Just A Little Help….
I spent an evening with Sir Ranulph Fiennes on Tuesday at the Portsmouth Guildhall. I had bought the tickets quite a while ago and it didn’t disappoint. What I thought was a solo ticket turned out to be a pair and I had completely missed the chance to talk e a plus one. In hind sight it was a good thing as the seats were tight.
For those that don’t know who Sir Ranulph Fiennes is he is one of the most successful explorers of our time. From serving 2 years with the S.A.S, to being attached to the Omani Army his early career was driven by an ambition to command hi fathers regiment. Sadly he didn’t quite have the grades to attend the right schools or Sandhurst meaning that dream was unobtainable.
On finding love and with a rare set of skills it became apparent that normal just wasn’t going to cut it. His wife hatched the plan that they would start embarking on breaking world records. The first world record attempt was to travel the Nile in hovercrafts. 4000 miles and through 2 wars this was the start of some truly inspirational achievements. All done without being paid or paying anyone else for work , help or equipment.
Some of you may remember the him making it to both the north and south poles. His major motivation was to beat the Norwegians to such goals and he managed it. His biggest achievement came when he circumnavigated the world travelling through both poles. This expedition took 7 years to plan and 3 years to complete. Cost him a few fingers and a few toes and also gave a huge amount of scientific data on how to function while starving. One of his team being a scientist who specialised in human performance while starving.
The talk was excellent and although now 79 Sir Ranulph was still witty and charming and his comedic timing brilliant. Very much of the old school with borderline political incorrectness it was very much to my taste.
The feats that Sir Ranulph managed were quite staggering and I didn’t even include climbing Mount Everest. He attempted it 3 times failing once for due to a heart attack, the second time to fatigue but completed on his third attempt. He was also asked by on of his team if he would join him for a holiday. His friend had 7 days of from his Doctors job and decided he would do a marathon a day but each marathon would be on a different continent. I must add that Sir Ranulph had a heart attack I think 3 weeks before the event. Truely quite remarkable what the body can achieve and recover from.
The biggest take aways for me were just how mentally tough you need to be to go after any of your dreams. That can be exploring the world or getting back in shape. The pain, albeit relative, of attempting these very tough journeys is one that requires commitment and consistency to over come. Sir Ranulph did say that he thought many times about quitting. He wasn’t a super hero or anything special. However throughout these epic adventures he said he had his dead father and grandfather beside him. And every step of the way he thought about not letting them down and being the first to quit. A somewhat interesting analogy for persevering but a true reflection of the mindset required to dig deep and keep going.
The final takeaway that really hit home was his support team. He was locked down for 8 months a couple of times while in the arctic and antarctic. At a time with no satellites or mobile phones the only communications were over the HF Radio and being able to tune into BBC World for 2mins a day. His wife spent the whole expedition on the other end of the radio. Her job to coordinate the logistics of this huge undertaking and provide radio updates as often as the weather allowed. This adventure would have all but been impossible without that support.
When we look at getting fit again, or losing weight we tend to focus on the fitness and nutrition elements. The rate of success when we start working towards achieving our fitness goals is greatly improved when we have the support of others. A partner, friend or colleague working with us to keep us on the right track. Avoiding those crevices along the way that just open up and swallow our momentum. Also having professionals who can guide you and advise you on the most effective routes will make the journey one that has small milestones of success all the way along to maintain motivation and help keep you consistent.
So whether its climbing mountains or just climbing your own personal Everest with the right support the sky really is the limit.