I heard a story once of a young man. In the small village he lived in, everyone believed strength made men important. The stronger you were, the more authority you held. The leader of the town was the strongest man there. The young man was born too early and was never as strong as the others his age. He ate the best he could and worked as hard as he could, but nothing he tried seemed to make a difference.
One day, he went to his grandfather to ask for his help. The old man, who had once lead the village himself, took the young man for a walk. He told his grandson that if he reached the north star, he would be granted a wish. However, the star was far out of reach. The old man suggested the boy climb the mountain on the south side of the village. It would bring him closer to the star and he may have a chance to grab hold of it.
So the young man headed off for the mountain. He climbed for well over a day. When he finally reached the peak of the mountain he reached out his hand, only to find that the star was no closer than before. The young man decided the mountain wasn't tall enough, so he went back to his grandfather and asked how to make the mountain taller. The old man gave him a shovel and a wheelbarrow and told him to dig the dirt.
The young man knew this would be a hard task, but he was determined to no longer be the weakest in the village. He dug dirt, and he carried it to the top of the mountain, only to return to the base and dig more dirt. He dug and carried dirt every day, all day for years. Yet, each night when he reached out his hand, the star was no closer than the first night his grandfather told him of it. Yet, the young man never gave up.
Several years passed and the mountain grew. At first people from the village came and mocked him, berating him for wasting his time. Yet, as the months passed, they grew bored of their games and left him to his digging. Once a month, the grandfather met the young man at the base of the mountains to ask how it was going.
One day, the young man looked at his grandfather and asked him how high he needed the mountain to be. He told his grandfather that the star was still far out of reach. The young man feared he would never reach his goal. His grandfather replied that the star was never really his goal. The young man's true goal was strength.
The young man agreed, but said that the star was his path to strength. If he couldn't reach the star, he could never make his wish. The grandfather took him by the hand and led him to a large bolder. He asked the young man to move it for him. The bolder was heavy and almost as tall as the young man. He reached out and rolled the bolder easily away.
His grandfather looked at him with pride in his eyes. "You've gained your strength," the old man said. "Your goal was strength, your destination the star, and your journey was the mountain. Building the mountain let you reach your goal, even though you never reached your destination."
Now you've set a goal. You decided there was something you needed to do, and you've started the long journey to see your dream become a reality. your goal could be one of a hundred different things; to save money for college or your first home, to lose those inches that are hounding you, to find a way to catch the eye of that special someone, to become the strongest in the land, or perhaps to simply wake up and not dread the day before it starts.
Something happened, big or small, that changed things for you. You started to see the world a little differently, and you decided now was the time to act. You looked at your goal, decided exactly how that destination would look once you got there, and you started building your mountain. Time passed; days, months or maybe even years. You've worked hard to reach your destination, but it's still out of reach.
Maybe it doesn't seem any closer than it did when you first set your sights on it. Sometimes it feels like you are trying to reach the stars, but no matter how high a mountain you build, they stay out of reach. It can feel so hard. No matter how much you do, it seems like you never get there; your mountain never reaches the stars.
Then one day, you reach for that boulder and it moves away so very easily. You look in the mirror and you see the change. Your arms are stronger, your back is toned, and your legs are well shaped. You may not have reached the stars, but you have changed. Your destination is still there, still out of reach, but your goal is in your hands.
Just like any journey you take, it doesn't matter how close you get to your destination, the journey itself still changes you, makes you stronger. So when you look up at your stars, the destination of your dreams, and they seem so far out of reach, and when you look down at the mountain you've built and it all feels so worthless, take a moment. Look at yourself.
Be honest about who you were, and who you are now. I'll bet there are changes. You're stronger than you realise. Look at your mountain and see exactly how far you've come, how much you've accomplished. That mountain isn't worthless because it has changed you. You can still reach your goal, even if the destination you longed for isn't within your reach.
So pick up your shovel and keep building that mountain. One day, the journey will truly bring you to your goal, even if your goal isn't at the destination you first saw. Remember, it's not reaching your dream that has made you so strong. It's the journey that has made you who you are; it's building your mountain that has changed you. Enjoy the ride as much as you can, and let yourself breathe. Your destination will always be there. Your journey only happens once.
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