10/06/25
Last week, Alex and I went to Zion National Park to celebrate both our recent marriage in September and my TEDx talk.
Of all the hikes we heard about, the most interesting one I wanted to experience was Angel’s Landing.
It’s a hike that requires a steep climb up a mountain, whereby you need to hold on to chains to hike the trail safely.
At one point, we reached a height where we could look back and see the windy trail that we had already hiked.
Alex stopped, looked at the trail, pointed at it, and said, “I really like that. Look!”
I saw the windy trail from the height of where we were all the way down to where we started.
It was really cool to see what we’ve already hiked to this point before we continued our ascension up the mountain.
Then I thought…
How often do we forget to do this throughout our lives?
We’re always “climbing”, going from one step to another on our life’s journey, yet we rarely pause to look back at what we’ve achieved.
We’re so focused on “the next step”, that we don’t acknowledge all of the steps we’ve taken to this point.
I know you have big goals.
You have so much you want to achieve in this life.
I say go for it.
Give it everything you got.
And please…
Every now and then…
Pause to acknowledge how far you’ve already come.
Look back at your journey and appreciate what you’ve already given of yourself.
Reflect on how you’ve grown with each step on the path you’ve been walking.
Then…
Just like Alex and I did during our hike in Zion…
Keep climbing.
Rooting for you,
Jay (encouraging you to acknowledge how far you’ve already come)