Prove Yourself With An Expedition!

Expeditions are not and should not be a proving ground for egos.

Ego can be a useful tool on expeditions and there can be little doubt in the role that it must have played in some of the world’s greatest conquests. There are times when that self-confidence and assuredness will be essential, just as there will be other times when it will be absolutely necessary to keep it in check.

However, there is a difference between using your ego to fuel an expedition and using an expedition to fuel your ego.

If you have any sense of perspective then your experiences on expedition should teach or remind you how small you are in the world and how insignificant.

They may show you just how much your mind and body are capable of but also, surely, what their limits are.

You may be the first or fastest on some particular measure but you can bet that someone else has broken part of the trail for you in advance.

If what you have done is impressive then people will be impressed. That is fine and natural but it should not be the reason for undertaking a trip in the first instance. If that is your motivation then you risk blinding yourself to the other lessons that should come with the confidence and self-belief you may gain.

Expeditions are great opportunities to learn and having a bit of ego might just help get you to the finish line, or at least the start line, but if expeditions are feeding your ego then I think you need to pay more attention.