How to climb mountains

"    Choose the mountain you want to climb

Don't be influenced by what other people say: 'taht one's priettier or 'that one looks easier'. You are going to put a lot of energy and enthusiasm into achieving your obective, and you are the only person responsible for your choice, so be quite sure about what you are doing.

      Find out how to reach the mountain

Often you can see the mountain in the distance-bautiful, interesting, full of challenges. However, when you try to reach it, what happens? It's surrounded by roads; forest lie between you and your objective; and what seems clear on the map is far more complecated in reality. So you must try all the paths and tracks until, one day, you find yourself before the peak you intend to climb.

     Learn from someone who has been there before

However unique you may think you are, there is always someone who has had the same dream before, and who will have left signs behind that will make the climb less arduous: the best place to attach a rope, trodden paths, branches broken off to make it easier to pass. It is your climb and it is your responsability too, but never forget that other people experiences are always helpful.

 (...) Respect your body

You will only manage to climb a mountain if you give your body the care it deserves. You have all the time that life gives you, so do not demand too much from your body. If you walk too quickly, you will grow tired and give up halway. If you walk too slowly, night might fall and you will get lost. Enjoy the lanscape, drink the cool spring water, and eat the fruit that Nature so generously offers you, but keep walking.

       Be prepared for an extra mile

Th e distance to the top of the mountain is always greater than you think. There is bound to come a moment when what seemed close is still very far away.

But since you are prepared to go still futher, this should not be a problem.

  (...) Be joyful when you reach the top (...)

       Make a promise

Now that you have discovered a strength you did not even know you had, tell yourself,too, to discover another mountain and set off on a new adventure.

      Tell your story

Yes, tell your story. Be an exemple to others. Tell everyone it's possible, and then others will find the courage to climb their own mountains."

Paulo Coelho,  Like the flowing river