A little winter-time camping brought me to Sequoia National Park, late in the afternoon, looking for a drop-in place to park for the night. Although the park entrance was open, with a sign that said ‘some’ roads are closed, it was not specific. Being the adventuresome, optimistic type, I soldiered into the park full of hope. About 13 ‘road closed’ signs later, I began to doubt my decision. I also met numerous other travelers who had turned around, unwilling to end up god-knows-where in the dark.

When you decide to keep moving forward, even though the path is full of obstacles and potential inconveniences (even hardship), you’ve engaged your frontal mid-line theta power. This is the part of your brain that kicks into gear to help you make decisions. There’s a lot of research on this, and you might want to check it out HERE.

When I was finally at the point of real doubt, and definitely at the end of the road – a beautiful wide space opened into my headlights. Here I was at the most beautiful lake I think I’ve ever seen, in a place that wasn’t even on the map.

It got me thinking about risk-taking and the willingness to go where nobody else is going. How that seems hard sometimes, and self-doubt likes to creep in. I especially thought of a nonprofit we work with that is faced with a ton of nay-sayers, and people unwilling to take chances to find a better tomorrow for their industry.