Goal-oriented, high achiever-type people can be great to be around; their energy is often contagious. I usually find such folks to be incredibly motivating, as they make me excited to get my own shit done.
I had a friend like that many years ago, and when she moved to San Diego, I flew out to see her. The city and its surrounding areas offer tons of fantastic things for visitors to do and see, including beautiful mountains to climb. Since my friend was a sporty outdoor person, one early evening she took me on a hike up one of those mountains.
As we climbed higher and higher on the winding and often steep mountainside path, I was awed by nature’s beauty and its stunning vistas. It only became more breathtaking as we went, as each step took us a bit higher and allowed us to see farther along San Diego’s striking coastline. There was just one problem—my friend wasn’t paying attention to the views; she was only concerned with reaching the top quickly, as if it were a race.
Once we reached the summit, we had barely stopped for a couple of photos of the now-setting sun before my companion began itching to begin our descent. As we went, I stepped carefully, distracted by the beautiful golden red, orange and yellow hues that bathed the trail and other nearby peaks. Twisting my head back and forth between the faraway views and the path right before me, I struggled to take it all in without losing my footing.
“Are ya fallin’ asleep back there?” My friend yelled over her shoulder. No, I thought, It’s so beautiful I could stand here wide awake for hours and watch night fall.
The next day, I overheard her on the phone with a friend’s young daughter. The girl had been looking forward to visiting a local merry-go-round with her family—the kind with the brass rings—and my friend, during their previous conversation, had challenged her to grab ten.
“She got ten rings!” my friend exclaimed, hanging up the phone.
“Cool, but did she enjoy the rides?” I asked, at which my friend just stared at me blankly (and let’s not even talk about how many rides it took to grab that many rings).
Though I’d always found my friend motivating and her accomplishments inspiring, that week I gained something else from her—a lesson about how the journey is often just as important as the destination. And yes, she and I lost touch after that trip.
Climbing a (literal or figurative) mountain? Great! But don’t miss the views on the way to the top.
Photo by Ales Krivec on Unsplash