The Mountain of Negative Thoughts 

It is interesting to note how the nuances of everyday life become our second nature. Half of the decisions we make every day are automated. If we try to set back and remove our mind from autopilot mode, we might start living again. Stop for a moment to acknowledge the little things, like the smile you shared with a stranger on the subway, the coffee which smelled like heaven or the co-worker who complimented your outfit.

We all deserve a quality ‘me time’ more than anything in the world and hence, take a break — unlike Ross and Rachel but from work. So, last year, I decided to book the damn tickets to the place I’ve been travelling through YouTube videos.

The trip was to Kasol and Tosh from New Delhi. Those 3 days of getaway has taught me so much about life than anything else. It didn’t only give me a shared memory with my best friend, but I also found so much about myself. Travel to unknown destinations is very therapeutic. It makes you come out of your default attitude and you can learn new things about yourself each time you embark a new journey.

When we reached Kasol and found out that our hotel was on top of a snow-covered mountain and we had to trek to reach there, we both lost our mind. Anyone can feel that way after a whole night of bus travel. I can still recall the scared yet adventurous look my friend gave me. “ We don’t even have trekking shoes”, I said, “..but think about the feeling we will have once we reach the top”. So, after a long struggle of finding the route, climbing in sports shoes, encountering a herd of goats, slipping on the solid ice and even controlling pee, I reached the top. If someone had told me about this a day before, I would have changed plans and probably booked another hotel. But the adrenaline rush I felt before doing it, encouraged me to move forward with the adventure I am about to have.

Indeed I stopped a few times and reconsidered the plan, but I wanted to trust that bittersweet feeling telling me, I can do this! I climbed that mountain with all my energy. To me, it was not just a mountain but a huge pile of negative thoughts I had in the whole year. To overcome those thoughts, I had to climb that mountain.

#countdown2021