After graduation I started working in a place that had never had a dietitian before, so I had no idea of what was expected of me. The nearest other dietitian was 100 mi away, too far to pick her brain. And I had been out of the loop for 2 years during the traineeship. So I had another Everest towering over me, but I just called up all my knowledge and experience and applied it there. As with all the other peaks I had already scaled one step at a time I feel I conquered that mountain triumphantly the same way.

For my 50th birthday I decided to build a wood shop for myself, so I bought a book, sketched out a simple plan, and began climbing that mountain. This was not a simple shed, or shack or anything like that. It was a 15x18ft beautiful building that could be easily turned into a guest house if anyone ever wants to. And I not only designed it, I built it with my own arms. 95% of it anyway. I can’t physically handle whole plywood sheets, they “take me”. So I had to hire help for that, but I did everything else. If I had set my sights on the finished building from the beginning I would have been so intimidated by the size of that mountain that I never would have even started it.

Now that it has been complete for many years, I look at it sometimes and say to myself “How did I ever do that??” I set my sights on one stage at a time, and didn’t think about the rest. Just like with all the mountains before, I concentrated only on where to step next, leaving the final summit out of sight somewhere in the clouds. This was the first monumental challenge where I actually realized the value of this pattern of one step at a time. I have used it on all my building projects ever since.

Looking back on my life experience now, I realize that this step by step method has been with me all along, I just didn’t realize it. So now, after recalling all of the mountains I have faced and conquered before, I know I will get through this latest challenge the same way, one bit at a time. I feel more relaxed already, just by having written all this down. I hope anyone else who reads it can gain resolve from it as well.