Secret 5,1 · Communication / Focus — The Mountain Hike
The Mountain Hike
Renewal always requires change. Change always brings resistance. Resistance always leads to growth. SGL draws that walk as a mountain hike, with an outer route up the peak and an inner one through uncertainty, unrest and fear.
Professional Head language · The mountain hike — the external route up the peak, and the internal one through uncertainty, unrest, fear and resistance.
The mountain hike. The external route up the peak, and the internal one through uncertainty, unrest, fear and resistance.
Change, resistance, growth
Change. Renewal always requires change.
Resistance. Change always brings resistance.
Growth. Resistance always leads to growth.
“High tech — high contact”
It isn’t just relevant in the workplace, but also in life as a whole.
Figure: Equinor Melkøya
Equinor’s production at Melkøya outside Hammerfest, Norway. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB.
The situation is obvious. Modern workplaces have more and more unclear boundaries between private life and working time. The result is more screen use and less movement, and alarming health signals, as burning-out symptoms.
The mountain hike model
SGL uses the Norwegian mountains as an arena for communication and team development. Because experience shows: it is always easier to draw new organisational charts than to implement them. Experience also shows that few industries are more vulnerable than the knowledge industry. It is not enough for the technical systems to work perfectly — the people in the system must also be in balance physically, mentally and socially in order to perform at their best.
We see the same in sports. The truly great and admirable top performers are no longer just physically strong — they are also mentally and emotionally whole individuals.
The arena the paragraph above names. A walker stopped part-way, with the whole valley below him.
From everyday life we know that a family crisis, or a sudden threat to what is most important in life, can drain our energy and sabotage creativity for a long time. This becomes especially clear during times of change and transition — when people are facing new tasks, changing roles, or uncertainty at work, while still carrying unresolved personal crises they have not had the time or space to deal with, or to understand, and without knowledge of the “mountain hike model”.
Training as a work matter
In our SGL context, the Norwegian World Champion and Head Coach in beach volleyball Jørre Kjemperud has profiled “Well Being” as a success factor in management. It has been required, and it has needed continuous development.
Figure: intro film
Intro film coming — the place for this secret’s recording is reserved here.
The hidden agenda
Being in the mountains means climbing peaks. You often start a little cautiously, but climb higher and steeper as your courage and experience increase.
It is all a process, both on the external physical level and in the inner arena of uncertainty, unrest, fear and resistance — before you gain the courage and the desire to take on bigger and more difficult tasks.
In the “mountain hike model”, these phases are marked with blue and red keywords such as: Interesting, Exciting, Dangerous and Scary. The last is a clear warning and a clear turn-around signal, or as the Norwegian mountaineering rules say: “There is no shame in turning around!”
Resistance and retreat are therefore right and natural. Denying the warnings and continuing ahead often ends in both defeat and catastrophe. In the mountains we seek shelter and warmth, food and evaluation in a log cabin at the bottom of the valley. Here we are given time for doubt and faith, and for thoughts and suggestions for the next step.
Change can be so hard
That is why care for health, environment and family is not just a private matter — in a knowledge-based company, it is a direct driver of success.
The “mountain hike model” shows how hidden emotional pressure during change processes — like “carrying too much” or “wounds that haven’t healed” — can lead to people falling behind before they even begin. Things that haven’t been dealt with properly can suddenly reappear when new processes trigger old wounds or forgotten memories — often during late hours or after long days. Situations from the past can be reactivated by new experiences, leading to overreactions and emotional outbursts. This often leaves people feeling ashamed or hurt. It is not easy to get back on your feet afterwards. Some never do. That is why it is important to establish rituals for letting go, for closure, and for acknowledging when it is time to move on — rather than letting things fester or “embalm” into lifelong pain.
Climbing higher and steeper, as courage and experience increase.
The stage drawn in yellow. Growth and development begin with retreat and resistance. Now is the time to either return to where we started, or to continue towards the top better prepared than the first time. In the Mountain Hike model, this stage is drawn in yellow. This is what matters now, and it is our own experience, security, and personal courage — that is all about to be a winner in your own journey.
“My journey with SGL has been a very educational journey. With guidance from Jan Petrus, SGL has become a tool that has helped me both privately and in business life. So also in my roles within sports. I recommend everyone to familiarize themselves with SGL.”
Jørre Kjemperud · SGL-Ambassador
“To avoid burnout”
Words from my book DEATH — and dying, about grief and loss reactions.
We need to feel both meaning and excitement when we front the next challenge, the next goal. We must accept that the tension between fear and hope is a natural part of moving forward.
When we reach that edge where we sense our own limits, we may discover something new. A break-down can become a breakthrough — but only if we dare to stop, reflect, and truly listen to what the situation is trying to tell us.
This inner journey is just as important as the outer one — especially in leadership, and in knowledge work. Because here, life itself is part of the success factor.
Group growth and self-development — the same climb, read as a group process.
Why well-being and performance go hand in hand is the subject of Secret 5,2 — the steps of burning-out symptoms.
Homework 5,1
The exercise wants a pen and paper, not a keyboard.
What matters most to you in your life?
Lower your shoulders. Place both feet on the floor.
Take a deep breath and close your eyes.
Ask yourself: who am I?
Write down three answers that confirm the title: what matters most to you in your life?
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