On 9 August I completed my third major challenge of 2014, raising funds for Soldier On! by walking 100km in 24 hours (the first being to row 42.2km and the second being The Forces March).
Last year I cosmically failed the mental battle to carry on past the halfway mark. The queue for the bus back to the start was calling, my feet hurt and I gave in.
This year I had more respect for the challenge: yes, it’s ‘only’ a walk, yes I ‘only’ have to continue for 24 hours, yes it is ‘only’ Belgium and it is flat, but that is no reason to ignore the need to plan and prepare.
Additionally, this year I carried The Baton. Made from a stretcher handle used on the battlefield in Afghanistan, it is a symbol of hope and courage. In the same way that the stretcher actually carried the wounded back to Camp Bastion, The Baton symbolises the practical support we feel the nation should give to both current and former servicemen.
So, giving up halfway simply was not an option, just as it would not have been an option for those carrying their brothers in arms from the battlefield back to safety.
Giving up halfway simply was not an optionI was also privileged to receive The Baton from a Royal Marine who has roller-skied 1,000 miles from John O’Groats to Lands End, retraced Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition and completed a 179-mile run.
By the way, the Royal Marines tag line is “It’s a State of Mind”, and for all his training and experience what was the most important piece of advice WO1 Gray told me? Have a plan. And stick to it.
So what was the plan? Walk for an hour, rest for five minutes. Times 24.
How easy is that? All the other advice (pace yourself, eat and drink when your body says you need it, keep your feet dry, care for your blisters, stretch when resting) is secondary.
Walk. Rest. Repeat.
Is that not just stunning in its simplicity?
It is a common feeling for us (or our clients?) to want or expect things to be more complicated. Maybe it provides a neat reason why we need help, and maybe it justifies those fees we charge (or pay) for advice. But there is nothing wrong or embarrassing about simple solutions, for advising clients or developing our businesses, or facing any other challenge in life.
But simple does not always mean easy. And that is when state of mind matters most.
Gill Cardy is network development director of ValidPath
