June 28, 2007

What's Under Your Mountain?

View From the Mountaintop, More Mountain at Eureka Springs AR

From the pen of the great Dr. Robert Rhom, of Personality Insights,Inc. a thoughful peice on what we think of as "Our Mountaintop Experience"

Re-evaluate your mountaintop experience.


Most of us have had some type of mountaintop experience during our lifetime. Perhaps it was getting the coveted driver's license at the age of sixteen. Maybe it was getting married or having children. It could have been graduating from college and then stepping into a dream job. In any case, whenever something really wonderful happens to us, our excitement causes us to view it as one of life's mountaintop experiences.

I recently heard a man say that he had worked all of his life to get to the top of his own personal mountain. He talked about the struggles and challenges he had faced both personally and professionally. The relationships he had with family and friends had caused him both happiness and sorrow. He reflected on the massive amount of time, effort and energy it took to reach the specific goals that he had laid out for his life.

Finally, one day he reached the top of his mountain. As he stood there looking out over his life and all of his accomplishments, he looked down and realized that the mountaintop was not at all what he thought it was. It was simply a huge heap of "junk" (both good and bad) that he had climbed up in order to get to where he was.

The heap he stood on consisted of all the obstacles and difficulties that he had faced. There were broken relationships and many long hours of hard work and study. Under his feet lay challenge after challenge that he had encountered in his business life. The many heartaches and tears shed over painful relationships with family and friends were also part of the pile.

Mixed in with all of that were some great times of happiness too. All of the things he had done and experienced in life brought him to the place where he stood at that moment. It actually turned out to be a good place. Though it had not been easy, it had all been well worth the journey to get to where he wanted to be in life.

When I heard that story, I identified with it so very much. I love life! I love to see goals attained after hard work. I love to see groups of people work together and everyone succeed. I love to see families encouraging and helping one another. But, the truth of the matter is, the mountain really is made out of a lot of "junk". Hard work, traffic jams, taxes, wasted time, frustrating situations, wrecked dreams, dashed hopes, broken relationships - the list of challenges that we all have faced at some time in our life could go on and on. Yet, if we keep going, if we keep climbing, we will keep moving upward. And if we keep going upward, we will eventually get to the peak of our own personal mountaintop. That will be a great experience!

Why not begin to consider what "stuff" makes up your own mountain? Things may not be the way you want them to be right now, but as long as you do the next right thing and move in a positive direction, you will continue to grow.

The aspect of a beautiful mountaintop experience has a whole new meaning when you realize that it does not matter what the mountain is made of. It matters not that the mountain is composed of a lot of "junk". What matters most is that you end up standing on top of it all rather than being consumed by it! If you keep striving and climbing you will eventually get on top of it and you will have a life that is helpful to you, your family and your friends.

I will see you on the mountaintop!

Robert Rohm Personality Insights, Inc.

I read this in the midst of a personal crisis, I am truly reevaluating my "mountain" and finding that there is a lot of rubbish there...Praying for a transformation in my life, and a "forgetting of the things laying behind"

Labels: Faith