Insights from The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest
A mountain stands between you and your best self.
Just as a mountain is formed by two sections of earth colliding, your internal mountain is formed by a conscious and unconscious need
colliding. Maybe you've committed to changing your diet but ended up in a McDonald's drive‐through days later, or vowed to be your
own boss, but keep forgetting to work on a promising business idea you have.
The objective of life, beyond meeting your basic survival needs, is to change and conquer your internal mountains so you can become the
best version of yourself. Start conquering an internal mountain standing between you and your best self by going somewhere you can
relax and reflect on the question, “What change do I feel the most resistance to doing?” As you think of answers, notice which potential
change produces the greatest tension in your body. That tension may stem from a painful association to change you formed in the past.
Process past pain
To overcome self‐sabotage, focus on where the tension is in your body and then ask it where it came from. A
memory of a failure or embarrassing experience may come to mind. For instance, you may want to leave your
current job to find more fulfilling work, but you feel intense resistance. Focusing on that resistance might
bring you back to the time you lost your job. The uncertainty and stress of that experience forged a belief
that you should hold onto any job you get, no matter how miserable you are in that job.
Beliefs forged by past pain act as invisible weights pulling you back down to the base of your mountain. You
must release those weights by returning to the painful experience which initiated your limiting belief (the
moment you failed or felt embarrassed) and help your younger fully process and release their painful emotion.
Close your eyes and imagine being transported back to the painful experience and sitting next to your past self at the moment of
peak emotional pain. With the benefit of being months or years removed from that experience, your current self can reassure your
younger self that things will get better. In fact, some good things will come from the experience in the form of new insights,
opportunities, and relationships. This reassurance allows your younger self to fully accept what they're experiencing and let it pass
through them like rainwater flowing through a duct unencumbered.
Without the weight of limiting beliefs holding you back from the change you want to make, it's now time to formulate a plan to move up
your mountain. The best way to do that is to ask your future self for help.
Formulate a plan with your future self
Grab a notebook and pen and sit somewhere quiet and close your eyes. Take a few centering breaths and
imagine you're in a well‐lit room with a table and two chairs. Imagine sitting on one chair and then asking
your highest potential future self to come into the room and sit down in the other chair. This future self has
made the change you seek. Imagine this future self to be whatever age feels right to you ‐ they may be
twenty years older or three years older. Notice how they look, behave, and sound.
Once you feel their presence, open your eyes and start writing down questions in your notebook regarding
the steps you must take to make the change you seek, and then write down the answers you imagine your
future self saying. Think of it like having a radio as you climb up the mountain and having a wise and experienced climber on the other end
who can help you navigate the challenging terrain. This exercise works because you've been subconsciously soaking up information,
detecting patterns, and identifying paths forward your entire life ‐ you just need strong visualization and an open mind to access that part
of you.
Turn this highest potential future self‐visualization into a daily habit and you will feel like you're gradually merging with your future self,
which will allow you to have the confidence to step into the unknown and pursue change.
Maintain momentum up the mountain with microshifts
Our minds play nasty tricks on us ‐ when we declare a positive change, we feel great, but the instant we
attempt to change, we feel terrible. The discomfort of change is not a sign that we are doing something
wrong but a sign that we are doing something unfamiliar. Microshifts allow us to gradually inch into
unfamiliar territory, which prevents us from freaking out and running back to our old ways.
Brianna Wiest says, “A microshift is changing what you eat for one part of one meal just one time. Then it’s
doing that a second time and a third. Before you even realize what’s happening, you’ve adopted a pattern of
behavior.”
When you drift back to old change avoidance habits, such as aimlessly scrolling through social media to distract yourself, make a three‐
second shift away from that behavior and toward the change you’re resisting. Then another. And another.
These small actions should take almost no effort, and each microshift should seem insignificant to an outside observer. But over time,
these microshifts will compound and move you far beyond your comfort zone. At some point, you may be tempted to return to your old
life – but this is the ultimate form of self‐sabotage. Consciously commit to letting your old self die ‐ along with any habits and relationships
that hold you back – and trust that those who were truly meant for you will join you in your new life.
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