Self-Improvement

Pushing Limits Beyond the Comfort Zone

August 14th 2015 is a date I will never forget. After climbing Machu Picchu Mountain, I proposed to my now wife Yesi at the lost city of the Inca’s. But earlier, at the top of the mountain, I became stuck on a narrow stone ledge, while Yesi climbed up a near vertical stairway to the summit. Fear prevented me from going further. That day, as I huddled against the rock face waiting for Yesi to come back down from the summit, I stared out over Machu Picchu, to the high snowy peaks of the Urubamba Mountains beyond. There was so much to see and explore. Yet I thought I could never overcome my fear of heights.

Three years later, by pushing limits and going beyond my comfort zone, I scaled those very peaks by hiking the 4-day Classic Inca Trail. By doing so, I learned that obstacles can be overcome, and goals, no matter how far away they seem, can be reached.

I was stuck on a ledge on Machu Picchu mountain, unable to get to the summit.

The snowy peaks of the Urubamba Mountains reaching for the clouds. They represented a non-achievable goal in 2015.

The fear that gripped me on that narrow ledge on Machu Picchu Mountain was rooted in a lack of self-confidence and awareness; the result of a life spent looking down not up. The fear was born out of negativity. Pushing limits at that time was not on my agenda. I was in a comfort zone, telling myself I was not capable of going beyond.

Pushing Limits on the Inca Trail

But on December 14th 2018, I scaled ‘Dead Woman’s Pass‘ on the Inca Trail. In doing so, I got to 14.000 feet – over six thousand feet above that ledge where I had been stuck. It was an absolutely unforgettable experience to be so high above the clouds, and so far above the point where I previously felt so much fear.

High above the clouds, at 14,000 feet on the Inca Trail

Seeing beauty which I previously thought I would not get to see

Seeing such beauty, and knowing that I had challenged my fears and worked hard to get there was a magical moment. The only thing that has changed since being stuck on that ledge is my attitude. In 2015, I was looking down, to where I had come from. Now, my natural inclination is to look up. The things that have made all the difference are meditation, and the use of mindfulness to stay in the present moment, where fear cannot penetrate.

Meditation allows me (or anyone else) to set about pushing limits by muting the many negative thoughts which give rise to self doubt and fear. Our natural state of being is not based on negativity and fear. We place these obstacles in front of ourselves due to a lack of awareness. Meditation allows us to see that we have an innate ability (hence my business name In8 Motivation) to achieve great things.

Pushing Limits With Mindfulness

When we learn to use mindfulness to stay in the present moment, we see the world in a completely different way. It’s the same world, the same mountain, the same ledge, the same drop; but we see it through different eyes. This applies to adventures, our careers, relationships, health and so much more. This forms the basis of the Mindfulness and Motivation workshops I deliver in New York City.

Fear lives in the past and the future. When we position ourselves in the present, we can naturally measure our ability, and see that we can achieve much more than our negative self would allow us to believe. Dead woman’s pass is not Everest, but it is 6,000 feet above the point where I sat crippled by fear just three years earlier. That is tangible progress. I’m proud of what I achieved on the Inca Trail, with its high passes, steep rugged steps and many narrow ledges. But I am especially happy to discover once again that meditation is the fuel for motivation to grow as a person and achieve goals. Pushing limits allows us to see the world in a different way. Fear loses it’s potency when challenged by a fully motivated, fully positive mindset.

Pushing Limits With Shared Positivity

Over 4 years ago I embarked on a process of self improvement through meditation and positive thinking. I am inspired by many things and many people. In 2016, after I cycled on Trans-Atlantic Cycle across America, Liam Porter penned a motivational poem inspired by myself and Jason Black called Life Cycle.

‘Life Cycle’ – An inspirational poem by Liam Porter

The funny thing is, that poem, which I have stuck to the refrigerator in our apartment in New York, inspires me every day. Liam followed it up in 2018 with another poem called Magic, which speaks of goal setting, pushing limits and the rewards that come with being proactively engaged in personal development. There is an important message revealed in those poems. Positivity towards goal setting and pushing limits is a phenomenal force when shared. Liam said I inspired him, yet he also inspires me. That is the power of shared positivity. Try it!

‘Magic’ – A poem about motivation and perseverance towards achieving goals, by Liam Porter

Pushing Limits And A More Fulfilling Life

Dwelling in negativity and accepting less than what we are capable of is a toxic quagmire. By pushing limits in terms of our thinking and our willingness to share positivity, we can not only feel better about ourselves and others, but we can achieve so many great things. Shared positivity, meditation and pushing limits can propel us towards new levels, where life becomes so much more fulfilling. I am going to keep looking up with a positive mindful attitude – who knows what will come next. Well, I already know, but Im not telling you yet!

The modus operandi on a cargo voyage is to get freight to it’s destination as quickly and cheaply as possible. But as a passenger on a container ship, the journey is of much greater interest. That was certainly the case for me, as I sailed from New York to Liverpool, via Baltimore, Portsmouth and Nova Scotia. This is the first of a two-part post, recalling my voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on a container ship.

Planning the Voyage

When I announced that I would be making a 4,200 nautical mile Atlantic voyage on a cargo ship, it was greeted with a tepid response. Freighter travel certainly isn’t conventional. But traveling on a container ship differs only from cruising in that it demands that you must your own entertainment. There are many hours to be wiled away while rolling on the ocean waves. That is exactly what attracted me to freighter travel. There are no lines, no steadfast rules, restricted areas, crowded decks or noisy night-clubs. What is lost in terms of organized entertainment during cargo travel, is regained ten-fold by tranquility.

Growing up in Donegal, I was always fascinated by the ocean. Watching sunsets over the Atlantic, I often wondered what lay beyond the horizon. In my thirties, I surfed (badly!) on Donegal’s Atlantic coast, and was again drawn by the mystery of just how far those waves had traveled across the ocean to wash up on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. In 2014, I found meditation while sitting on a clifftop high above the ghost fishing village of Port, in south west Donegal. Once again I felt lured by the great watery beyond.

Sunset over the Atlantic, in Donegal Ireland.

But the moment when I really decided to take a voyage across the ocean came thousands of miles from Donegal – and far from the ocean. I was in Utah; the third state on my solo bike ride across America on Trans-Atlantic Cycle. It was over 100 degrees in the Great Basin Desert and the Canyon-Lands, and I was in serious trouble. Dehydration and sickness had slowed my progress, yet somehow I had to keep going. To distract myself, I visualized the Atlantic Ocean. My body was suffering, but I hydrated the mind by meditating and visualizing the ocean. Later, while recovering in Moab, where the temperature hit 110 degrees, I had a dream about crossing the ocean to Ireland. And that is how the notion of taking a freighter ship first took hold.

After a little bit of searching, I found a company in New Zealand called Freighter Travel (NZ). The owner, a Scot named Hamish, hooked me up with passage aboard the Atlantic Star. What had started out as a visualization was now becoming a reality.

Setting out on the Voyage

On the day of departure, New York City gave me one final reminder as to why I was heading out into the ocean. Traffic, public transport delays and weather conditions all threatened to sabotage my embarkation. Somehow though, I made it to the dock on time, and hauled my suitcase up the five-story gangway.The Atlantic Star sits dockside like one of the many co-op apartment buildings where I live in Jackson Heights, Queens. Indeed, at three times the length of a football pitch, the large container ship is comparable in size to an entire New York City block.

At 100,000 tonnes and capable of carrying 3,800 containers and 1,300 automobiles, the Atlantic Star is about the length of a New York City block!

Exhausted, I made it to my spacious en-suite cabin, and was then shown to the ‘Mess Room’ where ‘Messman’ Lucio, and the ships cook, ‘Jose Castillo Jr’, had lunch ready and awaiting my arrival. I was then free to wander out onto the deck at my leisure, from where I watched the sunset. Finally, I could relax.

My spacious en suite cabin on the Atlantic Star

The only other passenger to board was Jim from the state of Montana. He had recently returned from a two year Peace Corp post in Mongolia. Before settling back into a political administration job in Washington DC, Jim was setting off to travel the world. Or at least as much of it as he could see before his money would run out. That would not be for some time if continuing to travel on a container ship.

The captain of the Atlantic Star and two of his officers were from Bulgaria. There was a single Russian officer on board. His only communications offering was to wish everyone a “good appetite” upon entering the Mess Room. The remaining two officers and crew were Filipino. Coupled with the English registered ship operated by an American company on behalf of an Italian family, it was quite the international affair. Especially since the Atlantic Star would be calling in Canada, Belgium, Germany and Sweden.

Leaving New York City to begin the Atlantic voyage

After the sun had set over New Jersey, the ship was slowly cajoled from her berth by a pair of hard-working little tug boats. She was nudged around in situ, and then under her own steam, began to weave her way past Staten Island, and out into New York harbor. As  darkness fell, the Manhattan skyline came out to wish us a bon voyage. Several minutes later, the Atlantic Star passed under Verrazano Narrows Bridge. In silence, and against the reflected colorful lights of Coney Island, we left New York behind and sailed into the night.

Voyage to Chesapeake Bay

Freighter travel is far removed from other forms of transportation. Container ships have dynamic schedules, based on where they can do business. Cargo takes precedence over people, so you just have to kick back and roll with the random stops. With port calls, weather and sea conditions in a state of flux, one or two things remain constant. There is always rolling and pitching on the ocean swells, and there are always three meals a day; breakfast at 7am, lunch at noon and dinner at 6pm. Everything else is subject to change at short notice. In the case of my voyage on the Atlantic Star, we first had to sail southwards along the Jersey shore. Two stops awaited in Chesapeake Bay, before once again calling in New York, and then onwards to Nova Scotia. Only then could I finally cross the Atlantic Ocean. I had been disappointed to hear about this improvised itinerary, but the ocean has no tolerance for impatience. As it transpired, the voyage along the eastern seaboard was one which was very well worth taking.

Taking it easy on the deck of the Atlantic Star container ship

View from the top deck of the Atlantic Star ship

On our first day at sea we sailed under a beautiful late summer sun. I pulled out a deck chair and basked in the golden warmth until I fell asleep. In the moments before I drifted off to sleep, a feeling of complete relaxation and serenity submerged any lingering New York stressors. Meditating while rolling on the ocean waves certainly had a magically transformative effect. While my sleep may have been short, it eclipsed the majority of sleeps I have had on land. That is exactly the essence and beauty of freighter travel – the world is a world away.

I awoke when the sun careered along on it’s arc at an usual rate, casting a sudden shadow on my bliss. While I had dozed peacefully on deck, the ship’s big propellor had come to a standstill. We were now drifting, which explained why the sun had switched sides! Was it now on the port or starboard? Alas I was not yet fluent in ship-speak. The Atlantic Star now lay in wait at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, slowly rising and falling over the swell. Later in the evening, a pilot climbed aboard, and guided the ship up through Chesapeake Bay. Watching the pilot boats arrive alongside the huge ship, and seeing the brave pilot step onto a vertical rope ladder to climb up the outside of several decks was one of the most amazing sights of the entire voyage. Quite remarkably, these brave men have been steering ships into the Chesapeake in one form or another since 1640.

Surprisingly, while at the busy Dundalk Marine Terminal in the port of Baltimore, the Atlantic Star was officially christened, despite having already been at sea for over two years. I took this as a good omen ahead of my epic voyage! During the ceremony I rubbed shoulders with senior figures from the local shipping industry. I also exchanged pleasantries with the owner of the ship, a Mr Grimaldi from Naples, Italy. This little party on the bridge afforded me the opportunity to learn a great deal more about the Atlantic Star, and her role within the shipping industry. Over canapés, my Irish accent was the cause of some hilarities. When asked by a freight forwarder what my role was on the ship for the christening, I replied that I was a passenger. Somehow, my Donegal twang caused a kink in communications, and for some time a group of people thought I was the pastor!

Moving containers around like playing Lego or Tetris!

As a crewman swept up the broken glass from the champagne bottle on the deck of the ship, several huge gantry cranes, aided by an assortment of trucks and machines on Baltimore’s spacious docks, loaded and unloaded hundreds of containers. It was quite a show. The ships ramp was also lowered onto the dock, to accommodate loose freight on trailers, and an small yet eclectic mix of vehicles. It was at this point that I learned we would be sailing across the Atlantic at about half capacity. America’s import/export imbalance with Europe was laid bare on that dock in Maryland.

Cat diggers sitting on the dock at Baltimore, dwarfed by the size of the Atlantic Star.

Containers, Containers, Containers!

The following morning, we set sail back down the bay and passed through (over?) Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. An engineering masterpiece, the bridge spans eighteen miles of water, twice dipping into mile-long tunnels in the middle of the bay. For many, the unique challenge of making such a bay crossing develops into a phobia. Amazingly, many people pay a premium toll charge to have an driver take their car across. Presumably these paying customers then close their eyes while crossing the bridge. How strange it was to look on both sides to see the bridge and highway suddenly plunge into the Chesapeake depths, and to know that cars and trucks were busy crossing beneath the waters that the ship passed over.

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge plunging into one of two mile long tunnels under the bay

Changing weather on Chesepeake Bay. As it turned out, this was also summer giving way to fall.

Later, under a blanket of heavy grey cloud, we slipped through the major US Naval base at Norfolk, Virginia, to an overnight berth at Portsmouth docks. Here, just as in Baltimore, cargo was loaded/unloaded by giant gantry cranes. Watching the 40 foot containers being lifted up and moved around was like witnessing a giant game of Tetris.

Before dawn we left the Chesapeake behind, returning to the Atlantic and sailing back up along the US coast, this time through inclement weather. A first taste of ocean conditions was revealed, due to the large swell coming in against the starboard side. I was no up to speed with ship-speak, having had the first of many interesting conversations with the ships officers. I was welcome on the bridge at any time and made full use of the invite to ask a plethora of questions about the ship, the seascapes and the shipping industry. It was interesting to hear the officers reveal that they did not know what was being transported in each of the thousands of containers stacked up on the decks. Presumably someone in the shipping company would know, but it was irrelevant to the crew. Whether it was three pick-up trucks stacked one with its front wheels resting on the others bed, a priceless art collection on route to a new museum, or a bunch of heavy parts for machinery mattered little at sea. On the ocean wave they are all but containers.

ACL has the admirable record of not having lost a container at sea for over 30 years. This is not the case for other companies. My friend Johnathan, who has worked for a yacht delivery company, and in the process sailed around the world, told me before my departure from New York that floating containers in the ocean represent a serious danger to yachts. I even heard of cases where valuable BMW motorcycles had once washed ashore in shipping containers on the south eastern coast of England. Apparently there wasn’t a farmer on that twenty mile stretch of coastline but who was now the proud owner of a touring motorbike. I was later told by a fellow passenger that almost none of the many and frequent shipping accidents make it into the news. With few eyewitnesses and insurance provided by a sole insurance company (Lloyds of London), containers slip silently into he depths, or worse still, lurk semi-submerged in the pathway of other ships.

A lost shipping container floating on the ocean surface

The ten degree rolls off the Jersey shore served as a marine lullaby, rocking me to sleep like a baby in a crib. An experiment with a drug called dramamine, which prevents motion sickness had caused drowsiness, so I abandoned the dose at that point. My sea legs were holding up just fine anyway, despite the increasing swell and the stories of unreported shipping accidents.

When docked once again in New York, Jim and I joined several crew members on a trip ashore. It felt so strange to be in the New York metropolitan area as a passing visitor. The weather had really taken a turn for the worse now, with non-stop torrential rain and high winds. No one as much, but I think we all wondered what lay in store on our Atlantic voyage. Onwards the Atlantic Star ventured though. After clearing Montauk on the eastern end of Long Island, and sailing north east off the coast of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vinyard, the ship docked in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Again, the weather was foul. I did manage to venture ashore though, motivated by what would be a brief first visit to Canada.

Nova Scotia and the Titanic Graves

The main attraction in Halifax, apart of course from the beautiful city and harbor panoramas, is Fairview Lawn Cemetery. This leafy graveyard serves as final resting place for the majority of those lost during the sinking of the Titanic. Among the many graves is a headstone with the inscription “J. Dawson”. There is a distinctly worn patch of lawn right in front of the stone. Apparently, many visitors stop by the grave, assuming it to be that of Jack Dawson – the character played by Leonardo diCaprio in the 1997 blockbuster movie Titanic. Alas, the J. Dawson in Fairview Lawn Cemetery was but a 23-year old crewman, who had shoveled coal to the furnace men deep in the bowels of the Titanic, as she sailed towards her fatal collision with an ice-berg. The Jack Dawson from the silver screen is entirely fictitious, despite what thousands of romantic movie-loving visitors to Nova Scotia would like to believe. The irony of visiting graves from a famous shipwreck just hours before setting off to cross the Atlantic Ocean was not lost on me, particularly given the stormy weather conditions.

Titanic Grave Site at Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Five More Passengers!

The terrible weather had caused a pair of Canadians, who had been due to board the Atlantic Star in Halifax, to abort their voyage before it had even begun. Five more passengers did board though. A likable 82 year old German man (who Jim from Montana and I secretly called “Helmut”) was joined by French and Italian couples. Michele and Robert Gailleton, from near Lyon, were returning to Europe having just finished touring the Americas and Canada. They had arrived in Uruguay via Senegal with their 1995 Land Rover camper van two years previously. Unsurprisingly they had many tales to share about their epic journey. Their adventure can be tracked here.

The 1995 Land Rover Discover, used by Michele and Robert Gailleton on their tour of the Americas.

Giuesspe Altinier and Sandra Verzola from Venice, were also returning home after having clocked up 40,000 Km’s in six months of touring across the United States and Canada, again by camper van. They had focused primarily on visiting America’s great national parks. “Helmut” was by far the veteran old man of the sea though. He had spent his entire life exploring the worlds oceans. Born and raised on Germany’s North Sea coastline, he started out as a young trawler fisherman, venturing as far north as the east coast of Greenland. He then spent time in the Merchant Navy before moving on to work on oil tankers and managing refineries. He spends his retirement taking voyages around the world on container ships, to relax and reminisce about his life at sea.

Atlantic Star passengers (L-R): Giuseppe Altinier (Italy), Jim Frisk (USA), Sergia Verzola (Italy) and Michele and Robert Gailleton (France). Missing from the picture is “Helmut” from Germany.

As darkness fell we left our sheltered berth in Nova Scotia. Slowly the tree covered islands which dot the entrance to the harbor slipped by, as we set out to cross the Atlantic Ocean on the world’s largest ro-ro container ship. Watching the ever weaker lighthouse beam from Nova Scotia slip beneath the blackened horizon, served to throw up a few moments of anxiety regarding the enormity of the voyage that lay ahead. These brief thoughts were soon quelled by mindful meditation. A cargo voyage is about enjoying whatever unexpected sights and experiences might rise up from the horizon up ahead, so I fully committed to sit back and enjoy the ride. I had little choice in the matter, given that I was now finally in the Atlantic Ocean.

Part two of this post is coming soon!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to cross the ocean in a cargo ship? Me too! That is why I am sailing(?) across the Atlantic Ocean out of New York City. I am hitching a ride on the worlds largest roll-on/roll-off container ship – the Atlantic Star. It will be what is referred to as a cargo cruise. Not only will I be traveling towards home, but it will also be a digital detox, and a chance to meditate.

What is a Cargo Cruise?

A cargo cruise is when someone travels overseas on board a cargo ship. It is very different from a traditional cruise in that it is generally longer, and does not come with all of the trappings of a cruise ship. Passenger numbers generally do not go over 12, because that is the magically number beyond which a cargo ship would need to provide a doctor and medical facilities onboard. The adventurous passenger must make their own entertainment on board, but can wander around the ship and even go up onto the bridge. Meals are shared with the officers at the captains table.

Who Goes on a Cargo Cruise?

A very good question! First and foremost, the passenger will need a sense of adventure, and must really like the ocean. Passengers also need to have a flexible schedule, and be content in their own company for long stretches. They are generally people who write or like to read, and want to experience travel without busy airport check-ins.

My Cargo Cruise

Growing up in beautiful Donegal, Ireland, which has over 700 miles of Atlantic coastline, I was always fascinated by the ocean. Voted ‘Coolest Place to visit on the planet’ by National Geographic Traveler in 2017, Donegal has a spectacular coastline, with many untouched golden beaches. I was raised on a farm along Lough Swilly, the longest inlet on that coastline. Our family would often “walk down to the water”, stand on the banks, and watch cargo ships slowly edging up the Swilly at high tide. Most were carrying coal or timber, and were unloaded at ‘the port’, where Polestar Roundabout now stands on the outskirts of Letterkenny.

Over the years, I have enjoyed surfing and swimming in the Atlantic waters around Donegal. Mostly though, I liked to walk along the beaches and clifftops, stopping to look out over the waves to the Atlantic horizon.

It was on one such visit, while perched on a clifftop near the beautifully traditional village of Glencolmcille, that I meditated for the first time. That moment changed everything. From always wanting to be somewhere else, but never going anywhere, I realized that if I embraced the present moment, I could work towards being anywhere I really wanted to be. Soon after, I met my wife Yesi, and set off out over those western horizons for a new life in New York.

Amid the frenetic lifestyle of New York City, I often think of the Atlantic coastline in Donegal. The images have stayed with me. Sometimes while meditating, I visualize that coastline and can almost spell the fresh air, and hear the sound of the big waves. This visualization helped me to deal with the homesickness I felt when I first left Donegal.

My love for the Atlantic Ocean around Donegal, and the idea to sail towards it became most apparent in a vastly different environment. While cycling through the Great Basin Desert of Nevada and Utah, on a previous adventure called Trans-Atlantic Cycle, the temperature reached a dangerous 110 degrees. Water and freshness were rare commodities as I cycled alone through the lonely desert. I often took my mind of the heat by meditating and recalling the beauty of Donegal’s Atlantic coastline. Once I finished my cycle ride from San Francisco to New York, I started thinking about how I could cross the Atlantic by boat. After doing a little searching online, I found Hamish, a shipping agent from New Zealand. He owns a company called Freighter Travel (NZ), and was able to book my passage aboard the Atlantic Star.

Cargo Cruise Expectations

After discussing the schedules and options, I eventually settled on a rather roundabout way of crossing the Atlantic on my cargo cruise. After leaving Newark port in New York harbor, I sail south, calling at Baltimore Maryland and Portsmouth Virginia. A few nervy days of tracking Hurricane Florence threatened to derail my adventure plans. But thankfully the big storm weakened as it made landfall in the Carolina’s.

I am expecting peace, tranquility, lots of reading time, the opportunity to write and to meditate, while enjoying the swell of the Atlantic ocean. The entire cargo cruise from New York to Liverpool will take 14 days.

Cargo Cruise Digital Detox

One of the main attractions of a cargo cruise is that it offers the opportunity to undertake a digital detox. With our lives becoming busier and ever more reliant upon our digital gadgets, there are times when it feels as though the vast majority of our time is spent staring into a screen. I have often wondered what it would be like to totally detach from that activity for a period of time, and embark on a digital detox combined with meditation.

A cargo cruise is the ideal chance to disconnect on a digital detox, as there are no cellular networks available just a little bit off the coast, and most ships do not have wifi. In case of emergency, I will be able to send an email from the bridge, but it costs money, as the connection is data based via satellite. I intend documenting my experiences of spending 2 weeks without digital communications while on my cargo cruise.

Cargo Cruise Meditation

By far the biggest attraction on a cargo cruise is the chance it affords the adventurous traveler to kick back, relax and meditate. This is something which I feel the busy digital work (especially in New York) does not normally offer us. As well as having abundant time and a clear schedule, the cargo cruise also offer the chance to enjoy the healing and transformative effects of the ocean. Just as the salt water heals or skin, we get a greater mental benefit from meditating in or near the ocean. The vat expanses of water, which make up 71% of the earths total surface, is quite literally older than the hills. Perhaps the reminder about how brief our flirtation with this earth is by comparison to long it has been here, and will continue to be here after we are gone, is enough to jolt us into enjoying the present moment more.

I am really looking forward to sitting on the deck in meditation, while enjoying the sound of the passing waves and the invigorating freshness of the ocean air. All being well there should be a little sunshine too. But even if there isn’t, having a clear line of sight to the horizon to enjoy sunrise and sunset each day is something which I am really looking forward to. Cargo cruising is quite unique in that it allows the passenger a long stretch of time to relax, while also traveling over a great distance. That seems like a great metaphor for meditation to me.

Unless you have, rather ironically, been disconnected from technology of late, the term digital detox is now one with which you will be familiar. But what is digital detox? Why do we need it? And how do we do it?

The Digital Detox Perspective

Im of a certain vintage; younger than a ‘Baby Boomer’, but older than a ‘Millennial’. I’m what sociologists refer to as a ‘Baby Buster’. As a 1972 baby, I’m right in the middle of the busters; part hippie and part hipster. Maybe this spanning of the generations gives us seventies babies dual perspective. We feel for the oldies, who as adults had to grab on to the runaway train that was the internet and all of it’s connected devices, for fear of being left behind. But we can also identify with the younger crew who see ‘LOW BATTERY’ and ‘SEARCHING FOR NETWORK’ notifications as signs of an imminent apocalypse.

Regardless of whether we clumsily transitioned or seamlessly entered, we are all caught up in the digital age. Which is great. Except, scientists are now starting to notice that all of this modern, cool, sophisticated gadgetry is having an adverse affect on how we live. Cell phone and internet addiction is now being linked with anxiety, behavioral problems, depression and even digital dementia.

Digital Detox Generation

Somehow, within just two decades of initial smartphone evolution, we are now so entangled in the mobile digital web, that we shudder to think what it would be like to actually break free. When the first iPhone arrived in 2007, we entered a fast-track to ‘always-on always-connected’ media. Back then, this baby buster was taking a Masters in Computing and Design at University of Ulster, focusing on Human Computer Interaction. I wasn’t impressed by where the shift towards pervasive computing was taking us. I wrote some essays outlining what I felt was a lack of social consciousness when it comes to technological design, and gradually alienated myself academically in the process. Having studied cognitive science, and the connections being used to merge neural circuits with “smart” devices, I like to think I saw a problem emerging with direct people to people communication, and a tampering with our natural evolution.

What we need to understand s that it is no coincidence that we feel a compulsion to constantly check our cell phone for social media updates. Platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram tap into the same neural circuitry used by slot machines and cocaine, to keep us hooked. This has led to former Vice-President of User Growth at Facebook, Chamath Palihapitiya to make a startling confession. “I feel tremendous guilt”, he told students at a Stanford University digital consumer behavior talk. “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created, are destroying how society works.”

This baby buster, who has since traded a life in computing for a life in self development through meditation, thought he would be long gone before the social and behavioral problems associated with excessive smartphone use became abundantly clear. But thankfully, a new trend is emerging. Digital detox is a thing these days. Many people are getting in on the act – possibly just in time. We are now entering the age of digital moderation and digital detox, and it might just be our best advancement yet. Merging self-awareness and meditation with our smartphone and internet use could greatly change our lives for the better.

Why Digital Detox?

We could make a case for digital detox on a number of levels. Let’s start with safety. Texting while driving, walking on a street without looking up, loosing vital spatial awareness skills, not to mention the strain on our eyes and brains. The list could go on, but you get the point.

Digital detox is also beneficial (some would say vital) from a behavioral standpoint. How often do we lose interest in conversation with close friends or family, by responding to a notification, which then triggers a spell of related cell phone use? Here’s the scary part: there doesn’t even need to be a notification. Phantom calls, texts, updates or notifications pull our attention away from relationships, non digital skills and even our study and work. The statistics for the number of times the average person checks their cell phone daily is going up ad infinitum. Our behavior, which is bordering on addiction, is changing the way we think, concentrate, communicate and feel about ourselves.

It will get worse. Machine learning and smaller, smarter sensor-based devices are bringing more digital information into our everyday lives. Social media has actually endangered more friendships and relationships than it has nurtured or preserved. We crave validation, then reject it when it arrives. We are disappointed when others do not immediately respond to us, which is making us very impatient and poor listeners. This is especially so when we can see that the other person is online, or that they have read our message but have not responded. This media business isn’t very social after all, is it?

The fundamental message here is that technology, the internet and social media are not necessarily bad things. These technical innovations have deeply enriched our lives. But there is a tipping point; the place at which enjoyment and convenience becomes a stressful burden. Our ability to find calm uninterrupted space for ourselves is diminishing. Face to face communications is failing. Attention spans are declining. In fact, the entire cognitive process is being shoehorned into a pressurized digital environment, where stress prevails. Digital detox affords us a way out. It offers an opportunity to disconnect; to enjoy our own company, to smell the flowers and feel the sun on our faces. Digital detox allows us to appreciate our families and experience life with a greater sense of awareness. When we eventually come back to our digital world, we do so feeling refreshed and ready to use the power of technology for it’s true intended purpose.

How to Digital Detox

There is little point in disconnecting from our devices if we do not also disconnect our niggling feeling of attachment to them. Learning to calm the seemingly incontrollable urge to reach for our device is the key to a fruitful digital detox. This is where mindfulness and meditation enter the equation. To successfully digital detox, we should:

1. Accept that this moment is the only moment that matters.
2. Accept that no call, message, notification or alert could improve this very moment.
3. Embrace the uninterupted silence. This is like turning our minds onto Airplane Mode.
4. Come to realize that we do not need anyone’s approval to be happy and calm.
5. Become aware of the stretching of time. We have so much more time to do things than we would if we were checking our phones.
6. Reconnect with the natural world. Breath the air, feel the immediately positive benefits of the sun’s rays. Imagine a reconnection with the natural rhythm of the world. The pace of life is much more relaxed than what we imagined it was.
7. The most enjoyable aspect is the realization that freedom from network connectivity, battery charging points etc, offers us a sense of freedom.

Need Help with Digital Detox?

in8 Motivation offers Digital Detox and Mindfulness seminars/workshops in New York City and Ireland. Corporate and individual packages are available, as are specially discounted rates for schools, veterans, and non-profit charitable organizations.

The Benefits of Ocean Meditation

Ocean meditation is perhaps the most naturally therapeutic gift that the world has to give us. Both the ocean and meditation bring a certain amount of peace. But when both gifts are used in harmony, the result can be a depth of tranquility that we just cannot garner from any other source.

In my personal experience, ocean meditation has been completely transformative. I first meditated while overlooking the ocean along the Wild Atlantic Way, in County Donegal, Ireland, and since then have been enjoying the benefits. Ocean meditation comes in many forms, and can be enjoyed in many different ways.

That we humans are so innately drawn to water is of little surprise. Scientists believe that up to 60% of our body is water. In the case of our brain and heart, the figure is as high as 73%. Our lungs, which power our breathing that is so closely aligned with meditation, are up to 83% water.

Water enables cell growth and repair, allows us to remain hydrated, grow crops, digest food, maintain hygiene, control internal body temperature and dispose of waste from the body. At our very origin in the embryo we are surrounded by water. We are not just given life by water; we are water.

Ocean Meditation and Breathing

Any visit to the ocean is reinvigorating due to the freshness of the sea air. Given that meditation is so closely aligned with breathing, ocean meditation offers the perfect combination of natural healing remedies. While any breathing exercise is beneficial while near the ocean, I have always found that either looking at or visualizing big waves in slow motion provides an excellent framework on which to align breathing. The in-breath mimics the rising of the wave. A pause greets the first white horses, as the wave begins to spill over under its own weight. And the out breath is louder, more deliberate, churning out the filtered air and negative thoughts with the surf. Practicing this technique while overlooking the ocean during a big swell is the ideal scenario, but even closing the eyes and imagining the waves and then breathing in unison with them is a really strong meditation technique.

Turbulence and Tranquility

The ocean is a pretty good metaphor for life. It is almost unimaginably vast, relatively unexplored and can be either friend or foe depending on our attitude and the respect we give it. Ocean meditation can evolve through time and experience to include many sea conditions. The ocean has the power to erode rock, sink ships, wash away dunes and throw spray far overland.

The Atlantic Ocean has thrown up waves off the west coast of Ireland that have peaked at over 75 feet. The ocean can be extremely turbulent, angry and unpredictable. However, regardless of how high the waves peak, the ocean will always return to calmness. Ships regularly alter course and ride out a storm, until such time as the waters have calmed. There is great hope in that realization. No matter how turbulent our lives appear, we can think of the ocean retuning to a calm state as we accept that ‘This too Shall Pass’.

New Horizons

One of the most exciting things about taking to the ocean is that it can bring us all around the world. With a clear line of sight to the horizon, and by following the stars the sun and the winds, we can navigate our way to where we want to be. This is a great metaphor for positive thinking and motivation. Instead of wallowing in a slow whirlpool in some darkened backwater, we can surrender to the natural currents until we are in open water, from where we can reach anywhere we want to go.

Digital Detox

Ocean waves travel thousands of miles before breaking on our coastlines. And they have been doing it for much longer than the coastlines existed as we know them today. This eternal quality predates modern stressors, and is a great way to become aware of our place in time and our place in the world. We are passing through, and the waves will be crashing on our coastlines long after we are gone. Getting in touch with this perspective through ocean meditation is a great way in which to unplug from our busy lives. Furthermore, much of the open ocean is not within cell phone towers and masts. Taking to the seas is a great way to enjoy a digital detox – something which we are going to hear much more about in years to come, as scientists come to terms with phenomena such as digital dementia.

Be Water My Friend!

The great Bruce Lee compared fluid movement and the power of awareness to the qualities of water. “Be water my friend“, he famously proclaimed. He was certainly on to something. At times when I want to delve deeper into consciousness, I begin with aligning breath to the waves. After several minutes, I will allow myself to feel the rise and fall of the passing waves. Gradually, this visualization is taken further, to a place where the physical body is no longer representative of who I am. Instead of floating on the water, I slowly imagine that I am dissolving into water. Becoming water. The fluidity that this brings, frees me from the shackles of body, self and all thought. I am free to dive under the surface for prolonged periods, without worrying about breathing because my lungs are no longer physical.

Ocean meditation offers limitless benefits, as we move toward total bliss and pure consciousness. This is where all good things are born, such as motivation, creativity and innovation, the power to build strength of convictions and make positive personal changes. All of this happens unconsciously of course, because while in meditation, there are no thoughts, no restrictions, no fears and no limits. When we reemerge from this deep dive into ocean meditation, we are ready to work towards our goals in a more meaningful, mindful and fearless manner.

Why Awareness is so Important

Living (or existing) without self awareness is akin to gambling. It is like going all in on a poker hand when you have not even looked at your cards. Living this way can make life seem chaotic. Self-Awareness is important because it gives us the power to more accurately determine what we are able to achieve, based on how and where we are at any given time. We make better choices because we know ourselves better. Our choices are better ones, and so self awareness boosts confidence in our own abilities. These are the fundamental building blocks of motivation.

Awareness and Motivation

We are all inspired. Some are inspired to do something, or buy something so that they can compete with others. Some take on huge challenges to fill the void. But those who first get to know themselves before looking for inspiration are at an advantage. Awareness of self when working towards a goal offers clear benefits. We know that we want what it is that we are working towards. We know that whatever else happens that is beyond our control, we won’t quit because of self-doubt. We won’t give up because we get half way through and come to realize that we don’t want to achieve the goal. We will keep going until we have achieved what we set out to achieve.

Self-Awareness and Self-Doubt

Everybody has them. Negative thoughts can appear from nowhere. They can certainly take a lot longer to pass than they do to appear. Whether it is for self-motivation to complete a task, or for inner-peace, it is virtually impossible to give our best if we entertain negative thoughts. What defines us depends entirely upon how well we bat those negative thoughts away. Being aware and using mindfulness brings us back into the present moment, where the negative thoughts are deprived of the fuel they need.

Self-Awareness and The Watcher

When practicing any sort of self-development, we will encounter obstacles. Perhaps days when we are not at our best. Being able to observe our thoughts, and how those thoughts determine our moods, and how those moods restrict our performance is a powerful tool to have to call upon. This ability to watch our own thoughts and actions is referred to as being the observer, or the watcher. Learning to self-critique in this way allows us to understand ourselves better, and from there we can give a much better account of ourselves. Guru Eckhart Tolle describes this ability to self observe as employing the powers of ‘the silent watcher.’

“Be the silent watcher of your thoughts and behavior. You are beneath the thinker. You are the stillness beneath the mental noise. You are the love and joy beneath the pain.”

Analogy for Awareness

To help us better understand how awareness can help us, think of it as being like the GPS system in a car navigation system. The screen on the dashboard, the maps it displays and the address we enter as our destination, are all of little use unless we first pinpoint where we are. Practicing self-awareness techniques such as mindfulness helps us to ping the satellites and determine where we are in our physical and emotional world. Once we have our true starting position, we are much better equipped to set out to achieve our destinations and goals.

10 Benefits of Mindfulness at Work

There was a time when mindfulness and meditation were seen as eccentric and obscure. Not any more. Mindfulness  has moved into the mainstream – and into the workplace, and the results are impressive.

With increasingly busy lifestyles, where many couples juggle hectic work schedules, parenting, financial obligations, the need to stay fit, and deal with instant access to vast amounts of digital information, the need to identify and deal with stress is becoming critical. Thankfully, there is a simple solution. And the beautiful thing about it is, all we need to do is… NOTHING!

Here, we look at 10 benefits of Mindfulness in the workplace, and why they are driving a new work-life balance.

1. Stress Prevention/Treatment

Whisper it no more – stress is finally being openly discussed. Practicing mindfulness in the workplace has been proven to reduce and prevent stress, which improves performance and boosts the bottom line.

Dr Elizabeth Hoge, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, says mindful meditation makes perfect sense for treating anxiety and stress. “People have a problem dealing with distracting thoughts that have too much power. They can’t distinguish between a problem solving thought and a nagging worry that has no benefit.”

When we declutter our thought process we eliminate stress, because stress by definition is when we think we have more problems than we have solutions. Reducing these unnecessary thoughts allows us to focus only on the task at hand, ignoring the cluttered thinking which raises stress levels.

2. Ability to Deal with Illness

Mindfulness may not be able to directly heal the illness, but studies have proven that a mindfulness based approach to dealing with symptoms makes dealing with illness more manageable. Studies of mindfulness among cancer patients for example have been encouraging. The answer may be connected to what Deepak Chopra refers to as the mind-body relationship, or the power of positive thought.

3. Improved Management Perfomance

If managers are multi-tasking to ensure that employees are happy and productive, they are already busy. Adding  unnecessary thought processes by attempting to micro manage, creates confusion not only for the manager, but for the resources he/she manages. Clarity of management process and effective delegation is one of the main benefits of mindfulness in the workplace.

4. Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction is critically important for employers and employees. Unhappy staff generally think about moving on. This can be passive or active. If active, the company is in danger of losing key resources which they have invested in, and the resultant staff turnover burdens time and budgets. Passively looking to move on is in many ways worse, as it directly impacts performance and ultimately, the all important bottom line. If employees are constantly thinking about being elsewhere, concentration levels drop. This in turn requires a greater level of micro-management and human resource intervention. Mindfulness keeps us focused on the present moment. This has been proven to improve performance.

5. Reduced Procrastination

Procrastination happens when we worry about a particular task to such an extent that we avoid this unwanted feeling by distracting ourselves with other tasks. Worse still, we do nothing, and become entangled in anxiety about the task at hand. Mindfulness focuses our attention on the task at hand, reducing the likelihood that we will sidestep tasks by becoming distracted or stressed.

6. Neuroplasticity

When practicing mindfulness, every time we complete a task, we are sending messages to our brain, telling it “Ive got this.” When we next begin that task, we find that we already have confidence in our ability to complete it successfully. This confidence and clarity allows us to free our minds to explore better ways to complete tasks. We go from repetition to refining. Thanks to mindfulness, we have increased our capacity to learn new tasks. Which brings us to the next benefit…

7. Creativity and Innovation

We are often our own worst critics. All too often, we allow unnecessarily negative thoughts to clutter our thinking. We might never share an innovative idea, because we have talked ourselves down by introducing doubt. Will my boss think this is a waste of time? Will my co-workers think I am trying to win favor? These questions and more are the result of cluttered thinking, by recalling past instances and projecting what the creativity will mean in the future. Mindfulness brings the benefit of clearing our thinking, eliminating the ‘what if’ type of negative questions, and allows us to focus on the innovative thought with greater clarity and self-assuredness. This is where we exhibit greater creativity.

8. Better Communications

Sometimes, overthinking the reason behind a question, can completely change the true nature of the answer. And sometimes, we are so busy seeking reasons for a question, that we fail to listen effectively, and therefore misunderstand the question. When we practice mindfulness, we have the ability to focus only on the question at hand, in a factual manner. This not only improves the timelines of communications, but leads to greater clarity among co-workers and management. When we deal with facts, we can contribute in a more transparent and efficient manner.

9. Greatly Improved Work Life Balance

Have you ever noticed that time seems to go so much more quickly on the weekends? Have you ever craved Friday for several days, only to celebrate it’s arrival by falling asleep on the couch? A healthy work-life balance allows us to distribute our energy more evenly throughout the seven day week. We have more energy for our weekends, therefore we maximize our much needed time away, and return to work on Monday feeling much more refreshed, and ready and willing to perform at our best. Mindfulness, if practiced regularly, knows not if a day is a week day or a weekend day. We become more consistent when moving between our work life and our personal time, therefore our performance and enjoyment of both roles greatly improves as a result.

10. Improved General Health

Mindfulness has mostly been credited for its benefits in maintaining positive mental health. But recent research has suggested that practicing mindfulness regularly can also greatly improve general health. One study has found that Mindfulness encourages behavioral patterns conducive to better general health. It suggests that the practice nurtures a psychological change in motivation such as being aware of the importance of regular check-ups, getting regular exercise, being mindful of negative impacts on health such as nicotine or alcohol and spotting symptoms early enough to be treatable (Jacobs, Wollny, Sim, & Horsch, 2016).

Another study found physiological benefits of regularly practicing mindfulness, such as improved cardiovascular health and a healthier body mass index (Loucks, Britton, Howe, Eaton, & Buka, 2015).

Mindfulness has also been associated with lower blood pressure (Tomfohr, Pung, Mills, & Edwards, 2015).

The above health benefits are not only great news for individuals who practice mindfulness, but also for employers, who see the benefit of encouraging a culture of mindfulness in the workplace.

Two hours before I wrote this, I had a great conversation with two amazing people as we were leaving class at The School of Practical Philosophy in Manhattan. During the course of that conversation, the mirror of truth was held up, and I realized that I have been procrastinating because of fear.

Fear can be overwhelming…if we allow it to be.

I had stopped updating my blog largely due to fear of what people would think about the changes I have been through and the plans that I have made as a result. Thankfully, I now realize how stupid it is to allow fear to prevent me from being a better me.

In June 2016, as I stood on Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco, ready to cycle alone across America, I was completely without fear –  and I had one of the best experiences of my life. Some fear is a positive thing, for example the instinct that keeps us safe when crossing a busy road or the care we take to protect our valuables. But if we allow fear to get in the way of being our true selves, then it is absolutely a bad thing. This is especially so when it comes to living life to our full potential.

I had no fear when I set out from San Francisco

I procrastinated because of fear. When I came to New York, the noise, lack of physical space, the cut-throat job scene, cost of living, the subway and intensity of life here all conspired to subdue me.

Somehow, I allowed the frenetic pace of the city, the opinions of people back home in Ireland, and mostly my own insecurities to manifest themselves as fear. Instead of forging ahead on my planned quest without fear as I had done right across America, I delayed and downsized my plans and dreams.

Thankfully, the conversation outside of the philosophy school helped me to see the truth. Fear is a liar! Some of the greatest things I have done in my life involved ignoring and overcoming fear. It isn’t easy, but if we trust in our intuition, and the true essence of the universal good that exists all around us, we can summon the power to see fear for what it really is – a hindrance to our ability and desire to evolve into something better.

Before I cycled across America, before I got married, before I made the decision to stop drinking and on a few other occasions I felt fear but chose to see it for the liar it really is. Fear makes us miss out on opportunity, sell ourselves short and procrastinate to the point where our dreams get thrown on to the scrapheap in our mind. This is the scrapheap that fear uses as evidence when it next shows up to tell us lies. Fear presents fast failures as a way to deter us from grasping happiness and success. But, when we think about it, this is fear in perpetual motion. And that is a really sad thing.

Taken at Machu Picchu, about 30 minutes before I proposed to Yesi! No fear!

After a settling in period in New York City, where at times I felt completely overawed, overaged and under-funded, I am going back to where I was on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Im going back to where I was at Machu Picchu when I got on bended knee and asked Yesi to marry me. Im going back to where I was when I put down that last drink. Im looking fear in the eye and calling it out for the liar that it is. Fear is not real. Life is real, and it is to be enjoyed, so bring it on!

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”  ~  Albert Schweitzer

French-German philosopher Albert Schweitzer won the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his philosophical work entitled ‘Reverence of Life’. It was in this work that the now famous quote about success and happiness became his greatest legacy. It is so simple, yet almost all of us find it so hard to live by.

It is somehow engrained in our psyche that to be happy we first need to have achieved great success. But it is simply not true. In fact it is completely untrue – because the inverse is the truth. Happiness, as Schweitzer came to realize, is the key to success.

Since I came to New York City, I have met many different types of people. The pursuit of happiness is everywhere; they even advertise it for sale on subway billboards. Despite the economy not being as vibrant as it once was, there are still a great number of rich people in the Big Apple, and they are all chasing happiness.

But here is the thing: many of the rich people I meet are stressed and unhappy. Working so hard in the pursuit of a successful career has come for many at the cost of tranquility and happiness. Life is a succession of missed moments of awareness.

Earlier in the spring, I spent a day in the company of a man who was in foul mood because the lawnmower he needed to use to cut the grass at one of his houses had a flat tire. In his world on that day, everything was wrong and he was stressed and cranky. He was absolutely not enjoying life despite his undoubted real estate success. Happiness was in short supply.

I pointed out that if he looked at it from a slightly different perspective, he would realize that it was a minor problem, and the fact that he had several valuable properties was the positive to take from it. He couldn’t understand what I meant. The lawnmower had a flat and that was it. Everything may as well have been broken.

Many people with successful careers have more things to take care of. For a ‘successful’ couple in New York City, having a vacation bolt-hole, or a second car or an extra vacation seems like the type of lifestyle that leads to happiness. But it also brings extra chores. Additional properties require additional maintenance and additional expenses. Extra vacations mean less free time, and in some ways are counter-productive.

This is not to say that the trimmings of an affluent lifestyle are a bad thing. If the career and monetary success are built using happiness, then the happiness will grow exponentially as a result. But if the lavishness is built out of something else and in the pursuit of happiness, then the goal will always be slightly out of reach due to the additional workload and responsibility. All of the hard work will be for nothing is the end game is more stress.

Some of the happiest people I have met in New York City are in the service industry. There is no demanding expectation to have a house in the Hamptons or six skiing trips to Vermont. There is no stress to find parking or have properties cleaned. On the flip side, I have seen mili-millionaires and even billionaires, getting really upset because they have waited maybe a minute longer than they would like for their meal to be served.

So how do we build the happiness that will lead to success? Meditation. It really is that simple. People who meditate regularly live in the now. They are capable of experiencing happiness right now. Not when the credit card bill is lowered. Not when the mortgage has been cleared. Not when they board the cruise to the Caribbean or not when they unwrap the Louis Vuitton. They are able to identify and enjoy happiness right now.

It is such a simple concept that we almost always complicate it. But the essence of living this way is that we are living in the moment, without the shackles and headaches of past or future stresses. In general terms, there is no stress right in this very moment. Living here, although it is not always easy, is the secret to nurturing happiness which is the true key to long-term bona-fida success. Try it and see!

This week, more than any other, I have been thinking about the journey of life. All of us are on it. Most people are moving forward, albeit at different rates. None of us are sure what the final destination holds in store for us. But if we set a goal and are truly honest with ourselves about working towards it, we can determine how much we enjoy the journey of life.

I reached a checkpoint on the journey of life this week – I committed to starting a business in New York City. Three years ago that decision would have engulfed me in fear and self-doubt. But not now. Now, I am ready. Life, as we all know only too well, is incredibly unpredictable, and can at times bring pain. I have witnessed that. But while we cannot change what the journey of life throws at us, we can certainly change our perceptions and our outlook.

Don’t give up on your goals

in8Motivation (website coming soon), is something that I have been working towards for a very long time. The cover photo of this blog post was taken in the Nevada desert in late June 2016, when I was cycling alone across America on Trans-Atlantic Cycle. I remember looking at the road up ahead of me – US Highway 50 AKA ‘The Loneliest Road in America‘ – and how it stretched out in front of me for so many miles that I couldn’t see what lay ahead. It didn’t matter.

The desert, just like the journey of life, can be unforgiving if we allow it to be. That day on Highway 50, the temperature had risen to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and the sun was relentless. There was no shade; no respite from the burning rays. The nearest services were over thirty miles away. There was nothing out there, and I had no cell phone coverage. But I was smiling inside.

My focus was so strong that I was able to get to the next town in spite of the dangerous conditions. All I had to do was to keep turning the pedals, keep sipping water, keep replenishing sun block, and keep enjoying the moments as they passed by. Using that approach, I kept turning those pedals and six hours later I arrived safely at the next town.

We can choose to rust by the roadside, or pedal harder towards our goals

There were moments. They happen to us all. Moments when I wondered what on earth I was doing, what would happen to me. What if I pulled a muscle? What if I broke the chain and got heat stroke while changing it? What if? What if! Negative thoughts, fear and self doubt are sure to come along. But we are are defined by how we deal with fear and negativity. That day in the desert, as soon as I became aware of any negative thoughts or self doubt, I told myself that those thoughts were not real. I could choose what to think. I replaced the negative thoughts of failure with positive thoughts about my plan to establish a business in New York City. I’ve been pedaling towards that goal ever since. Fear of failure is not real, and we can learn how to switch it off.

I learned while out in places like the Nevada desert that motivation can be engineered. A key building block is meditation. With this approach on the journey of life, we can achieve just about anything we want to, and go as far as we want to. You make a goal, you make a plan to work towards it, and you don’t even contemplate giving up. Never ever give up. The only thing that will stop you from achieving your goal is you.

Meditation on ‘The Loneliest Road in America’

The remoteness of ‘The Loneliest Road in America’ has great symbolism given the nature of my business. I was reliant on myself to get to my destination. It reminds me of a sign I saw outside of a church in Illinois: ‘The quieter we become, the more we can hear.” If we quieten the mind, the journey of life will lead us to great places. When we meditate, we quieten our mind. We can switch off or at the very least learn how to deal with negative thoughts. By meditating, we can delve into an ocean of pure consciousness, from where we can summon the most amazing motivation as we chase our goals.

Reach for your goals – no matter how high you have to reach

I am currently working on Motivation Workshops, Guided Meditation for office environments, and am offering motivation coaching services on a one-to-one basis for clients who want to work towards personal goals. Those goals can be personal fitness, career based, weight loss, an adventure challenge like Trans-Atlantic Cycle, or simply to eliminate procrastination. We are all on the journey of life. Whether we freewheel, follow others, or blaze our own trail is entirely up to us. We have the power within us – it is an innate quality that we all have.

I will be talking more about in8Motivation very shortly!