Reprinted from Sandy Kobrock, Adventure Coach

No one heads out the door in the morning saying,
“Today is the day I am going to die in an avalanche.”
So how do we go from kissing our loved ones good-bye in the morning to the misfortune of being caught in an avalanche and not surviving?

An easy miss is to focus on The Small Picture instead of The Big Picture.

Backcountry: Small Picture
We take all the right actions – check the weather, make a plan, observe the snowpack, communicate with our group. However, by drawing the camera lens back to a larger perspective, we see we shouldn’t be there at all. There is just too much avalanche hazard in our route choice, the terrain is too complex, the consequences of misjudgment are too serious on this day.

Life: Small Picture
As humans we do this at our workplace and with our loved ones as well, taking offense over an imagined slight, a funny look, or off-handed comment.

Pull the camera lens back, gain that wider perspective, and suddenly you notice how petty the situation is. It probably isn’t about you at all; that person is having a tough day and is not aware of your presence in their drama at all.

Why do we ignore The Big Picture?
Why do we do this? Do we get to be “right” or feel vindicated? Or maybe it’s just habit – what we’ve been taught? Or perhaps it feels easier to make our choices from The Small Picture?

The Truth
What we truly want is happiness, a fulfilled life, vibrant relationships, and a healthy spirit.

Investing time and energy in the drama, the Small Picture, when we think about it, is not the path we want.

So often we don’t recognize that we have a choice.

Is It Worth It?
During this winter of high uncertainty one phrase kept ringing in my head: “Is It Worth It?”

Keeping this query in the forefront of my thinking I often forewent the short-term, steep powder thrill for the Big Picture. When I stopped and thought about it, my Big Picture Outcome was to be laughing with my family around the dinner table at day’s end.

When we make The Big Picture our natural response with our families, at work, and in the backcountry, we create our Desired Outcome: happiness, fulfillment, vibrant relationships, and a healthy spirit.

Because, if the worst happens, if the life of a friend, or loved one is cut short, was being focused on the Small Picture the choice we really wanted to make?

About Sandy Koback
Through Adventure Coaching Sandy offers life coaching focused on decisions, as it is from individual decisions that you create your life. Whether it’s completing that book you have been putting off writing, or replacing overwhelm with peace, Adventure Coaching can help.

Sandy has trained as a life coach with the Coaches Training Institute, Enwaken Coaches Training, Radical Forgiveness Coaching. She has been a corporate trainer, a ski patrol director, a mountain guide/instructor, and river guide. Sandy has years of experience making (good and bad) decisions in high risk environments.