Stay on Offense Climb Mountains

Attacking Adversity

Go Hiking! You Are Stronger Than You Think

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A friend introduced me to hiking. She and her boyfriend took me up a mountain called Mt Dickerman. I was somewhere in my late forties I think. Remember not thinking I could get up the mountain. I was pretty heavy back then.

However, with determination and grit I made it to the top and ever since have been hitting those mountains every week seven months of the year.

Body vs Mind

The fact is you are stronger than you think. Your body will tell you that you are done, but the fact is you have twenty times more left in you. Your body is just confused and you have to let your mind control it.

Navy Seals will tel you the is one of the things they learned in BUDs. You can always do far more than you think you can.

Sitting On The Couch

I have people tell me that they climbed such and such a mountain and when I asked them when they say back when they were in their 20s. Now they sit on the couch and talk about what they used to do.

If you are in your 60s or 70s get out into the mountains at least twice a month. You can start with an easy hike and work your way up. Sitting on the couch just doesn’t cut it. You are stronger than you think.

Make the Decision

If you are heavier than you want to be and your medical numbers are not what they should be then get yourself out on the trail. It is the best exercise you will ever get. However, the number one thing that will get you there is making a decision.

Once you make the decision you cut off the couch and all it represents. You become s hiker! Maybe you will become a mountaineer or a trail runner. But the is the future. For now jut make that first decision and get off the couch!

Go Hiking And Overcome

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If there is anything that you are out to do on a hike it is overcome. You are overcoming mosquitoes, wind, rain, elevation gain, a poor fitting boot, a broken trekking pole, or a bad fall.

Overcoming is what we all do when we are hiking. At least that is the way I look at it. As I have said before I don’t go for “nature walks.” Funny story. I asked a young lady years ago to go hiking with me. I just wanted someone to go hiking with but she somehow thought it was a date. So we get the top of the mountain and I am almost instantly getting ready to go back down. She, on the other hand, lays down on the ground and when I stand there for a moment staring, she says, “Don’t you ever take time to smell the flowers.”

Overcome The Mosquitoes.

I am allergic to mosquitoes so in order to overcome them I have to either out run them (keep moving), hope for wind, or apply lots of repellant. Some people that hike with me ask me if I ever take a “break: and I tell them I can’t. It is too dangerous!

They usually travel in packs or maybe that’s “swarms,” but it is the lone wolf that typically finds me. Did I tell you I am allergic? So if he is successful his or her bite will swell up my face or hand to the size of a balloon. Actually, the was when I was younger. Now it is more like a tennis ball.

Wind

Wind amongst the trees! Have you seen the results of a huge wind storm in the woods? On one trail there are trees from one such storm still laying all over the landscape. So there is the danger of falling trees. How do you overcome that? You don’t go hiking when the forecast is for 50 mile an hour winds!

How about 25 or 30 mile an hour winds? Well, it will lower the temperature for sure. How low? Usually at least 10 degrees. If it is already cold, it can make it something to overcome. Just dress warm.

Elevation Gain

That’s why you hike. To gain elevation!

If you don’t like to gain elevation I offer a remedial course to correct your thinking.

So let’s go hiking!

Bookish Weapon Number Sixty-One

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“Overcome,” was outstanding! I wished I had written it. Jason Redman certainly has the credentials. A former Navy Seal, shot up in the Mideast, who eventually overcomes all of that to teach all of us how to get over, under and around adversity.

Maybe it is the military mindset, but these folks have an uncanny ability to come up with terms for every situation. In this book “getting off the X” is one of my favorite. The other is “Are you ready.” Then it just gets better.

Getting Off The X

In Redmand’s world the X is where you are when you are ambushed. It can be in war or life. Divorce, bankruptcy, losing a loved one, or job loss. When those things happen it is you job to get yourself off that X as soon as possible. There is a small group of people that overcome. “Instead of being defined by their loss, they choose to define themselves by the challenges they’ve learned to overcome.” This is a choice!

He says, that to get off the X, you have to REACT.

Recognize your reality
Evaluate your position
Asses possible exit rutes
Choose a direction and communicate it
Take action

Abandon Panic

This is a chapter that must have been written for me, because it is my weakness or at least one of them. Redmand says, ‘When something catastrophic happens, the moment the pressure of panic begins to tighten, stop and take a deep breath. Get oxygen to your rapidly misfiring brain. Actively resist the voice telling you to run or react.”

He continues and says, “You can learn to manage panic if you rely on preparation, calm and positivity.

Are You Ready?

Redmand says, “The average human being will endure at least five major life changes over their lifetime.” So the question is, “Are you ready?” Are you prepared? You say how can I be prepared when I don’t know what is coming my way? You need Redmand’s Pentagon.

The Pentagon consists of five legs: Emotional, Mental, Spiritual, Social and Physical. If all of those are strong then you will be prepared of the next ambush. If one or more is not so strong, you need to work on it.

Purpose and Mission

Redmond spends a good del of time on mission and purpose. He talks about how we need to allow the purpose to change as we change. As yourself, “What do I stand for and what am I passionate about. Those answers will help yo clarify your purpose.

Once you have the purpose and mission you set your course. A course consists of goals that are “realistic, attainable, measurable, and adaptable.” You have probably seen most of those before in writings about goals, but the one that is somewhat unique is being adaptable. That comes from the Navy Seals Semper Gumby theme. Adaptability rules!

As usual, there is so much more in the book so read it or listen to it.

Go Hiking And Give Yourself A High Five

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What could be more natural. You get to the top of a mountain and give yourself a high five! Why if I don’t have a mirror with me you say? High five your shadow!

Wait, what if it is raining? Then high five the air in front of you as you imagine looking at yourself. It took a lot to get to the top of that mountain so you deserve a high five.

That Morning

Of course if you read my summary of Mel Robbins book, “The High Five Habit,” https://stayonoffense.com/2021/10/10/bookish-weapon-number-sixty/you already know you are supposed to have high fives yourself that morning in the mirror while setting the intention of climbing to the top of the mountain you are on now.

The high five habit was created for mountain climbers even if Mel Robbins didn’t think that would be one of the outcomes of her new book. Hikers need more reasons to high five themselves.

Sitting In Your Car

Yes, you are sitting there even though you get to the trailhead fifteen minutes ago. Why?

Well, when you are sitting in your car at the trailhead and it is raining or snowing and you don’t want to get out of the car, high five yourself in your rear view mirror. Set your intention again and open that door! See, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Now you’re on your way.

It Gets Difficult

The high five habit is a “bookish weapon” against obstacles that pop up, like rain or snow or wind. What if the trail gets steep and you have never climbed this particular mountain? I say put one hand in front of you and high five yourself. It will keep you going!

Then you slip on the snow and go down. Get back up and high five yourself! Keep going. The high five habit will keep you on the game and on the mountain. Now go hiking!

Go Hiking And Develop Your Attributes

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Yes, by now if you have been reading these tributes to hiking you know what I m going to say. Hiking will help you develop your attributes.

It doesn’t take much skill to hike. You just need to know how to put one foot in front of another. It is different from climbing or mountaineering in that way. However, it does take some strong attributes. Plus, if you don’t know the BEARS you need to buy my hiking course which will be linked to as soon as it is available.

Discipline

It takes strong discipline to hike a mountain every week. Remember, discipline is different that self- discipline. Discipline means understanding what it takes to achieve your goal (the top of the mountain or doing it every week) and being “steadfast” in executing.

Week after week, month after month you climb a mountain. Not the same mountain but a mountain. You always reach the top. That’s discipline!

Perseverance

As Rich Diviney says in “The Attributes,“ “If courage is the ability to effectively move through fear, challenge, and discomfort, then perseverance is the ability to keep doing it over and over.” Hiking week after week fits that description.

Many times you might not even feel like getting out of bed to go hiking. It is nice and warm in your bed and you would like just a little more sleep. But no, you get up and go. Again and again and again!

Narcissism

This attribute drives us to take risks and get noticed. So it helps us achieve our potential. A good thing, right? Well, it is sort of like Goldilocks and The Three Bears. It has to be just right.
Too much narcissism and you become easily offended. You can’t take criticism and your self-esteem is usually low. People will catch on pretty fast and it will be over for you.

Use it when you go hiking to help you set that big goal. A mountain you haven’t climbed or a climbing record for a certain mountain. In any case go hiking!

Bookish Weapon Number Fifty-Two

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“The Wim Hof Method,” by Wim Hof will cool your heals! It is a nuclear Bookish Weapon for sure. If you decide to read the book you need to consider it as an experiment. That means you need to practice the method. Why would you want to actually do what he says to do? It is the only way you will understand what he is talking about.

That’s why I decided to begin taking cold showers and practicing the breathing method. To date I have been taking the showers for a couple months, but the breathing only for two weeks so far.

The Cold

First, let’s talk about the cold. As you probably know Wim Hof is known as the Ice Man. He climbed Mt Everest and got stuck in the death zone. Of course he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He has climbed Kili multiple times with groups of people also with no shirt. You don’t need to climb a mountain with no shirt. Wim says to start out with 30 seconds of cold after you have the warm water turned on for a bit. I just jump into the cold. There is benefit for alternating between hot and cold so you should consider that too.

No cold plunges for me as I have no resource for those and I have no desire to go hiking with my shirt off. None! However, the cold showers wake you up in the morning and become somewhat addictive.

The Breathing

Now the breathing technique might surprise you because you can get cold doing it. It is because the capillaries under your skin close so your brain thinks you are cold. My teeth chatter. However, it could be my breathing technique is off a bit.

So what do you do? Breath in as you extend your stomach and then exhale. That is one count. You do that thirty or forty times. Then on the last exhale you hold your breath for as long as you can. Then you inhale and hold it for fifteen seconds. Then exhale and do the whole 30 or 40 two more times. How long can you hold our breath? I could hold mine maybe thirty seconds. Now, at the end of the last thirty I can hold it for four minutes. So far I have not passed out.

The Mind

This is the third pillar in Wim Hof’s method. It is an important one and probably the most difficult to master at least from my perspective. He gives you a basic mindset exercise and discusses how to meditate, but this area is covered far less than the other two. I suspect it is the secret sauce. He says it is what allowed him to set all the records and accomplish what he has so far.

It seems that in all areas of life your mindset is king. It will serve you or bring you down.

Results

Why do anything unless it produces some positive results. That is what I was looking for when I decided to do the breathing. I already knew the benefits of cold showers. For one thing they boost affect your Vagal nerve so increase the parasympathetic side of your autonomic nervous system. But the breathing was unfamiliar to me.

What I discovered is that once I have completed a breathing session I feel very calm and surprisingly am in a very positive emotional state. As I said I have been doing the breathing for only two weeks as of this writing so who knows what might happen as this journey continues. I was hoping for an anti-inflammatory effect which I could measure by whether my arthritis was better or worse. So far the jury is out.