#SUNDAYSTORIES | FORGING A PATH
This edition comes to you on the heels of a UK adventure to see family and (of course) knock out some Spring training miles on the bike.
Overall we got in four mountain bike rides including 120 miles and 19,700 ft of vert, sightings of majestic wild horses and plenty of cows, sheep and pheasants.
At the moment pictured below we were hike-a-biking our way through what was supposedly a trail, I when I looked up at my husband John Griffiths I thought of the well-known Ralph Waldo Emerson quote: DO NOT GO WHERE THE PATH MAY LEAD. GO INSTEAD WHERE THERE IS NO PATH AND LEAVE A TRAIL.
In mountain biking that's not actually advice you want to follow if you want to be a good citizen of the trails for land preservation. It's a lot better when applied to the adventures of life and work - and that is the lens for this post.
In life and work it's usually a hell of a lot easier to go that the path already forged. However, there's a theory that the most rewarding trails are the ones we make for ourselves bc:
when we create them we also uniquely create impact for ourselves and others
we discover new places and spaces others haven't AND,
we evolve and uncover parts of ourselves.
The reality is, going where there is no path for any duration can be significantly more difficult as I can attest. That said, there's also a theory that it will be worth it when you get to the destination. While that may be true, I'd also argue the process of getting there can also make it worth it.
Too often we get our teeth and barrel through to the destination viewing the process as a burden which is a miss.
We have the option to view the process as a gift itself. It may or may not have been the gift we expected or thought we wanted - but it is the present in our hands.
How we choose to perceive thd path we are forging makes a difference. It doesn't make it easier per se but it does help us find more enjoyment along the way.
So, #LEADERS - if you like me tend to forge new paths, be it alone or among others, let's be diligent about finding ways to value the process of the journey as well as the final destination. And when it's undoubtedly hard - may we keep going - even if that means altering the course entirely.