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Mount Lady Macdonald: Unplug

by Rick Chin 5 Comments

MtLadyMac2015-1

Sometimes you just have to unplug from the daily routine and the city stimuli, venture out on your own in nature, and think.

I know. It’s so cliche. But how often do you actually give yourself the time… the space… to be at one with your thoughts? To really honour what it is that occupies your mind? To allow yourself a chance to gain some clarity- without the car noises, text message beeps, pressing work and family commitments, ongoing to-do lists, or multitude of other things vying for our immediate attention?

There has been no shortage of interesting events in my life recently. Even with the life changes and job and school stresses, I haven’t felt too stressed mentally. However, the body knows, and it has been feeling the weight.  With abnormally vivid dreams, grinding my teeth at night, bouts of vertigo, and more fatigue than usual, my body has been saying loud and clear: “Hey you! Take a break!” [Read more…]

The Year of… 2015

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2015- It's going to be a good year

2015- It’s going to be a good year

The time leading up to the new year is always exciting for me. It’s when I allow myself some time to reflect on the successes of the closing year, what worked and did not work,  and a focus for the upcoming year.

My plan for this year (which is similar to others years) is to think of what would fuel me on a personal and emotional level. From there, I can make a declaration of how I want the year to go, after which I can create action items to ensure that the year aligns with the declared theme.

In 2014, I had many things zipping through my mind, and it showed: I dabbled in Beachbody coaching, ran a fitness challenge group, enrolled in life coaching, started and did not finish a bunch of online classes, revamped the blog and took on many digital projects that didn’t get finished, travelled to the World Domination Summit in search of inspiration, and explored travel hacking. Too many interests. Perhaps too many goals.

In any case, it’s a brand new year! As I write this, it’s January 1. I’m sitting at a café in Kathmandu. There’s a buzz of local and international folks working on projects, planning their next trips, or having conversations. I can’t help but feel inspired about the year ahead. 2015 will be the “Year of the Mountain”, as well as a more confident me. The themes will be… [Read more…]

Everest Base Camp: Time to Look Forward

by Rick Chin 1 Comment

This trek was not a failure. I have to remember that.

This trek was not a failure. I have to remember that.

Post written December 29: I’m particularly hard on myself.

I’ve gone thorough the range of emotions, from elation to utter dissatisfaction. I recently saw EBC photos from the group. The scenery was incredible in the ways I had hoped and expected. I was super thrilled that they had accomplished that feat. But then I felt beside myself again, saddened by the fact that I needed to turn back. Dan had left a University of Guelph Alumni t-shirt with the words “Ricky and the Sparkling Momos”. It’s so cool that the shirt now hangs in Gorakshep… but not cool that I never reached base camp.

And here’s why I’m hard on myself. Despite logically knowing that the decision needed to be made; that the guides and my friends were thinking of my well-being first; that I had told myself beforehand that I will turn back if advised; that trekking for 5 days and making it to Tengboche is an accomplishment on its own… I’ve had that nagging voice in my head screaming “You failed.” [Read more…]

2014: A Year in Review

by Rick Chin 2 Comments

Being all thinky in Maui

Being all thinky in Maui

Well that year went by quickly! Okay, 2014 isn’t completely over yet, but with the grand Everest adventure just a day away, it feels like a nice day for accountability.

Honestly, I can’t help wondering where 2014 went. I had quite a few goals and I started strong with a great focus. Inevitably, life happened. I enrolled in a personal leadership and life coaching program that has taken up a bulk of my time. It’s not that I was derailed from what I wanted to achieve, but perhaps I took on too many things, and found myself dabbling more often than seeing everything to fruition. Lesson learned. I’m gearing up for 2015 to be the best year ever with a clear focus, but first, it’s time for a quick roundup. I’ve copied the post from January, now with added reflection! [Read more…]