For my final #Route66 Vlog, just to mix it up a bit, you can either watch it or read through the editorial below. Either way you will here about: Acceptance, Resilience, Embracing Weakness and assumed failures, Teamwork, Respect and Trust, not to mention TWO key points for you to take away. You need to read on to find these out though….
We have been back two weeks which has been enough time to rest, recover, get back into work and more importantly, reflect on the incredible journey that was #Route66, with massive thanks to Bike Tours For The Wounded.
So what lessons were learned from this then? Wow there have been so many, along with self-realisations, both positive and negative. However, as we embrace negative situations, as they are actually lessons learned in life, then it has ALL been a rich and rewarding experience.
We are ALL capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for and regardless of our physical or mental wounds and assumed weaknesses, we are ALL inherently strong in our own unique ways. The challenge can be at times, identifying exactly what they are, along with our weaknesses, truly accepting them and learning how to best implement them within our lives.
Via my #Route66 Vlogs, you have seen a group of incredible individuals come together, to tackle long days, extreme temperatures, fatigue, the side effects of their own physical and mental wounds and overcoming individual adversities. This was not without incident I hasten to add, with the odd disagreement, various debates and dummies being spat out (something that even I myself, was guilty of on occasion) BUT, strong bonds were forged, friendships built, goals reached and ultimately adversity was overcome in so many areas, leading to life changing experiences and lessons learned for all.
The key thing here though, is this would not have been possible for ANY of us if it wasn’t for teamwork. As in life and business, ultimately, we cannot achieve all we desire, by going it alone. You don’t necessarily have to be friends, we were a bunch of strangers initially, but we had one thing in common and that was to achieve the same goal, just as we do in life and business. From there you build rapport by identifying other commonalities between one another, which leads to the formation of trust.
As I say you don’t need to be friends with all, but respect people as individuals, trust their skill sets and pull together as equals, you will be amazed at what can be achieved when you do. For me personally, I learned that I am not as far down my journey of recovery as I had thought and I have identified other areas of myself that requires additional work. It is frustrating, disappointing and upsetting to learn this and truly accepting it is going to take some time. However, it IS still a positive thing to know, as now I DECIDE to own it, take responsibility for it and take a positive first step forward to do what needs to be done.
This leads me on nicely to the TWO key points that I would like to leave you with as I try to sum up the experience and I openly admit that one is borrowed from BT4TW purely out of respect, as it is so simple, its genius. The first one is;
1. First Step Forward – When times are tough, you’re feeling low and whenever it feels like life is against you or maybe not so quite depressingly, when it is simply a bad day or work is overwhelming you, simply start by taking that First Step Forward. Easier said than done at times I know, but it doesn’t have to be a huge step to make a huge difference, as long as you take a Step Forward, start each day or face each challenge with that in mind, you will gather momentum and get through it.
The other which follows on nicely from this is;
2. You Decide – Wherever you are at in your life and whatever adversity, challenges or situations present themselves, nothing will ever happen or change, unless You Decide. This is as true in life as it is in business, You Decide to take that First Step Forward, You Decide to embrace weakness and mistakes as lessons learned, You Decide what your values and ethos is, You Decide just who you are going to be as a person and whether you stand up to those who seek to surround you in negativity, YOU DECIDE.
I would like to thank everyone for following, reading and watching my #Route66 Vlogs, we have reached over 10,000 people since starting this and the feedback I have had personally from people who found value from it, is truly humbling. I thank Bike Tours For The Wounded personally and look forward to rewarding their support and faith in me, by assisting you in the future in some way.
“Take care of those around you, but please, take care of yourselves too” – Mark Warwick, Mental Health Consultant, Author and Public Speaker, Mental Health Matters.
