Would you attempt Everest on your own?

I had two New Years resolutions in 2018…they’re not normally my thang but I thought I’d jump on the band wagon this year.

So far, so good with both resolutions 👍👍

The first one was to meditate more.  Admittedly there was a couple of months where it was intermittent but generally it’s a permanent fixture.

The second was to get more sleep.  It’s quite easy for me to miss out on sleep…I have early clients which means my alarm goes off at 4.40am most days.  Through some experimentation, I’ve worked out that I need to be in bed by 9pm to be fully operational the next day.

I’ll get in bed for 9/9.15am, read a book for around 30 minutes and aim to be away with the fairies by 9.30/9.45pm.


Recently I’ve been reading non-fictions books in bed…
 

I started reading Shantaram a few months ago but I’ve had to take a break.  I’m pretty sure it’s the longest book in the world (EDIT – Googled it.  The longest book is actually called ‘Cyrus the Great’ and is 13,000 pages long).

Anyhoo…During my hiatus from Shantaram I’m reading ‘Into Thin Air’ which is a true story about a tragedy that takes place on Everest (they made a movie about it with Jake Gyllenhaal).  It’s a good read – I recommend it.

I always knew climbing Everest a major effort but I didn’t really understand the scale of the operation until I read the book.

You can’t just turn up and walk to the top (surprisingly).

👉 There’s a group of sherpas to provide support and carry your equipment.

👉 There’s the other people in your climbing team who are in it with you providing social support.

👉 And of course there’s a Team Leader who’s coordinating the effort and deciding the safest way up the mountain.

Climbing Everest is not a solo effort.  If you rock up to the bottom expecting to hike up to the summit, you’ll almost definitely fail.

Last night, as I turned my light off (at 9.30pm exactly) it struck me that this is incredibly similar to a weight loss journey (yes, I do love an analogy).

👉 The sherpas are like your family, partner and friends…you need them to give you support along the way.  Without their support it’s a non-starter.

👉 The climbing team are the people working towards the same goal as you…people on the same journey who understand your struggles.

👉 And the Team Leader is your trainer/coach/nutritionist who’s telling you how to train and what to eat to get to your end goal as safely and efficiently as possible.

Without social support from those around you, the accountability from working in a group and the direction from a trusted outside source, you will struggle to reach your goal.


My advice – don’t go trying to climb Everest on your own. 

Do you want to feel your strongest, leanest best?  The New Year Challenge starts on Monday the 14th of January