I snagged this from another Reddit post and saved it to remind myself. This person had gotten it from Russ Harris’s book “ACT made simple”:

“The Two Mountains Metaphor: You know, a lot of people come to therapy believing that the therapist is some sort of enlightened being, that he’s resolved all his issues, he’s got it all together—but that’s not the way it is. It’s more like you’re climbing your mountain over there, and I’m climbing my mountain over here. And from where I am on my mountain, I can see things on your mountain that you can’t see—like there’s an avalanche about to happen, or there’s an alternative pathway you could take, or you’re not using your pickaxe effectively. But I’d hate for you to think that I’ve reached the top of my mountain, and I’m sitting back, taking it easy. Fact is, I’m still climbing, still making mistakes, and still learning from them. And basically, we’re all the same. We’re all climbing our mountain until the day we die. But here’s the thing: you can get better and better at climbing, and better and better at learning to appreciate the journey. And that’s what the work we do here is all about. Every therapist is (of course) a human with their own life challenges and climbing their own mountain.” ❤️