One of the most important aspects of the work I do with people is talking with them about effective or meaningful use of time; providing them with encouragement to consider ways in which they can use their time differently and to be of overall greater value to them. What they decide to fill their time with is clearly a very personal decision; they may have a list of (potential) interests that others wouldn't have the slightest interest in but that matters little.
How someone chooses to fill their time in a meaningful way is all about personal decisions and interests.
One of the ways I choose to make 'meaningful' use of my time is mountain walking/running. For me being in the mountains makes me feel energised, 'in touch' with the world.
Running up a hill and getting out of breath, feeling my legs burning causes a sense of exhilaration.
Experiencing the silence that can often be found in remote places but which is an increasingly unusual feeling in the world we live is somehow powerful.
What represents a meaningful use of time to one person can be completely different to how another person sees it; mountain walking/running is not how everyone would choose to spend their time.
So for me walking or running in the mountains allows me to feel energised though it also requires a good deal of effective goal-setting; which route am I going to follow today, how many mountains can I reach the summit of in the time I have, how will the weather impact on these plans? Poor goal-setting in the mountains can mean genuine risk or peril.
...so I had decided on a route which I had never previously run or walked, but one which I had wanted to do for some time. I knew I was capable of running / walking the distance and had the correct kit. I checked the weather forecast and let the relevant people know where I intended going.
When I arrived at the start of my run I could see that the weather at the summit of my route looked partially cloudy but that at lower levels, it was clear with patches of sunlight lighting the fells. As I set off I could see that the cloud at higher levels was building, becoming increasingly dense. As I climbed I quite quickly ran into mist and low cloud, the wind increased. It became harder to find the path in spite of there being numerous cairns along the way. My original goal was to reach the summit, continue along a ridge to the next summit then consider my options - two more mountains and descend, or descend immediately after the second mountain.
I wasn't far from the summit when the weather rapidly changed for the worse - the wind was gusting to around 70mph, the visibility dropped to around 50m and it started to rain heavily. I was perhaps 500m from the summit but couldn't see it; I looked at my map again and again but couldn't be confident of which direction I needed to go in and knew that there were dangerous cliffs nearby. I desperately wanted to reach the summit but would have been taking a huge risk. Having said that I knew that if I didn't reach the summit it may be a while before I would have the opportunity to return.
And I didn't want to 'fail' in achieving the goal I had set for myself...
Setting goals is vital, making sure that they are realistic equally so. However there is also a skill is being able to amend goals when circumstances change. To ensure that they remain realistic. To appreciate that there will be other opportunities.
As I commented on someone else's blog recently, often the amendments you make to goals along the way are sometimes as rewarding as achieving them.
Sometimes knowing when to change tack is the real skill.
Sometimes changing your goal is the bravest thing to do.
Needless to say I chose not to find the summit in the fog but descended and climbed a lower mountain on the other side of the valley....there will always be another opportunity if you persevere.
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