The funny thing is, the more I narrowed my head space to these matters; the less I grew as an adviser. However I have been fortunate to be in a position to befriend, observe and learn from many wise and successful people who have taught me the importance of clearing your head and allocating time to things that increase your wider understanding of people.
Notwithstanding their collective wisdom, it took me a long time to be brave enough to break from this well worn path. So 10 years ago I started to ride a bike. Although my immediate goals at the time were to lose weight and get fitter, the empowering impact on my life has been immense. It has reinforced that energy, enthusiasm and passion are the foundations upon which the great things in life are based. I have fond memories of being very reluctant at the outset of riding up a “hill” at Sandon Point as it was too hard.
Move forward 10 years and I am just back from my annual 3 week cycling adventure in the Dolomites, Italian and Austrian Alps. During this adventure we climbed over 30,000m and daily rode above the 2000m snow and tree line in some of the most beautiful mountain areas one can hope to visit and experience. These daily climbs regularly take in excess of 1.5 hrs to complete which gives you a lot of time to observe people, think and work through many issues and, of course think about that “hill” at Sandon Point.
Meeting and observing how people live and the values that underpin the paths they follow are so important in building your empathy for other people’s views and opinions. You can learn so much from others and this coupled with a strong technical knowledge provide you with the necessary qualities to be relevant to those you seek to help.
So clearing the head is just so important to every facet of life. Keep pedalling!