Blog #718: A Week’s Difference

After Extra Mile Day on 11/1
and smacked with personal challenges in 2025…

I needed a breather.

Sometimes…
We need to step back to keep stepping forward.

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On 11/2…

I caught a ship to Mexico.

I’ve discovered that one of the most relaxing and affordable ways to travel around the globe is by ship. It’s consistently been my “go to” strategy for self-healing. If I want to catch my next BIG motivational push…I walk across a country. If I want to heal and find harmony…I see the world by ship.

So here I am now.

I am floating on the ocean.

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A week ago…

I was in Mazatlán.

There is a hike I do there to the top of a mountain that wears one of the highest lighthouses in the western hemisphere. About a year ago when I was here, I pushed myself and went up and down the mountain three times in a row.

My body felt it…but loved it.

In trying to hike to the top of the mountain LAST week…

I made it up only ONCE, and I needed to stop SEVEN times as I climbed.
Mentally, emotionally, and physically, I got my butt seriously kicked.

Of course, coming back down the mountain…

LOTS of negative thoughts pinned themselves as post-it notes in my brain.

It wasn’t my strongest motivational moment.

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So…

The reason I write this blog (718 Thursdays strong now!) is NOT to be a 100% hype guy trying to convince people that 100% motivation always exists.

In no way does it.
Not for me.

I try my humble best to share my vulnerabilities and struggles…to shine a light on how I intend to RISE again after I fall.

Because that’s always our choice.

Do we rise or stay down?

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I KNOW…

I am at an age where overcoming surgery is more challenging. (In early October I had triple hernia surgery.) I know that as I continue to age, a “soft” part of my brain protectively whispers, “Stay down.”

But that is not me.

Not now.
Not tomorrow.

TODAY…

The ship I’m on returned to Mazatlán.

AND…

I again hiked the steep path up the mountain to the lighthouse.

And this time…

I did it BETTER.

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As I climbed…

I showed myself kindness.
I showed myself praise.
I showed myself grace.

It’s easier to keep going up our “mountains” with a smiling heart when we do those things.

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It’s always our choice.

Do we head for the couch…or out the door?
Do we play armchair expert…or experiential adventurer?
Do we rise…or stay down?

I hope this week’s blog inspires your thinking in the area your thinking needs to be inspired.

In humility and gratitude…

S.