Most of us have heard or read that famous line from Dr Seuss, but it’s also very true. We all have mountains to climb throughout our life. For some, those mountains are literal. For most, they are metaphorical, whether that’s perceived mountains in our careers, our personal life and achievements or goals we set ourselves.

As it’s January, the month of resolutions which may or may not be ongoing, I thought I would focus on the inspirational words given to us by those who face mountains both literal and metaphorical…

1. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out; it’s the grain of sand in your shoe – Robert W. Service

2. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn – John Muir

3. Those who travel to mountain-tops are half in love with themselves, and half in love with oblivion – Robert Macfarlane

4. Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing – Barry Finlay

5. Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain – Richard Nixon

6. Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was – Dag Hammarskjold

7. Human life is far more important than just getting to the top of a mountain – Sir Edmund Hillary

8. If you don’t have a mountain, build one and then climb it. And after you climb it, build another one; otherwise you start to flatline in your life – Sylvester Stallone

9. It’s always further than it looks. It’s always taller than it looks. And it’s always harder than it looks – Unknown

​10. It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves – Sir Edmund Hillary

11. If you are faced with a mountain, you have several options. You can climb it and cross to the other side. You can go around it. You can dig under it. You can fly over it. You can blow it up. You can ignore it and pretend it’s not there. You can turn around and go back the way you came. Or you can stay on the mountain and make it your home – Vera Nazarian

12. Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion – Anatoli Boukreev

13. The higher you climb on the mountain, the harder the wind blows – Sam Cummings

14. Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end – Edward Whymper

15. After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb​ – Nelson Mandela

Some of these were also in my post on inspirational quotes – here – so you may have read them before, and like those I have the above in a notepad beside my bed for when I want some calming inspiration.

If you want to get involved with Mountain Monday then click this link for all information!