There is an old saying in life coaching that goes: if you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space. I learned this lesson on the rock walls of the Wind River Mountain Range in Western Wyoming. Known for its high quality granite, the Wind Rivers are a haven for mountaineers willing to hike in for three or four days to enjoy what might be the most sensual experience of their lives.

Each Day’s Beginning Lies in the Night Before

The last conscious acts done before slipping into a mountaineer’s sleeping bag is to spread wide open their boots, so that even after they freeze during the night, the mountaineer can still get their feet into them and start the process of thawing them out so the mountaineer can properly lace them up by the time the mountaineer needs to begin the serious climb of the day.

Each Day’s Ending Begins with the Sun’s Rising

At first light, the rock’s cold is paralyzing. Fingers are too stiff to grasp anything securely. But as the sun warms the rock, fingers begin to feel the rock’s texture and become aware of the commitment of the mountain to absolute solidity – to be the measure of all things reliable and substantial. Then as the climber’s fingertips begin to understand that even the smallest nubbin can support their master’s entire weight, they begin to understand the meaning of commitment and accountability. And if the mountaineer fully engages the rock, and sets aside all thoughts of doubt and hesitation, then and only then can the mountaineer survive the trials of the day – all to return to their camp, and eat, and once again prepare their boots for the freezing temperatures of the night.

Life Coaching must Rise from Life really Lived

The first role of life coaching is to connect the client with life really lived. Not life obsessed with self or petty undertakings. But life fully engaged with the execution of great dreams. This is because, to be hesitant and to dabble in mediocrity, at the expense of higher aspirations, is to abdicate our role as human beings. And life coaching cannot settle for this, no matter what the challenge, any more that the mountaineer can choose not to participate in the climb and consequently die as a victim of their own mediocrity.