never get back up again.
Looking back I realized that this experience is a perfect metaphor for what life throws at us sometimes. At times it's all we can do to not sit down, to keep moving forward even though we are terrified to keep going. It's the sitting down that does the most damage because we may never get back up again. It's when we get to the safety of the parking lot and are able to look back at the goat path that we are able to appreciate and enjoy the magic of the challenge. That's when we realize what we are capable of just by continuing to put one foot in front of the other.
My wish for you is that whatever your Goat Trail is today that you keep telling yourself how capable you are and that you are all you need to overcome your fear and doubt. That you can and will get to the safety of the parking lot where you'll be able to look back and feel the pride in yourself that comes with feeling the fear and successfully walking through it to the other side. After all when all is said and done we are enough and we are all that we will ever need we just forget it sometimes - we really don't need someone else to help save of us or to help make us okay.
Here's to you in Health I hope that you get the opportunity to navigate your Goat Path soon so that you too can realize your strength and brilliance!
Here's to you in Health, Wellness, and Abundance!
Jennifer Malocha CEO of Winner Circle Coaching