#643 because

British mountaineer George Mallory was famous for his expeditions to climb Mount Everest in the 1920s.  At the time, he was striving to be the first to reach the summit.  This is no small feat even today, but with the equipment and knowledge available at the time, it was an even more arduous task.  Mallory died on the mountain without ever achieving his goal.

In addition to his climbing accomplishments, Mallory achieved notoriety from one of his quotes.  Asked "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?", he replied "Because it's there."

I heard this story last week at a faculty lecture where our professor posed a question about obstacles: do we respond differently to challenges when we go in search of them (like climbing Everest) vs. when they are given to us (such as fighting cancer)?  His premise was that conquering obstacles of either type gives our lives a sense of worth.  It is "because they are hard", not in spite of the fact that they are.

It puts challenges into a new light -- changing the paradigm to welcome obstacles rather than fearing them; perhaps even creating a few of our own.

Think about what metaphorical mountain is out there for you to climb.  Taking that first step may be the challenge you need to add deeper meaning to your existence.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Sources:  George Mallory, Wikipedia

"Small Obstacles: Opportunities for Big Growth" Mackin-Mailander Faculty Lecture by Dr. Bryan Zygmont, 2/25/14