{"id":7034,"date":"2016-02-01T15:26:08","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T23:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=7034"},"modified":"2016-02-19T11:04:47","modified_gmt":"2016-02-19T19:04:47","slug":"do-you-have-an-instigator-in-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/climb\/do-you-have-an-instigator-in-your-life","title":{"rendered":"Do You Have An Instigator In Your Life?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The email subject line read: \u201cSummer Scrambling Sessions\u2014Invitation to Edit.\u201d The message was empty except for the attached Google Doc. Usually in my line of work, a Google Doc attachment means more work, more time moving words around on my computer.<\/p>\n

But this was different, and I was already psyched. My friend Elizabeth and I had been conniving about the peaks and ridges near Denver we were dreaming of scrambling around on over the summer. But you know how those conversations usually go? \u201cWe should get out and do something some time.\u201d \u201cYeah.\u201d \u201cThat would be really cool.\u201d \u201cMaybe this summer.\u201d And then nothing ever comes of it\u2014unless your friend is an Instigator.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Sometimes I feel like all we ever do is talk about the things we dream of doing, like ticking off a 14er, learning avalanche safety or building trad climbing skills. We scroll through other people\u2019s inspirational Instagram feeds and think, I wish I could do that. But some people simply aren\u2019t content to sit around and talk about what they wish they could do, or would do if they had more time. There\u2019s a certain breed of people who immediately progress from the \u201cwe should\u201d phase of planning to pulling the trigger. To setting the date, buying the plane ticket, registering for the course. If you want to actually have an adventure and quit sitting around just talking about it, having an Instigator friend is absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth is one of those Instigators. Within a week of chatting about our objectives for the year, the email went out to a group of friends\u2014a shared document with a growing list of peaks and ridgelines we wanted to tick off over the summer. And the peaks actually got ticked off, little by little.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a dangerous side to being friends with an Instigator, though. They won\u2019t let you get away with casually chatting about something you\u2019d like to do in the outdoors without actually taking steps toward doing it. They\u2019re the ones who will ask you the next time they see you, \u201cDid you check out that trail you were talking about?\u201d Or, \u201cDid you call about the guide for Rainier?\u201d And when you float an idea out to them, like \u201cWant to go for a sunrise hike this weekend?\u201d They won\u2019t just answer yes or no. They\u2019ll answer, \u201cWhat time should we meet and where?\u201d And they\u2019ll be there\u2014probably with donuts or chocolate, if you\u2019re lucky.<\/p>\n

\"Instigator\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019m grateful for the Instigators in my life, but I didn\u2019t always have them. A few years ago, I spent a lot of time thinking, \u201cI wish I could,\u201d and not very much time making plans and putting them into action. I didn\u2019t have anybody else interested in setting a goal and making it happen, whether it was a bike tour or just a day hike. But all those days of dreaming and wishing taught me this: If you don\u2019t have an Instigator friend already, maybe it\u2019s time you learned how to be one yourself. Go get yourself a map, put a plan in your calendar and become your own Instigator.<\/p>\n

Have any tips on how to make ideas a reality? Please share in the comments below.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The email subject line read: \u201cSummer Scrambling Sessions\u2014Invitation to Edit.\u201d The message was empty except for the attached Google Doc. Usually in my line of work, a Google Doc attachment means more work, more time moving words around on my computer. But this was different, and I was already psyched. My friend Elizabeth and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[529,530,370,466],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-7034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climb","tag-article","tag-friendship","tag-hilary-oliver","tag-optoutside"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/climb\/do-you-have-an-instigator-in-your-life","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Do You Have An Instigator In Your Life?","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/climb\/do-you-have-an-instigator-in-your-life","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/climb\/do-you-have-an-instigator-in-your-life"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/02\/Instigator-photo-2-web.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/02\/Instigator-photo-2-web.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Climb","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Crampton"}],"creator":["Angela Crampton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["articles","friendship","hilary oliver","optoutside"],"dateCreated":"2016-02-01T23:26:08Z","datePublished":"2016-02-01T23:26:08Z","dateModified":"2016-02-19T19:04:47Z"},"rendered":"