Last week, I met with a friend and we went to eat ice cream together. While we were enjoying the warm and crisp beginning of autumn and a friendly fight about who chose the best flavor available, my friend enthusiastically spent 10 minutes straight telling me about his next hiking plan. He is really a die-hard hiking fan, and he is literally always on a mountain hike or about to plan the next one, while I… well, I have to say I was way more interested in my ice cream rather than in his description of trails, climbing, and mountain huts.

When he paused for a while to take a breath after a loooong detailed description of the quite dangerous route he is planning to challenge next, I was actually quite bored. I then honestly told him, “Really, I don’t know how you can find the energy to climb mountains after you worked hard the entire week!”. He seemed quite surprised and looked back at me confusingly, saying, “What do you mean? I work hard the entire week just because I know I have to climb mountains!”

He answered so instinctively that I felt actually speechless for a while. His answer was very simple, and I could see it came directly from his heart. Passion is the driving force that fuels our motivation and propels us towards our goals. When we are passionate about something, whether it’s a hobby, a career, or a personal aspiration, it ignites a fire within us that keeps us dedicated and determined. It provides us with the energy and enthusiasm to overcome obstacles and persevere through challenges. For me, the idea of spending 20 hours on a mountain possibly facing hostile weather like rain or snow sounded like a nightmare; but my friend literally dreams about it throughout all the week, and I felt like his passion could make even the most daunting task feel worthwhile.

To be honest, I still think I personally could never do the same – but that is as it should be, because I don’t think passion can be forced into people. Instead, my friend’s passion inspired me a lot to overcome my doubts and motivated me greatly. Maybe I won’t become a professional hiker, but for the first time in my life, I felt like I’d like to try it!

Veritas’ logo is also actually shaped like a mountain, and I believe it’s a very challenging one. However, the passion which I see in our fellows is as inspirational as the one I felt in my friend. The true motivation which makes our fellows start the “hike” also helps us coaches broaden our perspectives and keep up with the challenges in our lives.

Thanks to this simple conversation I had, I realized that everyone has to find his or her “mountain” to stay motivated and fully enjoy life. In the end, it doesn’t really matter if it is a real mountain climb or an ice cream mountain like the one I was focused on while chatting with my friend; the important thing is finding what is best for us!