Another trail tip from the movie Free Solo, so spoiler alert; stop reading if you want to see the movie before you read this tip, otherwise read and enjoy.
“I hate Holidays… I like having fun when I have fun. I hate being told when to have fun.” Alex Honnold from the movie Free Solo. And while I’m not here to bash holidays, birthdays, or other events that take place each year, Alex does make a very good point here that we can learn from and apply to our hiking, personal, and work life. That’s because holidays can be a very depressing time for many of us as we let the media hype of holidays get to us and we realize we are going to fall short of the expected results. And this can cut across most of the emotionally charged holidays: New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. And you can throw in your Birthday or Wedding Anniversary as well (just ask Mike Harrington). I think Alex is saying, why do I need to be happy or have fun on “these days”. Why can’t I be intentional about having fun on other days of the year.
In hiking we plan great hiking events with others around holidays. For me; Thanksgiving is about doing Blodgett peak with a buddy and Christmas Eve has become doing the incline with family; and always with a stop at Rudy’s BBQ when we finish. But to Alex’s point, why am I not intentional about doing the “extras” when I’m hiking on other days. This hit home to me after a recent hike with a group of 10 people to Mt. Buckhorn and Mays Peak. One person in the group suggested we go to Rudy’s BBQ for lunch afterwards but I became the only one to join in. But if we would have been doing this around Christmas, I bet half the group would have joined in. Let’s not wait for a special time of the year to continue the moment of a hike. Take time to grab a sandwich or drink after ANY hike with your crew.
In our personal life, holidays can be very depressing because we tend to see and focus on all the inadequacies of our lives when we compare them to social media postings and advertisers telling us what we need to be happy and have fun. Even our birthdays can be depressing as we wait for the birthday greetings that may never come from siblings, children and friends. Like Alex said: “I hate being told when to have fun.” And the pressure that comes from that. Let’s be intentional about having fun with others throughout the year. And while we can’t do it with everyone we know; we can do it with our closest inter circle of friends and with the next layer beyond that: a short phone call, meeting for coffee, lunch, dinner, an evening of playing cards, getting away for a weekend or even a hike. It’s having a variety of ways to have fun with friends and family throughout the year and being INTENTIONAL about creating these moments.
In work, we have the Christmas Potluck, Christmas Party, and other group lunch outings we try to cram in during the month of December. But why limit these team building events to just one month. Why not make them events that happen year-round? And let’s keep them simpler: a spur of the moment gets together for lunch or short notice for a potluck meal at lunch time. It’s about creating “fun” events year-round, instead of at just specific times when everything is going on.
Holiday and other important days are special to remember and celebrate throughout the year. But let’s not limit ourselves in celebrating: life, family, and friends on just these special times. Become intentional about creating memories with others throughout the year. Let’s have fun when we want to have fun!
Al Andersen 