My lessons from hiking – Part 1

Do not follow where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s being almost three years now that I started hiking and I feel gratitude that I have started this amazing sport. I feel blessed that I have been a member of this amazing team called XTEAM CYPRUS with this amazing people, that I feel them as my brothers, mentors etc. (photo below)!

I have learned some lessons that I need to point out in this post.

The value of teamwork

Team spirit is always what makes us conquer ourselves and the mountain tops. When we set a target the achievement is sure due to our willingness to help each other. There is no first and there is no last, we are all one! We are the XTEAM CYPRUS. So, treat everyone around you as part of your gang. Thank you brothers!

Trust your instincts

From which direction you follow, to where to put your foot next, hiking teaches you to trust your instincts and be confident in the moves you make. When you’re a foot away from slipping, it’s dire that you trust yourself enough to know you will not fall. Similarly, the life decisions you make should be based on some rationality, but also instinct. You know the right move to make, just believe in it. (Antonis you know always trust your instincts )

The internet (including apps) are not always 100% accurate

I didn’t fully believe this one until we were on kilometer 23 of a quoted 18 kilometer hike, even though we were following the exact map in the app. It’s important to do your research, so you know what you’re getting into. It’s important to do your research with anything you read on the internet–not just hiking.

It’s always worth it in the end

When you finally reach the top of the mountain and you watch the view from above, or the end of the hike then the feeling you have cannot be explained in words. Despite the obstacles you will find during the hike never ever give up (this applies to life as well) .

Nature will give you clarity

When the business of the city seems too loud and the thoughts in your mind won’t stay silenced, nature can offer a new perspective. Personally, I believe you must get lost in order find yourself. The perfect way to free those negative thoughts and enact a stress relief, is let nature be there for you. Let the sounds of the leaves calm your mind, give yourself time to truly think and when you get to the top, soak it in.

The view worth the journey

All the blood, sweat, and tears you put into that hike pays off at the end when the sky shares its story. You look out into this world that you don’t pay attention to enough. Every mountain speaks to you, every valley gleams, and somehow it makes sense that life is abundantly beautiful and nothing to take for granted. It may be a tough road now, you may be in a bad place. But at the end of it all your hardship, there is a breathtaking horizon. It’s worth all the struggle it took to get there.

Hiking is a bit like life: The journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other…again and again and again. And if you allow yourself the opportunity to be present throughout the entirety of the trek, you will witness beauty every step of the way, not just at the summit”