The Climb by Miley Cyrus

At the end of last week, after nine weeks of being consistent with small changes to my diet and exercise routine I finally got into the green on the BMI scale. Yeah! But what do you think happened the very next day? You guessed it, I put on weight!

That’s not bad news though as it was the result of an enjoyable afternoon with friends eating pizza and drinking beer. And what’s more, this week I’m already back in the green. But it does remind me the chorus to a song my cousin Katie suggested to me from the Hannah Montana Movie, The Climb by Miley Cyrus:

Just keep pushing on, ’cause there’s always gonna be another mountain. I’m always gonna wanna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I’m gonna have to lose.

It’s one of those realities not just for changing habits, but for life in general, that progress is made up of ebbs and flows. Our strength isn’t in not having the ebbs and only the flows, but in the consistency of just keeping on going regardless. There will no doubt be times when we might feel overwhelmed:

Every move I make feels lost with no direction. My faith is shaking, but I, I gotta keep trying. Gotta keep my head held high.

Our response usually needs to include acknowledging and taking account of how we feel, then assessing the situation and then deciding on the perspective we’ll adopt and what we’ll do next. It’s a bit like the picture above. Depending on your perspective, the person might be hanging on for dear life and preparing to fall, or successfully completing a challenging climb successfully. Once we’ve processed our emotional response, we can assess and plan the next move.

It also means acknowledging that if our goals are going to be challenging and life changing, that we recognise lasting change is more often than not made through small consistent change over a period of time. And the learning we can get through the times of challenge can be the most enduring and significant lessons we might gain in life:

Ain’t about how fast I get there. Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side. It’s the climb, the struggles I’m facing, the chances I’m taking sometimes might knock me down, but no, I’m not breaking … these are the moments that I’m gonna remember most, yeah.

So, if you’re facing a difficult time, remember you’re not just hanging in there, but you are making progress on a path where there’s always gonna be another mountain.

Need some help maintaining your motivation to continue to change? Why not consider booking an appointment with the author, Dr Dave Wood?

The Climb is taken from the Miley Cyrus film Hannah Montana the Movie.