6 lessons learned from climbing Mt Lofty
On the 31st December 2019 I achieved a goal that I had set for 2018… yes you’re reading that correctly. The goal I achieved was to climb Mt Lofty in Adelaide SA. It’s classified as a Hard Hike and is 7.8km return; up and down very steep terrain. Many people do this hike, it’s a tourist attraction and some people use it for fitness! Anyone who has climbed Mt Lofty knows the challenge that it is… especially if you don’t usually do that kind of walking/hiking.
Here are 6 things that I learned from my Mt Lofty hike:
- Be kind to yourself if you don’t achieve your goal in the exact time frame… simply reflect and move the measuring stick and set a new goal.
- The cliché is that life is about the journey not the destination. Well that’s what I kept telling myself on the way up to Mt Lofty because there were many many many times when all I wanted to do was turn around and walk back down before getting to the top. I learned a lot on my walk so I would agree that it was about the journey, not so much the destination. As much as I like enjoying a reward after something hard, that’s not always possible and it’s good for us to re-learn that we don’t always have to get a reward. Achieving the goal is the reward itself.
- Remember not to compare someone else’s highlight reel against your challenges. I thought about how annoying it was when I was walking in pain going up and saw lots of people coming down with smiles on their face, laughing and having a good time. It’s easy to think “why do they have it so easy when I’ve got it hard”. But the truth is that most of them have done the hard yards of walking up as well. (I say most because let’s face it, some people may have been dropped off at the top just to walk down… and most of us would know people who have had an easy run at life too).
- Keep focused on your path. There were a couple times when I was looking around at the view and with the strenuous nature of the walk, it meant I got off balance a couple times. The lesson was to keep focused on where you’re going in life and on the walk. When you look around too much you get wobbly and can fall off the track. When you look around at what others are doing or where others are on their journey, it makes you question the lane you’re in and the path you’re taking. We can only take our own path, we can’t take someone else’s path. Keep focused and try not to compare yourself and your path to others.
- Stop every once in a while and look back and celebrate how far you’ve come. There were many many many times that I had to stop (mainly due to being puffed!! ), but as I stopped I looked back and began to reflect on how far I had come and it encouraged me to keep going. No matter how hard the rest of the journey is, the facts are that you’ve gotten this far so who’s to say you can’t get through any other challenges that come?
- Near the end and at several times throughout the journey, it’s easy to let negative thoughts convince you that it’s too hard, you can’t go any further, you can’t do this anymore. And yet you totally can. Yes you can. You’ve come so far, don’t let the negative thoughts take hold. Counteract them with the positive. You can do it. You’ve come so far. Keep going. This (pain) too shall pass.
️So there you go. There are my 6 lessons from walking Mt Lofty.
Another year has clicked over and we have the opportunity to start fresh. To reflect on where we are and where we want to go. To look at what’s working and what’s not working for us.
- What goals are you hoping to achieve this year?
- What are you proud of from 2019?
- What do you want to do differently in 2020?
- How can you increase your self-care in 2020?
Love and blessings to you all for a memorable, adventurous, loving, challenging and peaceful year ahead!
Take care on the Journey!
