After a long time I did go back to my favorite place on earth, which is the Himalayan Range of Mountains. Even though I have traversed across the mountains many a times before, this time it was very special.
We had decided with a group of friends that we were going to climb some of the most difficult stretches, which was bound to push each one of us to the outer limit of our physical and emotional tolerance.
Some of the life lessons which each one of us can learn from these kind of time out is priceless, but I wanted to share with each one of you the 7 lessons I did learn from this experience.
Moving forward is not a choice but a necessity:
For those of you new to trekking especially the Himalayan range of mountains, trekking the Himalayas is not like just walking up and down the mountains.
These trekking routes does consist of many steep incline and decline. Going down each of these declines is as challenging as climbing some of the inclines.
Many a times during the days of the trek I realized that even while going down to the destination, it did consist of many steep climbs.
Moving forward was the only choice here and there was no other option available.
While on the mountains one cannot just stay still unless one wants the cold and low oxygen level to play havoc with our mind and body.
Even if we have to move slowly at times, we have to push ourselves closer to the destination than just standing still in one place.
This is something what we need to do in life. Keep moving forward. Not stay in one place without gaining any momentum.
Optimism will always get you home:
More often than not, what did seem to be the end of the climb turned out the beginning of another steeper climb.
Many a times during these climbs, I did give my all only to realize that there is another bigger climb when we reached the end point of our vision.
The only thing at times which did make me go on even though physically & mentally I was exhausted was being optimistic.
Looking at the scenario through lenses of optimism, helped me push through many a times and this did happen a zillion times, during my days up at the mountain.
I grabbed this opportunity with both hands to condition my own mind to be optimistic in spite of insurmountable challenges in my path.
If we can create a vision of reaching our destination in our own mind and motor our way forward, it is sure to take each one of us close to the home run.
I do believe in this greatly and experience this every time when I am pushing myself to do better.
Momentum will take you there:
One thing about climbing the mountains is that it does not matter if you are slow or fast, each one of us have to reach the same pre-defined destination.
More often than not I took the whole climb slow and steady. If I was getting exhausted I used to take it slow, watch the painted canvas of nature bestowed around, enjoy the view, soak in it and move on.
I moved forward one step at a time no matter how slow at times it was. There was no question of looking or turning back unless a situation called for.
I did realize early that there is no sense in going fast and risking oneself, especially when it was going to be a long haul up at the mountains.
The mountains did teach me that “. As long as you reach your goal, the speed doesn’t matter”
Take one day at a time:
Even though we did spend many a days on the mountains each day was different and weather is always unpredictable in the higher altitude of the Himalayas.
Even though the weather did hold up for almost all the days we were in the mountains this time, it was not the case for me in my earlier journeys through the Himalayas.
There were many a days during my earlier journey’s when it was raining and snowing and we did not have a choice but to move forward. Stopping by was never a choice.
On other days there were tough patches we had to get through, which did take hours and in some instances even days (due to weather hold up).
Many an instances due to lack of oxygen in the high altitude I had difficulty in breathing and thinking straight. However giving up was never a choice.
Life can be at times like this for all of us. Some of the days we are hit with the worst of the things again and again. The key is not to expect that the worst is over.
Deal with the challenge of today and do not fill up your mind with tomorrow’s challenges. Leave it for tomorrow. Take every day as a new beginning.
You have to climb through to get to the top:
While we were up the mountains the snowy peak and the summit was nowhere in sight at the beginning. It did take each one of us 2-3 days of trek through some of the most inhospitable routes, unable to see through the next curve or a clear sight of the route ahead.
We had to walk for a couple of days even to see the peak of the mountain, which was what the direction we were headed towards.
Something similar is what is panned out in our life.We have to put in our sweat, tears and blood to get to the top of what we are doing .
You might be an entrepreneur, athlete or even a professional but getting to the top of the game does take time and countless hours of effort.
You have to plan, get your hands dirty and then work for it one step at a time.
It is the journey which shapes the destination:
Over the years I have been an avid traveler. I have been to some of the most inhospitable secluded places on the Himalayas. The journey did take many a days and in some cases weeks.
Many of my friends & family do ask “what’s the point in going through all these hardships and insurmountable challenges, to get to the destination”.
Well for me it was never about the destination but always about the journey. The experiences I did have to get there and the people I do meet on the way is what I cherish the most.
I can never put a price for this and what I have learnt from this journey over the years.
Without all the hardships during the journey, the destination would never have had any meaning for me.This is how I see my journey in real life also.
The best thing you can give people is your trust:
Over the years I have traveled alone, with a small group of avid friends and at times also with a big group.
However it is during these time out together in the midst of nature and lack of any basic luxury in life is when, we do connect with people the most.
The only thing which we can offer each other is our trust and our shoulder at times since all of us are in the same boat.
I always make it a point to show it to the people I am around that they can trust me.This does come to me more naturally since I have been with people in life and death situations and the only thing we did have for reach other was our trust in each other.
I would not be typing these words if I had not deeply trusted my own friends and chugged along, towards the destination.
Be more open to people, leave a positive mark in their lives and more often than not they will do the same to you.
Are you facing challenges in life? Then these lessons I did learnt from my own time out in the Himalayas is sure to fire you up to see them through a different set of lenses.
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