Climbing Kilimanjaro: Mental Training Plan

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In October, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. It was an 8-day trek that my husband, Matt, and I took on with a group of 19 others in support of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society—you can check out the full recap of the trip here. I won’t lie to you and tell you that I was doing daily meditations on the mountain and having an Eat, Pray, Love experience. It was, however, one of the most fun, exciting, and challenging experiences of my life. While I did a lot of physical training (why is the stair stepper so hard?), I think the most useful training came in the form of another fun, exciting, and challenging experience—starting Gild Collective.

Building Gild over the past 3.5 years was my mental training, pushing me to be mentally tougher, more resilient, and to truly believe that I can do anything I set out to do. While the day-to-day of starting and growing a company looks nothing like 5 days of hiking in the rain, followed by a 9.5-hour final climb to the summit through the night, my internal dialog sounded oddly the same.

One foot in front of the other. Focus on the good. Laugh through the tough stuff. You’ve got this.

As we head into 2019, new challenges are sure to come our way as a business, but with lessons learned along the way, I’m excited to tackle what’s ahead.

How can you build resilience into your 2019 plan? Whether you’re big on resolutions, following a strategic plan for your objectives, or just making small tweaks along the way, there are opportunities to bounce back in the face of adversity to continue achieving your big goals.

Oh, and make sure you have a little fun along the way!