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Is Your “Reason Why” Do Or Die? by Victor Grosser

A tent is the worst place imaginable to get sick. In the middle of winter surrounded by wilderness, and miles from the nearest road.

I couldn’t believe it was happening to me as I lay comatose in my sleeping bag experiencing feverish hallucinations and mumbling to my skiing buddy about sandwiches and potato chips.

We were on a multi-day cross country ski trip. And at that time I was sorely tempted to bail on everything and head out of there. The way back to the truck was a mere 2 1/2 miles by skis and 14 miles by snowmobile through the wilderness. Child’s play compared to what lay ahead of us in the coming days.

Ahead was many more miles of backbreaking skiing through the backcountry. Breaking trail over the top of a 7 foot snowpack through snow so deep that without skis a booted leg sunk to the thigh in the powder.

There was driving force inside keeping me going. A reason to succeed that meant a tremendous amount to both of us.

Another full day of skiing lay ahead and at the end was a backcountry Nirvana. A series of thermal hot springs next to a waterfall. A place we could rest our weary bones in a steaming bubbling pool. A veritable heaven on earth to us considering our condition and stark white surroundings.

And it was this anticipation that enabled me to get up the next day and ski deeper into the backcountry instead of turning tail and running back to civilization.

This recent experience inspired me to share with you a few steps to ensure success in your own life when the going gets tough.

Use these 5 ideas to overcome your obstacles and find a way where there was none before.

1) The mind is by far your most powerful asset.

Have you heard of the “Ice Man”? His name is Wim Hof and he’s renowned for subjecting his body to extreme cold temperatures. Not only surviving but thriving.

He’s been documented for several years now doing publicity stunts where he swims BELOW the ice on frozen lakes wearing nothing but goggles and a speedo.

He is able to sit nearly naked in a tub of ice for hours on end without experiencing frostbite or worse- death.

Mr. Hof uses his mind to raise his own body temperature. Practicing an ancient Himalayan meditation called “Tummo,” or Inner Fire. He uses his mind to generate increased heat from within his own body.

He must have a polar bear in his family tree somewhere.

2) Identify what you want to accomplish.

In my case the desired result was simple. Get to the hotsprings and soak.

What is it that YOU want to do? It may be related to a personal goal, a business goal, travel, weight loss, or income generation.

But be sure you will know when you’ve arrived. And then most importantly define the driving force behind why you are doing this.

It must be incredibly powerful and meaningful to you, you’ll encounter resistance on your journey and a strong reason why will buoy you up along the way.

Simply setting a goal to lose 20 pounds is not enough. How will your life be different when you’ve gotten there? How will you feel? What will you be able to do that you can’t do now? What will you have learned on your journey?

In my case I knew that getting to these hot springs meant several things. We were the only humans in the backcountry for miles and miles. I knew that getting to the springs meant I’d be able to sit in the hot water surrounded by a frozen winterscape and cook dinner with my camp stove on a rock ledge by the pool.

My skiing partner carried in cans of beer which we planned on cramming into the abundant piles of snow around the hot pool.

I visualized all of this. It was the prime motivator. A reason to keep going. Something important to me. Even now I’m smiling about the whole thing. It was totally worth it.

3) There will be times you want to throw in the towel and quit.

Anything worth having takes focused effort. Sometimes it’s a struggle to make progress. It’s then that your reason why must be strong enough to weather the storm. It’s what will carry you through and prevent anything including YOURSELF from stopping the process.

When you feel like quitting stop and remember your awesome reason why. Help ensure your success by telling friends and family about your plans. Knowing others are expecting you to succeed will help quiet the inner demons when the going gets rough.

4) You want to become a survivor.

This should become a lifestyle for you. Not a one-off story of success but something you can put to use anytime you want to accomplish something incredibly important to you.

Become someone who forges ahead in the toughest of circumstances.

5) Things to consider before starting your journey:

Examine your driving forces and motivations. Take a long and hard look at those and ask yourself if they alone are sufficient.

Prestige and recognition are enough for some, but don’t rely on those alone. Public opinions are fickle and change with the weather. Choose a reason why that will remain solid. If you aren’t sure that your “why” is strong enough then find another.

If you are unable to find a truly compelling reason you are probably focusing on the wrong things. Abandon your original plan and find something that truly does fascinate and hold your attention.

Work on things that you’ll look back on with fond memories and a sense of accomplishment.

Intentionally force yourself into a corner, set hard and fast deadlines and stick to them. It will keep you on the path to success.

In my own example, the anticipation of relaxing tired muscles in the hotsprings while cooking dinner and consuming beer was more than enough to see me through the toughest parts of the trip.

What is your ” reason why”? What drives you onward each day? I can’t wait to hear what gets your mojo running. Brag about it and let us know in a comment on the blog!

Victor Grosser
Sans clothes in a backcountry jacuzzi.

24 replies on “Is Your “Reason Why” Do Or Die? by Victor Grosser”

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