A few years ago, I was nominated for a Training Program. One of the events involved climbing a rock about 50 Meters high. There were three paths for reaching the summit, each offering varied levels of difficulties. Fuelled by expectations of me by other team members, and to some extent my over-enthusiasm, I chose the most difficult path. After a brief training and basic instructions by the guide and trainer, the climb started. Since there were three paths, only three of us were allowed to climb at one time, while the rest of us were cheering and belting instructions from below to the climbers.
After climbing about 10 meters, the climb became very difficult and the slope was becoming a more negative slope. I stopped climbing. My heart was pumping like crazy causing a huge adrenaline rush. I was hugging the rock, very certain that if I leave, I would fall and break my limbs, even though I was secured by a harness. The only sound that I was able to hear was my own heartbeat. I looked sideways to see how the other climbers were faring and was disappointed to see that they were ahead of me. After what seemed to be an eternity, I started breathing more deeply and slowly (thanks to my Yoga practice) and focussed on what my guide was saying.
In short, he was saying that
1. I was doing well,
2. I should stop hugging the rock, and push myself away from the rock,
3. Look around for small wedges that I can reach out to,
4. Leave one hand, reach out to a wedge, and pull myself up
I followed these steps and soon reached my Hillary moment at the summit. The lessons that I learned are:
Work with your coach. They are there to help you remain accountable to your goals and are your cheerleaders who inspire you, even when you are struggling.
Push yourself away from the problem. This helps in seeing other perspectives and opportunities. Only when I pushed myself away from the rock and looked around, I could see the small wedges that helped pull myself forward. Here again, the role of the coach in helping me see the other perspectives was significant.
Let go to make progress. When hugging the rock with all four limbs, I was not able to move forward. Only when I left one hand and reached for a small wedge further away, I could move forward.
Choose your paths wisely and do not let others’ expectations of you decide your path.
Other’s paths and territories are different from your chosen path. So, do not let their progress define your achievements
What are your thoughts?
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