I have a favorite mentor, Jim Rohn, who recently passed away. He was a premier motivational speaker, and had a wonderful philosophy on life. Well, one of his favorite words, which I have adopted, is “fascinating”. The trials in life are fascinating. The person who cuts you off on the highway is fascinating. You get the idea; turn a negative into a positive or take the glass half full idea.

So, yesterday I spent about 30 minutes stressing about the type of travel mug I should take on my hikes. Fascinating! This is all about counting ounces/grams, vs functionality. Being analytical (anal!), I developed a massive decision tree to come up with the perfect mug. Purpose vs size vs weight vs cost; how would I pack it; would it be just for drinking, or would I eat my oatmeal from it; should it be metal so I could heat water in it; you see my problem?

Fortunately, there must be many like me, for when I showed up at REI, I had an entire rack to choose from! I was in my glory! Titanium, plastic with a cozy, handle or no (extra weight now!), 8 ounces or 16, so many choices and so little time! Did I mention the lid???

The good news in my life is the word experimentation. I have a year to prepare for my hike of the Appalachian Trail, so I will have lots of opportunity to try out my new mug(s)! I do like a hot drink to start my day, whether coffee or tea, so I chose 2 mugs, one with handle, one without, both with lids.

Fascinating…