How getting into the outdoors and taking on a different type of challenge can help find new perspective.
Eighteen months ago, in a scenic corner of Cumbria, I was experiencing stressful times on a new ‘flagship project’ – the creation of a resilience and wellbeing retreat for professionals, The Halcyon Club.
The dream was to build a destination which could support the rebuilding and recalibration of our company’s post-Covid workforce after a period of unprecedented change and challenge. We also wanted to offer respite to others in similar circumstances, those who might feel the pressing need to reset the dial.
The original 18-month programme had long expired. The coordination of 25 trades people, missing and defective materials, failed deliveries, leaking windows, weather-damaged buildings and more, all came together to push the core team to its limits. Tempers were frayed, emotions and stress levels were running high, cash was running out of control and the dream of an optimal work life balance could not have seemed further out of reach.
The initial project had been put on hold during the pandemic and, coming back to scope and price things out, everything was more challenging – fragmented supply chains, skills shortages, unreliable programme commitments, construction defects, materials shortages, new customs rules, all mixed in with lots and lots of rain. It was an extremely difficult time.
All these difficulties came on top of an already depleted resilience to our core business, a quantity surveying practice of 25 years. It had been put at risk during the lockdowns, and then followed rapid deployment of new ways of working and communication throughout the project portfolio and teams. These had to function alongside site restrictions, commercial challenges and connectivity issues. This had necessitated huge investment in business IT infrastructure, amid fragile cash flow and rapid deployment of solutions and services, at a time where the ultimate future of the business, and the industry as a whole, seemed uncertain.
Overcoming challenge
To make a perfect storm, lockdown was particularly challenging for me. I am a person who is used to making things happen – getting out and about daily, burning unspent energy, and thriving on the buzz of business pressures and opportunities.
The situation revealed that, in fact, I suffered with ADHD, something which would have perhaps been identified earlier if I had been subject to the confines of a standard 9-5 job. Throughout the lockdowns I had not been good at sharing home working spaces. I am prone to outbursts of high drama and volume so an adult ADHD diagnosis came as no real surprise – albeit I was, initially, highly resistant to this ‘label’.
I know I was a nightmare during lockdown, I just couldn’t bear being cooped up. Though we were fortunate to live in a rural location, which meant we were protected from crowds and had abundant outdoor space to enjoy, I was going stir crazy not getting out and about. I needed to feed my dopamine buzz.
Acceptance and recalibration came in a number of surprising ways and release came in the form of a new and surprising challenge – taking on the 214 Cumbrian Wainwrights. It worked for both me and my partner Kerry – we’ve been together for 28 years and run our chartered surveying practice, Solomons Europe, together.
In typical partnership style, Kerry became my Wainwright coach and nutritionist. She made sure I had the right clothing, food, water and supplies to tackle the planned routes. This was something my ADHD overlooked in favour of focusing purely on the challenge of the statistics and ‘times to beat’. They are what my hyperfocused brain locked in on.
Embracing the journey
And in this challenge, I found more than just an outlet for his excess energy. I found a new way of thinking, and a pathway to building personal resilience.
Being outdoors, in nature, fed something inside which I did not know was missing.
Yes, walking had been a pleasurable pastime previously, but now it had become an essential release. It was an opportunity to refocus and recalibrate, and something which I now cannot imagine doing without. The absolute buzz I get from reaching the summits may seem like nothing to those who like more extreme pastimes but, for me, it challenges my body and my mental stamina. All weathers, all seasons – it makes you feel alive.
My hyper focus also means I am determined to learn all the mountains and vistas by sight, and I love being challenged to ‘name that fell’!
With all the Wainwrights now ticked off, I am looking for a new challenge. The restorative effects of walking have proven their benefit over the past year, and I am keen to build on the increased fitness and freedom I have found in my pursuit of those 214 fells.
So now it is about deciding the next challenge as this is not a habit I want to break. I know I need this now. The walks are challenging but, at the same time, calming. I get time to think and focus. I listen to podcasts which fill me with ideas and information I can put to use back at work or at home.
As a pastime, walking is one of the very best things you can do. It has both mental and physical benefits, and getting out in the fresh air is something which can’t be beaten. So what are you waiting for? Get your boots on!
I tell everyone who is interested in getting into hiking or tackling the Wainwrights, ‘Go for it!’, you will love it – all weathers, all seasons. It makes you feel alive!
Alfred Wainwright is arguably the best known fell walker in history.
He is renowned for producing a series of pictorial guides to the Lake District, which he began writing in 1955 and define in detail, routes along the the fells. These are accompanied by hand drawn sketches which reproduce the visible panoramas of Cumbria’s most impressive mountain ranges.
Of all those featured in his books, 214 hold in their own chapters in the guide, and it is these mountains and fells which are collated to form what have now become the ‘Wainwrights’.
The highest mountain in the list is Scafell Pike at a whopping 978m high and the smallest, the humble Castle Crag at 290m
Big names like Helvellyn (950m) and Skiddaw (931m) keep seasoned walkers well challenged, and knocking off some of the more interesting names featured can keep you smiling through the weather when the going gets tough
Coniston Old Man (803m)
Arthur’s Pike (532m)
Great Cockup (526m)
If you are interested in taking up the Wainwright challenge, handy routes and guides can be found online and in all good bookshops.
www.wainwrightroutes.co.uk
