Pressure

Let's talk pressure. I find this to be an interesting topic because we all feel pressure and deal with it in different ways depending on who we are and what surrounds us. Throughout all of my challenges the only person I've ever felt pressure from is myself which I'm ultimately fine with for two reasons: 1. I have pride in my self awareness and my ability to deal with the self talk that can be a result of pressure. 2. The outcome is effectively something I have a bit of control over. With that being said, this year, when attempting to complete the #molokai2oahu I felt a different type of pressure, one I've never experienced before.

This perceived pressure came from a number of external factors: We were filming for the documentary so the storyline depended on me being able to complete it. I'd roped a lot of friends and film crew into coming over to help out. But most of all this desire of mine to complete the crossing of the Ka’iwi Channel is something I'd told so many people about. What would it mean if I couldn't do it? How would I feel? What would others think of me?

I struggled a lot with thinking that the impact of my failure to complete this task went far beyond just affecting me which is when the doubt started to set in. In a moment like this, doubt is a toxic trait that multiplies and intensifies over time. On top of this my biggest fear, apart from failure was that others were thinking the same thing. It’s difficult to not only convince yourself that everything is going to be okay, but to prove that to everyone else is a huge challenge and this is where the Liam Mahoney coined “Iceman” was born.

In the lead up to the crossing we filmed a few training paddles on Maui, the Maliko Run which is an outrageously fun 15km down-wind effort from the Maliko Gulch to the Kahului Harbour. Whilst it is fun, it’s still a good workout and when I returned to shore where the film crew were positioned I made sure I tried my best to make it seem like a piece of cake. Something Liam was amazed by. He said I was like the Iceman and that nothing seemed to bother me, the perfect image for what I wanted people to see from the outside.

My mindset and stubbornness is one of my more powerful traits (this has it’s pros and cons) and even though I had these doubts I knew that the only thing that would prevent me from completing the paddle is if I physically couldn’t go any further which led me to think about what had worked for me in the past.

What was in my control? I knew I put the training in, I knew I had the crew and the gear I needed to get me across, it really came down to just putting one arm in front of the other. It didn't have to look easy (and it wasn't) which is something I take pride in because it shows the reality of what it's like to do difficult things in life. Liam was even surprised and excited that something had now broken the Iceman.

I always say we can learn from our own experiences and this is a great example of that. If you control the things you can control, it allows you to focus on the much simpler task of taking the next step. From there just know the finish line will come eventually.