This last Tuesday, after a 12 mile bike ride, I climbed Sleepy Giant Mountain in Cheshire Connecticut. I went with a young couple here on vacation from South America.

I have climbed this mountain before and the hardest climb is the blue trail, the steepest and most challenging. This climb always reminds me of life in general. It reminds me of how sometimes in life, things can be a big climb(obstacle) and it seems like you will never get to the top(over it). The upward climb is hard and tiring, but once your over the top and start climbing down, it becomes easier, you feel happy that you have succeeded and that you overcame the obstacles on the way up.

I felt good about keeping up with a couple in their late 20s to early 30s. My friend was complaining during most of the climb up, it's too steep, I am afraid of falling, what do I do, when will it end. He was in a battle against his own mind. Isn't that what we do when we feel that life's obstacles seem overwhelming? His girlfriend is a physical education professor and she followed me right up the mountain without hesitation and soon realized it was a mental exercise. The climb seemed at times to never end, it took us 3 hours to complete the entire trail and a good hour and one half was the steep part of the mountain itself.

I suggest you try something like finding a mountain to climb. Break it down into steps, climb right up, over come what you see, pace your self, overcome and adapt. Once at the top, you'll be able to see for miles and appreciate the beauty of our planet and also challenge yourself with the lesson, in mind over negative circumstances or situations that appear to look like mountains or large obstacles.

Are there other exercises or outdoor activities you think may teach the same lesson? What do you think?