Not Every Mountain Is Meant to Be Climbed: Why It’s Okay to Slow Down

Someone just shared with me, “The dead people on Mount Everest were all highly motivated.”
It made me laugh — then it made me think.

We’ve been programmed since childhood to chase, strive, and achieve. Study hard, get good grades, go to college, get a good job — rinse and repeat. Success was the destination, and rest was never on the map.

So I pushed myself, harder and harder, chasing every opportunity, every inch of progress. Even when it came at a cost — my peace, my health, my happiness — I kept climbing. Because that’s what we’re taught to do. Keep climbing until you make it… or break.

No one ever tells you to slow down until it’s too late. Until you’re sitting in a room, telling a therapist your life story, wondering when exactly the joy faded.

Motivation can be a beautiful thing — but it has a dark side. It whispers that stopping is failure and resting is weakness. Even our education system teaches it: meet expectations, move up, achieve more. But where’s the lesson in simply being?

Then came my son, who lives with autism. He doesn’t chase grades or goals. He chases happiness. He laughs easily, gets excited about small things, and doesn’t overthink tomorrow. Watching him, I realized he’s living the kind of peace I’d been too busy chasing.

Meanwhile, I was stressed, jaded, and tired — running toward success, away from peace. But life doesn’t have to be that way. The moment you decide to step off the treadmill, to stop sprinting toward some distant “better life,” is the moment you actually start living.

Who cares what others think? The world becomes softer and kinder when you stop measuring yourself by someone else’s timeline. Some mountains aren’t meant to be climbed — especially if the cost is your peace.

So calm down a little. Take the scenic route. Smell the roses. Order the cheeseburger instead of chasing the steak. You already have so much — God has provided enough. The real question is: will you slow down long enough to notice it?

If this message resonates with you, take one small step today — pause. Take a deep breath and look for one simple thing that brings you joy right now. Then share this post with someone who needs the reminder: you don’t have to climb every mountain. Sometimes, peace is found when you stop climbing.