Climbing the Mountain of a New Year...You Ready?!

It’s a new year and everyone is making new goals and resolutions they want to achieve in the upcoming months. As I was reading this morning, I found myself wondering how I was going to complete everything I said I wanted to do this year.
Well, I’ve got the answer. I’m going mountain climbing.

Last year I sent Donna a picture of a mountain. The same picture I’ve posted with this blog. In the lower right hand corner you can see a small cart with a lot of supplies or cargo attached. I told her that the picture represented us. When we moved to Longview, Texas we thought we would be going in one direction, but wound up going in a complete opposite way. We thought we were reaching our mountain top, but it turned out to be a valley with a huge mountain in front of us. It was like God said; nope I have something else for you.

This year, we made up our minds that nothing or no one was going to prevent us from accomplishing what God has for us to do and like so many of you out there, we made goals and resolutions for 2012. The question is how are we going to accomplish them all?

Here are some tips I came up with on achieving or reaching your goal or “mountain top”.

1) You have to plan your trip.
In planning a climb you’ve got to ensure you have the trip mapped out. Where do you want to be day 1, day 2, day 3? What is your destination? How do you plan to get there? What tools will you need for the job? Do you have the right equipment? All of those questions will need to be asked. If you can answer them then move on. But you must have a plan. Once you’ve got your plan….work it!

2) Prepare the mind
When you start out with anything new, it can be stressful. You have no idea where you’re going and no idea what you may have to face, so you’ve got to be ready for anything. You’re taken out of your comfort zone and placed in a place where the decision you make could be life or death decisions. Can you make them and think through the decision in a timely manner? Are you a positive thinking person with an honest outlook or will you let the negative influence you to quite and lose your ground? Negative self talk is an area you’ve got to overcome. Honest thinking and a cool head is what most climber need.

3) Prepare the body
You don’t want to start out climbing a mountain and not be in shape to do so. Just like being prepared mentally, you’ve got to be physically ready. Start walking or jogging when you get home from work. Exercise with the kids or with your spouse. Get the body fit and in shape, because there are some climbs that can be physically demanding. Are you ready for it?

4) Pick a great partner
Any time you go climbing, hiking or cycling you want to have a partner with you. Many times people go into places and they aren’t familiar with the terrain. If something was to happen, you want to have someone with you who could help get you out of a rough situation or even go for help if it was serious enough.

The same applies to life. You’ve got to have a good partner who can give you motivation, inspiration and help you through a tough point. You want someone who can be upfront and brutally honest with you, but at the same time be kind. Having a mentor or coach is great and can be beneficial for the climb. Many times the coaches or mentors have been through some of the same situations you’ll face and can give you great advice.

5) Pray
This is usually one of the first things that should be done. And I should have made it first on the list. Prayer is one of the most important things you can do if you’re going to be successful in life. You can plan all you want and prepare your minds and body, but if your soul isn’t prepared you do yourself a great injustice. In everything you do you must keep God first and foremost in your life.

Just my thought on a page…