Image credit Jean Wimmerlin on Unsplash
Waking up at 5:00 AM while on vacation is probably not what most people would consider an ideal vacation, but this is a different kind of trip.
It’s a safari.
Our guides, dressed in green military-like uniforms are waiting for my family and me with hot chocolate and coffee. We’ve been on several safaris in South Africa, but this was our first overnight trip and our first time in the Greater Kruger Park.
During overnight safaris, you leave around 5:30 AM for morning drives and then again after 6:00 PM for the evening drives, and on each, you get to see different types of animals.
Driving around for hours on dirt roads and in total darkness at times in an SUV without windows, doors, or a roof puts you in close contact with the wild so it can be a humbling (sometimes terrifying) experience.
And while observing nature and the wildlife, I made some connections with life and leadership. I couldn’t help myself; these ideas and connections just come to me.
I had a similar experience when I went trekking in Rwanda to find mountain gorillas.
The larger animals like the lions, hyenas, and black Rhinos are at war every day. The males venture out daily to mark their territories with urine and/or feces and patrol the perimeter. This lets other animals of their specifies know not to enter that zone or else it’s a fight to the death!
Despite the “Do Not Enter” signs and the patroling, these animals are constantly going out to attack others of their species to get their females or territories or both.
The lions for example will attack another pride and if they win, they keep the females and the land, but they kill all the cubs ( to eliminate any chances of revenge).
There’s no mercy in the savannah (South Africans call it ” The Bush” by the way).
These animals live in a state of either protecting their territories and their families or challenging others for what they have. It’s in their DNA.
Even lions raised in captivity for generations that don’t need to hunt or territory will still try to take over another pride. It’s in their DNA.
So here’s the lesson I got from nature.
Challenge or be challenged.
Have you ever noticed that when you do the hard stuff sooner (the things you least want to do), life becomes easier? I define the “hard stuff” as those things you least want to do, but you know that it’s the best thing for you in the long term.
This reminds me of the quote from motivational speaker Less Brown who said “If You Do What is Easy Your Life Will Be Hard. But if You Do What is Hard Your Life Will Be Easy.”
When we challenge ourselves to not settle, to go after big goals, to ignore the critics, or to pursue the things we really want instead of just accepting the scraps thrown at us we make life harder on ourselves.
But there are different types of hard. The had that I’m talking about is good for us. This is positive stress.
If you don’t find a constructive way of challenging yourself and doing the hard stuff, life will do it for you.
In the short term, it’s a lot easier to sit back and binge-watch Netflix every night and avoid doing the hard stuff. But what’s your Return on Attention (ROA) for that?
What do you get when you take the easy road?
Whether you challenge yourself or just coast, life will bring difficulty. But when we intentionally challenge ourselves by doing the hard stuff we are choosing the difficulties that benefit us.
This reminds me of Winston Churchill’s famous quote,
“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm”.
There’s the pain of regret that comes from realizing you didn’t go after the life you wanted and the pain that comes from chasing those big goals and dreams. But only one is meaningful and fulfilling.
There’s no right or wrong answer to this next question. It all depends on what you want out of life.
Are you challenging yourself or just going with the flow of life?
I want to give a special shout-out to the Ku Sungula Safari lodge in the Greater Kruger Park in South Africa. The service and attention my family and I received was amazing. The guides were so knowledgeable and passionate about the wildlife that they kept us engaged on each of our 3-hour game drives. There was never a boring moment. If you’re looking for a safari adventure please check them out. No one is paying me to say this.