I just returned from a 4-day hike in the beautiful Austrian Alps. I have been hiking quite a lot in the past, but this trip was special for me. It was special because it was a hard lesson. I usually hike quite reasy trails, but this time we went to the rugged Lechtaler Alps for an Alpine hike.
I wanted to try something more difficult. And: it was much more harder than I thought while sitting on a couch and planning the trip. After struggling for many days, I experienced all sorts of emotions – from frustration, struggle, extreme tiredness, to amazement, excitement and pride of reaching the destination.
In many ways, this hike was a life lesson for me and this is what I learned:
1. You may know what your goal is, but you never know what is behind the corner
Every day we started in the morning towards our next destination hut. We examined the route and knew more or less how much time do we need to reach our destination. What we did not know, however, is how the route looks like. Every time we said: well, the most difficult part is behind us – the new, more extreme challenge appeared in front of us. We can transfer it directly to our professional or private life – we often set goals, but at the end we cannot possibly know how we will achieve them, what will appear on the path towards our goal. What worked for me in this situation was: being open for whatever arises in front of me, so that I am not disappointed or surprised, and just: embracing the journey.
2. Put one foot in front of the other
This is probably the biggest lesson I learned from the mountains. When I started the hike, I knew my goal was somewhere far away, up in the mountains and it would require a lot of strengths to get there. I thought: will I make it? Will I have enough mental and physical strength? And at the same time I wanted to enjoy this hike. And this is how I did it: I only focused on putting one foot in front of the other, only one small step after another. It’s not a big deal, is it? From time to time I stopped and enjoyed the view of the mountains, and then again: one foot in front of the other.
I took a short video of my slow and steady steps. Does not really look impressive, but it is enough to get to the summit and achieve the goal.
3. Patience
Many times on my way to the summit, I got frustrated and wanted to stop. I got frustrated at the mountain! I had to survive these moments and keep going, to the summit. In our professional life we also get frustrated a big deal. But it is important to get going, so that we can sit at the top of the mountain, enjoying the view and say: “It was all worth it!”
YOUR ASSIGNMENT:
Pick your favorite activity, where endurance is essential. It may be running, or biking, trekking, swimming, etc. Set some time aside and do this activity for a longer period of time, as usual. F.e. when you usually run 30 minutes, run one hour, or two. See resistance arising, when you do this activity for a longer period of time than usual. Observe frustration arising, observe when want to give up.
Then focus on “one foot in front of the other”, find your rhythm. See the difference, when you chunk this activity up, to small steps. Don’t look at the watch, don’t look at the distance, just put one foot in front of the other.
Look at your professional life, your career from this perspective. Do you face times when you struggle and want to give up? Do you sometimes feel frustrated with regards to your career goals? What would be the small “step” you could take in such situation? How you could find your rhythm and keep going, one step in front of the other?
