Seeking answers

What do snails, mountaineers and you have in common? Way more than you realize!

In our culture, we want to know our answers right now. Got a problem? Here’s the solution. Got an illness. Take a pill. There’s a tendency to look elsewhere, externally for someone else to do the work for us. Somehow [insert external force] has something way better than we do, right?

What if that’s not the case?

On a casual hike, I met a young guy. As we were getting to know each other, we shared a love for mountain climbing. His goal was to one day summit K2. This bemouths of a mountain nestled deep in the Himalayan Mountain range offers sheer ice faces, avalanche danger, and soars 8000m into the sky above the clouds. This was no small endeavor. With inquisitive intrigue, what type of training and planning goes into this? He simply, stated it’s about ten years! Within seconds, Head rattled, eyes wide open, head turned sideways, looking up at his tall slender frame, Wow!

What can you accomplish in ten years?

Meeting my curiosity with simplicity, he started discussing the first steps. The skills, the practice, starting on smaller peaks and graduating up to more technical peaks. All were making perfect sense until he stopped. We both halted hiking. He periled down to my smaller stature and looked me dead in the eye the way a lion sees its prey. In a slow pause, he states, “Ten years for one chance. This doesn’t even mean I’ll make it to the top. I can’t control the weather. I can’t control how other teams may impact us. I can only control what I do, learn, and practice with humility.”

Ten years for one opportunity.

Abraham Lincoln stated, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

Snails remind us that slow and steady movement brings progressive wins. Yet in its wake, the snail leaves a trail of glue in its path. For miles, you can see the glue even if it took days to make. As you walk about your day, you also leave an energetic footprint. A smile to a stranger. An angry yell at a passing car that cut you off. A helping hand to an elderly lady at the grocery store. Lashing out at a family member. Holding a door for women with lots of kids in tow. Whatever it is, an energetic mark is left.

Who you were ten years ago is not who you are today. Who do you want to be in ten years?

Snails, Mountaineers and you have one simple way forward. One step at a time. Slow and steady moves you forward. What can you begin consistently improving upon?

This week go within, find that inner fire strength and ask, what’s one characteristic that you want to improve that will leave a positive energetic mark on all you meet along the way?

Wishing you an abundant, joyful, and prosperous day!

Lora Polowczuk

Chief Energy Officer