The Road to K2, Lesson 5

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” -Winston Churchill

Lesson 5

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Attitude is Everything. Attitude is Everything. Attitude is Everything. 

We’ve all heard this often and, deep down, we know it’s true, but if you are like me, maybe you’re not always living it. In an earlier blog, I shared how Everest surprised me by being more about effort of mind than body. Let’s dig into that a little deeper…

The Lhotse face is the well-known steep and relentless part of the climb up Mt. Everest. My team and I experienced the vertical joys of this section twice. Part of it during an acclimatization rotation and then the whole thing on the summit push. 

This section of the climb leaves you very exposed to the elements. During our acclimatization rotation, the sun was out beating down on us from above while reflecting off of the snow all around us. I am quite confident I would have been hot climbing in a swimsuit that day. On our summit bid day, this section was cold, cloudy, and windy. Same location, entirely different experience, and neither overly enjoyable. 

When conditions get extreme, I have learned my attitude can quickly become a breeding ground for blame, resentment, anger, and hate. When my attitude takes a turn for the worse it helps ZERO because no matter how mad I am that the wind is making me crazy, the situation is not changing. After about 10 minutes of me running down the mental road of negativity, a favorite quote came to mind: “Life is 3% what happens to you and 97% how you react to it.”

So, yes, the weather was not awesome but equally, yes, this section of the climb was going to happen if I wanted to summit. I had a choice: I could continue to think of all the reasons why life was horrible at the moment OR I could switch my strategy up and find a way to make it more enjoyable. Either way, I was going up. I decided the latter was a better way to go, so I asked the person in front of me to tell me a funny story to help put me in a good mood. Before long, we took turns sharing, then somehow ended up singing random songs as a team to pass the time. I can still recall this section of the climb and smile. I’m not sure I would have the same feelings and memories had I not reined myself in.

The real win was the “aha” moments that came after. I now ask: How can I make the mundane tasks of life more tolerable, even enjoyable? With the things I need to get done, is there room for more fun in them? Just stopping and asking myself randomly throughout the day how I can make “this” more enjoyable creates space for possibility in my attitude.

Well, let’s just say it has been a game changer in more ways than one! I’m not only noticing myself changing up my attitude. I’m hearing it in my kids, too, and in how they interact with one and other and cheer each other up. Hearing my daughter remind her sister that they to clean their room, and then say: Let’s make it a game, so it is more fun! My son has also started timing himself making his bed to make it faster than I make mine! (High five to myself on this one!)