It's never enough

And maybe that's a good thing. "It's never enough" can be incredibly painful or incredibly freeing. It depends how you look at it.

A very popular quote is that "He who loves walking will walk farther than he who loves the destination". It's all about enjoying the journey which I am totally on board with. I was doing some thinking the other day and came upon a new perspective.

I like to imagine life in a metaphor of climbing a mountain. It's a metaphor that was often used in the Boy Scouts. You start as a Cub Scout in Kindergarten and proceed as followed:

Kindergarten: Bobcat

1st Grade: Tiger

2nd Grade: Wolf

3rd Grade: Bear

4th Grade: Weblos

5th Grade: Weblos

The Arrow of Light

6th Grade -> 18 years old

Scout

Tenderfoot

2nd Class

First Class

Star Scout

Life Scout

Eagle Scout

I always imagined I giant mountain as a "cub" scout bobcat you are on the ground in this forest with your parents helping you along the way. But as you go up the ranks eventually you part from your parent's to hike this seemingly impossible mountain, at the top of which eagles are flying. You start off climbing with hundreds of other scouts eager but as you get higher in rank and on the mountain you find yourself more and more alone. The journey to the top is not one travelled to by many.

Coming back to my idea of the journey. I see life as a climb to the top of the mountain where the mountain is your goals. But as an overachiever many can probably relate that the second you get to the peak of that mountain (much like in real hiking) you realize there is a wayyyy bigger peak behind it.

This idea can be compared to never having or being enough. Often times people will tell us,

"Be happy at the peak you are at." "Stop trying to get the next big peak or you'll never be happy." "If you always look for the next peak you can't live life."

At first you might think the precense of the next higher peak is demoralizing. But follow me through this thought:

Say you did it. You got to the highest peak in the world. No higher peak to go. You are on top of the Everest of metaphorical mountains.

Where do you go now?

Down?

Sit on the peak for the rest of your life?

Most people would say "YEA!" you did it. You won.

I am challenging you to look a little harder into the clouds, another mountain just might appear. And if it does don't be discouraged, it just means that no matter what you will always have a mountain to conquer.

It's not that you aren't grateful for your current peak or you aren't happy with where you are. You are super grateful and present and you have helped people to the peak you are on. But you are a climber.

Why stay where you are? There's another level you can get to. I think the version of yourself that's at the top of even continuing to climb is infinitely better than the version that would've settled for the peak he was on.

So enjoy the climb, enjoy the journey. And don't be afraid because no matter how hard you try there will always be another mountain to climb.

(I hope this helped you see the perspective. If I did a good job you should be able to see both perspectives now. You can either be frustrated there's always another mountain or happy and excited there will be. All you have to do is choose. Climb on.)