Category: Rambles

Stress and the Art of Living

Stress….we’ve all experienced it in some form or another at some point in our lives. For some of us it’s a regular thing, for others it may happen only rarely. It can range in intensity from nothing more than something irritating, to a full blown melt down.

It’s pointless trying to go into the causes of stress as there are as many reasons as there people on the planet. We all act and react to different stimuli in different ways, so understanding the cause becomes less important than understanding our reaction to it.

For the most part stress is the result of an uncontrolled emotional reaction to something we find offensive, or to something that we have no control over. And this is where understanding comes into play, along with perception, specifically our perception of what can and can’t be done to either deal with the situation, or to simply accept what is.

How we deal with stress I believe is far more important than the cause of the stress, or the stress itself. Most people will understandibly try to mask the stress by diverting their attention to other things, to try and find something to distract them from whatever is causing the issue. This may work in the short term, and is absolutely fine if the cause is temporary, finding something that will divert the mind is a good thing.

But what if there is a longer term issue at play, what if the short term distraction is not enough, what then?
This is where awareness and understanding come very much to the fore, and are key in finding the best way to deal with it.
As mentioned, stress is a response to unresolved emotional reaction to a given situation of some kind. Therefore, it would seem reasonable to believe that the answer also lies within the realm of emotion and how we not only percieve that emotion, but our response to it.

The Stoic philosophers of ancient Greece and Rome believed that the world is divided into those things that are outside of our control, and those things that are within it. Sounds reasonable so far. But here’s the thing, they also knew that ultimately the only thing we have any real control over is our own perception and reactions. Think of it like this, we cannot control politics, warfare, economics, social media, or even our own bodies. We have no control over the decision to contract a serious illness, breaking a leg, or even whether we get a cold.

However, what we do have control over is our reaction to the emotions we feel and whether we fall into a pity party at having contracted man flu, or the fact that we can’t play football for a few weeks because of the leg. We can also rant and rave about the state of the economy, but no amount of shouting and yelling will do the slightest bit of good because we cannot control or influence it in any way, so why do it? Does it actually help in any way? will it reduce our anxiety levels? or does it release the frustration we might be feeling at the stupidity of those in charge? I would suggest not. So I ask again, why do it?

I would suggest to you that It’s because we do believe it will make a difference, we believe that at the very least venting our spleen as it were, will at the very least make us feel better for having gotten it out of our system.
And there it is! The key. The answer of how to deal with stress.
It lies in how we feel and respond to the things that create an emotional reaction. But there is a better way to do it than ranting and raving, that only serves at best to place a temporary patch over it. The real answer is find a way to change not only our perception of stressful stimuli, but also how we respond to it.

To do this we must first truly understand the difference between external and internal influence, which in turn teaches us what we have control over, and what we do not.
For any situation that can cause stress we must ask ourselves one question, does this thing lie within our control? Can we influence it any meaningful way? If the answer is no then it must lie within the only thing we can control. Our own mind and our own perceptions.

As futile and powerless as this might sound, it’s actually quite the opposite. Once you get to grips with the concept it’s actually quite liberating to only be responsible for your own emotional response.

Consider this: It is our response and reaction that actually determines whether something is a cause of stress or not. For example, if we get angry at an insult, raise our voice and become involved in an arguement, then stress will ensue. However, we can choose to react differently, to see the insult for what it probably was, a bad day on the part of another, and even if it was meant as a personal slur we can choose not to react badly and potentially escalate the situation. If we do this then very often it’s possible to find a better way to deal with the issue.
Although our emotional response is an almost autonomic one, we have the power to determine how we react and respond to those emotions.

If we learn, and then practice how to do this at every available opportunity, then the world of stress inducing situations becomes far smaller, and the number of genuine stressful situations become far fewer.
Of course this is a lot easier to say than it is to do, but with consistent practice eventually you will find that the incidents that used to cause you stress are no longer of any great concern and can be dealt with far more efficiently.

I know very well that this is a cursory and limited look at the cause of stress and how to deal with it, but hopefully, if you’re inclined, then it may point the way to further study and therefore a long term solution to a better way of life.

“You shouldn’t give circumstances the power to rouse anger, for they don’t care at all” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 7,38

Why I do it.

As many of my friends know, I do a fair amount of hiking and wildcamping, and you may have even seen some of my posts about the walks I’ve done. It’s something that I personally get a huge amount of benefit from.

Some time ago now, I opened up a few of my trips for others to join me, with the purpose of sharing some of the benefits I experience from getting out amongst it.So far interest has been good, but unfortunately uptake has been very low.

It’s because of this that I wanted to share exactly what it is that I get from carrying 16kg up a hill, eating crap food, sleeping in a bag, and shitting in a hole that I’ve dug for myself.

So here goes…..The obvious ones.

First off it’s good exercise, walking for 15 to 20k carrying a load on your back requires you to push yourself, especially so if you’re going uphill. Physical exertion makes you feel good, which of course also means taking in lungfulls of fresh air and all the scents that come with it. Couple this with all of the sights and sounds that you begin to notice when you actually take the time to notice them, creates an internal mood of peace and harmony that just isn’t available anywhere else. Being in that moment in that place, and being much more aware of your place in it has an incredibly balancing effect.

Being out in a large landscape also offers you the valuable perspective of being only a small part of a much larger place, and equally, any of the troubles you carry with you are just as small, which in turn helps to take away some of the bloated importance we give them. The positive psychological effects and peace of mind offered by being in a large open space cannot be overstated.The not so obvious ones.

Being responsible for yourself, and possibly others, in an environment where help is usually a long way off makes you consider your actions much more carefully. You have to pay closer attention to what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, focussing your mind and forcing you to give consideration to everything you do. In short, encouraging self reliance and in turn the self confidence that brings.

However, despite the need for careful thought, the sense of freedom is almost intoxicating, especially if you’re not on any specific timescale or route. The ability to go where you like, when you like, knowing that all you have to do is find a patch of land big enough for your tent and you’ll be fine is incredibly liberating, and once you accept that fact you can really relax and let go of all the concerns that we carry with us like so much dead weight.

The ones you might not have thought of.

Basically, planning and equipping yourself for a trip into the hills and valleys is exactly the same as planning and equipping yourself for life. Where am I going? (12 month plan), how many days or stages (quarter plan), checkpoints/milestones (28 day plan). Every step along the way is just another day in your immediate vicinity (weekly plans) heading towards your goals. All of the obstacles on the walk that have to be navigated are no different to the obstacles we face when planning our lives. We have to know where we’re going and how we’re going to get there, overcoming often unseen challenges along the way to get to our goal.

Often we’ll have to alter course, or change plans according to new information or circumstances, or simply for no other reason than you just want to. And when you do, you adjust your plans/routes accordingly, taking into account the new obstacles and challenges, then simply head off in that direction.

When it rains it rains. You can either find shelter and hunker down, or put your waterproofs on and get on with it. Both are acceptable.Sometimes you need to take an unscheduled break, just to get your breath back, and sometimes you just need or want to push on through to reach your destination.

The equipment you take will depend on your particular journey and what you’ll need along the way, plus a few other items just in case.

Your Structures, Routines, and Systems (SRS) that we have are this equipment, how you pack it, and how you use it when it’s required. Essential when setting up or striking camp, feeding yourself, and general camp admin. With organised kit kept in good order (your SRS) you can do anything, go anywhere. Without it you’ll be stumbling around in disarray potentially putting yourself in danger, but at the very least it will be much more of a struggle both in camp and while travelling, as it is in life.

And just like life, consistent application of solid SRS practices has huge benefits. This in itself promotes self confidence and the feeling of self worth. In terms of literally everything we do in life, it’s huge.The list of parallels between hiking/camping and life in general is immense, these are just a few of the key points, and I could quite literally go on all day about it going into more detail about every single aspect and how it all relates to everything we try to achieve in life.

But I won’t, I think I’ve run on quite enough.

As an old hiking campaigner I’ve known about these benefits for many years, but it wasn’t until about 18 months ago that I made the obvious link between what we do to improve our lives in terms of having a structured existence, and the benefits of competently heading out for a few days on your own. It’s an obvious link when you actually think about it, but one I had never made until then.

However, once I did make the connection, I started to relate to this activity in a way I hadn’t before, using it to become more structured in my life, strengthening my SRS, and becoming 100% consistent with my actions ever since. This in turn has improved my life beyond measure. Imagine being 100% consistent for 18 months, I feel like I’ve won the golden ticket to the chocolate factory.

And that’s why I wrote this, I want to encourage everyone to seek the same benefits I have. But here’s the kicker. This isn’t something you can read about and gain all the benefits from, you have to actually do it.

It’s a little like talking about driving, you can talk about it all you like but unless you sit in the driver’s seat and actually start driving you just don’t know.

You have to be in the environment looking at your destination and thinking to yourself “I just need to get to the next point”, that tree in the distance, that pile of rocks, or whatever it is, and then the next one, and the next, and so on, step by step until you reach your destination. You have to think about where you’re going, plan for it, and then execute the plan, allowing for changes and challenges along the way. But above all, above everything else, you have to actually do it.

You have to show up in life, as much as you do when going for a hike, and do what you said you were going to do. It all means nothing if you don’t.

My apologies for having rambled on for so long, and if you’ve made it this far then you must have nothing better to do with your time.

The importance of flexibility in daily life.

The background.

As a younger man I considered myself to be a pretty physically fit individual, able to carry heavy loads over long distances, and in fairly short order. I never really suffered with the usual training injuries of pulled muscles, strained ligaments etc, and consider myself quite lucky in that regard. Lucky that I never had any issues with my physical health (outside of injuries caused), which gave me a sense of indestructibility that later on would lead me to be short sighted and disregard the long term effects of proper care and maintenance.

You see, 25 years ago, when I moved to Norfolk to start my family, I stopped all forms of training and exercise, not gradually over time with a warm down period, but quite literally overnight. I should have known better, in fact I did know better, but I didn’t pay much attention to the better part of my judgement and experience, I had other, newer concerns on my mind.

The next 20 years or so saw me take on a completely different life as I built and grew my family, foregoing any consideration as to my own physical well being. Well, to cut a long story short, and following a few further injuries caused, I have since come to learn the true cost of my ignorance, folly, and flagrant disregard for my own wellbeing.

On to today.

In the last few years as part of my personal growth and development, I began engaging in some basic physical fitness training. For a while all was well as I gradually built myself up and started to train on a regular basis. But it didn’t last. At this point I have to say that I do suffer with a mild case of osteoarthritis in my hips and knees. This does cause me a certain amount of pain and discomfort when exerting myself, but for a long time I mistakenly believed that it was the only cause.

The last two years has been filled with a huge number of pulls, strains, and other various injuries.However, It transpires that some of the pain I’ve been feeling is not from the arthritis, but from the fact that I’ve lost an amazing amount of strength and mobility in the complex structure that makes up my hips and connected structure. In the normal course of daily life I don’t generally experience any issues outside the low level ache of what the arthritis causes. However, a return to exercise has highlighted the shocking lack of mobility and muscle tightness that causes a lot of the pain I feel when they’re activated through stretching or exercise, and I’ve had to deal with quite a lot of pain in doing so.

So why write this, why talk about my issues like this? As an excuse? As a reason to bemoan my situation to garner a little sympathy? In short, no.

It’s to highlight the fact that with only a basic amount of stretching incorporated into any training or exercise regime you can easily avoid many of the issues that will cause you pain and injury. Not only that, but it will make you stronger in the long run (no pun intended).

Talking to, and reading about, what many of us guys do to exercise, it’s become clear to me that many of us neglect the stretching aspect of exercise in favour of strength and endurance. This is fine, but only to a point. Without proper flexibility we become linear and unidirectional in movement, and therefore strength, limiting our bodies to a reduced range of movement, and therefore increasing the risk of injury as we move outside that range when circumstances demand or cause it.

From my own personal experience I have come to learn this lesson far too late, and at a cost to my personal health. However, it’s never too late to try and do something about it, and the sooner you start the better.

I’m 54 years old now, and any progress for me will inevitably be slow and arduous because of my previous short sightedness and folly, believing that I still held on to some of my former glory. I didn’t.

I would urge in the strongest terms possible for anybody reading this to carefully consider this aspect of their physical training. To include some form of mobility and stretching regime into whatever form of exercise you do. And if you don’t do any other exercise at all then at least just stretch, your body will thank you for it later, that much is guaranteed.

Ten to fifteen minutes of quality stretching every other day is all it takes to keep you from suffering with tightness in the neck and shoulders, reducing the likelihood of tension headaches, and to open up your hip mobility giving you greater ease of movement preventing you from becoming stiff and tight, and reducing the likelihood of any training injuries.

Given that we engage in an activity that requires us to walk long distances over uneven and rugged terrain, and very often with heavy packs, it makes sense to look after our physical health. Having strong and flexible hips, knees, and ankles, will also increase back strength and stability, all the things we require to engage in the activity we call hiking.

So come on guys……..stretch 🧘🧎