I’m a bit late with this today, apologies! I needed to get a couple of things set up – more on that at the end of the email.
I’ve been cycling into town most mornings recently. Zone two stuff, nothing heroic. Morocco is four weeks away and my fitness needs to be where it needs to be.
For a while I had a podcast on every time. Then, a few weeks back, on the recommendation of someone whose approach to life I really respect, I started listening to The Slight Edge instead.
It’s not a new book. And it’s not new ideas either. If you’ve read The Compound Effect, Think and Grow Rich, or Seven Habits, you’ll recognise most of what’s in it. But something about the timing, and the way it packages things together, has landed differently for me.
The central idea is simple. Your philosophy shapes your activity. Who you believe yourself to be drives what you do day to day. James Clear says something almost identical in different ways. Most of the books I value most are really saying the same thing in their own way.
Your inner world shapes your outer world.
What I’ve found useful isn’t the insight itself. It’s the reminder. The regular tuning back into what I actually believe and where I’m actually heading.
Last week I wrote about filling space that didn’t need to be filled. Running the battery down. This week I have more capacity. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
I also had my penultimate physio session yesterday. Everything is looking good. My ankle is in a better place than I had any right to expect after November.
I still don’t know how it’ll respond to six consecutive days in the Atlas Mountains, two thousand metres of elevation gain a day. But I’ve done what I can. I’ve prepared as well as I’m able to.
The Slight Edge would say that’s the point.
Not the summit. Not the outcome. The consistent, unglamorous work in the direction of something that matters.
Which brings me to something I want to share.
The group travelling to Morocco with me has agreed to use this expedition to raise funds for Andrew Brennan’s trust. I’ve written about Andrew before in this newsletter, and I won’t pretend the cause doesn’t move me, because it does.
Twelve months ago, Andrew suffered a catastrophic neck injury. He now requires round the clock care. In his own words, he went from being a man for others to feeling dependent on others. And his focus, his mission, is to get back to a place where he’s providing for himself and giving back again.
That’s not a small thing to want. And it won’t happen without support.
If you’ve ever been struck by someone’s quiet determination to rebuild, Andrew is that. And if he gets the opportunity, he will add more back to the world than most of us will manage.
There’s a GoFundMe linked here. (It took longer to set up than I anticipated). Anything you’re happy to give would be gratefully received.
And thank you to my fellow expeditionists on the Dare to Explore team for getting behind this.
Keep doing the unglamorous work.