Hand me a bestseller and chances are I won’t be impressed. What appeals to the masses often feels shallow. The message stays on the surface. Instead, I prefer to look for something that makes you see beyond what you already see.
One book I doubted was Brianna Wiest’s The Mountain Is You.
But sometimes there’s an exception. One that cuts through the noise and lands simply, directly.
The message is this:
We are guided by comfort and familiarity, even when they don’t serve us. To change, you must choose – the discomfort of the climb toward better, or the false comfort of staying where you are.
Most of our habits and beliefs are subconscious, shaped by unmet needs or emotions. Asking why am I really doing this? often shows where the climb lies.
Feelings only know the past. They can’t see the other side of the mountain. That’s why change feels wrong or artificial at first. It’s easier to give up than to push through the unknown. But that’s the process – you keep going until it starts to feel real.
And part of that process is letting go. Habits, relationships, jobs, even identities. You can’t build the new while holding onto the old.
The uncomfortable feelings will come. Let them. Sit with them. That’s how they pass.
Picture your future self. Ask: What would s/he do today? Act from that place, not from fear.
Your mind plays tricks. Worries are not truth. Feelings don’t predict the future – actions shape it. If you want something enough to act on it, own it fully. Don’t walk halfway. Choose.
What you give energy to grows. Guard it. Notice where it flows easily, and where it feels forced. Honour that.
In the end, the mountains – our challenges – are gifts. They shape us if we let them. If we don’t, they remain, and so do we. The worst thing isn’t failing on the climb – it’s turning back and living with what if.
Yes, the climb hurts. You may lose something along the way. But how often do you regret the challenge once you’ve made it? Even the hardest ones transform you.
Read the book. It’s a real one.
