Good morning from Baguio!

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It’s been 6 years ago since I hiked Mt. Pinatubo. And yesterday, I made my body proud by climbing Mt. Ulap in Itogan, Benguet.

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It was a 9 km hike, with the highest peak of 1,846 meters above sea level.

It was a few weeks ago when I made a decision to push my body further by doing physical exercises which I am not fond of. I actually dread running, hiking and sometimes, even walking for a long time.

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Tony Robbins taught me that if I want to push myself, I need to do whatever it takes. And by “do”, he means, not just motivate myself but schedule things. And so I did.

The hike was tolerable but it sure was tiring. It was a mistake that my bag was a bit heavy. It was a good thing that my clothes were comfortable. The guides said that the climb normally takes 6- 9hours.

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Our group successfully finished after 9 long hours! 🙂 We left Manila around 1 am, arrived in Benguet by 7am and started hiking at 7:30 am. I was with my best friend, some of my Toastmasters friends, cousin, and a few other people.  We did it in reverse. Meaning, we started hiking and climbing where most hikers would start. We took the path where the more difficult parts were. And my friend, it was more difficult and more tiring than Mt. Pinatubo! Mountaineers would normally rate the difficulty of hiking this mountain 4/10. For people like me, gosh, no way it was 4/10. It was 8/10!!! Haha. Good thing that we chose Famila Trekker to organize this trip. I highly recommend them!

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It was funny that the longest hours of our hike seemed to be during the 1st-3rd hour.

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I remembered I kept asking, “What, that was just 500 meters?” “Really, we havent reached 2 kilometers?” “I thought the campsite was just 1 hour away. It’s been 1 hour and 45 minutes now.” I forgot how it was to hike. Oh my!

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It reminded me of this great learning:
I can be sure of my success only and only if…. I am certain about it.

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You see, I am not a mountaineer. Nor a runner. I do not even like exercising.
In my previous attempts to exercise and run, I failed most of the time. In beating the time and even finishing even just a round.

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Why?
Because I knew I can always go back.
I can always stop when I get tired.
I can ride a car when I quit.
I can tell myself, tomorrow, I’ll just run again. Bawi ako.
In short, even before I started exercising or running, my mind was set that I am going to do it and it is okay if I won’t get to finish it.

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But with hiking and climbing up a mountain, my mind was set that I am going up and there’s no way I’m staying up there.
By hook or by crook, I’m going down.

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I can’t just stop for a long time, complain and delay the whole group.
I can’t get a vehicle when my muscles beg because they feel sore.
I can’t just tell myself to cease hiking and just go down whenever I want to.
In short, the moment I decided to climb, my mind was set that I’m going down no matter what it takes.

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You see, I wouldn’t be able to go up and down Mt. Ulap if I was not certain about it.

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Certainty is sometimes the missing ingredient in our lives.
And you know that you cannot not have it. Because the moment you lose that belief in yourself and in what you do, you crumble. You lose it all. You fail.

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It was only when Tony Robbins talked about certainty that I understood how powerful we can be once we are certain about something.

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Remember that time you decided to go for something but deep inside you, you were not sure that you will give your 100%, you had several options with the results and you were not so keen in believing that you will emerge victorious with it? It was half-baked, right? Because you were so uncertain.

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How about that one time when you made a decision about that project of yours and you had this strong belief in yourself that it will be a successful one? That was a success, right? Because you were certain.

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Before I end this post, just 15 more seconds.

Look at this video that will shock you! It was insane!

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That was not me nor my friends. We were just so shocked with what we saw!

But to set the record straight, after a few minutes, I figured out that what he did was okay. When I came to the actual area where he stood up, it was not THAT scary at all. It was all in the angle. But still, I would’nt dare do it. I still have my weekly newsletters  to send to friends like you. And with that, I am certain.

The picture below is the best I can do, with just a minimal risk. Hahaha!

 

 

.Today, I wish that you start being certain about what you wish to have.

And remember, one of the things I shared on my last Positivitrix video? No looking back. Burn the boats.

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