LISTEN TO PODCAST EPISODE HERE -> https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/sgmElhSNvwb
In today’s episode of the Inspiration2Grow podcast, I am going to challenge you to choose your ‘Mount Everest’ and conquer it.
I make my husband laugh all the time with my quirky ideas and plans. All the things I have wanted to do during our almost 30 years together would fill several pages.
The problem will my huge, audacious plans was not only the scope but also the fact that I rarely ever followed through with them. So, he would humour me by saying, “Sure, that’s great. Good luck with that.” Well meaning, of course, but knowing I would not likely last more than a few weeks if that.
Having been married so long now, it is not easy to surprise each other with our behaviour. However, I did manage to truly shock him last summer when I told him out of the blue one day that I was going to train for a “Mount Everest Challenge”.
As usual, I was on the couch scrolling Facebook when I stumbled across a post from a local chiropractor. He had helped me recover from a bout of sciatica early that year and I knew from the friendly chats we had during his treatments and the photos lining the walls of his office that he took part in triathlons. I proudly divulged that my husband was an accomplished Ironman, so we had a common topic to discuss at each adjustment.
It was summer of 2021 when Covid was still having a widespread effect on events of any size. So, unfortunately, my chiropractor’s high hopes and plans to participate in his first ever Iron competition were crushed. This led him to organize an event which was open to anyone who felt the need to take on a challenge.
The timing was perfect for me. I needed something to get me moving, a real challenge. The beauty of this rather informal event was that YOU had to devise your own “Mount Everest Challenge”. You had to push yourself to do something – big or small – it didn’t matter. The only criteria was that you felt you had accomplished …
My dream had always been to take part in a triathlon but certain physical injuries were causing aches and pains keeping me sidelined and frustrated with my own body for giving out on me when I wanted to be far more active than I felt I could be. As soon as I saw the post about the “Mount Everest Challenge”, I knew this was my chance to prove to myself – no one else – that I could do it.
So, the training began. I only had two weeks to get myself in shape for the mini triathlon I set my sights on. All the necessary equipment got dusted off even the swim cap my husband had worn in his Ironman race back in 2014. Yes, I keep everything and my hubby thinks I’m a bit of a hoarder.
Very nervous that my body wouldn’t cooperate, I modified my training to suit my physical limitations. On the big day, I planned on starting with a 6.5 km fast hike, followed by a 20 km bike ride and ending with a 1 km swim. Admittedly, I am a rebel and like to do things ‘my way’ but reversing the order just seemed more suitable for my body and in the height of summer, who doesn’t want to finish in the water?
My husband immediately took on the role of my trainer and was stoked to accompany me on this journey. He also acted as my official photographer as I needed to send documented proof of my challenge in order to receive a coveted medal of completion. Was it all about the medal for me? Maybe, a little. But the sheer fact that I could keep up with the daily training and follow through with the plan were the real awards for me personally.
So, the big day arrived. The conditions were spectacular for my mini triathlon. The crew – hubby and Charlotte, our Jack Russel Terrier – were ready to support me. And off we went. Hiking, biking and swimming. What an amazing feeling to have: committed to the challenge, training every day, following through with each aspect I had planned to do and completing it. It was only ME vs. ME.
I was so thrilled with myself to have kept my promise. I proudly posted about it, not to brag about my accomplishment but to encourage and hopefully motivate others to ‘climb their Mount Everest’. The response was amazing and I could tell my people’s comments that deep inside they would like to challenge themselves as well.
This brings me to the actual point of this article. It only took me 700 words to get here 😊
Everyone needs their own personal Mount Everest to climb. We all need big, scary goals to keep our lives interesting. We need to get outside of our far too comfy comfort zone and draw on our immense potential that we all possess.
Too many of us are complacent when it comes to our dreams.
Have you ever said, “One day I will …”
Well, I can assure you that ‘one day’ is not going to be on any calendar. ‘One day’ will never come unless you make it happen.
There’s a quote I stumbled upon the other day that went like this, “Our biggest regrets are not for the things we have done but for the things we haven’t,” by Chad Michael Murray
Many people regret not going after their dreams when they had the chance. We will not be able to turn back the clock. Therefore, we have to create our own opportunities before it’s too late.
So, I encourage you to find your “Mount Everest” and begin to climb it. And let me be clear… it doesn’t have to be physical exertion.
It could be:
· That book you have always wanted to write,
· That language you have wanted to learn,
· That hobby you’ve wanted to take up,
· The new business you’ve dreamed of starting.
My next Mount Everest Challenge is biking the Tour de France at home in our basement on my stationary bike! Crazy, right? To date, I have put 391 miles out of the entire length of 2200 miles behind me. Every day, I aim to bike a certain distance and I keep track of my progress. Little by little I inch my way along the imagined route. For me, just like it is for the well-trained ultra-athletes each summer who participate in their gruelling race, it is a mental as well as a physical challenge.
The challenge you choose for yourself can be smaller or larger in scope. It should take you outside your comfort zone and challenge you to the extent you choose to be challenged.
Sometimes, the true challenge is addressing/recognizing your limiting beliefs around something you’ve wanted to do but haven’t yet because your mind told you it was impossible.
Brian Tracy stated it so well in a nutshell, “You begin to fly when you let go of self-limiting beliefs and allow your mind and aspirations to rise to greater heights.”
So, are you going to rise?
Limiting beliefs will hold us back from achieving greatness.
Limiting beliefs will keep us small and comfortable in our predictable life.
Limiting beliefs will become the truths we tell ourselves.
Limiting beliefs will not help us reach our fullest potential.
Limiting beliefs will not allow us to rise above the rest.
These beliefs stand in our way and become our truths. Overcoming these self-limiting beliefs and self-imposed limitations is one of the hardest things we, as humans, need to do in order to discover our full potential.
It’s time to confront them head on. It’s time to squash/crush them proving to yourself that you can, indeed, overcome them. It’s your time to rise above what you think you can/can’t do and re-write your story. Your only competition is your mind. It comes down to YOU vs. YOU.
Are you ready to face your fiercest competitor? Namely, your mind.
So, when will your Mount Everest Challenge take place?
In case you haven’t heard it yet today, let me be the first to tell you…
You are the most amazing human and you are capable of achieving great things. I believe in you. Now, go out there and show the world what you are truly made of.
I hope to have inspired you to grow with today’s episode.
Til next time,
Lisa
xoxo
