Walking up a steep hill is really hard if we try to walk straight from the bottom to the top. But if we walk on an angle moving gradually uphill it’s a lot easier to make it to the top.  

Supposedly, if you’re caught in a raging river or a tide that’s pulling you away from the shore, you can make it back if you swim against the current, but at an angle. I hope to never prove that to be true. 

It can be frustrating to seem like you’re not making progress toward your goal. 

Two things: trust the process (the stages of the Hero’s Journey) and know a Journey will NEVER take a straight line – it wouldn’t qualify as a Journey if it did. 

Since we know the Journey will never take a straight line, how can you adjust your steps to move at an angle? How can you keep your goals in your sights, but work at them by winding or curving – maybe sneaking up on them from the side? 

One of the easier ways is to not expect yourself to see any different viewpoint than the one you’ve had. That’s where your mentors and allies can provide help. Ask them what new approach could work. Ask them what you’re not seeing. Ask them how they would do it. Trust that they truly are allies and want you to succeed. 

Walking all the way up the mountain by curving around it slowly has the advantage that you see a lot more of the mountain, what lives on it, and a 360-degree view of what’s around it. Including the next mountain to climb. 

Photo by Mohan Reddy: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-walking-in-middle-of-road-3369214/