Rock Climbers vs. Hikers

Brittany turned her attention back to my handout. “What are you working on now?”

I said, “A section on rock climbers and hikers.  Imagine a mountain with a sheer wall and a path spiraling around and around until it disappears in the clouds at the top. The rock climbers want to scale the face of the mountain as fast as they can.

“Hikers go around the mountain. The upward slope isn’t steep and their progress is steady. Sometimes the trail dips and they think they’re losing ground. Arriving at the same side of the mountain again and again, the view looks the same. They fear going in circles, but each time around the mountain they’ve climbed a little higher.”

Brittany thought for a moment, “So, a rock climber would be like a broke gambler trying to win back money fast, and a hiker would be somebody building a business.”

I nodded. “Some people in early recovery want a great life immediately, and when that doesn’t happen they fall off the mountain.  Others accept working for a better life a little at a time.”

“I like the analogy,” Bethany said with a smile, “but if I hit the lottery I’m buying a helicopter to fly me to the top of the mountain. My internship will be over and my lifelong beach vacation begun.”

Today I will go around and around, always upward, toward my destination.

Burnout Training ©2018 by Ken Montrose

Burnout Training is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/