The story of how climbing Mt Kilimanjaro completely transformed my life
Foreword: I personally believe we are all able to extract valuable lessons from even the simplest experiences in life, which can be useful to us, as well as others around us, if we are willing to share our stories. I am honored to be able to share yet another one of my experiences that allowed me to develop emotionally, physically and mentally, and has ultimately helped me to progress from just existing, to really living.
If you wait for the company or approval of others, you may wait forever
For as long as I can remember, it has been a dream to climb Mt Kilimanjaro. Years passed by because either I was too young, or I didn’t have anyone to go with, or I didn’t have time off from studying or work. But really, years passed by because I didn’t want this badly enough, and because I accepted the excuses that people told me and that I told myself about not having the money, company or time.
At the beginning of 2017, I finally realized that if I don’t take it upon myself to book the tour expedition date, I may never get to accomplish my dream. So, without another day of waiting, I set the date for August that year, and made sure that every decision I made from that day on would get me closer to my dream.
Love yourself enough to lead a healthy, active and balanced lifestyle
Obviously, it wasn’t as easy as just deciding I wanted to climb a mountain one day and then flying off to start the next day! But with the date for my expedition set, it was now time for me to get physically and mentally prepared. Luckily for me, I’ve always known what I need to do to be healthy and fit because my father taught me the basics. However, my problem was that I could never stick to it – fitness and health was always just a phase for me, I never adopted it as a lifestyle.
Without realizing it at the time, setting the date to climb Kilimanjaro actually served as a secondary motivator to get myself back into a fit and healthy state. In my previous attempts to get in shape, I always gave up or simply stopped trying because I didn’t have a set goal or ‘due date’ to work towards. But then, after just four months of consistent training and clean eating, I was looking and feeling the best I have felt in my whole life!
Ever since then, I’ve been committed to a balanced lifestyle. Take it from me, someone who was previously overweight and unhealthy, once you experience the benefits of being active and eating well, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner, and you’ll never want to go back.
As strange as it sounds, you don’t realise how big of a difference being healthy actually makes in your life becasue you don’t know the possibility of how much greater you can feel. My dad shared a very fitting analogy with me that demonstrates this very well, which I would like to share with you. He said that for some people who have never worn glasses because their eyesight is “okay” and they can see what they need to see and do what they need to do. However, it is only when they get their eyes tested, and receive glasses specifically made for them, do they realise how much clearer everything can be and what they were missing out on before.
Keep on going, because you may just be one more step away from the top
Fast forward another three months, and I was just a few hours away from realizing my dream of standing on the roof of Africa. Our wake-up call for the summit attempt came a few minutes before midnight. It was below freezing temperatures, I hadn’t showered for four days and all I wanted to do was keep sleeping.
Originally (many years ago when there was a lot more snow on the way), the reason that the summit attempt started around midnight was related to concerns of the snow melting and becoming a safety hazard for trekkers. However, nowadays, the reason is primarily for mental preparation. Due to the physical exhaustion experienced on the summit day, the theory is that if climbers were able to see the path to the top being so distant and steep, they would be more likely to just give in to their exhaustion without even trying to continue to the summit.
Very often we underestimate our ability when we see what it takes to achieve our dreams. However, it is only when we are pushed toward the limit of our comfort zone do we realize what we are actually capable of and grow further!
What many guides found was that if they started the summit attempt in the dark, the climbers had no way of seeing how much further they had to go, or how difficult the trek ahead was; all their focus was on the next few meters in front of them, which actually served as an advantage and allowed more individuals to reach the summit because they weren’t able to doubt themselves. This could be why they say that doubt or fear kills more dreams than failure ever will…
The view is always worth the climb. Always.
So, through the exhaustion from the previous 5 days of hiking, and the frustration now of walking up a slope steeper than 45-degrees on the loose gravel called screed (which meant every two steps you take forward, you slide one step back), I just kept putting one foot in front of the other as it eventually became like a meditation for me. With the positive and reassuring words of encouragement from the guides that I was almost there, stopping occasionally only to sip an energy drink or munch on my protein bar. I continued this way for six hours before everything I was feeling faded away; all the aches, all the tiredness and all the years of waiting to reach the summit.
No, I wasn’t dead… on the contrary, I had never felt more alive as I saw the most spectacular sunrise at the highest point of Africa.
Why settle for mediocre when you can have masterful?
Not only was I fortunate enough to experience five vastly different ecosystems in as many days, my decision and journey to climb Mount Kilimanjaro taught me important lessons to grow and transform my mundane existence into a truly magical life.
My message to all the readers is that, whatever your ‘mountain’ in life is (climbing Kilimanjaro, getting a new degree or completing your first marathon), I hope you have the emotional, physical and mental strength to reach the summit, because, it’s safe to say, the most difficult six hours of that climb were also the most rewarding.
For those of you who are also interested in the actual trek itself, watch this space for the follow-up post, Reaching The Summit – Everything You Need To Know. I will share all the important details including, the ecosystems you can encounter, what to expect on each day, and what it takes to actually make it to the top.
Bye for now!
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