“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity, but in doing it.”
Greg Anderson
I began writing this article whilst on a short flight from Glasgow to London on Sunday evening as we return from undertaking the 3 Peaks Mountain challenge – climbing the 3 highest mountains in Wales, England and Scotland in a 24-hour challenge.
So I thought I’d be writing today to share lessons I’d learned whilst reaching the 3 peaks and how those same lessons may apply to your career, your business or the way you lead your teams.
Sadly I wasn’t able to complete the challenge – I had a recurrence of an old calf injury and had to pull out after the first mountain.
And so instead, the lessons below are based on what I learned from NOT achieving my big goal:
1. Lose the ego
About 1 hour into the climb of the first mountain (Mount Snowdon in Wales), I had a mental battle going on in my head.
My calf kept tightening up and would go rock solid – so I kept having to stop to stretch it and was falling further and further behind the group.
I was clearly holding the group of 16 climbers back and had a big decision to make. Do I continue and push on? Or do I pull out and so make it easy for the others.
My ego kept telling me “but you’ve organised this event, how can you drop out? Better to carry on than look stupid. Just carry on Sital.”
But it wasn’t about me and how I looked – it was about ensuring that as many of the group reached the 24-hour goal. More important than my ego was the safety of the group. The weather forecast on all three mountains were treacherous and so by giving into my ego I would potentially put the challenge and others at risk on the next mountain when the light changed.
Plus I had a responsibility to the people close to me to ensure that I didn’t do myself any damage.
That’s a tough call – and thankfully I didn’t listen to my ego and I made the right decision. I chose not to go to the very top of Mount Snowdon and instead stopped 20 minutes before the peak with one of the guides so that I could join the group on the descent and ensure we moved onto the next mountain in good time.
Whether it’s half way up a mountain or in the workplace – it’s not about how you look or what people think about you. It’s about making decisions that you truthfully believe to be right.
How about you? Are your career and business decisions based on your ego or what is right?
2. Failure is the first step
There’s no shame in not achieving something. In fact, not achieving is the first step to achieving anything worthwhile.
I plan to use this experience to really get into trekking and mountaineering – something I’ve really enjoyed. Maybe I wasn’t meant to complete the challenge this time – maybe this time my role was to organise a group to do the challenge and prepare me for future climbs.
I’ve every intention of continuing my new hobby and will be back out walking and trekking as soon as I’m fully and all my aches and pains gone.
It’s the same with you – getting rejected, failing and even being ridiculed are all part of the process of finding out how to do things well. So don’t avoid applying for that job or taking on that new project out of a fear of failure – some kind of failure or set back is always part of the journey.
3. Keep a perspective
8 of the group of 16 made it to the top of all three peaks. And none of them in the 24 hour target time.
Injuries, the appalling weather conditions and the size of the group played their part in that outcome.
But more importantly:
a) Everyone returned safely
Despite 60-70 mph winds, lashing rain and terrible conditions, we all came back without any major safety issues or serious injuries.
b) We raised more than £33,000 for charity (that figure will probably top £40k in next week or so)
So underprivileged kids in India will be educated and have a slightly better future as a direct result from this weekend
d) We had a lot of fun
We laughed lots, we saw some of the most amazing scenery in the UK and we’ve come back with great memories that will be with us forever.
So whether you’ve lost your job, been rejected after an interview or are struggling to cope with change – step back and put things into perspective. It almost always isn’t the end of the world.
In fact, very often it’s just the beginning of a whole new world. A new chapter in your career and life.
It an intellectual level, we all know this right?
But some days it can be hard going mentally when things don’t work out for you as expected. And the reason why we all need reminders.
This morning was one of those days for me. I think I needed a reminder myself – so this article is written as much for me as it is for you (…we often teach things we need to learn the most!) So whatever your goal is and whichever summit you’re heading towards, don’t forget to laugh and enjoy the people and the moments along the way – because at the end of the day, it really is about the journey and not the destination.