A few days ago, I had the opportunity to go on a hike with a small group of family and friends. It was the first time for all of us to hike in the specific area we visited that day. My previous experience hiking in a different place presented dry land with spacious pavement and the only main struggle I went through was for my legs to endure a steep hill. Had I known this new experience would’ve been as muddy, steep, narrow and deep in the forest as it was, I would have prepared myself a bit more. (My no-common-sense self should've done more research of the trail.) Throughout the process of experiencing this new adventure, I gained a good amount of important lessons and traits as mental reflections swam through my mind during the hike.
1. Team work & 2. Positivity
Hiking is (and should usually be) a group activity. (The film 127 Hours has done justice on giving me a fear of venturing alone!) When we're alone, many of us like to go at our own pace and do things our own way. This can be a good thing for practicing independence, but when you're with a group the pace will go a completely different way and that's okay, too.
Hiking with a group will teach you how to work and get along with others in order to fulfill the common goal–reaching the destination. Some time, you may even learn you aren't always as invincible as you thought and need to be more cautious. You'll learn how to adjust to and compromise with different paces, decisions of which way to go and various methods of which steps to take. As team work involves communicating with one another, helping each other, solving problems together and being patient, hiking possesses all of these habits as well.
3. Patience
As I mentioned earlier, hiking with a group teaches you how to be patient from willing to wait for the entire group to catch up with each other, rather than going off on your own (because that's a dangerous sign of no communication which we'll talk about too). Even when you think you're almost at the end of the hike for that beautiful view, then find out you have a much longer way to go and not get upset about it, your patience grows too.
4. Perseverance & 5. Resilience
Perseverance and resilience go together well because when you persevere, you become resilient! Despite the hardships you encounter throughout the hike, you keep pushing through to get to the destination. When you get to that point of the hike when it gets too tough or when your legs and are screaming, but still endure it, your perseverance gets even stronger.
It's just the same when you work out for that extra rep you hadn't done before or play a part of a piece you didn't know how to play but still did until you improved. Even though the challenges may be no fun and hurt like crazy, the thing that keeps you going is knowing what will be at the end of the journey and knowing you won't let anything stop you from getting there!
6. Flexibility
When you hike, you go through a series of different terrain. You can go through a clean and paved path at one point, then arrive at path that requires you to hold onto plants around you to get ahead. You can be walking somewhere dry then end up going through a steep, narrow and muddy path. Whichever land or situation you come across, you learn to deal with it in order to get to your destination and that builds your ability to adapt to different situations and go with the flow, building your flexibility skills!
7. Rewards require hard work.
There may have been those moments when you got lucky and won a prize unexpectedly or you were blessed enough to have someone save the day when you needed it, but other than that, hiking never fails to teach you about needing to work hard before getting what you want. Whether it's that gorgeous view you want to show all your friends on Snapchat or taking a dip in that hidden waterfall; anything that is extra beautiful, special or out of the ordinary requires some kind of hard work before you get to it.
8. Preparation
From being an amateur hiker, there were many things I wish I had brought with me on the hike. I guess my excitement got a hold of me before I was able to double check if I had every essential and what was to come ahead on the trail (I know, how foolish of me)! There were moments when we wished we had brought more water or bug repellant. (Water is your best friend–remember that!) The more you hike, the more you know what to bring and do for the next time you venture out again. Preparation is a big part of your learning experience while hiking. And if you were already well prepared, now you know which things you'll always need!
But most of all, you learn how to have fun in the midst of all the challenging obstacles. You learn how to enjoy the journey despite the hardships! That's what life is after all, right?
