I'd like to take you on a personal journey - one that has shaped me into the person I am today. It's a story about how climbing a mountain helped me rediscover myself and reminded me of the importance of the mind - body connection.
I grew up as a competitive athlete, so I’ve always had that desire to push myself and my body and I’ve always had a goal to focus on. Like many women, I lost a bit of myself when I became a mum for the first time – this is very natural as it’s all encompassing in those first few years.
As we got into more of a routine and my son developed and grew more independent. I realised that I didn’t have a strong sense of who I was anymore.
The big change came one Christmas when my husband surprised me with an unexpected gift - a trip to climb Kilimanjaro. It was the year when celebrities had climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief, so it somehow made the idea of me climbing more tangible. We’d had a few passing conversations about me wanting to climb mountains and me wanting to do something just for me. Something that didn’t involve being a mum, running a business or a household.
But it was a huge reality check for him to actually book it - I had to go! It was a nerve wracking, but an exhilarating opportunity, to prove to myself that I could do it, to be a role model to my son and to do something different.
When I left to climb Kilimanjaro my son was just four years old and it was the first time I'd been away from him since his birth. I was in a hotel in Africa, phoning my husband in tears, wanting to come home. But as soon as I began the trek, everything changed. The climb was exhilarating and liberating. Expedition life was basic and stripped back, but there was something about it I loved. I had an amazing time - the remoteness, the quiet, the lack of people around, the beauty. It was freeing to have that time away and be without anyone asking me anything. I fell in love with the combination of a physical and mental challenge and immediately afterwards wanted to do more. I came home and we agreed that I would go away once a year to do ‘my thing’. So, I booked my next adventure. To trek across the Sahara Desert!
This experience sparked a transformation in me. I wanted to ensure I was fit enough and resilient enough to be able to do these trips. My trips fuelled my training. Climbing Kilimanjaro taught me the importance of balance – not just physical, but mental and emotional. I learned the hard way that all these states need to be in harmony to reach our goals. Just as they were when I was a competitive athlete growing up. There were days my mental resilience wavered and others when my physical strength was tested.
But it was this very journey that helped me understand the power of self-awareness and the need to have a full toolkit to be able to rebalance ourselves.
I realised that I had lost a part of myself in the process of being a mum and a professional. I found being a mum hugely rewarding but hard, I didn’t bounce back, like some women do and I compared myself to other mums constantly. I needed to reclaim my identity and this adventure was the first step.
I started training in nutrition and hypnotherapy, integrating these into my life and business and focused on helping others find their balance, just as I had found mine.
My journey to Kilimanjaro was more than a climb; it was a pivotal point in my life.
It taught me resilience, self-awareness and pushing our comfort zones. It taught me to embrace the unexpected, that we can’t always control everything. It taught me to embrace challenges, in whatever way. Overcoming challenges is so rewarding. The ability to adjust and adapt leads to the greatest enjoyment and you soon thrive off it. It taught me about cultures and wildlife and it taught me that expedition memories remain with you forever, fresh and vivid, just as everyday memories should in our busy lives. It taught me about fulfilment and how important this was to me.
As a nutritionist, life coach and clinical hypnotist, I now help others embark on their journeys of self-discovery and wellness, inspired by my own experiences.
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