
At the bottom of the hill we encountered an older man who was climbing with the help of a cane, dressed semiformal, a casted arm and a hearing aid… we said hello and left him behind. I wondered how far up the mountain he will get at his age.
Our path up the mountain had 13 wooden crosses spaced out to the top. We passed all 13 and 2 hours later, after a hard climb we reached the top! At the top we found the last cross standing about 10 meters tall.
After catching our breaths and enjoyed the view we decided to head back down. To our surprise, as we start our descent we meet the older man that we left behind. He was almost at the top, climbing in a steady pace.
I approached him and voiced my respect and surprise by his stamina. I asked, “ How old are you?” and he responded by asking me to guess … 70? ... He laughed “keep trying…. I am 83.” This incredible 83 year old climbed to the top while having a broken arm, using a cane, no water and dressed in dressy pants, sweater and leather shoes. Incredible!
Who is this man with so much will power and determination?
Angel Agusto Chediak Hernandez Garzon! We learned from him that this mountain, during Holy week, people climb as a pilgrimage. Angel decided to climb and accomplish his pilgrimage.
All week I have been using Angel as an example of mind strength for my kids to understand what a person can accomplish with determination, inspiration, and working hard towards a goal! You become unstoppable!
Determination is defined as firmness of purpose; resoluteness.
We all have been in a situation where we were determined to accomplish something but quickly found a reason not to accomplish our goal.
How easy is it to find excuses?
How easy is it to quit?
How easy is it to forget our goals?
I keep reminding my kids of Angel, because I want them to understand that something worthwhile takes a lot of work and most importantly, determination.
“One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat.”- Napoleon Hill