Ain’t No Mountain HIGH enough or IS IT?

To scale our mountains, we actually have to do the deep internal work of excavating trauma, building resilience, and adjusting how we show up for the climb. In the end, it is not the mountain we master, but ourselves.

Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You

I DO it all the time!  WE DO it all the time!  We sabotage our best of intensions.  We sabotage our best laid plans.  We sabotage our relationships, friendships, marriages, jobs, our bodies, emotions, and thoughts.  Everything. You name it, we do it.  We knowingly and unknowingly sabotage ourselves backwards.

Self-sabotage is a pattern of defeating behaviors a person consciously or subconsciously does. It includes thought patterns that undermine personal success in any aspect of life: careers, activities, hobbies, health, physical appearance, relationships, and more.

I cannot tell you how often I, personally sabotaged my blood, sweat and tears to get healthy and possibly loose weight in the process. I recall one Saturday morning, after successfully zipping up my once robust waistline into a pair of skinny jeans, I ran into the bathroom and happily did a double take of the numbers reflected on the bathroom scale. While I proudly stood before the mirror at my accomplishments, I was imagining what it would be like to just have a bit of the foods I had disciplined myself away from for the last 90 days.  By that same Saturday afternoon, I “celebrated” my achievement consuming the entire pint of Cookies & Cream Haagen Daas ice cream.  YIKES!!! 

In this case, I allowed my thoughts and imaginings project unto actions which undermined my efforts to watch my sugar intake. I feared success.  The fear of achievement, at having to perform at a higher level, pushed me into self-destructive behaviors.  Hence, the entire pint of ice cream.

Let’s face it, we don’t go in desiring for a change in our lives and messing it up…well, not on purpose. Unfortunately, however, we are often struggling with unresolved trauma.  Memories of our past hurts and sufferings really do a “thing” to our personality and character.  Take it from me, traumatic life experiences still haunt me.  And they still manage to influence my behavior in areas that mean the most to me including relationships and career.  Think about it.  Ask yourself, what areas of your life are sabotaged by hidden hurts?

“Don’t you know that there ain’t no mountain high enough
Ain’t no valley low enough, ain’t no river wide enough
Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low enough”

Songwriters: Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson

There are patterns of behavior.  In my case, they were perfectionism, bouts with procrastination, comfort eating, and a lot of shame. Sadly, these were all self-sabotaging and got in the way of any success no matter how I tried to hold on to a relationship or how long I worked on a project at the office.

After finally deciding to face my fears and troubles, it required a three-pronged approach. 

1. My personal investment. I had to devote consistent committed time to my healing.  You and I must devote daily to an honest self-check, a willingness to change, and firm conviction to stay the course. All of this will be a challenge, but it can be done.
2. Seek a mental health professional.  Despite my faith, my belief system, or my optimistic personality, I still had to find the words. I had to learn to articulate clearly what I was feeling. Even as a woman of strong faith, I believe God sends men and women into our lives who are professionally equipped to provide safe environments to talk through heartaches and damaging experiences.
3. Get before the Lord.  Many disagreed with me that seeking God should have been my first choice and not my last resort. In my case, the first step to my healing was revealing to myself how important I was to the process.  I had to prepare my mind to get ready to sort out what I would learn about myself.  When I finally presented myself to my Heavenly Father, I was in a place to understand what He meant when He said, “God created you/me in His image”. Understanding God’s mighty magnificence and that I am created with this potential, is humbling and inspiring.  Today, I am motivated daily to share and encourage myself as much as possible to fight against the misleading thoughts or discouraging sentiments.

The world is tough.  Adulting is not easy. This Cancel Culture is equipped to seek your spirit, destroy your soul and kill your destiny and faith.  Consider how looking to Jesus may help to discover your true value and identity in Him.  Nevertheless, any attempt to change your behavior must begin with pointing out the trigger or root problem(s). Sometimes we can change on our own choice. Sometimes we need accountability from reliable, loving friends and family members.

No matter how you choose to move the mountain, think on this; you are cherished, beloved, created in God’s image, forgiven of all sin, a royal heir to God’s kingdom, an obedient servant to the Creator, a holy vessel within whom Jesus abides, assured of eternal life in Christ.

Get out of your way. Tell the mountain to move out of the way.  And celebrate your climb.  With God, your mountain is not too high.

…now what, Linda