Why climb a mountain?

"Why did you climb that mountain?"

A man who lives in Moshi, Tanzania asked me that question after I spent five days trekking up and down Mount Kilimanjaro.

The man continued, "Why climb that mountain when it's always going to be there? When I go to bed tonight, the mountain will be there. When I wake up in the morning, the mountain will be there. I don't need to climb that mountain. Why did you climb it?"

Over the years, other people have asked me similar questions.

When I was a teenager it was, "Why do you run cross country?" My sport was other sports' punishment.

The question behind those questions is pretty obvious; why voluntarily do something hard and uncomfortable?

My answer: I did those things because doing them made me happy.

I never climbed a mountain or ran a long race because I wanted to suffer. But, the difficulties – especially when overcome with friends – added a lot of meaning to each experience. That meaning is a big part of what made me happy.

There is no happiness without suffering.