Instead of working yesterday, I decided to climb a mountain. It was my first time hiking since having knee surgery so I was a teensy bit nervous as we set off. And while it was physically straining and my cardio could use some work, the mental chatter in my head was the most interesting part.

It turns out that hiking up a mountain is a lot like the ups and downs in life and business, let me explain.

7 Reasons Why Running A Business is Like Climbing A Mountain

1. As we climbed the switchbacks up the mountain, we were surrounded by trees, trees, and more trees. When you looked up or down, all you could see was forest. Which is a cute metaphor for those periods in life and business when you know you’re moving in the general direction you want to go, but you’re so in the thick of it that you can’t see the sum of your efforts just yet.

2. There were parts of the journey where it evened out and was flat. This is where you get the chance to breathe and pat yourself on the back cause you can see the elevation gain. This is also the part where you can see the peak, and you realize you’re only at the halfway point.

3. Walking across the ridge with a decent drop off the side reminded me of how we need to keep our focus and blinders on in business — while the walk was fairly easy, I had to keep my eyes slightly downwards and straight ahead on the path to keep moving forwards. If I looked down at the drop? I’d feel my stomach drop and get dizzy. The lesson for this section? Keep moving and looking forwards, don’t let the distractions keep you from getting where you wanna go.

4. Occasionally wandering off the main path and walking to some of the different viewpoints was worth it. Side quests aren’t a bad thing.

5. To the top — while it wasn’t the hardest scramble I’ve ever done, knowing that what stands between you and the summit is the steepest part of the hike will do things to your brain. I wish I could say I approached this part with enthusiasm and curiosity, but I remember thinking, “do I really have to climb that?” But the most interesting thing was that once I started the ascent one foot in front of the other, it wasn’t as bad as I made it out to be.

6. Resting throughout is okay, not a sign of weakness, and a necessary part of the hike.

7. It’s more fun and enjoyable when someone is with you on the journey — like in business, having biz besties and folks to support you as you grow your business is invaluable. Knowing you’re not doing it alone can be supportive and the boost you need to keep going.

Even though I was out of office yesterday, it felt like I gained a lot of insight on myself and business on yesterday’s hike.

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