A couple of days prior to hiking Mt. San Jacinto, I wrote a post titled "A C2C Prayer" (read it here). C2C stands for "Cactus To Clouds", which is the nickname for the 20+ mile hike up Mt. San Jacinto from the Palm Springs Art Museum.
(To learn all about the C2C hike, I highly recommend reading this post by "The Hiking Guy" - https://hikingguy.com/hiking-trails/best-la-hikes/cactus-to-clouds-hike/ )
In that "A C2C Prayer" post I thanked the Universe for all the lessons I'd learn during the hike. This post is a reflection of those lessons in bullet point form. Enjoy!
- you can get a mountain of work done if it's your entire focus for the day and you've been preparing for it
- (lost my dodgers world series towel) sometimes you have to let go of things you love in order to move forward
- adventures, especially long, arduous ones, are better spend with people who are on the same journey and are willing to do whatever it takes to get there
- the energy of the group is vital
- mental preparation is key
- it's okay to be in silence
- the first mile is kinda weird
- the last 3 miles seem like forever
- life is miserable if you keep complaining about what's not happening
- it's important to laugh and joke, even when you're in pain
- the right tools for the job can make things 1000x more efficient
- sometimes you're moving fast, sometimes you're moving slow
- sometimes you need a break, sometimes you need to keep pushing
- 20 miles is just 1 mile, 20 times
- when you train hard, consistently, the game gets easier and easier
- challenge others with the intention to win
- BREATHE
- make the decision beforehand how you want life experiences to go - aka intentions
- we are capable of WAY more than we can imagine
In the most cliche way possible, 4 months ago, if you'd have told me I'd have 8-12 clients as a life coach, running a daily blog, impacting lives on youtube and instagram, have a visible six pack, and hike up a 10,000 ft mountain that's over 20+ miles of trail long, I'd have asked "really? how?"
My point is I can't believe where I am today compared to where I was just in February 2018. I feel like I've lived a whole year's worth of growth, experience, achievement, and fulfillment.
There are many things going on and I'm enjoying it a TON.
There's a new level of life that's being asked of me. I'm ready for it. The next step is to create the structures, systems, habits, and other necessary things that will allow this next level of life to be sustainable.
Not quite sure what it looks like yet. Surely, things will reveal themselves at the right time as they always do.
Thank you for reading. I can't wait to read your stories as well.
Much love,
Gabriel Santos
