Saturday, August 11, 2007
YES I DID IT!
When a friend told me (and blog) about her trip to Bukit Gasing a few months ago, it got me curious – maybe I should try to ‘conquer’ Bukit Gasing one of these days.Then I totally forgot about it.
Until a few weeks ago, I didn’t know what made me want to go to Bukit Gasing. So I asked my friend if she wanted to come along. And being a good a friend that she is, she entertained my whim.
We woke up early that morning – excitement continued since the night before. We thought we were early but as soon as we arrived there, lots of cars were already parked by the roadside. After finding ourselves a parking spot, we warmed up and got ready to start the hike!
Now, this isn’t going to be the usual article about what happened along my way whilst completing the trek. It’s going to be some sharing on how I felt the hike in relation to tips on how we can achieve our goals in life! Well, the experience definitely taught me a few pointers on achieving MY GOALS!
1. Be prepared for the journey
Always, always, always be prepared ahead of time. It’s a good thing if you can research about what you’re getting yourself into. If you’re well-prepared, you’ll reduce elements of surprise – hence reduce the possibility of getting stressed out while achieving your goal(s).
In this case, I asked my friend what to expect during the hike since she had been there before. Drink a lot of water! You do not want to be dehydrated in the jungle – there’s no stall selling bottled water in there. So I took her advice and kept myself busy drinking water along the way to Bukit Gasing.
2. Visualise yourself achieving the goal
It always seems intimidating when you’re starting on a journey, especially in an unfamiliar territory. What can help you along the way is the visualisation of you achieving your goal – the sweet taste of victory. Picture in your mind the vision of you receiving the scroll, the straight As in your SPM results slip or imagine how it feels like when your parents hug you on the day you get your dream job.
The visualisation really helped me in motivating myself completing the trek. I imagined how I would feel when I complete the hike. The feeling of accomplishment motivated me to take the next step and the next and the next.
3. Enjoy your surrounding and BREATHE
Whenever we set our minds to achieve something, we would often forget to take a look around us. Sometimes, we are too preoccupied with what we have in our hands that we forget all the little things that make us happy. We need balance in our life and “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Once in a while you need to go out and play football with your friends or go for a movie with your siblings.
While I was hiking, I enjoyed the greenery that was all around me. It’s not like I get to do this everyday. The breath of fresh air than the usual air-conditioned office in the morning – makes me appreciate every breathe that I take.
4. Think positive
Most importantly, you need to think positive while in the process of achieveing your goals. If there’s one thing that you can take control of in your life, it’s your mind. Let it have positive things to think of – and you will see that you are more flexible whenever you’re facing challenges or crossroads. Also, positive thinkers have this positive aura about them, that will help them along the way.
Of course, when you’re hiking, you could use your surrounding to inspire you to think about positive things. Let’s say you spot a butterfly, notice their beautiful colours. Or you could enjoy the different shapes of leaves all around you. If you have the stamina and a friend to do it with, then reminisce your old memories with him or her – maybe when your first time you got yourself into the jungle. Even if you’re alone, maybe an inspiring song on your MP3 player could help you to think positive.
5. Have a friend/cheerleader and be one
It’s always good to have a friend that has the same goals as you. That way, you will have somebody that can help motivate you as the both of you reaching towards your goal. Take for instance, you need to exercise more whether for your general health of to lose weight. It is always better to have a friend that wants to do the same. He/She can motivate you to go out brisk-walking or make better choice during lunch. Having a buddy will push you to reach your common goal. And what’s better, is when you yourself be the one who cheers your buddy in achieving your goals. You’ll be inspired to do more.
My friend really helped me that day. Whenever I ran out of energy, she would cheer me. And that got me up and going again. So, I returned her favour and cheer her whenever she felt like giving up. The thing about Bukit Gasing is, you yourself must complete the trail. Therefore a supporting voice with you would always help you cross the finishing line.
6. Take one step at a time
We always set big goals in our lives. Whether it’s in high school, in university or in your workplace, you can’t help but to set big goals to achieve. When we set our eyes on the big goals, it can be overwhelming that we often forget that there are smaller steps that you need to conquer one by one before you get the prize. The steps might be smaller, but it will surely help you achieve your goal.
The trail at Bukit Gasing started fairly easy, until I came across the steep trail that went up about 40 – 50 feet in front of you. Overwhelming as it was, I slowly conquered the steps one at a time. I didn’t want to get injured or anything, so I had to carefully place my foot one after the other until I reached the top. Once I got the hang of it, it came pretty easily and I managed to hike the trail right to the end.
Once I finished the walk, I felt a sense of satisfaction. And it is the same feeling as what you will feel when you achieve anything in your life.
YES, I DID IT!
Labels: Ready Set Goal
TekadMon at 11:01 pm
