Feeling Down? Climb Up

Recently I was feeling overwhelmed, overworked and under-appreciated.   Blah, blah, blah.  I have a good life and I really shouldn’t complain, I know.

Still despite my best efforts, I couldn’t shake these emotions of disappointment in myself.  Why was I letting life’s little problems get to me and take the best of me?

I needed a break or better yet, a new adventure.  But when and where could I fit in another project with my already packed schedule?

I starting thinking back to my self-challenge days.  Of when I created my own personal Renaissance Movement.  I even wrote about the experience and published it.

Where was that confident me?  I was losing her.

I needed a new game plan.   I had to find a way to fit something exciting and different into my daily or weekly routine.

Think, Mandy, think!

Wait a minute… I work at a university.  I have lots of resources, programs, services and things at my fingertips.

In fact I had just started going back to the fitness center again.  I had been taking an aerobics class at least three times per week during my lunch hour.

On my way to class and as I walked past the women’s locker room, I found myself looking at the indoor rock climbing wall.  There was a whole room dedicated to scaling walls and pointed objects, some straight and some at steep angles.

There were three walls – from beginner’s level to more advanced.  The gym workers change out the markers of the course regularly so a person could climb every week and not take the same path.

My kids have a jungle gym but this was five or six times taller than that.  Maybe more. Could I climb it?  Did I have the courage to try?

I don’t think I’m really afraid of heights.

I had to do it.  Soon. Before I chickened out.

So last week I made an appointment to try it.  And I did.  With the coaching of fitness friend/trained climber, I tested it out.

Do you know what happened?  I climbed to the top of that beginner’s wall.

And it felt amazing.  Truly exhilarating and awesome!

I know that may seem silly.  It wasn’t Mount Everest.  It’s not even a steep hill.  It probably isn’t even that difficult for most people.  I couldn’t have fallen and hurt myself because I was attached to a rope and had someone spotting me.

But still, it felt great.  It was good for me and my soul.  I set out to try something new and I did.  I wanted to climb that wall because I had never attempted anything like that before.

As I climbed, I tried not to look up much. I didn’t look down until I arrived at the top.   No, I simply focused on what was right there in front of me.

This was a good reminder for me.  I need to just concentrate on one thing, one person and one obstacle at a time. When I do that, I meet my goals.  Sometimes I even surpass my expectations.

Life’s little problems felt small after I came back down to the ground and looked up at the wall I scaled.  I remembered that if I want to do something, I can do it.

From now on, if I start to feel down, I must remember to go up.

Climb up.  Literally, if I have to.