Maybe the Mountain Isn't as Hard as You Think: A Different Way to Approach Rebuilding

I had a dream recently that stayed with me long after I woke up:

My husband and I were at the beach with friends and family, walking and swimming through beautiful, calm water. Everything felt peaceful and easy until suddenly, a fire started coming toward us. We had to swim hard and fast to get away from it, but eventually we reached shore safely.

Later, we had to go back into the water. This time it wasn't quite as smooth. The shoreline was rockier, the water was rougher, and at two different points we had to swim past great white sharks. Strangely, the water remained completely clear. We could see everything around us, including the things we probably would have rather not seen.

We made it through that too.

Then the fire returned. Except this time, there wasn't an easy shoreline waiting for us. To get to safety, we had to climb a mountain. It was sandy in some places, rocky and jagged in others, but my husband, a friend and I eventually reached the top.

We were exhausted, but we had made it.

When I woke up, the similarities to what I had been experiencing financially were almost immediate.

When Financial Stability Suddenly Feels Less Stable

Most of us experience different financial seasons. There are periods when income is consistent, expenses feel manageable, savings are growing and life seems to move along without requiring too much financial thought.

Then something changes. A project or contract ends. Business slows down. A major expense appears unexpectedly. Or several expenses seem to arrive at exactly the same time.

I've been experiencing one of those seasons myself.

As I thought about the dream, the imagery seemed almost ridiculously appropriate. The calm water reminded me of periods when life is flowing. The fire felt like the urgency that comes when income changes or expenses begin stacking up. The sharks reminded me of the individual financial issues you have to navigate along the way.

And then there was the mountain.

My immediate interpretation was rebuilding. We had gotten through everything behind us and were now climbing toward something bigger.

That part still feels right to me. I don't see rebuilding as simply returning to where we were before. I want to build beyond it: more income, more profit, more investments, more opportunities and greater financial freedom.

But I realized I had attached something else to the mountain without even questioning it.

Struggle.

“Well, That's Just Your State of Mind.”

Once we reached the top of the mountain, someone who had climbed with us said something that I no longer remember.

But, what I do remember is my response:

“Well, that's just your state of mind.”

That's when I started waking up.

Later, the irony hit me.

I had interpreted the mountain as evidence that rebuilding would require this difficult climb. We'd have to work our way back up. We'd eventually get there, but apparently not without fire, sharks, exhaustion and a rocky mountain first.

And then, at the very end of the dream, I essentially told myself that the way someone was viewing a situation was just their state of mind.

That's when my interpretation changed.

The mountain can still represent rebuilding. Reaching the top can still represent creating something bigger and better than what existed before.

But the struggle doesn't have to be part of the story.

We Decide How Hard the Mountain Will Be

I think we do this with money more often than we realize.

When we're facing a financial gap, we start calculating. If I need to save this much and can put away this amount every month, it will take this long. If my income dropped by this amount, I'll need to replace it this way. If my business is making this much and I want it to make that much, look at everything I'll have to do to get there.

Planning matters. I'm a huge advocate for knowing your numbers because information allows us to make better decisions.

But planning based on what we know today is different from deciding exactly how difficult tomorrow has to be.

Income can increase quickly. A new project can change your financial picture. One introduction can lead to an opportunity you hadn't anticipated. A business can grow. You can negotiate more, create another revenue stream, land a larger client or discover an opportunity that wasn't even part of your original plan.

We don't have to know exactly how every piece will happen before allowing ourselves to believe things can get better.

And we certainly don't have to make struggle a prerequisite for getting there.

The Water Was Always Clear

There's another detail from the dream that matters to me: even with everything happening around us, the water was always clear.

That's where mindset and financial reality meet.

Believing rebuilding doesn't have to be a struggle doesn't mean ignoring what's happening in front of you. I still want to see the sharks.

Know what's coming in. Know what's going out. Understand your savings, debt, assets and obligations. Pay attention to the risks and make the decisions that need to be made.

See your numbers clearly without allowing today's numbers to determine what you believe is possible tomorrow.

A bank balance is a snapshot. So are your salary, business revenue, debt and net worth. They tell you where you are right now. They don't determine where you have to stay.

Financial clarity gives you information. Your mindset affects what you believe you can do with it.

The Mountain Doesn't Have to Be a Struggle

That's ultimately what I took from the dream.

I'm rebuilding. I'm climbing. And I fully intend to build beyond where I was before.

But I've stopped assigning struggle to the climb.

I can expect more income while pursuing opportunities. I can expect my businesses to grow while continuing to improve them. I can expect greater profits while paying attention to what the numbers are telling me. I can believe opportunities can come quickly while still doing the work that puts me in a position to receive them.

Effort and struggle aren't the same thing.

We can work toward something bigger without constantly reminding ourselves how far we have to go. We can create more without believing exhaustion is the price of getting there. We can take action, make smart financial decisions and actually enjoy what we're building.

The mountain is still there.

I'm just choosing not to make it harder in my head before I've even climbed it.

What's Your Money Mountain?

Think about whatever you're working toward financially right now. It could be rebuilding savings, increasing your income, paying off debt, changing careers, growing a business, investing or simply getting a better handle on your money.

Know where you stand. Decide where you want to go. Make your plan and take the next step.

But also pay attention to the story you've created about everything that supposedly has to happen between here and there.

Is the mountain actually a struggle, or have you simply decided it has to be?

If you're ready to get clearer about your own money mountain, explore the EmpowerHer Ventures books, tools and self-paced resources designed to help you understand your numbers, make more intentional financial decisions and build toward what comes next.

Your numbers can tell you where you are today.

They don't decide where you get to go next.