Beware of False Summits

So far this has been one of the most challenging mental and emotional climbs I have ever attempted. When I was 14 I climbed Gannett Peak in Wyoming with my Dad. At almost 14,000 ft. this is a technical and challenging climb for anyone. It required the use of crampons, ice axes, ropes, protection from the elements and a good deal of grit and determination. Being the youngest one in our group, I had no choice but to follow the footsteps of others and assume that I would either make it or die trying. Just before the summit there is a narrow snow covered ridge that must be traversed and I was not convinced that I would make it across that ridge alive.
Since starting my PhD in January of 2016 I have had daily thoughts of self doubt. Some days it is "I am not smart enough to do this" and other days it is "I should just go get a good paying job like everyone else and move on with life". I have to constantly remind myself that I chose to climb this mountain and there is great reward and satisfaction in setting a goal and seeing it through to the end. I even made a reminder for myself that I keep on my desk. It is a picture of Hayden Peak in the Uintah Mountains in Utah with the words "Give me this mountain".... printed in the top right corner. This phrase comes from chapter 14 of Joshua in the Bible where Caleb, who is now 85 years old, says "As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me...Give me this mountain".
So, while I could be sitting in an office making more money and thinking that I am moving on with my life I step back for a moment and hold on tight to these thoughts that keep me moving forward. I encourage everyone who has a mountain to climb to find your own quotes or stories or examples to cling to when everything says that you are not strong enough, or not smart enough or not old enough, big enough, fast enough or whatever. If you are willing to work at it and hang in there you will be made capable to the task!
One year before I even applied for a PhD program I was on a small hike in the Wasatch Mountains just east of Salt Lake City and I learned a profound lesson about not giving up. Do you know what a false summit is? Well, it is exactly what it sounds like...a false or fake summit that looks like the real thing but when you get there you realize that you still have a long ways to go. Well, I was climbing up a ridge towards a summit and there was not one false summit but three! As you climb you cannot tell that there is more mountain to climb because of your vantage point. The false summits block your view of the real summit and make you think you are closer to the end than you really are. In some ways it keeps you going because you think you just have to go a little more, only to realize that you were wrong. In another sense, it can be discouraging and frustrating feeling like you were deceived and have to go further than you thought you could. When I finally reached the REAL summit I sat down and pondered on what I had just experienced and how it applied to my life. I was making good money at a stable job and was somewhat happy...just like I might feel if I stopped at one of the false summits and thought that I had climbed enough and that I could be happy with result if I talked myself into it. My life was a false summit. I needed to keep on climbing and get to the real summit! For me that summit meant getting my PhD and learning to do independent research in medical geography. For others it will mean something entirely different but I encourage you to keep climbing until you reach the REAL summit and can look back at all the false summits you passed along the way and see how much you have grown.