Two weeks ago I was kayaking down the Oswegatchie River in
the Adirondacks. It has always been an activity I love – the perfect mix of
peace and exercise – especially there. As I was heading downstream, I was
totally in my groove. Reflecting on life – what’s good, what’s bad, what
changes I want to make – enjoying the scenery around me – the quiet and beauty
of the mountains – and feeling good in my strength and ability. At some point I
had to turn back, and that’s where the upstream battle commenced. I realized in
that second half of the trip that this was a perfect analogy for adulting; it’s
something enjoyable and worthwhile, but when you have the upstream parts you
wonder why you bother at all.
I have had numerous conversations with my friends over the
past few years about "adulting." It’s a
natural stage of life and development, but the combination of work, relationships,
being healthy, watching finances, and whatever else individuals deem necessary
in a well-rounded life is no easy equation to perfect. Especially when
independence is factored in, and especially when you have high standards. So
many of these pieces compare so well to my kayaking experience.
Let’s look at fitness and being healthy. It’s one of my top
goals and interests in life. I’ve spent so much time in the past few years finding
how I can maintain and grow my healthy lifestyle. However, whether it’s
training for a marathon, or sticking with a particular dietary plan, you get to
these points where you feel like you’ve hit a wall. You knew the plan, you were
working on it and going somewhere. Then you get tired of training, can’t lose
the remaining pounds, or you just want to eat chocolate, cheese, bread, and
wine all the time instead of rabbit food. You wonder if it’s really worth it to
persevere through those questioning moments or days in order to hit the goal.
Next I would consider work. I fortunately genuinely enjoy my
job. I’m ambitious and want to not just be happy but also be awesome. However, you
hit phases where you don’t know how to fix the
problems, receive more difficult
goals that you’re unsure of how to complete, or you’re pushed outside of your
box so much that you question if it’s really what’s best. You can be going
along with everything pointing in the right direction but when the tough phases
come, it’s tiring and frustrating, and you wonder if you would rather do
something that doesn’t make your head spin.
I also happen to be competitive and appreciate a challenge;
if it was all downstream all the time, maybe it would get boring? It was while
I was kayaking though that I realized that all of these different parts of
adulting, all with their own type of upstream battle, are all worth the hard
work to get through the tough times. They’re the times when you wonder if it’s
something you still enjoy or want to do, but we can’t let the tough times chase
us away from the various parts of our lives. Ultimately, they are what make us
stronger. The important thing is figuring out the way to see the challenging
phases as opportunities to grow. In the end, I still had a great kayaking trip.
You always have to make the upstream part of the journey, unless if you just quit
and have someone pick you up and drive you back…but that sounds about as lame
as could be.