What keeps you going? How do you stay motivated? This was a question I asked a fellow trekker on a recent trip to Machu Pichu. The reason I asked was my fellow trekker was 77 years of age and we were trekking at 4,600 metres on the Salkantay pass. At 4,600 meters the oxygen levels in the air are very low and altitude sickness is a real problem. Six of the younger more “fitter” members of the team had been badly affected by it. Andy however just kept going and the altitude wasn’t affecting him. “It’s for the poor kids and their families Dave” he told me. “If I just put one foot in front of the other for longer enough I know i’ll get there and make a massive difference for them”
Its amazing what resilience we can find within ourselves when we have a cause thats greater than ourselves. Indeed the people on the trek that had been effected by the altitude sickness continued their trek despite the sickness, nausea and blisters they encountered over the four day Inca Trek. Making a difference to others was much more important than the obstacles they were experiencing on the trek.
When have you kept going when you’ve really felt like stopping? What kept you going? What was the difference you were trying make?
I was completing the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu in Peru to support the work of Zoe’s Place hospice in Liverpool. If you would like to donate then please see the link in the first comment below.
If we all did a little we could all achieve a lot.