Do you have a pebble in your shoe?

Take the time to tend to it –or proceed at your own peril

“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” — Muhammad Ali

One of my offerings as a life and leadership coach is a guided Epic Adventure in the wilderness. I provide adventures for women, leadership teams, friend groups, and couples in my backyard–Wyoming’s Wind River Range, in Zion and Grand Canyon national parks, and in other naturally beautiful destinations.

When my clients and I are at the trailhead and about to embark on our adventure, I deliver an important instruction.

“As we start up the trail if you feel a pebble in your shoe, or a piece of sand or a pine needle in your boot — or if something doesn’t feel right––please speak up, so we can take the time to make adjustments.”

In my experience, most of us won’t speak up. If there’s a little pebble in our shoe, we tell ourselves it’s a tiny thing. We try to ignore it and we tell ourselves it will go away if we don’t think about it. It’s no big deal and it will work itself out.

We don’t want to cause the whole group to stop, or to interrupt our progress. Or sometimes, we’re just lazy. We don’t want to take the time to do what’s necessary even if it’s just a small thing.

So instead, we continue up the trail with the pebble in our shoe.

Soon, what was seemingly a small and inconsequential thing becomes a throbbing hot spot, and then a full-blown blister. Every single step we take is painful. It feels as if we’re stepping on glass. Our journey has now become one of suffering instead of adventure.

Our discomfort negatively impacts our experience. It not only hurts but it also consumes our attention. We don’t see the beautiful vistas and we’re not engaged with others because of our pain and misery. And unfortunately, our discomfort impacts not only our experience but the experience of those around us.

It turns out that tending to the pebble in our shoe is excellent advice for us in our life and leadership, too.

Do you have a pebble in your shoe right now? Is there something unresolved in your life that is making your journey more difficult? Is there something you need to do that you’re not doing and if so, how is that working out? How is it impacting your well-being? What is it costing you? As a leader, how is it impacting your ability to effectively lead? As a parent, how it is affecting your children?

The pebble in our shoe could be a difficult conversation we need to have that we’re not having because we’re afraid to have it. The pebble could be our health that is going downhill and needs our attention. The pebble could be an apology we’re needing to make to someone. It could be asking forgiveness from someone. It could be a change we know we need to make that we’re putting off.

When we ignore the pebble in our shoe we are making a choice. We’re choosing to proceed and to suffer the consequences.

In my experience, the pebble in my shoe never magically disappears. It seldom, if ever, resolves itself.

Do you have a pebble in your shoe?

Whatever your pebble is, I challenge and encourage you to tend to it. Stop and take the time to do what’s necessary to remove or resolve the pain and discomfort. Your journey will be so much better without it.

Thanks for reading.

Interested in a customized COVID-safe Epic Adventure? If so, email me to schedule a call. During this challenging and uncertain time of COVID, I’d like to be more helpful. I’m offering a free 1-hour call to anyone who is considering hiring and working with a coach, or could just use some extra support right now. There’s no obligation and I’ll give you my very best. To schedule a call with me, please email me at coach@yourepiclife.com.