I just got home from a meeting of the local hiking club. The guest speaker was hiker Carey Kish. Carey has hiked the Appalachian Trail, all 2,189 miles of it, twice. Once at age 18 in 1977 and a second time in 2015 at age 56.
Carey documented his journeys with slides. His slides showed how challenging this 2,189 mile journey is. In his slides, every hiker and everyone else in his pictures was always smiling, in spite of the hard work everyone was doing. He commented that along the way of his second hike (at age 56), an eighteen year-old kid told him that he himself could never hike the AT all the way through. The kid told him that his longest hike was a 50 mile hike with a Boy Scout group. Carey replied that his 2,189 mile hike was simply forty-four 50-mile hikes connected together.
Carey’s speech amazed me. It amazed me to see the bears, snakes, rain, and other hazards the AT hikers encountered. In spite of all these hazards, some of them still hiked the entire trail. And they all looked happy while doing it. Carey’s speech confirmed some strategies my Grandma taught me as a young child to be happy and successful and to reach my goals.
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Imagine your goal, and then set it.
AT hikers have to dream big to set their goal of hiking the entire 2,189 mile AT. But they do.
My Grandma taught me to imagine my goal, and then set it. Just like the AT trail hikers do.
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Break your goal into manageable smaller goals.
What Carey told the 18 year-old kid who said he could never hike the AT impressed me.
My Grandma told me to do the same thing when I was a young child. She told me to break my goals into smaller manageable goals, and then reward myself when I reached each one.
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Persist
Never give up on reaching your goal, on making your dream come true, regardless of the hardships you encounter along the way.
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Regardless of how challenging your goal is, you can do it. You can overcome depression, calm anxiety, overcome PTSD, raise healthy children, and get an education. You can do it! I believe in you.
You just need to set your goal, break it down into manageable smaller goals or steps, and never give up.
Soar like an eagle over life’s storms. Accomplish your goals, one at a time.
Let the encouraging words in these near a river posts help you
soar like an eagle above life’s storms.
Dreading something that may happen in your future?
Do not let “The Small Things” ruin your life.
I hope you have “A Beautiful Life“.
Yes, you can keep going!
