I was beat like a rented mule, and close to being done.  This mountain was getting the best of me.

We had dared challenge the might of the Monashee Mountains in a glorious region known as the Pinnacles – named for the towering granite spires that shot straight up like spiritual steeples in the cathedral of creation.

It all began simply enough.  David, Benjamin and I had decided we would begin a tradition of going away as MacLean Men once a year to do some kind of manly trip.  This was our first of what we would later call our annual “testicle festival”.

We packed up the Durango for an overnighter, drove up past Cherryville and followed a 20 km gravel road to its end.  This was the beginning of the Monashee Lake trail.  We spent an uncomfortable night sleeping in the back of the SUV before beginning our quest to conquer the mountain the next morning.

I had not done a lot of research to determine the difficulty of this hike.  Hey, how hard could it be?  David was 9, Benjamin was 8, and I was still not quite 40.  We were strong, we were together and we were motivated.  We could do this.

According to an online description of the trail,

“A steep, no-nonsense charge upward to an alpine meadow and small lake…things get tricky…look up at the long debris chute – you’re going up that. It doesn’t matter how, since you will undoubtedly lose the snippets of trail along the way….at times you have to grope for roots and rocks, hoping they won’t come loose, and it feels like you’re gaining more height than distance. There are moments where you think “this must be the end of it” but it isn’t…this only happens a few tear-inducing times before you find yourself in a very alpine-ish meadow with large boulders and snow patches which signifies the true end of the climb.”

Half way up we found ourselves on a particularly “tear-inducing” section.  I was done.  I wanted to go back down.  Sure it’s beautiful.  I have no doubt it must be spectacular at the top.  But nothing can be worth this much discomfort.

That’s how I felt, but I knew better.

This was the make or break moment in our journey.  Either we would overcome our emotions, and bring our bodies in submission to our wills, or we would limp home defeated and weaker for it.

It was time for a Mountainside Motivational.

We needed to engage in positive self-talk.  We needed our wills to override our emotions and engage in the decision to keep moving forward.  We needed to actually shift our emotions and not allow our emotions to shift us.

So, I dug deep and basically said,

“Boys, this is hard isn’t it?  I feel like quitting and going back – how about you?  But you know what?  We didn’t come here to give up.  We came here to conquer.  So let’s decide that we’re not giving up.  We’re not giving in to our emotions.  We’re going to keep moving forward.   We’re going to walk 50 paces and stop to encourage each other.  Then we’ll start up again and do it over and over until we reach the top.  We can do this!”

And we did it.  We made it to the top.  In fact, when the boys crested the mountainside and crossed over into the lake area they started jumping up and down with newfound energy.  Their hearts grew 10 sizes that day.  They realized they had more strength than they thought.

I have no doubt you’ve found yourself on a mountainside of sorts from time to time – perhaps even now.  You may want to give up.  You may want to pack it in.

Give yourself a Mountainside Motivational.

Who talks to you more than anyone?  You do!  Pay attention to what you say to yourself.  Make sure you’re speaking truth to yourself.  Start combating those thoughts and internal voices that are trying to convince you to give up.  Bring your emotions in line with your will.

Make Mountainside Motivationals a regular practice and you will climb mountains you never thought possible.