Welcome to Wild Reflections, a blog where I share my personal thoughts, experience, feelings and reflections around anything outdoor related. This is free for you to read, so if you enjoy it why not support me and my writing by liking, sharing and subscribing :)
It seems like everything in the world today is pushing us towards measurable success and tangible accomplishments. How much money do you earn? How big is your house? How often do you go on holiday? Everything feels like a competitive ladder that just needs climbing and climbing. This constant pursuit of success can often leave us feeling drained and unfulfilled, as the satisfaction of each accomplishment quickly fades, leaving us yearning for the next goal. Is adventure the same?
For about five years, I spent much of my time outdoors either running, cycling, or swimming. Everything I did was plotted and planned down to the tiniest details—running in heart rate zones, tapering swims, and high-effort cycling intervals. Everything was geared towards proving how fit and strong I was. I couldn’t do a parkrun without obsessing over my time, comparing the leader boards each week. Who beat me? Why was I ten seconds slower than last week? Do I need to ease off the strength training?
I did it all in the pursuit of trying to achieve something. At the time, it felt like an adventure—chasing all those goals that I set for myself, ticking them off one at a time before moving swiftly onto the next target to smash. That drive took me on some great adventures, striving to do something bigger and better each time. However, I started to realise that the joy I felt was fleeting, overshadowed by the pressure of constantly needing to outdo myself.
Achievement is all about setting goals and trying your best to reach them. Endlessly pursuing success through fear of failure, you become fixated on outcomes rather than the process. This relentless focus on the end result can rob us of the joy found in the journey itself, turning what could be fulfilling experiences into mere stepping stones toward the next goal. Adventure, on the other hand, is about stepping into the unknown, embracing uncertainty, and allowing spontaneity to guide us. It’s the joy of discovering new places or the exhilaration of trying something new.
Do I think achievement is pointless? Absolutely not! However, I no longer feel the need to achieve something when I decide to go on a new adventure. None of us set out on a hike into the mountains without some kind of destination in mind. Reaching that summit is an achievement in itself. But if reaching that mountain summit was the only thing that made my adventure valuable, well, I’m not too sure I see the point in that anymore. The true essence of adventure lies in the moments of spontaneity and unexpected discoveries that happen along the way.
“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."
- Sir Edmund Hillary
I think back to some of the adventures I’ve been on and the things I’ve achieved. I remember trying to cycle 80 miles from my hometown to Bath. A friend and me planned to complete the trip over 3 days, camping along the way. Reaching Bath would obviously be an achievement, but it was never really about getting there; it was about the journey there. In the end, a car ran over my friend's bike on the second day when he left it leaning against a post in a petrol station, and we had to get the train home. A failure in all senses, or so I thought at the time.
Yet, despite not achieving what I set out to do, I still have fond memories of that trip and can recall them clearly, even now, years later. Arriving late to the campsite because we’d gone to the pub. Eating cold beans and biscuits for breakfast because it was all they had in the shop, until a lady from the camper next to us offered us a coffee. Cycling alongside glistening brooks through the beautiful meadows of the Cotswolds. These moments of unpredictability are what made the journey memorable and valuable.
I compare that to my biggest sporting achievement, setting my personal best in a triathlon and getting my first—and only—podium. I couldn’t honestly tell you anything about that race. Who was there, what time I got, nothing. Of course, I’m proud I achieved something, but it wasn’t the adventure I wanted. The success was fleeting and short-lived. I’d barely gotten home before I was criticizing myself about how I could do better.
This contrast highlights a profound truth: while achievements can be fulfilling, they are often momentary and can lead to a cycle of continuous striving. Adventures, with their inherent unpredictability and richness, offer lasting fulfilment and memories that define our lives.
These days, I'm very much adventure first. Unpredictable and exciting, letting the journey dictate the story. I want to experience the full spectrum of what life has to offer, creating a life that is defined not only by success but also by joy, growth, and connection. The next time I step out on a big adventure, I'll be ready to embrace failure and the unpredictability it brings, rather than shying away from it in a narrow, focused pursuit of success. In embracing the unknown, we allow ourselves to truly live, to grow, and to find joy in the journey itself.
What do you think? Is adventure and achievement interlocked, or can you embrace failing in the face of adventure?
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Great piece, and I completely agree. I do think you can find both adventure and achievement but it takes a slight mindset shift.
For example, turning up every week at the same parkrun and trying to beat your previous time (nothing wrong with that by the way), will only really get you achievement.
But perhaps heading to a different parkrun, maybe a really challenging one on a trail or the beach, will add that adventure element. You probably won’t achieve a PB but you can still race full on and finishing would be both an achievement and adventure.
Completely agree that too much is put on the tangible comparables and not enough on the journeys and stories you make getting there.
Your piece reminded me of a great quote from "In Thin Air" by Jon Krakeur. "You didn't conquer Everest that day, but you did conquer your ego, and that's a summit most people will never reach." The challenges people set out to achieve often get in the way of better decisions that will ultimately fulfill them in a more holistic way.