My first year in business has been a roller coaster ride. There has been almost a routine of high high’s, followed by low low’s — struggle, win, struggle, win. March and April were a struggle for me in business, but not on my hikes. Both my March and April hikes were leisurely strolls. I had quality company with me on each hike and there was no struggle. But my business however had me in tears often and worrying that maybe it was time to give up. Maybe I had struggled enough and it was time to quit.
Someone mentioned to me that oftentimes when we’re struggling the hardest, it means a huge breakthrough is just ahead. Turns out, that is hugely accurate!
Wildflowers along the Lake Loop Trail inside John Heinz Wildlife Refuge; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
May brought the wins back. May brought the confidence back and the high high’s, but also steady high’s, little wins that are just as outstanding! May reminded me that I want this more than anything. I want my business to be a financial success, while also helping a countless number of women grow personally and professionally. I can’t give up, because I am meant to do this! I can’t give up, because my current and future clients deserve the best of me. I can’t give up, because there’s so much more ahead!
Related: Support Makes the Journey Easier: Hikes 3 & 4
May just flowed for me. Clients, growth, content, money and all things business seamlessly fell into place with little effort on my part. I will admit, I didn’t work as “hard” in the traditional sense in May. I did less, and won more. And this scared me at first.
I started to hear the “should’s” in my head. I should do this. I should do that. Or I COULD just be! I let myself BE and pieces fit themselves into the puzzle with ease.
Toward the end of the month, I started saying to myself, wow it can actually be easy. It GETS to be easy! I don’t have to struggle, in order to win. One does not equal the other. I can indeed do less, and win more.
It’s so ingrained in us as a society that hard work pays off. And it absolutely does! Trust me, I work hard! I’ve never worked harder for something then I have with this business. But there’s a difference between intentionally working toward a goal, and spinning your wheels for the sake of saying you’ve put in the time, energy and stress, so therefore you deserve the success.
It doesn’t have to be like that! It GETS to be easy too!
The Boardwalk at John Heinz Wildlife Refuge; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
May Hike No. 5
I had zero expectations for May’s Hike (if you’re new here, I hate hiking but have challenged myself to go on one hike a month this year). In fact, I kind of forgot about it. I had not planned the location or day I was going to hike ahead of time. I left it to the last minute, did little research and went. The one thing I did take into consideration was the weather. Once I remembered I had to do my May Hike, I had a two-day window to get it done because humid 90-degree weather was in the forecast, and hiking in humidity sounded miserable, so I made sure to at least schedule my hiking time ahead of the pending humidity.
Related: Hiking Is Not Who I Am
I chose an easy but longer route than I had hiked previously, at a nearby wildlife refuge. The John Heinz Wildlife Refuge is very close to the Philadelphia International Airport and I’ve passed it millions of times as it runs along Interstate-95. I always found it odd that a wildlife refuge was located in such a heavily trafficked area and figured it was time to check it out for myself.
I chose the 3.7 mile Wetlands or Lake Loop inside the refuge. It was a warm, sunny May day, but not humid and not hot, ideal hiking weather. Per usual, when I started my journey I had some nerves and anxiety about it. I made sure to hit the bathroom in the parking lot first, and thankfully realized I left my water bottle in the car before it was too late to go back and get it. Armed with an empty bladder and full water bottle, I was ready to hike. But of course getting lost is my other hiking fear. I first started out in the wrong direction (I’ve decided all trails are poorly marked) but the map on the AllTrails App has become my favorite hiking companion and I can immediately course correct when I make a wrong turn.
The Wetlands/Lake Loop Trail was flat and dirt or gravel the entire 3.7 miles. The loop was long (for me), but easy! Tall, lush green trees covered parts of the path, and there were views of the water nearly the entire 3.7 miles.
I came upon the Boardwalk Area first. It’s a long, wooden boardwalk that runs across a portion of the lake. It was beautiful. You completely forget that a major city is just beyond this wildlife refuge and are instantly welcomed by the sound of birds singing, water quietly lapping at the shores and a variety of wildlife enjoying their tranquillity. Back on the trail, I spotted tons of birds (the refuge is known for birding), some turtles, giant fish, and tons of pretty wildflowers.
I stopped numerous times to take photos or enjoy the view in front of me. I thought about my hiking goal and my business goals and frankly was smiling and enjoying every step of this hike. I listened to my music and affirmed to myself, that it really does GET to be easy. Hiking doesn’t have to be a struggle either. I don’t have to cry and feel anxious along the way. I can have small, steady wins that allow me to reach big goals.
Related: Ice Hike: Girl, Stop Apologizing
And then a few light raindrops started to fall from the sky, and I was quickly reminded that while, yes, it does indeed get to be easy. That does not mean there won’t be roadblocks, hardships, or rain days along the way, too.
The Lake Loop Trail inside John Heinz Wildlife Refuge; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
Pick Up the Pace
Along with the light raindrops, I could also hear a low rumble of thunder in the distance. I still had more than mile to go on my hike.
Thankfully, I didn’t actually see any lightning, but the gray sky and drop in temperature told me this wasn’t going to be a quick and easy spring shower. So I started to pick up the pace with every rumble of thunder, and every lightning scenario that I had ever heard, ran through my head. Being close to water was bad, wasn’t it? Holding a phone is bad because the electronics attract lightning energy, right? I shouldn’t linger under tall trees but I also shouldn’t linger out in the open where I am now the tallest thing, holding a phone, next to a body of water.
I have no idea if any of those things are true but I also wasn’t wanting to find out. So a few times, I picked up my pace to an ever-so-slight jog and my entire body was shocked. My feet, knees and hips instantly ached. My boobs and every flub of fat on me bounced, and my brain instantly questioned why?! WE DON’T RUN, my body shouted at me! Stop that!
I ran track in 8th grade (for the sole reason of getting a bigger all-sports trophy at the end of the year), and that literally may have been the last time I legitimately ran. I don’t run. I don’t enjoy running. I know I look weird when I run. And my body has reconfirmed for me, that walking is much more my speed.
But when a storm is headed your way, you gotta pick up the pace even a little bit, right?! So I would run for a few seconds and then walk, run, walk, walk, walk, run, walk. I stared at my AllTrails App to see how much further I had to go and slowly I made progress and finished the loop.
The rain had actually slowed a bit toward the end of the trail and the thunder lessened, so I thought perhaps the storm had pasted.
Water views at John Heinz Wildlife Refuge; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
Hale of a Reminder
After finishing the 3.7-mile loop trail, I sat in my car in the parking lot to reflect and recap my May Hike. I had been in my car for less than 10 minutes when the skies opened up and rain began to pour down and the thunder grew louder.
But soon the raindrops started to sound different as they fell on my car. I thought, is that HAIL?! It couldn’t be! It was 80 degrees outside moments ago, and it’s May! There is no way that is hail, it must just be heavy raindrops.
Nope! It was indeed hail! In May!
Golf ball size hail began to pummel my car and the intense dinging sound had me freaking out as to what to do in order for my car not to look like Swiss cheese after the storm passed. I moved my car under a tree to at least lessen the blow from the falling hail. However, I did wonder if lightning striking the tree was more of a pending danger than hail ruining my car.
Hail covered the roadway and parking lot of the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge, and I could not wrap my mind around how it was scientifically possible for frozen water to fall from the sky when the air temperature was nowhere near freezing.
The hail storm and intense rain fell for less than 10 minutes. The hail immediately disappeared from where it had landed on the ground, the rain slowed to a near stop, and the sky brightened. The storm had passed as quickly as it had arrived.
Even In Hail, It Gets to Be Easy
My hikes have an ongoing theme of some sort of dramatics. Whether it’s a bathroom emergency, tears, ice hike, sobs, or hail — there always seems to be something. But on this now dubbed Hail Hike, it reminded me that despite some raindrops, golfball-size hail or struggles along the way, the journey can still be easy. Easy doesn’t mean zero obstacles or no struggles or hardships, easy means less stress, less worry, less concern in spite of those obstacles, struggles and hardships.
Hail Hike No. 5 Lesson: Despite struggles and storms, it still gets to be easy.
