The Joy of Climbing Your Own Personal Mount Everest

So, if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life.

George Mallory

Why Might We Choose to Climb Mount Everest

Climbing Mount Everest is a huge undertaking that comes with a serious risk of injury and death. It takes at least a year to prepare for this challenge, and it can involve spending up to 20 hours in the death zone (an elevation above 8,000 meters where the human body begins to die). On average, five climbers will lose their life on this mountain every year, so why would anyone in their right mind want to do it?

There is a concept from Chinese philosophy called Chi Ku which is often translated as “to eat bitter” or persevere through hardship. The idea is that it is by learning to do this that we get to experience the sweetness of life. A similar idea is to be found in the West where getting out of our comfort zone is seen as key for anyone hoping to find success and happiness.The simple truth is that wonderful things can start to happen to us when instead of always running away from discomfort, we start running towards it.

To travel, to experience and learn: that is to live.

Tenzing Norgay

The Journey is More Important Than the Goal

The thousands of hours of preparation that goes into an Everest expedition leads to just a few minutes on the summit. This must surely be a bit of a disappointment for those whose only goal is to reach the top of the mountain.The reality is though for those who set out to climb this peak, it is more about the journey than it is the goal. In fact, the most dangerous part of the expedition is getting back down the mountain (this is when most fatalities occur), so those who are overly focused on the summit can be in real danger.

The Joy of Climbing Your Own Personal Everest

Most of us are not going to climb Mount Everest. The reality that there is now regularly human traffic jams on the way up to the summit suggests that we will be doing this mountain a favor by not adding to this dangerous situation. Anyway, the point is not about climbing any particular mountain but about doing things that are going to be challenging. It means seeing what we are capable of (far more than we imagine) and building up our confidence. It means facing the things that scare us so that we become more fearless in life.

Just like the Everest climbers, we need to recognize that it is the journey rather than the destination that is important. The goal is just a point we choose that is outside of our comfort zone. It could be anything – the important thing is that it is going to be something that not only challenges us but that we enjoy.

There is often a reason for why we never venture far beyond our comfort zone. It is usually because we are too busy struggling with our daily lives to even consider anything extra. The sad thing here is that it is by doing these more challenging things that live becomes easier. It can be often be something like addiction that is keeping us trapped in our comfort zone (important: our own particular comfort zone can actually feel like a living hell that we feel unable to escape). If this is the case, a rehab program may be necessary before we are able to reach new heights. If that is your situation (or the situation of somebody you care about), please contact Hope rehab to see how we might be able to help.