The average human life is 70 years long. That’s 70 years to get your business in order. So why, one-fourth into our lives, do we expect to be at “the finish line” when there’s still so much time left?

Imagine living your life like climbing a scenic mountain. Expecting to climb that mountain in five minutes is absurd, the same way expecting your life to come together in five years is equally as absurd. Along the way you need to stop, have a breather, take a swig of water, and get back on your way, the same way in life you need to take moments to re-evaluate, and figure things out before you get back on your path.

The climb up this mountain isn’t as easy as you thought. There are trees, and rocks – obstacles. In life, when we’re hit with an obstacle, we fear it’s the end, that there’s no way around it, and that it’s just life’s way of telling us, “you don’t deserve happiness.” But when you’re on a mountain, climbing your way to the top, freezing in the wind chill, you don’t let a tree, or a rock stop you. You find a way around it, you wait until the path becomes clear, or you find a new path altogether.

You get tired along the way – you question every moment if you’ll ever make it to that scenic view, the same way we question in life whether or not we’ll ever accomplish what we want to accomplish. But the difference is, in our lives, we wonder if quitting is the answer to our problem. When you’re on a mountainside, you look back down at the path you’ve already covered, and you feel so high up. Nothing makes you want to double back and have made that halfway climb all for nothing. So you push forward.

There are people all around you – some above you, some below you. Some are slower in their climb, and others are just killing it. There are a few people who have already made it to that scenic mountaintop, and they’re probably posting photos of it all over Instagram. There are a few who haven’t made it to the top, but they know how to angle that photo just right to make it look as if they are.

So here you are, wondering why they’re better than you, why they’re more successful, why they made it to the mountaintop faster. But what does it matter? You’re all on the same mountain, trying to make it to the top. And when you look below you, there are people much further down who are struggling. Maybe you’ll even lend them a hand, toss them a rope.

Until finally you make that final step, you make it to the top of that scenic mountain, and the view is impeccable. There are other people there. Some of them are new, like you. Others have been there for quite some time. And you think about the people who are still making the climb, hoping that they don’t give up. Because this is totally worth the climb.

You start to wonder why it ever mattered how long it took to get here. Because the experience was rough, and there were high moments and low moments, but it was what made this final moment so worth it. Why does it matter how long you’ve been here? Why does it matter when you got here? None of it matters, because you’re here now.

And you’re never going back.