MOTIVATION - 5 WAYS TO STAY IN THE ZONE

You’ve taken the steps to doing something you love and set some big goals in your life. You have stepped out of your comfort zone and challenged yourself by taking a sculpting or drawing class, registering a business name; you have been getting up early and working on your autobiographical novel or swimming at the beach every morning...maybe you have even joined one of our Edgewalkers Creativity & Walking Retreats. Great!
You have moved out of dreaming, planning, maybe procrastinating...and into action!
 
Enthusiasm is rampant at the start; the possibilities of living more creatively, more connected to your body & nature and with more energy and self-expression are exciting and motivating. However, if you are anything like me, staying in the zone can be a challenge.
 
Here are 5 things that I know help me sustain my enthusiasm when it slackens, maintain my focus when it diverts and keep me loving the life I create daily when I doubt my choices.

Creativity & Walking Retreat 2017 - Margaret River, Western Australia

1. Make it a habit 

“Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is a result of good work habits.” Twyla Tharp

I know that sounds counter-intuitive because we grow up with the notion that creativity is something that is inspired by a muse or suddenly happens to specially gifted and talented people. Or as Tharp puts it 'we think creativity is a way of keeping everything fresh and new, while habit implies routine and repetition.' But anything that we want to become good at requires practice. Even the most talented of athletes or musicians will invest tens of thousands of hours on repetitive tasks just to make them second nature. 

For the last two months I have been rekindling a yoga practice. Why? It's good for me: my moods are better, my body feels alive, my head is clearer and kinder and softer; quieter, less neurotic. And, in relation to my business and the life I am living and creating, it gives me the focus & strength to hold a large space for it all to manifest and take place in.

So here's how I am creating the habit: I just SHOW UP. Every day. Don't worry about whether you write a lot, walk enough kilometres, paint with the right colours or hit the right notes; don't worry about whether you've got the right workspace or studio or business model; just show up; because once you show up, as YogaLab owner & teacher Shawn Taylor, reminds us every day, the hardest part is over. 

Show up enough times so the blank page will no longer be terrifying; enough times so that your fingers don't hurt across the guitar strings; enough times so that you generate enough income to call yourself a business, show up until, as my performance specialist friend Julie Meek calls it, the habit is 'non-negotiable'.

I have other habits that serve me well. I write every day. I walk every day. And now, at least five times a week, I show up on the mat.

2. Achieve one small goal at a time...with gratitude

Walking in Mongolia - Tavan Bogd National Park

I tramp a perpetual journey - Walt Whitman

I have a big vision for Edgewalkers. I want Edgewalkers to grow into a successful, international company that plays a role in bringing people closer to nature and to their most creative, self-expressive & adventurous selves. In addition, I want to continue to conduct community & organisational development through theatre-based, transformative & creative approaches to tackle difficult issues all over Australia and the world. And, I want to continue creating both academic and popular content about it all. And...(breath) I want  go on a long hiking adventure every year.

Right now, I could basically be working all day & night to do everything I want to do! There is always content to write, improvements to make on the website, on our marketing; there is always social media to post, networks to build, clients to contact, writing to edit, new tracks to walk, packages to sell. It is endless. For me acknowledging each small goal at a time reminds me that although there is a long 'to do list' I am on track and present.

Acknowledge your small wins with marked actions and small celebrations. When you make that difficult phone call; when you run all the way up the hill without a break; when you pay one more instalment of your epic holiday...or when you simply turn up daily. Record it somewhere. Reflect on it. Rejoice deep inside and...be grateful.

Thank yourself and everything that has conspired to come together as a result of your intention and each little action you have taken to get to where you are. I like to burn candles as gestures of gratitude and accomplishment. If that is too hippy for you, then do something more transactional and buy yourself movie tickets, or get your hair done, or have some chocolate. 

I also use a whiteboard (I'm a hippy with attitude) where I jot weekly goals (usually I just change the dates and some of items on the list remain the same) and as I move through them I cross them off with different coloured pens! At the end of the week I have a colourful testament to me being absolutely on track to my bigger vision. 

Despite all of this, I still have to remind myself daily to listen to my own advice because like everyone else, I can so easily get bogged down in fear, impatience & stress...I find this as difficult as you do.

3. Embrace differences

"A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms'  Zen Shin

Don’t compare yourself to others. ‘Yeah, yeah’ I can hear your cynic saying, you’ve heard that before; well hear it again! You are unique. We all are. Comparing ourselves to others is a sure way to lose motivation. There are going to be people who have already run a marathon, published a book (or two), won photography prizes, established successful businesses or climbed Mt Kilimanjaro; there are people who swim faster, jump higher and will always look better than you in a bikini. Get over it! Shift your perception to where YOU are right now and how wonderful that is. Be inspired by what others are doing, rejoice in their achievements but remain focused on your own unique goals. 

 4. Surround yourself with support & inspiration

When it is clear you are amongst like-minded people - Creativity & Walking Retreat April 2016

"you are a sea of light. open your eyes. see yourself' Nayyirah Waheed

Firstly, surround yourself with your own inspiration. Allocate a certain amount of time a day to read, watch, listen or do what you know inspires you. It does not have to be long or complicated.

I am a staunch Morning Pages advocate, even though I had always kept a journal beforehand, I have been doing Morning Pages since I first read Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way in 1999. Three pages of unadulterated, stream-of-consciousness writing that allows my mind to empty out concerns & insecurities as well as motivate & show me a way through difficulties. They are like a meditation. As Cameron puts it: 

"in Morning Pages ...we pull ourselves inward to the core of our true values, perceptions, and agendas...it is a form of meditation, a particularly potent and freeing form ...our worries, fantasies, anxieties, hopes, dreams, concerns and convictions all float freely across the page. The page becomes a screen for our consciousness. Our thoughts are like clouds crossing before the mountain of our observing eye."

The Morning Pages take me fifteen to thirty minutes and; every time, they slow me right down and help me start my day more connected to myself and why I am doing what I am doing.

Secondly, surround yourself with the inspiration of others. Be around people who leave you expanded and excited about life and what you are doing & what they are doing; people who leave you feeling lighter and brighter. You know who these people are; they are interested in what you say to them, they see the light and the value of what you are doing. Surround yourself with people who may not be coming along with you but encourage you on your unique adventure.

This also means staying far, far away from people who, for whatever reason, do not or cannot support or encourage you. Cameron calls them 'poisonous playmates'. Maybe it's because our new direction threatens them. Maybe it's because they do not have the imagination or the courage to step into their own self-expression and dreams. Whatever the reasons, we have to stay away from their doubts & criticism to protect our newly found creativity & direction. 

5. Go for a walk!!

Walking on the Cape to Cape track in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, Western Australia

"Walking allows us to be in our bodies and in the world without being made busy by them' Rebecca Solnit 

I cannot stress how important walking regularly has been for me in generating ideas, problem solving, reflecting, analysing, and in effect, dealing head on with everything that life throws at me on this mysterious journey of life, love and creating. 

I have learnt to simply & unceremoniously, put on my shoes, grab my keys and just step outside the front door when I'm spinning my wheels at my desk or when my thinking keeps sinking me deeper into a problem instead of out of it. I have learnt to block out a half day to to regularly go for a longer walk; to spend a few hours in a quiet nature track somewhere to get clarity and direction amongst trees and flowers.

For me staying motivated is a daily, long-term task that requires a concerted effort so that I can habitually make choices that support me every step of this journey and help me hold my vision &  create it. 

I hope you find something useful & encouraging in what I have shared and that it helps you stay on track!! If you want to stay connected to a group of like-minded people more informally join our Edgewalkers Facebook Group and support each other on this journey of creativity & self-expression.

HIKING MONGOLIA - DAY 5 - 8 days through the Tavan Bogd National Park

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What a sublime view to wake up to and what the photo cannot convey is the tranquil sound of the brook whispering beside us. That morning we saw Mongolian mountain goats (Capra sibirica) but were not quick enough to capture them on photos.  We captured this shot of a land squirrel though.

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Our lunch of two-minute noodles never tasted so good as today after the effort to reach the 3,400-metre pass, sitting on chunks of black and grey slate, the sharp chilly wind offsetting the bright, warm sun, surrounded by 360 degree views of the top of several peaks and smaller glaciers. See video below.

Before descending into the Khar Salaa valley, we were overtaken by a pack of speeding camels loaded with gear. This was a breathtaking and very dramatic section of walking, senses on overload from every direction. 

All around were mountain edges, ‘tobo’ shrines, the river flowing in the distance, glaciers, changing terrain & wildflowers.

As we descended to the valley, the activities of nomadic Tuvan herders captivated our attention while we rested and figured out a way to get across the large boggy stretch up ahead.

The end of summer signals a time to prepare for the harsh Mongolian winter. At the camp ground some nomads were occupied with fixing a truck, others were checking on the drying goat skins spread like offerings outside a ger.

Further afield, a team of men and women were finishing a day of grass cutting (using scythes) and packing it tight into back of a truck.

Tavan Bogd National Park - Nomads preparing for winter

Finally, two girls signalled to us to follow them and showed us a way to hop over the streams and waterways.

We slept in a nook on a hill between an rocky outcrop and the path, surrounded by marmot holes - we still did not get a good shot of them but it was another amazing night in the Mongolian wilderness.

Big thank you to Morgan Gillham for the exceptional photographs!

HIKING MONGOLIA - DAY 4 - 8 days through the Tavan Bogd National Park

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The river was loud and the ground was hard, but neither was loud enough or hard enough to stop us both from sleeping well. It was a magic spot with the river foaming white as it raced round the rocky bends, speeding past us roaring. I didn’t want to leave.

And yet, from the moment we set off, seen in this photograph above, walking was more than wonderful that whole day. I felt truly in a groove, comfortable with the weight of my pack, secure about food and water, I started to fully notice, enjoy and appreciate the flowers and insects, the different succulents sprouting out of rock crannies, the sounds of kites, hawks and eagles, the scurrying land squirrels...

We continued to gradually climb, the terrain a combination of arid gravelly paths over rocky outcrops, clear dirt tracks through patches of forest and bog like wetlands on the lower sections of the valley… fast moving streams cascaded down the side of the hills around us.

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We came across a tranquil lake where it would also have been magic to camp. Next time, I thought to myself.

Walking over the wetlands kept us alert, leaping over deceivingly shallow puddles to avoid drenching my boots.

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Finally, we found the path we had to veer slightly east on and climbing got tougher and steeper, our breaths quickening as we ascended above the valley and up the mountain.  

Eventually, sweaty, puffing and feeling the weight or our packs we once again found ourselves walking close to the edge of a not so shallow, wide and fast-moving river which we knew we were going to have to cross. We tried to find stepping stones so that we did not have to get our feet wet but in the end we waded across boots around our necks, backpacks unclipped – the glacier water bitingly, painfully cold.

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The sun was already going down when we got to a spot (above) and camped on the softest, warmest grass.

HIKING MONGOLIA - DAY 3 - 8 days through the Tavan Bogd National Park

DAY 3:

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I woke before sunrise to a faint, early morning moon suspended pearl-like above the lake, followed by a sensational sunrise. Despite the early rise, a short but heavy downpour forced us to spend a couple more hours inside the tent, cocooned in our sleepingbags.

We met a group of Kazakh women and children as we walked away from the campground - they invited us in for tea but we were keen to get going as it was already mid-morning. We took some photos and exchanged names so that we could connect on Facebook and share them. 

Nomadic family grazing their goats on the edges of Khoton Lake.

We started our first more rigorous stretch of walking today with some hills offering a welcomed challenge.  It was just the right combination of warm sun and cool breeze for it too.

At the northern end of the lake, where the river flows into it from the mountain glaciers, we crossed another long wooden bridge that took us almost directly to the second ranger's station. While he casually looked at our permits and passports, the ranger pointed up river and asked ‘Tavan Bogd?’. We nodded as he signalled for us to stay close to the west side of the milky white river, carrying sediment from the top of the glacier.

We walked upstream with the river on our right through the boggy, darker, more muddy terrain on a clearly visible path. We met a group of hikers who were doing a one-day hike around the lake with a guide that went ahead of them on a horse - this section is a fairly well-trodden path clearly used by herders as well as hikers. 

Further north we left the river on one side as we started to climb steadily up a large rocky outcrop fringed abundantly with juniper bushes and followed the clear path along the rocky ridge of a gorge.

With the added elevation came impressive views of the lake on one side and snow-peaked mountain tops in the distance on the other. It did not matter where we looked, the views were magnificent.

We left the wide open space of the valley to go into a gorge where the valley deepens and starts to ascend into the mountains.

We camped beside the fast-moving river, loud and powerful, at a spot that had been used as a campsite before; firewood was left stacked on one side for us to find. We made sure we did the same and left a small stack of firewood with plenty of kindling for someone else to find.

Meals are so enjoyable on a hike. We had a hearty dinner of 2-minute noodles, miso soup, dried fruit, peanuts and coffee while enjoying the warmth of the fire and the sound of the river roaring past. 

HIKING MONGOLIA - DAY 2 - 8 days through the Tavan Bogd National Park

Coordinates: LAT 48.613889 LONG 88.341111

We set off early from the above coordinates and continued walking along the edge of the lake, as close to the water as we could, regularly coming across herds of yaks and sheep grazing. Occasionally, in the distance a couple of young children played in front of a 'ger' or yurt.

Walking on this side of the lake meant walking through patches of fairly dense larch forest.

We also walked through quite boggy terrain surrounding meandering creeks and brooks that empty into the lake. We had to cross many of these waterways by taking off our shoes and wading through calf high water.

Today it took us a while to figure out a way across the delta-like network of streams emptying into one side of the lake. We took off our shoes and waded to sandy islands that deceivingly seemed to offer a shallower place for crossing.

Soft and spongy, the grass underfoot squished between muddy toes half expecting to be jabbed with a stick or rock. While on one of these sandy islands vegetated by bushes and water grasses, we noticed big weather building up in the north on this side of the valley and in the distance heavy water fell on happy pines on our side of the mountain.

We hurried to get our wet weather gear out and scrambled to take cover in between the branches of a small, bushy tree. In our plastic pants and rain jackets, bare feet (cause we had been wading) we sat there for 15 minutes while the rain came down of us in buckets. Grateful for wet weather gear we continued until we found a way across this wetland section of the lake.

We camped only 6 or 7 metres form the edge of the Lake, the water lapped the mossy pebbles all night while a full moon and a warm fire made it a very peaceful. My wet shoes dried completely next to the fire.

HIKING MONGOLIA - DAY 1 - 8 days through the Tavan Bogd National Park

The skies are almost always blue, the landscape is breathtakingly stunning & the wilderness unspoilt - Mongolia is a walker's paradise & a perfect setting for exploration & self-discovery.

This is a photo essay follows an 8-day hike through the Tavan Bogd National Park, approximately 1,700 km from Ulaan Baatar (UB), Mongolia’s capital, and home to the Mongolian section of the Altai Mountains. In summer, it is home to many Tuvan and Kazakh nomadic herders who bring their animals to graze in its pastures. Tavan Bogd is also an idyllic place to spend day after day walking immersed in unspoilt and remote wilderness.

DAY 1 - Ulgii to Khoton Lake

Ulgii - the River Khovd and mountains all round this Kazakh town and gateway to the Tavan Bogd National Park. 

We left Ulgii from the northwest end of the town, past the airport where the bitumen road ends and almost seamlessly veers slightly to the left and onto a dirt track. Most of Mongolia road travel takes place along this colossal network of dirt roads and paths on which you rarely see a post or sign for directions.

Leaving Ulgii... no signs or posts in sight!

It is an exciting, bumpy ride inside the Russian furgon (like a 4WD combi), we coasted down the side of hills like we were riding rough waves on open seas; bouncing and sliding on the felt seat covers, slowing down often to let the herds of sheep or goats scatter around us, and let us through.

On the way to the park we drove through Tsengel district and stopped at our driver’s sister’s place for something to eat. For visitors, food is probably one of the most challenging things about Mongolia, especially those of us who are vegetarian or vegan. On this occasion, in characteristic Mongolian/Kazakh hospitality we were offered a freshly–made stew of goat liver and potatoes. My meat-eating companion braved the pungent dish while I was happy with the homemade bread and black tea.

The drive was exciting: long stretches of undulating grassy green hills with yaks, horses, goats and sheep grazing in herds. In the horizon snow-peaked mountains, beside us rushing rivers and creeks whose crossings require skilled 4WD action over uneven, pebbled banks; above us, endless skies with large, greying clouds.

Here Khurgon Lake just south of Khoton Lake can be seen in the distance...almost there. Five and a half hours after leaving Ulgii we arrived at this bridge at the southern most end of Khoton Lake, the start of our hike. 

Khoton Lake - the start of our hike is at the southern end of the lake.

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Our walk starts here with a bridge crossing over Khoton Lake (above) at about 2,000 metres above sea level. We said good bye to our driver and double checked our pick up from the northern entry into the park 8 days later.

After sitting in the van for half the day we walked energetically, the lake on our right, China not far on our left and all around scattered larch trees and remaining trunks, hacked, evidence of significant clearing, probably for firewood.

Not long after crossing we said hello to a group of Russian mountain bikers who had ridden around the 50 square kilometres of Khoton Lake; the lake is quite popular with Russian tourists who come to camp and fish in its plentiful waters.

After about 8 km we found a patch of grass free of twigs and rocks from where we could set up camp. As the sun set on this first day of our 8-day hike through the Tavan Bogd National Park this pack of horses walked past us in the distance...a great last view of the day on this already amazing journey.

Check out or Instagram page for more great photos!