For the past two weeks, our 13-year-old granddaughter, Autumn, has been staying with us. She has come from the small town of Moose Creek, on the outskirts of Ottawa.
Autumn hasn’t been to Alberta since she was very young and didn’t remember the mountains, so, on Sunday, my wife and I took her to Banff.
She was amazed at what she saw, especially the mighty Mt. Rundle. She talked about how high it was at 2,948 metres and how hard it would be to climb. We compared its height to those of Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,895 metres) and Everest (8,848 metres).
Having climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in a time of 21 hours in 2013, I was able to describe to her some of the challenges one might face when climbing a mountain. I told her that, in the end, as with any daunting challenge, it all comes down to detailed preparation and “chunking it down” – looking at it in stages to be reached one at a time to reach your goal.
It’s the same in business. Sometimes, a task can appear to be so overwhelming that it’s hard to get started, but I believe almost anything is achievable if you take it one step at a time. Rather than be overwhelmed by the whole thing, look at it in doable “bite-sized” chunks. Set yourself a timeline and stick to it.
When I was running my 250 marathons in 2010, there were days when I was desperately tired, or I was coping with an injury or maybe the weather was against me. When you wake up to hear the rain pouring down or the paths are icy and slippery, it’s hard to get motivated. My strategy was to just tackle my day in 10-minute chunks, from putting on my running gear to having breakfast and taking those first few steps along the pathway.
It was the same when, in 2005, I cycled 10,014 km from Cairo to Cape Town. When I had finished, I wrote about it in my first book, How to Eat an Elephant, which is, of course, one bite at a time.
Another key element of tackling any task is preparation. If you are well-prepared and have all the tools required, you won’t waste time in the process. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for support and be open to delegating tasks, which can be done by others. It’s all a matter of staying calm, keeping control and having the right attitude.
Now, go climb your mountain!
© 2017 Martin Parnell
www.martinparnell.com
