By Scott Campsall
During the 1840s, California was considered to be a promised land for early American settlers who were looking for growing economic opportunities. Most groups followed the Oregon Trail, which was easy for wagon trains to negotiate, but it took several months and was constantly under the threats of attack by Native Americans, disease, and harsh weather.
Despite the hardships they knew they would face, a group of 87 people known as the Donner-Reed party left Springfield, Illinois in 1846 and started the arduous journey.
Halfway through the trip after already travelling for months, an Ohio explorer, named Lansford Hastings informed them of a short cut that would take 3-4 days off their trip by cutting through what is now Utah.
Hastings was wrong. The “shortcut” made the trip much longer and it took the group through a hot Salt Lake desert in the middle of summer. They depleted almost all their supplies and several of their oxen died. Instead of gaining a few days, they now had added a month to their journey. The travellers now had to go through the Sierra Nevada mountains near lake Tahoe in the middle of winter instead of late fall as they had planned.
The winter of 1847 was particularly brutal creating snow drifts that were 10-20 feet high and half of the remaining 81 survivors were under the age of 18. With no supplies, and people beginning to die of starvation, the survivors turned on each other and ended up resorting to cannibalism to stay alive.
Shortcuts always look inviting and in our culture of getting everything we want as soon as possible; it is getting more difficult to see the advantage of putting in work and being patient while we wait for results. Yet, there is a need for this when it comes to accomplishments in martial arts and fitness.
Getting a new belt or reaching a fitness goal isn’t as rewarding if you don’t get to look back and realize how you pushed through the hardships of the entire journey to get to the destination.
A shortcut might look appealing, but it usually costs you more than you imagine it could in the long run.