A funny thing happened on the way to the lake this weekend… I actually enjoyed the hike.
WHAT!??! I know.
If you’ve been around here for a while, you might know that I don’t love hiking, but I remember the day I figured out why.
This used to be the conversation I had in my head while hiking:
“I don’t know why I come out here.”
“I can’t keep up.”
“I’m so out of shape.”
“I can’t catch my breath.”
“I can’t even stop long enough to enjoy it.”
“WHY do I always do this?!?!”
I even blamed my husband, “He drags me all the way out here, and now I’m stuck!”
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Um… I don’t want to hang out with that. Do you? It’s no wonder I’m not too fond of hiking, but I remember the day I realized I was doing this.
My husband and I were on the Apgar Trail in Glacier National Park when I heard myself- in my head. It was like the opposite of an out-of-body experience- because I was listening, as if from the outside, to what was going on inside my head. That’s when I heard it… all the complaints. At first, it caught my breath. And then, my next thought was, “Wait a minute- I don’t have to listen to this!” And then I was like, “Wait!! I don’t even have to THINK these things! What if I just stopped complaining?” I decided to wash out all the complaints with good thoughts, like:
“I’m glad I’m physically capable of being out here.”
“I’m so happy my husband wants to hike and spend time with me.”
“It’s so great that my legs are strong enough to hike me up here.”
“Look at those flowers, aren’t they beautiful?”
“The sun sure feels warm and nice on my back.”
“It sure is pretty here.”
Now, when I go for a hike, I pay attention to my thoughts and see what goes on in there. If I hear complaints, I just stop & replace them with more grateful thoughts.
And obviously, I like hiking a lot better now.
