The Hill You're Avoiding Is the One You Need to Climb

Life is a series of hills. Some are gentle slopes that barely register as we climb them. Others are steep, brutal ascents that leave us gasping, questioning whether we have what it takes to reach the top. The difference between those who thrive and those who merely survive often comes down to a single choice: when faced with a hill, do you run toward it, around it, or away from it?

RUN THE HILLS became my personal mantra for tackling life's toughest challenges. It's more than just a motivational phrase. It's a philosophy, a way of approaching the inevitable obstacles that define our journey.

The Hills We All Face

Every hill we encounter in life falls into one of several categories, each demanding different forms of courage and strength:

Internal Challenges

These are the hills inside our own minds and hearts. They include battling procrastination or self-sabotage, breaking free from limiting beliefs or old identities that no longer serve us, reframing imposter syndrome when it whispers we don't belong, confronting unresolved trauma or emotional pain we've been avoiding, and having those difficult conversations with family members that we know need to happen.

Physical Challenges

Our bodies often become the training ground for our mental strength. These hills might involve training for a 5k, marathon, triathlon, or other endurance event, building a consistent fitness or nutrition regimen when motivation wanes, or pushing physical limits to prove to ourselves what we're truly capable of.

Ambition Challenges

These are the hills of growth and aspiration. They show up when we're starting a business or side project, writing a book, launching a podcast, or building a platform, pursuing a promotion, new role, or career change that stretches us beyond our comfort zone.

Life-Altering Challenges

Sometimes life presents us with crossroads hills that fundamentally change our trajectory. These include leaving a toxic relationship or environment, starting over after a major setback like divorce or job loss, navigating grief, loss, or radical change, and making a values-based stand when it's unpopular or costly.

I've run every single one of these hills in one form or another. I know you probably have too. And there are plenty more to come. This is life.

Why I'm Sharing This With You

I'm sharing this because I've lived on both sides. I've been the version of me that ran the hills, and the version that stood still, making excuses. I understand both intimately.

Please understand, I'm not speaking from a position of arrival. I'm speaking from the base of another hill. And when I reach the top of this one, I'll be staring up at the next. Then another. And another.

That's the point. There is no summit where it all makes sense and the struggle ends. There's only the decision:

Run. Or don't.

The Voice That Lies

Here's what I've learned running up countless hills: You're stronger than you think. That voice telling you to quit, to stay comfortable, to avoid the hard thing? It's lying. It's always lying.

That voice lies to me every day. During the last mile of my daily run when my legs feel like lead. Just before I utter the first words of a presentation when my heart is pounding. As I tap send or hit post on a piece of writing that feels too vulnerable. When I'm about to have that conversation I've been avoiding. Right before I step into something that scares me.

It whispers the same lies to you too: "Play it safe." "What if you fail?" "You're not ready." "Tomorrow would be better."

But I've learned something crucial about that voice: it gets loudest right before the breakthrough. Right before the growth. Right before you discover what you're actually capable of.

Your Hill Is Waiting

The hill in front of you right now...the one you've been circling, the one that makes your stomach flutter when you think about actually doing it...that's your hill. You know exactly which one I'm talking about.

It might be the conversation you need to have. The project you need to start. The relationship you need to end. The dream you need to chase. The fear you need to face.

These articles, what I write...first and foremost they're letters to myself, to my kids, to my family...for long after I'm gone. And maybe they're for you too.

The Choice Is Always Yours

Your hill is waiting. It's not getting smaller. It's not disappearing. But here's the thing: you're not the same person who first saw that hill. You're stronger now. You're ready now.

The question isn't whether you'll face hills in your life. The question is: when you do, will you run toward them or away from them?

Run the hills.

Chas