How to make the most out of anything
Being quite a busy person, not having all the time in the world to do whatever I want all the time. I have to juggle the little time I have left after all my obligations to be able to do what I love, my sparetime hobbies.
So I thought I´d put down some thoughts about how I try to make the most out of anything, and my thought process behind it. As an example I will use my thought process when going out backcountry skiing.
First of all, be happy with what you got. It is not always easy to see the bigger picture, but being able to stop and say, hey! Right now in my life this is what time I have to spare, make the most out of it. Even the smallest mission can be as rewarding as the biggest, it just depends of what you make of it. Having somewhat of a plan on what you wish to achieve each time, gives you a better chance of coming home happy. Rather than going on a happy go lucky outing. I break the process down in three easy steps as we all do to some extent: Planning - Preperation - Action. But the key is to have a clear purpose when doing so.
Planning
So how to start. To me planning is key. Yes, being obligated to others means you have to plan ahead. The plan do not have to be ten pages long, and in at least three copies. Just having a general plan in your head with what you need to make what you want to do sucessful. If your going on bigger outings, writing things down can be smart. Being a free spirit with no obligations just going with the flow, is sadly not what familiy life is. A little reality check here, everything is a compromise of other things. To me familiy comes first. So a plan is key. Also, being outdoors can be risky, depending on the environment you are about to step in to. Planning and acknowledging the potential risks that may occur is also very important to give you and your group a mental readiness before going out. Having a plan for what to do it something bad happens, can take a lot of stress away should something happend.
Prepare
The rough plan is complete. Whats next, well of course it´s time to prepare. This goes somewhat hand in hand with the planning. But for ease sake I will differ them here. If I am planning a trip outside, it often means going when the rest is at work or at school. So the evening or days before, regarding on how big the trip is, I usually gather all the things I need. This gives the upper edge and a more stressless start when it´s time to go. And remember, to charge up those batteries if you are taking something electric. Lesson learned a few times regarding this.
In the phase of preperation I very often use the technique of visualisation. When gathering the equipment, I often see the trip like a movie in my head. This gives me a mental preparation on whats to come, and how I want to do it. If one of the reasons for the trip is to shoot photography. This is a good time to try and visualize the shots you want to capture. I also visualize potential risks, and how to handle them. Visualization is a great technique, I recommend you to practice this if you are not familiar with it. Being able to visualize often requires some sort of experience of the subject and environment, to be able to give the most correct representation of reality. But on my part it is a great technique I use pretty much all the time.
One of my biggest passions is backcountry skiing. An activity that comes with a lot of potential risks. Yes you can make it very safe and still fun. But eventually you will be in an environment that you can get seriously hurt in. So give yourself the best preperation you can before you go out, so that you can cope with potential unintentional situations. In ex. taking an avalanche course. And ever so important practice these skills in a safe enviroment. One short course do not make you an expert! Also some general first aid knowledge comes a long way.
Every time I go out to do activities which have a high risk potential I have a general rule to always go with a buddy. If going backcountry skiing, being caught in an avalanche is always a factor to consider. Having a buddy with you that can find you and dig you out in the first 10-20 minutes, is what can be the reason you can talk about it later. Are you and your buddy ready for that? When the professional rescue team comes, it is often to late for those fully submerged. Researcing weather forecast, and if backcountry skiing the relevant avalanche forecast. And what the potential avalanche problem is and using maps to scout the route in advance can give you a good understanding for what terrain you are about to step into. When going backcountry skiing, the day to day situation may change. So having a backup plan in safer terrain is a good advice. This may give you an easier to accept fallback, if the potential risk is higher than expected.
A word of advise, choose your group carefully. In all situations and activities that have a potential high risk, I do not go with anyone. Yes it might be a harsh statement. The reason is I want to maximize my chances to go home aswell. Group dynamics is a powerful thing. And being in the wrong one can be potentially hazardous. Don´t just go with the flow, and take everything for granted. The most experienced person is often the one that takes charge when in a group. But that doesn´t mean its automatically a good thing. So having a good group dynamic, and being able to question the decisions taken is very important. And if that experienced person is you, are you ready to be in the spotlight?
When I am outside I have a "what if" and "why" mentality. This is where your planning and preperation comes to it´s right. I am not a happy go lucky person, as you probably have realised with what you already have read. I usually go with the same group every time I go out backcountry skiing or climbing. Knowing each others strenghts and weaknesses gives a better chance of success. I have gone on trips with people that I don´t know personally. And to me, that was not the best experience. One more thing to think about regarding groups, is how many people should be in it. The more people, the slower the group moves. In some terrain slow progress is not good. In my experience a good number is around 2-5 people. If you are short on time, my advise is to go with a small group where you know each other.
Action
The day has come, and you are done with the plan and preperation. Regarding on what you or your group have planned to achieve, the success lies in your preperations. I usually recheck the weather forecast and other relevant forecast the same day I´m going out. Even the smallest mission our outing can have big preexpectations. Remember to take a step back when out in the terrain and ask yourself, what if? And why is it safe? Taking small breaks to reevaluate the situation when you enter different terrain profiles is key in my book. Remember, there is always next season. If you and your group find yourself in a situation you don´t have the experience to handle regardless of the preperations. Turn around. I rather live to tell the tale, than to go out because of poor judgement. Taking breaks also offer good training situations for the not so experienced in the group. A situation one person finds to dangerous, can be because he or she lacks the experience to handle it.
I am not a person that does no mistakes, and knows it all. Everything is a learning process, and I think we all should acknowledge this. A good tool to use after the trip is done is performing a debrief. It does not have to be a big formal thing as it sounds. But a general chat about what was good and what was not so good regarding decision making etc. Was your visualisation in the preperation true to what you experienced? what can you do better for next time? Using these tools and others I think even the smallest outing can be very rewarding, as long as you give it a purpose.
If you have any questions or comments. Please leave one down below.
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