Enjoy the Journey

A few months ago I went on a three-day hike and along the way I learned some valuable lessons about the journey of life.

1. Success looks different for everyone.

The first lesson I learned is that success looks different for everyone.

During the three-day expedition, one group of people hiked for all three days, while another group hiked for two days, and lastly, a few people hiked for a day.

Does this mean that the people who hiked for one day were not as successful as those who hiked for all three days? Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on your perspective.

Would your perspective be the same if I told you that one of the group members who hiked all three days had climbed Mount Kenya several weeks before the trip? What if I also told you that another one of the group members who hiked for one day had broken their leg some months prior to the trip? Would your perspective be the same?

In the journey of life, success looks different for everyone, simply, because everyone is different. The metrics of success cannot be the same because everybody starts and finishes from a different place in life. Unfortunately, this is not the message we receive in today's world. We often receive the message that if we are not 'first' then we are automatically 'last', deeming us unsuccessful.

Though, is this message really accurate?

Success is defined by you. It is defined by the distance you cover between where you started from and where you will eventually finish.

2. You must run your own race.

In life, there are going to be three groups of individuals you will encounter. One who is ahead, one who is behind, and then yourself. On the second day of the hike, I got to journey with all three groups. At some point, I was with the group catching up, then I was with the group leading the pack, and lastly, I was walking alone. During my time alone, I realized that no matter where you are in life, you must run your own race. You must get up daily and focus on where you are going, what you are trying to accomplish, and how you can be better than you were the previous day. The only way to fail your own race is by trying to run in a lane that is not yours. Yes, people can journey alongside you, but no one can take the journey for you.

3. You cannot do it alone.

Even though your journey is your own, you cannot do it alone. At some point during the hike, the journey stopped being physical and it became a mental battle; and if it were not for the people around me, I probably wouldn't have finished the hike. You see, by ourselves we are limited. Limited in strength, limited in skill, limited in energy, and limited in motivation. On the flip side, when we choose to travel with others, we are safe, energized, encouraged, and inspired to accomplish whatever goal is set ahead of us. There is only so much you can do alone, but with others you can achieve the seemingly impossible.

4. Your mind is much more powerful than you think.

Henry Ford says, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't -- you're right."

On the first day of the hike, I overpacked my bag, which ended up in a gradual and painful knee strain. So, by the time we were getting back to the campsite, I could barely walk, or so I thought. Throughout the night, my mind kept on telling me that I was done, and that I couldn't hike anymore. (Mind you, I was in some serious pain and my knee began to swell.) All I could think about was the fact that if the second day was going to be as difficult as the first, I definitely would not be able to hike.

By the next morning, I had fully convinced myself that I couldn't hike and all I had to do was inform the hiking guides that I was done. After notifying them, one of the guides said, "Oh, I think you can hike, just lighten your bag and let's go." I was shocked by his response and I was honestly hoping to be let off the hook, but that was not the case. After helping me repack my bag, he then asked me, "Do you think you can take five steps?" I took the steps and replied, "Yes." He then said, "If you can take five steps, you can take ten, and if you can take ten, you can take fifty. As much as this hike is physical, it is extremely mental, and you have to take control of your mind and let your body follow."

After that, I was off with a new perspective. As we began, I knew that the only way I was going to be able to finish the hike, was if I stayed positive and optimistic. Honestly, the results were shocking; the more I stayed positive, the better I felt, both physically and mentally. The pain in my knee didn't feel as bad, and I actually had a lot of fun (probably more than I did on the first day). From time to time, I felt the negative thoughts trying to pull me off track, but through resolve and positive perseverance, I was able to complete the hike (which I came to find out was actually longer than the previous day).

What I came to learn is that the quality of your life can be no greater than the quality of your thoughts. When my mind told me I couldn't hike, I believed it, and when my mind told me I could hike, I also believed it and I did. Looking back, I realized the only factor that changed in the whole situation was my mindset. I shifted my mindset from, "I can't" to "I can." As the principle of energy states, "Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transferred and transformed"; so does the same principle apply to your mind. You may not be able to destroy negative thoughts or pessimism, but what you can do is shift and transform those thoughts into positivity and optimism, because your mind is much more powerful than you think.

Quote References Used:

Goodreads.com. 2022. A quote by Henry Ford. [online] Available at: <https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/978-whether-you-think-you-can-or-you-think-you-can-t--you-re>

Education.nationalgeographic.org. 2022. [online] Available at: <https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/energy-transfers-and-transformations>