Five years ago, Matt and I booked an experience in Asheville, NC — a sunrise hike. 🌄
The plan: meet our hosts and the other participants in a parking lot at the base of a mountain, get in a van to carpool to the trailhead, and hike 1–2 miles in the dark to an overlook to watch the sunrise… and drink coffee. ☕
I was terrified.
I wasn’t familiar with the area, wasn’t keen on getting in a van with strangers, and definitely wasn’t at ease hiking in the dark (hello, heights!).
Around 4 a.m., we received a message: the excursion had been cancelled due to rain and low visibility. 🌧️
And suddenly — I was relieved, ecstatic, and able to get some deep sleep with my found time.
A lot has changed since then.
I reflected on this story last month while on a “short” three-mile hike with a couple of dear friends near Montreat, NC.
I’d coordinated the route — a 3-ish-mile point-to-point hike that summited three mountains. Mostly new trail for all of us, and I expected it to take 1–1.5 hours.
We met at 2:30 p.m. and returned to the van around 5:10 p.m.
While we were climbing, climbing, climbing .. before making the final descent that was alllll descent .. I remembered our cancelled sunrise hike 5 years prior.
That version of me couldn't have imagined going on the hike we were on, even in broad daylight! Much less, for me to be the one who planned it.
But I did.
Over the last 5 years, I've challenged myself to get just a little more and more outside of my comfort zone, incrementally building up the mental and physical endurance to traverse new mountainous terrain.
While the story I've still told myself is that I don't enjoy being on trails in the dark, I've got a date with the darkness for my 100k in December. And the new script I'm flipping is that it's going to be GREAT.
Reflecting on where I've been and what was once scary is helping me feel more calm and confident going into race day.
✨ What is something you do now with ease that used to be scary, daunting, or out of reach?
Hit reply, share in the comments, write in your journal, or just think & reflect. Whatever feels good 😌
Such a great question to reflect on, thank you! I had a hard time coming up with an answer. For a little bit, it felt like I used to do MORE scary/daunting things in the past than I do now! But then I saw the obvious answer. So obvious, I didn't think of it at first. Painting every week, and nearly every day! That used to feel SO daunting and out of reach. Now it's my reality. Seems small, but it's not.
Also - EPIC hike!!! So honored and proud to have been a part of that!
@Yekaterina Benson Thank you for sharing this - I definitely resonate with the experience of the obvious answer revealing itself! I agree with you that it's not small and I'm so, so glad you're painting more and more - that means more of your art will be out in the world!
And, thank you for being on the epic hike - it wouldn't have been quite as epic or memorable without you. You're my Forest Goddess Bear Guide ✨💫🐻🥾