We all love a good view, don’t we? The view from a plane. The view from the top of a tall building. The view of mountains. The view of water. There is no doubt about it, the view from the top of anything is amazing. There is one thing that makes the view from the top all the more spectacular and enjoyable, and that is the effort it takes to get there.
A few years ago, I visited Gibraltar. It was one of the stops on a cruise I went on back in 2018. As the ship neared Gibraltar and the rock became visible, I made a decision. I decided I was going to climb to the top of that rock. I didn’t know if was possible, or how to get there, I just knew I would do it. As I researched, I found out there were lots of ways to get to the top, but none that appealed to me. You can take a cable car, you can drive, you can take a taxi or bus, and the last option was the one I chose. I chose to walk.
As I started on this walk, really with no idea where to go, other than up, I realized that the walking option was definitely not a popular one. The queue to take the cable car was long and the traffic on the road seemed heavy. The walking path, on the other hand, was clear and empty. After I had been walking for about 15 minutes, I realized why the walking path was so uninhabited. It was steep, it was long, and it was hard. But, as in life, when we take one step at a time in the direction we want to go, and keep going, we will always arrive. So, I arrived, and the view from the top was breathtaking.
As I watched people getting out of cars, buses, and cable cars with their cameras, I knew their view would be different from my view. Why? Same location, same view, but different perspective. My view came from the perspective of the effort I had applied to get there. So, not only did I get to enjoy the amazing vista, I got to feel the pride that came from walking all the way up, and the benefits I got for my own personal growth. The view is always better when you have worked with a dream or goal to enjoy it.
Last weekend I participated in an event called Stadium Stomp. It was my first time, and the event involved running up and down the stairs all the way around one of the largest sporting stadiums in the world, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). In fact, there were two laps of the stadium, the first lap was around the lower level, and lulled me into a very false sense of security. I was cruising to the point when, after lap one, I was directed to the top level of the stadium to complete another lap. This time the stairs were steeper and longer, and if I am being honest, brutal. After running to the top of the first flight, my thighs were heavy, my lungs bursting, and as I looked around the ground, I estimated about another 50 flights of stairs to climb.
As I was on my last flight of stairs, I was trashed. I stopped at the top briefly, and looked around at this impressive stadium again, like the Rock of Gibraltar, with a very different perspective. The view from the top, as you can see from the photo was amazing, but all the better because of what I had just achieved to enjoy it. All of the pain, the strain, and the times I felt like stopping, were worth it for that view from the top.
So, you may be asking, what’s the point? Simple, don’t give up on your dreams, your goals, and your aspirations, because the view from the top is always better when you work for them. Have you ever been given money? Do you really value it, or just spend it? I got an inheritance after my grandmother passed away, and guess what I did with it? I bought a part share of a racehorse. That was dumb-attack of the century. I learned two very valuable lessons. First, anything that eats while you sleep is bad for your bank account! Second, you don’t truly value things you don’t earn.
When you work to recover your health or create optimal wellbeing, you value it, you enjoy it and commit to it. When you work to build your business, your bank account, your relationships, you always value them more, and the view from the top is always better.
My podcast this week with Dana Skaggs is called Healthy boundaries. She had to work very hard to set and stick to some healthy boundaries with her mother. It was not easy but has left her with a feeling of freedom and strength, and a much different view. So, as you set about your day, week, and next adventure, there will be times it will be tough, and you may be tempted to give up. Keep going my friend because, trust me, when you finally get to where you are going, you will love the view from the top.