Blogs - Page 4 of 18 - Simon Pollard

The Pennine Way Shakedowns 2 Sleeping with Ghosts

As I lay here, its cold. On the last walk with Dale, I got into my sleeping bag and began shedding clothes. Not this time, I’m putting them on. It’s actually incredibly hard to put on a fleece whilst in a sleeping bag. This whole walk has been dominated by a cold North Wind so far. It’s been lovely when we’ve got out of it, especially when we’ve had a little sun, but it’s been cold most of the day. In fact, it’s led me to my sleeping bag earlier than I might have done otherwise. I know full well, it’s easier to stay warm than it is to get warm and old enough/sensible enough to place that need above Lloyds need for sociability. Even above the fact that I know with the aches and pains that can come with age and spending the day carrying my world on my back, resting on my shoulders to write, read or do anything on my phone will also lead to discomfort. So pretty much sleeping is the only activity then. Especially wrapped up in my bulky cocoon.

Lessons from Book and Tree

Having decided that I wanted the book, the ‘Sheeple Principle’, to be available for my keynote speaking presentation to Dover Rotary on June 13th meant that I needed to address the feedback from my proofreaders and have a proper last read through myself. Thus a lot to do in a short space of time, bearing in mind, that it can take three days for the book to go through Kindles Publishing system, a week get an author copy, to make sure it had all come together and then another week to order a large number of author copies.

Time was tight.

Apples and Saxons 2 The Pennine Way Shakedowns

That brings to another observation. What is beautiful? Or what is beautiful to different people, or useful? As mentioned, the differences in preference for the marshes between Dale and me. However, we are both enjoying the outdoors, both for what it is and being in it and understanding the benefits of it for our mental health. We are both curious and want to know. Lloyd, another of our sons, clearly understands the benefits it gives him for his mental health, the space, away from real life and movement. He has little interest in the elements that make it what it is though. He just enjoys the big picture, making regular pilgrim ages to the Lake District which he loves. Had to get my head around that one. I learn tolerance and understanding every day. That’s one of the wonderful things about these shakedown walks, we are getting to know each other better and I wonder if these excursions may be better for everyone. Give us more understanding of each other and thus more tolerance. Proximity and space are readily available out here.

Apples and Saxons 1. The Pennine Way shakedowns part one.

The first report from the shakedown walks. Planning for the Pennine Way Challenge is underway. There are always a few problems to tackle, not least paths that aren’t there.

The Pennine Way. Inception and planning.

I have wanted to walk the Pennine Way for a long time, probably for as long as I had known it existed. Certainly, after the West Highland Way trek with my son Ross. There was never the time or an opportunity to do so. Ross and I did several other shorter long distance walks, but the Pennine Way was never a reality.

At some point last year my wife suggested that maybe I should do it in September this year, whilst I was still able to, leading up to my sixtieth birthday in October. The idea was intoxicating. My first thought was ‘yes’, tempered with being away from my home and family, my wife in particular, for that amount of time. We had promised that after a week apart when Ross and I walked the South Downs Way we would never be that long apart again and here we were talking about a month.

The Emperors New Clothes, a symbol of overcoming Anxiety

It was at this time I was discovering that much of my life had been dominated by anxiety and the effects of leaving a trail of alcohol fuelled destruction behind me. Having stopped drinking and beginning to realise a lot about my anxiety, I was also starting to feel really good about myself.

59, well going on 60.

One of the nicest things I had said to me recently was during a supervision meeting.

‘How old are you?’ I was asked.

‘59’ I replied.

‘Wow’, the gentleman replied, ‘you present as much younger’.

And as my wife has taught me, because before I’d have poo poo’ed it, I just replied, ‘Thank you’.

It’s one of those moments I hang onto when life is difficult, and anxiety is threatening to rise up engulf me. When belief and my purpose seems like an uphill struggle that is too hard to endure.

A cure for Anxiety, No thank you!

Not at the moment anyway.

Really, you ask, you’d say ‘no’ to a cure, to living without anxiety?

And right now I would have to say ‘yes, yes I would’.

It actually fuels my positivity, gives me creativity and is the trigger for some of my personal choices.

Where to begin. Anxiety has been a part of my life for longer than I care to remember, however I’ve only known what I was dealing with for the last few years. It provides the trigger for the public speaking I do and also the writing I do. The nervous tension I am fuelled with just before I speak, but also when planning what to say and what I write means that when I give release to those ‘juices’ the words just flow out of me.

I reach a level that I couldn’t reach by formal planning. You’ll have heard of the phrase ‘piss poor planning results in piss poor performance, well that’s not the case for me.

At all.

Who would you have in your boat?

A wise man once said, ‘You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with’.

That’s an incredibly powerful statement.

Who do you live with?

Who do you work with?

Who are your friends?

Are they your friends?

You can’t easily change the people you work with, at least not quickly.

You can’t change those you live with, at least not quickly.

You can though change those people who are your friends, should you choose to do so.

The question then, is why would I want to change the people I spend time with?

The POWER of a Positive Decision

One of the secrets for a happy life, I believe, is to never give up. Remember why you are doing whatever you have chosen to do and keep chasing it. The payoff for persistence is huge, however, working out a positive plan B can be, a vital, if sometimes tricky, necessity. I think it comes back to the difference between a reaction and a response. Let me explain…