My two-year-old grandson loves to say, “I did it!”
When’s the last time you celebrated by saying that too?
Hey y’all. Welcome to More Lovin, the podcast that brings more laughter, light, and love into everyday life. I’m your host LeAnn Austin, and together we’ll rediscover the beauty of connection to your body, your mind, your spirit, and the people you love.
Today’s episode #230: I Did It!
Hey y’all, welcome back to More Lovin. I am so glad you’re here.
My two-year-old grandson has a phrase he often says, “I did it!” And every time he says it with so much excitement and pride. He does a rollover or another fun gymnastics move and says, “I did it!” or he jumps in the pool, swims to the stairs, and gets out saying, “I did it!” I think all of us, especially adults, could use a little more of that energy.
Somewhere along the way, many of us stopped celebrating ourselves. We finish a project and immediately move to the next thing. We make it through a hard season and barely acknowledge it. We accomplish something we’ve been working towards for months, and instead of saying, “I did it!” we say, “Well, I should have done that.”
What if we paused long enough to celebrate? Not in a braggy way, not in a look-at-me way, but in a grateful way. In a wow, look what God helped me do kind of way.
Recently, I had a chance to practice this a lot. I participated in Snowbasin 29029, a challenge where you climb the equivalent elevation of Mount Everest in 36 hours.
That meant walking up the same mountain 13 times. And yes, it sounds a little crazy, and it was. It was hard. It was beautiful. It was exhausting. It was inspiring. And it was also really challenging, filled with lots of tender mercies, and I did it!
One of the biggest lessons wasn’t about the mountains. It was about the next step. When I looked at the entire challenge, it felt huge. 29,029 vertical feet. Hours and hours of climbing. (19 and a half hours of just the climbing part for me.)
The Snowbasin mountain kept asking me to go up one more time, and every single climb came down to the same thing: Take the next step, then the next one, then the next one.
And isn’t that true for so much of life? Our relationships, health goals, work projects, grief, growth, faith. When we stare at the whole mountain, we can get overwhelmed, but usually we can handle the next step.
One of my favorite moments of this event was hearing my grandson cheer, “Go Mema Go!” in his little red shoes.
I also felt incredibly good to be supported by my family, friends, and so many people who were praying for me and cheering me on.
I also found myself thinking about Jesus a lot. Because that’s the thing about mountains, literally and figuratively. They’re easier when you know you’re not climbing alone.
Sometimes we have people beside us. Sometimes we have people cheering us on from a distance. And always we have Jesus walking with us.
So today, maybe your takeaway isn’t, “I need to climb a mountain.” Maybe it’s simply this. Take a moment and ask yourself, “What have I done lately that I haven’t celebrated? What challenge have I faced? What hard conversation have I had? What healthy choice have I made? What step have I taken?” And maybe give yourself permission to say, “I did it!” Because every mountain is climbed one step at a time.
Now, speaking of mountains, I want to invite you to something I’m so excited about.
It’s called Climb Your Everest. And as I was walking up that mountain over and over, I kept thinking about all the incredible humans I coach, and all the conversations I have with people who know there’s something they want to do, but they’re not sure where to start.
Maybe it’s improving a relationship. Maybe it’s taking better care of your health. Maybe it’s pursuing a dream. Maybe it’s healing from something hard. Maybe it’s simply figuring out what’s next. Whatever it is, it can feel like standing at the bottom of a mountain looking all the way to the top. That’s why I created Climb Your Everest experience.
Together, we’ll identify your personal Everest, break it into simple doable steps, and create a realistic path forward. You’ll learn tools to help you stay calm, focused, and consistent so you don’t burn out before you get where you want to go.
And you’ll walk away with your own personalized Everest map. Not because you need to have everything figured out, but because sometimes the most important thing isn’t knowing every step, it’s knowing the next one. So join me Tuesday, July 7th, at noon Eastern Time. The experience is just $9, and if you can’t attend live, you’ll get the replay. Sign up HERE
So here’s the question I’ll leave with you today: What’s your Everest, and what’s one next step you can take?
Remember, you don’t have to climb the whole mountain today. Just take the next step. And if you’d like someone to walk alongside you, I’d love to climb with you!
Here’s to Climbing Your Everest and More Lovin. Have a good one y’all.
Thanks for tuning in. If you’re ready to take what we talk about here and make it personal, let’s work together one-on-one. I’ll help you calm your nervous system, strengthen your relationships, and create more lovin, laughter, and calm in your life. You can find all the details at LeAnnAustin.com
Until next time, keep choosing fun, connection, and a whole lot more lovin. Have a good one y’all.