Whoever created this flowchart, s/he is simply awesome!
 
Try and fail is totally different from try and give up. What I did on my first ice climbing lesson was indeed tried and gave up. I knew I wouldn't be going anywhere with the rope and belay, but I just couldn't get over the fear of slippery ice. I knew I wouldn't be falling, I knew I wouldn't get any injury, but I just didn't dare to make the big step half way on the icy wall. And I was the only one in the class that didn't reach the top. I screwed it up, and I was not happy about myself.

The Ice Fest of Mount Washington Valley was epic! I'm thrilled that I made it to part of Will Gadd's show after 4.5 hours driving in Friday evening traffic, what an awesome and adventurous life this guy is living! The show was hilariously fun. Within ten minutes standing in the back of the all-packed hall, this guy was officially my idol.
Highly highly highly ... endlessly highly recommend his videos: http://willgadd.com/?page_id=184

The reality of my poor performance on ice made me readjust my goals. It actually stimulates me to do more, I definitely need more practice. 'Keep climbing, got it? Keep Climbing' that's what coach Chris said to me afterwards.
Indeed, keep climbing, and definitely get myself fit and conditioned.

Cracked up on this video of Will Gadd climbing iceberg...

 
__与他人无争,与自己有争。
这并不是消极人生,所谓与自己有争,就是要不断地超越自己,不断地发展自己,让自己不断成长起来,成长是一件十分幸福快乐的事情,而且自己的成长并不妨碍他人的成长,并不妨碍他人的快乐。这就是更加快乐了。

It's not a competition against others, it's a competition against yourself.
Fast or slow, as long as you don't give up, you will make it.

 
_ As I was looking for a tempting winter vacation destination, in the midst of a New England summer, I had a bunch of names in mind, Budapest, Peru, Chile, Kathmandu, New Zealand …

Very hard to choose, indeed, I had to ask myself, where did I want the most?

I looked up, there they are, a series of Africa travel books sitting on top of the shelf, almost buried in dust. The idea suddenly flashed through me, how come have I forgotten? That is where I had been dreaming to go for years, 9 years to be exact, what’s wrong with me? What’s stopping me? What am I waiting for?

Ever since college, I have wondered and wondered about THE AFRICA, sounds so cliché, I know. I am curious about pygmies in Congo forests, I want to see the wildlife, the migration, the Serengeti, and I want to be at the land that bears all those female authors’ non-fictional biographies and all those male authors’ fiction stories.

When you have an awesome but bold idea, it’s always easy to make excuses from doing it. It’s easy to find all those reasons that can stop yourself from what you like. As if you are constantly looking for any signs or signals along the way to relieve yourself from the strenuous journey. ‘I’m not ready’ ‘Maybe next year’, sometimes, is just such a lame way of saying ‘I can’t do this’.

I’m not gonna die if I fail. But I’d be regretting and keep pondering my head ‘what if’-s if I don’t even try. Isn’t it easier to clear up the myth than sit behind and build excuses, one after another?

I am well aware that it won’t be an easy trip, but I’m not worried. Or to be more accurate, I was too busy preparing for the trip to be anywhere close to worry.

Setting expectation low proves helpful to get myself ready to embrace the obstacles along the way. All along, I did not ‘mandate’ myself to reach the summit, as I wouldn’t want to put myself in the situation of risking the health in exchange for ‘face-saving’. I know well about my body and I know when to push myself and when to stop. I just simply set the goal at --- go challenge yourself and see how far I can reach.

Be strong, not only physically but also mentally. It’s a game versus your own self. And yet it’s not a slogan, work hard to prepare yourself towards the goal so that you are ready to get going and keep going at the point.

One thing I learned from the trip is, as long as I am determined, I can do this. Everyone deserves more faith in oneself.