Life is too short. That thought resonates in the back of my mind periodically throughout each week as the successes and failures of accomplishing or failing to accomplish day-to-day goals take shape. There are two ways to take this statement and two types of people in this world. There are the victims and there are the action-takers. The victims are reactionary and respond to situations as they happen. A setback or a tragedy happens and their actions consequentially portray a mindset of feeling sorry for themselves and dwelling. Even worse…they settle in complacency. This is the easiest way to stay average. Who likes average? I cringe at the thought of that. These are those who complain but do nothing to change the situation. I can’t stand that. On the other hand, there are the action-takers. Rather than dwelling in sorrowful self-pity that keeps victims in the cycle of doom, action-takers CREATE situations for themselves that progress their growth into the life they desire. Abraham Lincoln said “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Action-takers are not reactionary in the sense that they are at the mercy of the situation. Action-takers are reactionary in the sense that, presented with a situation, they are prepared to the best of their abilities to respond and grow. Preparedness can take many shapes including psychological, physical, and educational preparedness. In essence, those with a victimhood mentality are subject to circumstances pressed upon them due to their lack of urgency to shape their life how they truly want it to be while action-takers create situations that aid in shaping their most fulfilling life.
I am an action taker, but I know that I need to be better.
Life is too short. Recent events in my life such as my grandmother’s passing last year at the young age of 70 provide a huge wake-up call for action. I look back on the wonderful memories that I have of her and think about how fast time goes. As fast as it goes, time moves at the same speed for all of us. Those who live a fulfilled and happy life have the same amount of time as those who fall into the cycle of average. Why wait to live your perfect life when there is no guarantee of tomorrow? It all starts with asking questions and defining your perfect life.
It is easy to ask questions that allow answers backed by a safety net. We are seemingly programmed to seek avoidance of failure. Ask. Better. Questions. At first, there shouldn’t be an easy answer. Life-defining questions such as “what makes me happiest?” and “what do I do for a living?” many times do not align in their answers for many whom I have come across. The better question of “how do I make work feel less like work?” starts to probe the right area of thought, but answers are usually shaped out of decision-making conservatism and traditional ways. Getting to the point of full alignment between what makes you happiest and how you pay the bills may not be immediately possible given your circumstances right now. But that doesn’t mean give up on trying to build up a foundation rooted in what makes you happiest. It is certainly possible to probe around in projects within other industries that tickle your fancy while still maintaining roots in your current industry. Even if your current setup is okay, why not explore interests that raise your heart rate and pump the adrenaline when you think about them? Developing projects outside of your 9-5 that move you in the direction of your truest passion will spark excitement and move you in the right direction of happiness and fulfillment. The difference between the victimhood mentality and the action-taker mentality is that action-takers, even if they enjoy what they currently do, are always on the prowl for new interests. If you aren’t fully happy, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Victims won’t take any steps towards exploring alternate interests. The reasoning behind this is a series of safety nets that many people subconsciously put in place that encourage complacency because complacency is comfortable. Blast through those safety nets and grow. It starts with asking questions and formulating answers without safety nets.
Based on my own experiences and observations of those around me, the safety net beneath many answers usually falls into the categories of fear, judgement, and approval. Fear of failure. Judgement from friends, family, and strangers. Approval from others leading to complacency in the status quo. 40 years ago, it was a lot harder to remove these safety nets and succeed because accessibility to success wasn’t nearly as prominent as it is today. In today’s day and age, providing answers with a safety net is bullshit. With the information on ANYTHING at our finger tips, there is no excuse not to step out of the comfort zone, to try new things, and to explore new passions. Between the exponentially improved connectivity of us as humans and the realization that tomorrow is a gift, not a given, I have become super driven to move towards a fuller life living my passions and sharing this life with as many people as possible. Tomorrow is not a given so live with urgency. My underlying question is “If you had to choose one activity in life that you’d be required to work 100 hours per week to get other people as excited about it as you are, what would you do?”
Some of you may be wondering “what if I have no idea what my true passion is?” TRY THINGS. Just keep trying different hobbies and activities until you start to hone in on something exciting. If something isn’t your passion, move on and try something else. You are going to have to step out of your comfort zone. In the process, you will start to see quite a bit of personal growth. I know I did when I was first introduced to the mountains, my now #1 passion. Mountains were not and are not my only passion though. Along the way, I picked up guitar, drawing, welding, designing, baseball, coaching, and cooking to name a few other passions that I enjoy every bit of. In trying things, I have accumulated many hobbies that keep me balanced, occupied, and sharp. But if you ask me, mountains are it. Mountains are my drug.
This is where it starts. In the mountains. The peaks and valleys that I get to hike up and ski down. The freedom, focus, and clarity that they provide always sends me into my purest state. Nothing in life compares to the taste of the crisp air and the miles of incredible views experienced in the mountains. The first time that I truly began to appreciate mountains to the extent that I do now was when I was first exposed to the Adirondack Mountains in New York State Sophomore year of college. Seeing the High Peaks, many of which are grouped in closely adjacent ranges, gave me that first experience of the thrilling freedom, accomplishment, and beauty found by hiking.
I now had skiing and hiking as means of immersing myself. I set a goal to become an Adirondack 46er (there are 46 Adirondack High Peaks over 4000 feet in elevation…well a few are under but…) by my mid-twenties, which I am well on my way to doing. I am 24 and at 37 High Peaks at the time of this post. I soon began to expand my mountainous reach to Vermont, which has a character of its own. The skiing certainly was a step up and I was challenged by the terrain. Every year now, I go back to Vermont whenever possible because it provides the best variety of terrain and snow that I’ve experienced in the East. I have hiked in Montana, Colorado, and Utah and have skied in British Columbia. Next week, I head to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface and can’t wait to keep writing my story from the peaks of earth. I found my #1 passion and am now living with urgency to shape my life around mountains as best I can.
Living with urgency for me means taking action to get me towards living a life where I am able to experience the mountain culture on a daily basis and share love in the mountain community. My actions include being a weekend warrior willing to drive 5 hours both ways to and from the Adirondacks, sleeping in my car, and hiking for less time than I spend driving. They include waking up at 4 AM to drive to Vermont to ski for a day trip when I lived in Albany (no day trips from Rochester…although that was also completed before with my brother and Dad 2AM to 10:30PM a few years ago). These are now full weekend trips to Vermont. Also included is the creation of To Summit Up to help express myself, share both my story and the stories of others (if you’d like to share your story, see the Share Your Story page), and move me towards opportunities to spend more time immersed in the mountain community. I love the creative and find that when I can’t be physically in the mountains, creating content involving mountains is the next best thing. I remember vividly when I started the blog (paying for the website, addons, etc.) some people were hesitant to think it would be a good idea. But here To Summit Up is and I have loved every second of it. If you want something bad enough, you make it happen. Cut the distractions. The jist of all of this is to show you how all-in I am on my #1 passion. I certainly have work to do to get myself 100% all-in, but I am trying. I am so happy every day to wake up and spend at least some time either in my passion or creating something relating to it. I try not to waste my time. I try to plan out daily time to progress my love for the mountains. It keeps me motivated and focused. No. Wasted. Time. I live with urgency in doing all of this because I fully understand that there is no guarantee how long I will be able to do what I love in the mountains. I am blessed to be able to ski and hike and am not taking that for granted. I am taking every moment with gratitude and my happiness continues to grow.
Time has a finite limit for every one of us in this life. Not to get too morbid, but keeping the end and uncertainty of when that will be in the back of my mind drives me to live each day to the fullest. I don’t want to waste a moment, because who knows how many more there will be. You can guess where the victimhood mentality and the action-taker mentality fall when it comes to living with urgency. Those who are victims will read this and feel a wave of emotions that push urgency to the back of your brain as you sit in your unjustified thought that you have plenty of time left. Maybe you do. I hope to God that you do. On the better side of the spectrum are you action-takers. I hope this invigorated you action-takers who have stuck with me through this article. You know what you have to do, even if you are just waking up to whatever that is. Let urgency overtake you. Start that side project, talk to that guy or girl, or take that trip. DO IT! I certainly have been taking every opportunity possible to spend time in the mountains hiking and skiing, sharing my story, listening to and sharing as many other people’s stories as possible, and getting people as pumped up about life as I am. Life is better with urgency and without boundaries.
Until next time, my friends.
-Ryan
