I’ve recently taken up hiking as part of my physical fitness, mental health management and spiritual awakening activities. Generally, I’m a very active person and I love moving so you will most likely find me participating in a number of physical activities (except swimming ofcourse????). I strongly believe that every person should make it a personal responsibility to maintain a certain degree of physical fitness because it has a direct impact on your mental wellness. I sometimes joke that if it were up to me, it would be a Constitutional requirement for every person to exercise atleast 30minutes per day????.

Hiking is not something I’ve done until recently when I was ‘forced’ into it by my gym. We were requested to sign up for one of those and I said to myself, why not? So with zero experience, I stepped out into the wild and ended up 12,000ft above sea level. That experience left me in a lot of physical pain but with a renewed mindset. Since then, I’ve hiked 3 other mountains (outside of my gym team) with medium to high difficulty. There is beauty in the wild, the fresh air, the peace and quiet, the tranquility thay comes with walking in the middle of that kind of vegetation cannot be fully expressed in words. Every time I’m out in the wild, I try to pick up lessons that I think resonates with most of our work environments and general life journey. This is a summary of them:

1. Difficult doesn’t equal impossible: Just because it is difficult to do doesn’t mean that it can’t be done. Before I went to hike Elephant Hill in the Aberdare Range, I heard horror stories about the place. The more I listened, the scared I became but I was so determined to try it out that I didn’t allow the ‘negativity’ to deter me. The Rangers at the starting point told us that the entire hike to the peak was just 9km so I was confident that this would be a piece of cake. What I didn’t know is that 9km up the mountain is like 45km on flat ground. It took me 10hrs to go up and back. But did I die? Absolutely not. Did I confirm the horror stories that had been told? Oh yes! I still strongly believe that my experience there could be better summarized on the 1000 Ways to Die show. Bottom line however is, that it is difficult doesn’t mean you can’t do it if you are determined to. All you need is to focus; establish why you want to do what you want to do and then start. We say that going up the mountain is optional; coming back down is mandatory. So START!
2. Teamwork makes the team work: Hiking isn’t something you should attempt alone. Why is that? There are several moments wihtin that walk when you question why you are even putting yourself through that kind of pain. You question the ability of your legs to carry your weight and literally wish you could turn back. You will talk yourself into quitting severally and the only reason that would probably make you not give up is the encouragement from the people around you. I was recently hiking the Table Mountain (again in the Aberdare Range). We had walked for so long and were now on the final stretch when I felt like I couldn’tmove any further. I had mildly sprained my left ankle twice already by then. I could see the Summit and our Guide said it was now a 10minute walk if we don’t stop to rest. My team kept me going and we finally got to the Summit. When I got there, the pain and exhausted I had felt moments earlier didn’t even matter. My advise, don’t do it alone! The success of the journey you may be in right now may not depend necessarily on how hard you work alone but the support you receive from the people around you.
3. Don’t over plan it: Once you set your mind on doing something, don’t overthink or over plan it to the point you start to doubt yourself. Planning something like a hike that requires the input of the rest of the team means that there will be a lot of opinions. Listening to your team is very important, when you over listen, you will end up not starting. As a leader, you carry the vision of whatever project you are undertaking, don’t loose sight of that. If you wait for everybody to be comfortable or to be on board, you will be might end up waiting a very long time. Communicate effectively with the team but remember that sometimes, you will need to make some hard decisions that affect everyone but it’s for their own good.
4. The journey is as important as the end goal: The goal for most hikers is to reach the summit and come back down successfully without any injuries. Every hiker who fails to summit for one reason or the other comes back home disappointed. That’s understandable. It is however important to remember that the entire experience you have when hiking; the sweating, pain, beautiful scenery, deep conversations with team members etc all add up to the beauty of the process. A lot of your resilience is built through these experiences; the journey. Take time to enjoy those moments because those are memories you don’t get to create again. Be cognizant of the lessons you learn from your outdoor experience.
5. Celebrate your successes: There is no feeling like the one you have when you finally summit a mountain. When you get there, you don’t even think about the pain you went through along the way. After working so hard on something, do not let imposter syndrome or anyone/thing deny you of the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of your labour. No matter how small your achievements may seem at the moment, take time to pat yourself on the back for getting there. Trust me, a lot of people dream about summit-ting Mt. Kenya or Mt. Kilimanjaro but very few actually do. Believe it or not, there are alot of people out here who wish they could do half of what you’ve done so take time to celebrate your achievements, no matter how small they may seem.

One of the most important reasons why I challenge myself physically with the various physical activities is because I believe that the human body has the ability to do much more than we give it credit and that a certain amount of physical pain/strain helps build one’s endurance and mental toughness; both which are key in helping one face a lot of life challenges. Aside from that, your body is the only consistent place you get to live in for the rest of your life so why not make it hospitable. There is freedom in movement generally and keeping your body physically active helps a lot in improving the quality of your life. Make a decision to start moving and remember to have fun while doing it and learn from every experience.

As a HR practitioner and recruiter, I receive a lot of requests from people asking for job opportunities or guidance on how to successfully apply for a job and get an interview invitation and ultimately, the job of choice.

In my line of work, I get to review a lot of CVs during the shortlisting process and to tell you the truth, some of the mistakes that job applicants make are very basic. Unfortunately, such mistakes cost them the opportunity they seek. This article may assist you in rectifying such mistakes so you can do better in your subsequent applications.

When you receive a job advertisement, take time to read it and establish whether you meet the minimum requirements. Most times, you will find that you do not meet 100% of the requirements, but if you do atleast 60-70% give it a shot. For technical roles, it is important that you only apply if you meet the technical skills and training required. For instance, if the job is for a Maintenance Manager who must hold a degree in electrical engineering with the relevant skills on the same, if you have been working as a Sales person all your life, no matter how desperate you are for a job, this is not one that you should apply for. I have gone through certain applications for technical roles and end up wondering whether the applicant even understood which role they were applying for. Kindly note that just because it has been advertised and you have been out of work for awhile doesn’t mean that you must apply for every vacancy that you come across. If you do that, what is going to happen is that you will send out several applications and never receive a response. Then you will start to get frustrated and wonder why employers aren’t recognizing the value you are bringing to the table. The problem is that you are standing at the wrong table.

The other thing to look at is the presentation of your CV and application. Again, read the job advertisement and align your CV to the requirements of the job, based on your previous experience and the skills you possess. I know people who have been using the same CV they developed in 2014 to apply for work in 2024. My dear, that piece of paper has been overtaken by events…. and time. As you submit the application, make sure you are not just dropping your CV into someone’s email inbox. Introduce your CV and if you don’t attach a Cover Letter, make sure the email body makes your Cover letter. Ensure the reference subject is clear on which job you are applying for. Blank reference subjects always get ignored most of the time, why? Recruiters do not have the time to choose for you which job they think you fit. I must caution you on something here: there are times when the CV a recruiter receives and the person they eventually meet at the interview table are not the same. This arises when you don’t take time to go through the CV that was done to you by a professional CV writer to see whether what they’ve written there are actually things you’ve done or are familiar with.

Check your email frequently if you are a job seeker and has been sending out job applications. Your interview invitation will most likely come via email (the same email you used to send out the application) and not a phone call as traditionally assumed. I have had scenarios where I’ve sent interview invitations to people and they have responded 2-3weeks later. Their excuse? ‘I had not checked my email because I was out of town…’ You see, looking for a job especially in this country right now is a full time job by itself. You have to show commitment and consistency. It is a marathon so stay the course.

And when you finally land the interview, do your due diligence about the organization that you are seeking to join. I have interviewed people who are clueless about the organizations they have sent applications to. A job is a relationship like any other and it is your duty to know the person you are looking to ‘get into bed’ with (figuratively speaking!). I once interviewed someone for a role and they had no idea what the organization did and the more I spoke to them, the more I realized they would never fit in because their values did not align at all. This brings me back to my first point; not all jobs that are advertised or you have been referred to are yours to apply for. Generally, do not show up at an interview unprepared. Knowing about the organization is one thing, having an understanding of your skill set and what you are bringing on the table is another story altogether. Bottom line is, there are several people applying for the same job, make sure you stand out when the time finally comes. I’ll write about interview etiquette sometime….

The job search process is draining and most people give up after a few applications with no response. The other alternative is to make use of your contacts. Even as you look out for advertisements and apply for those continuously, reach out to contacts who can assist you. Sometimes people have openings but they desire referrals as opposed to the traditional advertising.