Cascade Head is an Oregon Coast hike I like to do once a month. While beautiful, the hike has some sections that are steep which do a good job of getting your heart rate up. It’s a great hike for ensuring that I stay in “hiking shape” throughout the year.
There is a section of this hike about half way up that has great views, as well as a nice place to sit in the grass and take in the scene. After this point, the hike gets steep and proceeds to the summit, where the views are even better! If it’s a good workout you’re after, you want to proceed to the summit.
Whenever I do this hike for the purpose of a workout, I commit that, absent any significant weather threat, I’m going all the way to the summit. The reason I decide on the summit in advance is because I don’t want to wait until the half-way point to “see what I feel like”.
Without first committing to the summit, it would be too easy to get to the halfway point and decide I don’t feel like proceeding further. Lacking advance commitment, I could easily decide half way up, that things are “good enough”: the view, the workout, my effort. Unless I commit beforehand, seeing the remaining steep section could easily cause me “not to feel like” proceeding.
I think it’s like that with a lot in life. Unless we make commitments in advance, we can easily be held back from long term satisfaction and achievement, based simply on how we feel in the moment. Consistently “not feeling like it” can have a negative impact to our health, finances, relationships, career, faith, and outlook on life.
Is there any area in your life that you need to commit in advance to? If so, make the commitment(s) you need to, and follow through.
Don’t hold yourself back!