This year, I’m intent on climbing a mountain. Okay, so climbing a mountain may be a bit of an exaggeration. To be perfectly upfront, my plan has little to do with actually climbing a mountain. (It just sounds more interesting to say it that way.) To be accurate and fact-based, my husband and I plan to hike one of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks (or “14ers”, as those in the know call them) in late June.

Our cursory research tells us there are about 58 14,000-foot peaks in the state. Of those, currently 10 are classified as “Easiest 14er Routes.” Believe it or not, there are people who hike 14ers on a regular basis. Some even form clubs that meet to climb a new one each month or something insane like that. (See www.14ers.com for tons of mountain climbing info and inspiration.)

We, on the other hand, are novice 14er wannabes. If we scale even one of these bad boys without tripping over our own feet or falling into some deep crevice, we’ll be more than satisfied.

Why we are doing this? We’re sure not folks who love to engage in that whole roughing-it experience. Normally, a shower and an evening glass of wine after exercise is one of the motivators we have for completing our required dose of healthy living for the day. Battling Mother Nature and that whole Survivor storyline is not exactly our cup o’ tea.

My reason for tackling this is more about attitude. This 14,000-ft. hike is a personal challenge that just might teach me how to better approach other areas of my life. You see, when I hike a trail with ankle-twisting stones, rough terrain, and an incline that makes my heart beat faster, I must remain focused on one thing: the next step in front of me. If not, I’m likely to fall off the trail into a large canyon. (And that wouldn’t be pretty.)

While hiking, I can’t attend to the long list of things that are screaming for my attention. I can’t play head games with myself. I can’t look to the future or worry about things that I can’t control.

I can only put one foot in front of the other and step firmly to move forward. With that simple mentality, I have every confidence I’ll achieve my goal of hiking to the peak of my first 14er this summer.

Hmmmm. If I approached other parts of my life in this way, could I accomplish the objectives I set for my career, financial future, and even my relationships? Nah…that would be way too simple.