Sunday, January 6, 2008

It's all in the decision.... once it is taken, the rest follows

DOING SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY IS MUCH SIMPLER THAN YOU THINK.....
When you want to do something different in your life or if you want to do something extraordinary, it's actually much simpler than you think! All you need to do is to decide. There is great power in the act of making the decision. Time and again, I have found that if I am willing to make a decision, things actually will fall into place.

CLIMBING MOUNT KINABALU EAST
Mount Kinabalu East is a serious mountain climb where you have to use ropes and ladders to make the climb. The trail follows the same West trail (where most people make their climb) until you trek past Gunting Lagadan and almost hit the ropes. That's when you turn right and trek down past some waterways and ravines. Then it is a straight-up climb which stretches for almost 2,000 feet.

NEVER THOUGHT I COULD DO IT
Although I love adventure, I am not an out-and-out Adventurer. When the suggestion of climbing Mount Kinabalu East came to me, I dismissed the thought thinking it was crazy for me to consider it. Still, the thought won't go away and it became a small obsession for me. "What if I trained hard for the climb; what if I did regular work-outs to build my strength; what if I focussed on getting assistance on rock-climbing techniques" were some of the thoughts that stayed. The "What ifs" came fast and frequent. if I had dwelled on the what ifs, I would probably have never climbed Mount Kinabalu East.

JUST MAKE UP THE MIND.....
As with every other major undertaking I have taken on in my life, I knew I had to just make a decision. And that's what I did!!! I told everyone I knew that I was going to climb Mount Kinabalu East. It was a blind and crazy decision and that's how it was done. I JUST MADE THE DECISION!

EVERYTHING ELSE FOLLOWS THE DECISION
Everything else did follow the decision and the plans started taking form and format. Even though the planned trip was 6 months away, I started moving. The plans, the preparation, the training, the focus, the determination all came together. The excitement soon followed and although there were plenty of doubts, there was no turning back

AND THERE WILL BE DOUBTS.....
Everytime, we make a decision to do something that seems somewhat crazy, there will be plenty of doubts that will follow us. I had my fair share of doubts but because there was now also purpose in the whole scheme of things, every doubt I had was quickly dealth with. As the vision of reaching Mount Kinabalu East grew stronger, the resolve and the dedication grew bigger.

THAT'S WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT.... WILLINGNESS TO PAY THE PRICE FOR EXCELLENCE
Success is all about making clear commitments and then when the decision has been made, we should be willig to pay the price required for that success. Those of you who have made that decision to climb Mount Kinabalu with me will understand what I am talking about (after the climb has been made). I have no doubts that all of you will make the climb successfully!!! The lessons for life that we will learn will help fortify us for the future. WE will learn that with faith, hope, courage and resolve, we will be able to tackle most things that come our way.