“We are not held back in life because we are incapable of making change. We are held back because we don’t feel like making change, and so we don’t.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 68)
Brianna Wiest Quotes
“If you are doing ‘everything you are supposed to be doing’ and yet you feel empty and depressed at the end of the day, the issue is probably that you’re not really doing what you want to be doing; you’ve just adopted someone else’s script for happiness.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 60)
“Being busy communicates importance; it often makes you seem a little untouchable to others. It also overwhelms the body so that it can only focus on the tasks at hand. Being busy is the ultimate way to distract ourselves from what’s really wrong.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 54)
“People who are constantly ‘busy’ are running from themselves.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 53)
“If we feel bad about not being as successful as another person, we might try to find something negative about them to make ourselves feel better. If we do that every time we come across a person who is more successful than we are, we begin to associate that level of success with being disliked. When it comes time for us to take action to move our lives forward, we’re going to resist doing it, because becoming more successful will create a breach in our self-concept.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 45)
“It is very hard to show up as the person you want to be when you are surrounded by an environment that makes you feel like a person you aren’t.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 42)
“Without cleanliness, we create fewer opportunities for ourselves. Nothing positive, nor beautiful, flows from chaos. Deep down, we know this. Often, when we are self-sabotaging through disorganization, it is because when we are very clean or organized, we get an uneasy feeling. That uneasy feeling is what we are trying to avoid, because it is the recognition that now that everything is in order, we must get to work on doing what we need to do or who we want to become.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 41)
“When we have a goal, dream, or plan, there is no measure of intent. It is only whether you did it or did not. Any other reason you offer for not showing up and doing the work is simply you stating that you prioritize that reason over your ultimate ambition, which means that it will always take precedence in your life.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 40)
“The truth is that we actually do not accomplish great feats when we are anxious about whether or not what we do will indeed be something impressive and world-changing. We accomplish these sorts of things when we simply show up and allow ourselves to create something meaningful and important to us.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 37)
“When it comes to self-sabotaging behaviors, you have to understand that sometimes, it’s easy to get attached to having problems. Being successful can make you less liked. Finding love can make you more vulnerable. Making yourself less attractive can guard you. Playing small allows you to avoid scrutiny. Procrastinating puts you back in a place of comfort. All the ways in which you are self-sabotaging are actually ways that you are feeding a need you probably do not even realize you have.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 30)
“Self-sabotage is not a way we hurt ourselves; it’s a way we try to protect ourselves.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 28)
“Your new life is going to cost you your old one. It’s going to cost you your comfort zone and your sense of direction. It’s going to cost you relationships and friends. It’s going to cost you being liked and understood. It doesn’t matter. The people who are meant for you are going to meet you on the other side. You’re going to build a new comfort zone around the things that actually move you forward. Instead of being liked, you’re going to be loved. Instead of being understood, you’re going to be seen. All you’re going to lose is what was built for a person you no longer are.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 26)
“Most people do not actually change their lives until not changing becomes the less comfortable option. This means that they do not actually embrace the difficulty of altering their habits until they simply do not have another choice. Staying where they are is not viable. They can no longer even pretend that it is desirable in any way. They are, quite honestly, less at rock bottom and more stuck between a rock that’s impinging on them and an arduous climb out from beneath it.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 24)
When you decide you truly do not ever want to feel a certain way again, you set out on a journey of self-awareness, learning, and growth that has you radically reinvent who you are.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 23)
The first step in healing anything is taking full accountability. It is no longer being in denial about the honest truth of your life and yourself. It does not matter what your life looks like on the outside; it is how you feel about it on the inside. It is not okay to be constantly stressed, panicked, and unhappy. Something is wrong, and the longer you try to ‘love yourself’ out of realizing this, the longer you are going to suffer.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 21)
“What you believe about your life is what you will make true about your life.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 18)
“If you try to fix the problem on the surface, you will always come up against a wall. This is because you’re trying to rip off a Band-Aid before you have a strategy to heal the wound.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 15)
In the end, self-sabotage is very often just a maladaptive coping mechanism, a way we give ourselves what we need without having to actually address what that need is. But like any coping mechanism, it is just that—a way to cope. It’s not an answer, it’s not a solution, and it does not ever truly solve the problem. We are merely numbing our desires, and giving ourselves a little taste of temporary relief.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 13)
“On the surface, self-sabotage seems masochistic. It appears to be a product of self-hatred, low confidence, or a lack of willpower. In reality, self-sabotage is simply the presence of an unconscious need that is being fulfilled by the self-sabotaging behavior. To overcome this, we must go through a process of deep psychological excavation. We must pinpoint the traumatic event, release unprocessed emotions, find healthier ways to meet our needs, reinvent our self-image, and develop principles such as emotional intelligence and resilience.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 11)
“Your mountain is the block between you and the life you want to live. Facing it is also the only path to your freedom and becoming. You are here because a trigger showed you to your wound, and your wound will show you to your path, and your path will show you to your destiny.”
Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You (Page 8)