Kilimanjaro: Grow Your Grit!

Any goal worth pursuing will require pressing on when you feel like giving up. Yet it's by testing our limits that we expand them. I hope my latest blog inspired by my climb up Mt Kilimanjaro will inspire you to dream a little bigger & dig a little deeper.

When our guide came by our tent shortly after 3 AM to wake us up to begin the climb up Mt Kilimanjaro I’d already been awake for some time. The sleeping bags we’d rented for our week hiking to the rooftop of Africa weren’t quite up to the sub-zero temperatures so despite the 4 layers of clothing, I was still cold.

At least we’d warm up hiking. Or so I thought. Within half an hour most of us felt like our fingers were going to fall off from frost-bite and one of the kids (who shall remain nameless) was crying. Within another half hour one of my other children had thrown up the porridge he’d eaten before setting out. Already the thin air was taking its toll. To say that it wasn’t the best of starts was an understatement.

En route to base-camp.

By 6 AM the sun was making its way above the horizon, warming our fingers with it. Alleluia. But by now I was starting to feel pretty nauseous myself and felt a headache settling in. Most of us did. We stopped for breaks every 10 minutes or so but as we climbed higher, ten minutes began to feel like an awful long time.

The sun rises as we hike up Kilimanjaro.

By 10 AM, over six hours into our hike, the summit seemed even further away as each step became more and more grueling. By now my nausea had reached a new level and I took my turn to vomit. The guides said I’d feel better after that. I’m not sure I did. When we’d stop for a break I found myself collapsing on to the rocks, closing my eyes and taking a nano-nap. The altitude was also taking its toll my other children. There were a few tears. “This is so hard,” said my daughter Maddy as we stared toward the summit, “I’m so disappointed in myself I’m finding it tough to keep going.”

But keep going she did. We all did. One foot in front of the other, taking regular breaks, our guides reminding us to stay hydrated.

Then, about 9 hours after starting out we arrived at the top. I would have cried but truth be told, I was too exhausted. We sat and lay on the rocks then mustered up enough energy to take the obligatory photos before heading back down.

Matthew (13 yrs) at the summit (I did the same!)

There are a lot of lessons to draw from our adventure to the rooftop of Africa. As I sit here staring out over the vast African grasslands, the one that stands out most for me is this:

The importance of ‘grit’ – simply pressing on when you feel like giving up (or in our case, every bone in your body is weary to the core!)

Whether its climbing a mountain, raising kids, finishing studies, building a business or leading a team or pursuing any goal worth achieving – sometimes you just have to roll your sleeves up, dig deep and do the hard yards even when you don’t feel like it.

Unfortunately there’s a lot of people who’ve bought into the false belief that there’s an easier way. Ever since The Secret swept the world about a decade ago people have been conned into believing that if you think really positively about things, you’ll manifest what you want with little effort on your part.

Not true.

That’s not to deny the power of the mind in attracting the opportunities, relationships, health and wealth you want. Rather it’s about doing your part to bring what you want into reality.

To continue reading how to Grow Your Grit, please visit my blog post here.