Disappear Your Problems

When recounting to a friend what The Rock Warrior’s Way—a book I finished recently—is about, I explained that it addresses so much more than rock climbing. It’s riddled with life lessons. Arno Ilgner, the author, clearly feels the same way I do about climbing often being a metaphor for life. I get so much value out of what he shares that I signed up not too long ago for his newsletter. Recently, in one of those emails, he shared the following quote:

Don’t climb yourself into a dystopian future where problems are nonexistent. Climb yourself into a utopian present. Problems disappear because you don’t see them as problems anymore.

So much of this life thing boils down to choice, and so often we choose to suffer. And when we choose to suffer, it takes away from our ability to live life the way we’d like to live it.

So if you find yourself suffering, take a step back and ask yourself, “How can I view this differently?” Maybe it’s an opportunity to learn a lesson or go in a new direction. No matter what, there’s opportunity baked in there somewhere. You just have to decide that you want to find it.

I can’t recommend the Rock Warrior’s Way enough. If you want to grab yourself a copy from my favorite Thrift Books, you can see what’s available here.