3 Lessons from a Hiking Adventure.
Early in April, I had the pleasure of going on a hike with my friend and sister. We have over the past half a year formed the habit of spending our weekends together in nature where possible. So that weekend we went on a hike.
When we got to the hike site, we noticed just one car parked which gave us a hint that we had other hikers on site. While we were getting ready to hit the road, applying our sunblock and filling our water bottles, we saw another car pull into the parking area. So, now we could say we had company for sure to start the hike together at least.
We finished all the prep we needed and started the walk. The road to the start of the actual hike was a good warm-up as it was up the hill.
We began our hike and only a few minutes in we were out of breath and had to take a short break where we sat down to talk about how this particular hiking site was referred to as beginner and even children-friendly. My friend and I couldn't understand how this could be for beginners and we were almost struggling just a few min in. While we were yet talking, we saw the other hiker who had parked right after we arrived.
As he passed by, I decided to engage him briefly. I asked him if this was his first time hiking, and he stopped to respond, telling us how this wasn't his first time and affirming what my friend and I were talking about. He said, though people say this is beginner's friendly that he begged to differ. He then went ahead to recount how one time he and his friends came on a hike there and one of his friends had to be carried down because he almost fainted. So, he commended us for taking a rest and advised that we took more rest as we went along because it may look easy but it's not.
We thanked him and he went on his way while we rested for a few more min before resuming our hike. As we climbed, I attempted to look up at where we were headed and every time I did that, my heart skipped a bit seeing how high and far away the summit of the rocks was. And that was when it dawned on me, that isn't this the same with life?
When we look at our dreams, aspirations and goals, and see how big and how far they are from where we stand, it can make our hearts skip and if wisdom is not applied, it can even cause us to freeze and doubt thinking there is no way we can achieve that gigantic goal.
In that instant, I stopped looking up so often and focused on taking my next step. The hike site was well built as there were stop signs at intervals allowing us to rest and breathe before continuing. Then again it struck me, that engaging with the fella prepared us for the climb and gave us a hint and the importance of taking those breaks so that we could complete our hike as agreed.
I didn't mention that when we started we set a goal to spend one hour up and turn back to spend another hour down. And there goes my second lesson from this experience; the importance of a mentor or coach. The fella was a more experienced hiker than my friend and I, plus he knew this hiking site better than us. Which made his guidance more effective and useful for us. 𝗜𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵. 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆.
My third lesson was the goal we set. I have a feeling if we had set a goal to get to the end of the hike before we turned back, we probably could have done it. But we decided to work with what we have. Which was the time available to us. The location was out of town, we had to drive about 100 minutes to get there and the same to get back to base. Plus, we both had other appointments afterwards, so we had to maximize the time we had and this guided our journey. So even when we saw the fella going farther than we did until he was out of sight, it didn't bother us, we didn't feel less efficient or less of a hiker because we didn't go as far as him.
𝐈𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞.
So, to recapture the lessons from this one experience;
📌 Set your goal and intention with clarity and understanding.
📌 Do not be afraid to ask questions from those who have gone ahead of you and be willing to heed advice where necessary.
📌 Ensure you capture the vision but only look at it at intervals to reassure yourself that you are on track. However, focus on every step you need to take from where you are now and in no time, you will get to where you want to and need to be.
𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁: Invest in meaningful relationships and do well to contribute to the growth of relationships that matter to you.
So there you have it, share with me your thoughts in the comments. Did the lessons resonate with you? What objections or affirmations do you have? I'd love to hear from you.
