Hiking is a lot like life in many ways. It teaches you that if you put your mind to it, you can prevail over the greatest challenges – even climb mountains!

If you’re looking for some quality me-time to self-reflect and collect your thoughts, climbing a mountain is the way to do it!

Here are some life lessons you’ll learn from hiking up a mountain:

1. Just Keep Moving

Hiking up a mountain is like life in some ways. The journey is long and filled with challenges. It requires you to be to physically and mentally strong.

On a hiking trail, you’ll learn that as long as you keep moving forward, you’ll go places. You just need to keep putting one foot ahead of the other. The lesson is simple but it’s something you can’t help but think about when hiking up a mountain; if you apply it to life, it can help you get major results.

When you look up at a mountain before you begin your hike, it always looks like a tall task; however, once you get moving, you realize that you have what it takes to get to the top.

2. It’s All About Attitude

Taking on hiking trails that last several days can get frustrating; it isn’t uncommon for hikers to ask themselves “why am I doing this?” Even for those who love the outdoors, hiking can be incredibly exhausting. But getting panicked by the obstacles you’re facing will instantly force you to stop in your footsteps.

To conquer long trails, you need the right attitude. Having the right attitude will help you overcome any pain you may be experiencing, sleep deprivation and any other sources of discomfort you may face.

3. Problem-Solving

When you can’t find a solution to a problem, what’s the first thing you do? You do a quick search on the internet! We’ve gotten into this habit of turning to technology for everything instead of trying to find solutions ourselves. But when you’re outdoors, you aren’t guaranteed network services and it’s very common to have a dead phone battery.

Hikers are forced to use their brain to find solutions to unexpected problems – something many of us aren’t used to anymore.

4. Take Your Time

Hiking requires discipline. If you go too fast, you’ll tire easily and the rest of the journey gets tougher. There’s this notion that in order to survive in a competitive world, we always need to be one step ahead of others. While that’s true in the corporate world, it doesn’t apply to personal development.

Hiking gets you to slow down and reminds you to what life is supposed to be cherished so take your time to soak up the scenery and savor this moment.

5. The Struggle Is Worth It

Once you’ve made it to the top, you can finally sit down and enjoy the breathtaking view from the summit. There are few places where you get to see panoramic scenes as captivating as those on the top of the mountain.

It makes the nights under the stars, the sore muscles and the food and water deprivation, totally worth it.

For these reasons and more, we think everyone should make it a point to hike up a mountain at least a few times in their lives.

Before you hit the trail, be sure you’re well prepared. You’ll need a strong backpack to carry your essentials, one that doesn’t exhaust you halfway.

At Light Hiking Gear, we offer an award-winning collection of multifunctional lightweight backpacks designed for hiking. Our collection consists of daypacks, StrongLites, UltraLites, Hipbelts and more. Check out our collection online and purchase your new backpack today!