One Foot in Front of the Other

I was hiking last week with my husband and kids on a brutal, high-altitude climb.

The sun was beating down. I was breathless and had to take it slow.

The trail was beautiful but steep, rocky and hard. I stopped worrying about how far ahead everyone else was and focused on the path right in front of me. One careful step after another, just trying not to lose my footing.

Eventually, I made it to the destination. I was the last to arrive, but I didn’t care.

The reward was this beautiful high mountain lake.

On the way back down the trail, my legs were tired and I was getting hungry. With a recent knee injury, and multiple boulder fields to cross, I knew I couldn’t afford to rush.

Ultramarathon runners flew past me, and a deeply critical internal voice started whispering, “You’re going too slow.”

But the wiser part of me knew that there was no good shortcut to the bottom — and that my hiking pole was providing good support, and I was pacing myself, and would get there eventually.

I kept going, slowly, carefully - and as other fast hikers scuttled past me. My family was far ahead.

But I stayed focused, making my own pace.

Getting down safely (and without injury) was my primary goal.

One foot in front of the other…

My slow, steady pace got me thinking about a friend who is trying to quit alcohol.

People often report that the road to sobriety feels similarly slow, lonely, steep and uncomfortable. You set a goal, but it mainly becomes about placing one foot in front of the other…until the minutes, hours, days, and weeks begin to add up.

As I walked on, I realized that this metaphor could apply to so many other things too - like starting a business, or writing a book. Those can feel lonely, hard and unpredictable too.

You can see the summit, but the trail to get there is often steep and scattered with boulders. Some days, you're energized and making progress. Other days, it feels like everyone else is racing ahead while you're still figuring out where to place your next step.

It's all the same principle.

You don't have to know exactly how it will all unfold - you just have to keep moving forward with intention.

Step by step, trusting your pace, trusting the process.

Moving forward doesn't always look impressive.

Progress is often slow, quiet, and deliberate.

Success might mean being the last one to arrive, being willing to adapt, or just accepting that you need to take more breaks than you'd planned.

Whether you're navigating a trail, a recovery, a business, or some other goal, the approach is the same.

You take one step, then another.

That's basically the whole thing.

Thanks for reading. I am a family business leader and executive coach, writing about the messy intersection of leadership, ADHD, family, business, parenthood and more…and I am figuring it out as I go. If this resonated, hit follow, give me a like, comment, repost, or just swing by next month for more.