Mountaineering is not an easy sport. It requires intense physical strength, training, practice, patience, and an admirable mental fortitude. The odds may be stacked against the mountaineer at times, but the way the mountaineer handles an unexpected, undesirable, potentially unsafe situation is by far the most inspirational of all the things a mountaineer can do. Reaching the summit is exciting, but the real success lies within the mountaineer’s decision-making skills on safety and awareness of personal limits.
Everyone is following their own path in life and is developing their abilities and skills within their own timeframe. They are doing what is authentic to them. Not everyone is built for mountaineering; it’s a tough activity. It’s an impressive feat to even get part of the way up a mountain. The amount of time, dedication, training, and perseverance that goes into that alone is amazing. Let’s not forget that the National Park Service only allows so many people up on the mountain at a time, too!
Defining success is relative to each person in question. Success may be reaching the summit. Success may be getting to a new high point on the mountain. Success is choosing to stop drinking or using and taking the first steps to change. Success is being one hour sober, one day sober, one week sober, one month, one year, and so on. Success to some may be getting out of bed in the morning. Success to others may be getting a highly sought-after career position or completing a difficult project or working through a hard diagnosis. Success is pushing oneself to achieve something greater than what one already possesses whether it be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Everyone is different and everyone has their own measure of success. Most importantly, everyone can be successful if they try. It’s as simple as that.
60 people participated in Recovery Beyond’s program last year. Recovery Beyond works with both the Seattle Union Gospel Mission and Tacoma Rescue Mission. Program participants with Recovery Beyond are also involved in programming with these two rescue missions and maybe on a different trajectory than the timeline Recovery Beyond has available. Life circumstances such as acquiring a job, moving, or graduating from the rescue mission’s programs may result in an individual moving on from Recovery Beyond’s program before completing the program. Graduating from Recovery Beyond’s program doesn’t define that person’s success, though, just as summiting a mountain doesn’t necessarily define success for a mountaineer. Graduations, new jobs, new homes – these individuals are quite successful! Even if they have to leave our program early, they benefit from the skills they have learned and from the relationships formed during their involvement.
Success at Recovery Beyond is not a mountain summit. It’s a new high. It’s re-establishing a connection with a community of support. It’s creating new, healthy relationships. It’s getting that new job or that new home because of a healthy lifestyle. It’s being roped up together in life and celebrating each other’s unique achievements. Recovery Beyond believes that everyone has their own measure of success and that individual successes should be celebrated!
The journey is almost always better than the destination. The best part? The views keep on getting better and better. Starting this fall, the view is about to get a whole lot better with Recovery Beyond as we introduce our new Climbing Up program. Climbing Up will be open to anyone interested in being part of a sober community that focuses on healthy lifestyles for lasting recovery. New programs, new relationships, new ways for the community to be involved, and new supports are all waiting to help individuals continue to be successful and flourish.
How will you continue to define your own success? How will you share your success? Stay tuned for more information on how to be a part of our Climbing Up program!
