Mind Over Matter

When I was younger my Gran lent me a book entitled 'Mind Over Matter', one man's story of his expedition to the South Pole. At the time I thought I understood the full meaning of the book, however, it is only now having conquered Mount Kilimanjaro that I really know the true meaning of mind over matter.

The top of Africa is up there somewhere

It's approaching four o'clock in the morning, I am two hours into my summit attempt, ahead is six kilometres of hard hiking, the temperature is -4, the wind chill factor makes it seem like I am walking around in an industrial freezer, and my body is telling me to seek warmth and escape this insanity. My mind, on the other hand, is completely focused on achieving my goal, to stand on top of Africa. Do I listen to my body or my mind?

Enjoying the view after the pain

The answer is simple, the execution of the answer is not so without a true belief that I can do this. Thankfully, through years of exposure to such positive minded parents, I am able to block out what my body is telling me and go with my mind. With a clear image in my head of me standing at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro I press forward, every step edging me closer to knowing just how it feels to realising my goal.

Sunrise on top of Africa

Suddenly the temperature drops yet further, all feeling in my feet and hands is gone, my breath is freezing my balaclava, my body is slowly shutting down. This is where I finally grasped the true meaning of mind over matter, for it was only mental power that took me through the early hours of that bitter Sunday morning. When you truly believe you can achieve something, then, and only then, can you tune out to what your body is saying and let your mental belief carry you home.

Little White Fluffy Clouds

Do I have the will? That is the question going through my mind, and it's now that I realise I do have the will. There is a burning desire to achieve that fires my will, nothing will stop me from doing this. It may sound odd to some, but it is only when faced with extreme adversity, such as was in front of me on the mountain, that the full power of the mind can be realised.

The Crater a.k.a The Danger Zone

As I neared the summit, still in temperatures more suited to the Antarctic than Africa, my body began to come back to life having been ruled by my mind for the best two hours part of two hours. I had endured and survived conditions I would never normally do so thanks to my mind's ability to control my body, to push it where it didn't think was possible to go. I had achieved my dream, I had conquered Mt Kilimanjaro thanks to an undying belief that anything was possible.

Someone's happy to be at the top

The mind is the most powerful tool available to all of us, yet many don't utilise it to its full potential. Having done just that myself, and knowing how far mental belief will take me I will never again underestimate the ability to put my mind over matter. Doing so makes anything achievable, you just have to have that ultimate belief in what you are striving to succeed.

Moshi, Tanzania