Golden sand beaches, rugged cliffs, sunsets and sunrises over the sea, lighthouses, cakes with lashings of icing, seals, red squirrels, and the occasional paddock with a cute looking cow – those are the highlights of the Anglesey Coastal Path. 

This long-distance walking trail and adventure delivered (check out the photos below).

Over 11 days, my husband and I walked 229km around the coast of Anglesey and Holy Island, the islands at the northwest corner of Wales, UK.

It was always going to be a push to walk this distance in 11 days, especially as we both had new walking shoes, I’d done no training (and in fact had done no long-distance walking for more than six months and certainly not with carrying 12kg on my back) and our preparation was minimal (we were pretty much winging it with how far we would walk every day and the accommodation – this was pushing me outside my comfort zone).   

We also hadn’t factored in the potential requirement for rest days – and we certainly hadn’t factored in the weather.

September – it will be amazing, we told ourselves. Indian summer and all that.

Yeah, right!

Try two weather systems with gale force winds and torrential rain. And one night plummeting to 6 degrees C (sleeping in a tent – brrrrr!)

Growth occurs when we step outside our comfort zone. And challenges, I have come to see, can often be our best learning experiences.

Adventure, especially if it’s type two fun (not fun at the time, but fun after), provides both – and it makes us feel alive. 

These are my five mindset takeaways from the 11-day hiking experience.

1. Other people’s limits are not your limits

People on Anglesey are very friendly and many stopped us to say hello and noticing our backpacks asked if we were walking the coastal path and where we were walking to that day.

More than once, when we mentioned our intended stop some 20-plus kilometres away, we were met with “that’s a long way” and “really, you better hurry along”.

With the legs and shoulders hurting, it could have been tempting to listen to these comments, take the doubt on board and jump into the rabbit hole of “this is hard” and “I’m not sure if I can walk that distance”.

But really, this is a reminder that people often have a tendency to put their own fears and limitations onto others.

Other people’s opinions of your capabilities are generally a reflection of their (often subconscious) view or belief of their own capabilities.

So, someone who says “that’s a long way” is really saying “that would be too far for me to walk” or “I don’t know if I could do that” – in other words, self-limiting beliefs.

The truth is we are all much more capable than we believe we are.

The only limit is the one you give yourself.   

2. What you think you can do and what you can actually do are not related

I admit, there was a little part of me that flirted with doubt – was I really good enough to walk 11 consecutive days? You know, new shoes, no training, it’s a long way to walk.

We have a tendency to question ourselves all the time – it’s part of being human and how we’re programmed to keep ourselves safe.

But what I’ve experienced with myself time and again and seen in my clients and others, is that what we think we can do has absolutely no bearing on what we actually can do.

That’s because we’re more amazing than what our Ego Mind would have us believe – we are capable of so much more than we think we’re capable of.

Again, the only limit is the one you give yourself.

3. You can achieve the same outcome by different means

Our shaky plan was to walk around Anglesey anti-clockwise starting from LlanfairPG (the town with the longest place name in the UK).

Three days in, with gale force winds coming through, we reviewed this, deciding to stay two nights in a hotel (shout out to the Dinorben Arms and their excellent service and cooked breakfasts).

The new plan – carry just a day pack, get a taxi and walk clockwise back to the hotel.

We tend to think that we travel in a straight and linear line to get where we want to get to but the reality is much more like a snakes and ladders boardgame of twists and turns, ups and downs, one step forward, two steps back.

The point is, there’s actually no right or wrong way – rather that there is more than one possible way to get where you want to get to.

Sometimes when there is a setback or an obstacle in the path it’s just a matter of being creative to find another way around.

There will often be a learning in that.

And that is why it’s hardly ever about the destination, and all about the journey.

4. Expect the unexpected – and it might be delightful

As humans we’re fine-tuned to be on the look out for danger and threats to our survival.

It’s why when we start something new or scary we tend to think about all the worst-case scenarios and what if this and that happens.

But we’re so focused on what might go wrong, we forget about what could go right.

We forget that there are possibilities for amazing, delightful, positive, successful things that could also happen. 

Things that could rock our world or go beyond our wildest dreams.

My unexpected highlight (and reminder of this truth) from the 11 days – a little black cat who decided to keep us company and walk with us for almost a mile. His name tag said: “I’m not lost. I just like adventures. Please don’t feed me.” Ultimate cuteness.

5. Long-distance walking strips you back to the truth of who you are

When you do a long-distance walk and you carry your “world” on your back and sleep in a tent, you pare back a lot – one change of clothes, function over fashion, no make-up.

Clothes washing facilities and showers can be non-existent.

I’ve perfected the art of embracing this and becoming feral – five days without a shower or changing my underpants!

And what I’ve learnt is that as disgusting as this is (at least by the conditioned standards of today’s society), it’s also incredibly liberating.

Because when you’re doing a long-distance walk and you’re so pared back and becoming one with nature, you’re not defined by your job or how much money you have in the bank, how great your hair looks, the accolades to your name or all the “image-conscious stuff” you have at home.

All you’ve got is yourself.

In other words – Your worth. Your value. Your true nature. Your ultimate potential. Your inner awesomeness.

That’s your identity.  The truth of who you are.

Strength. Courage. Resilience. Capability. Resourcefulness. Compassion. Creativity. Happiness.

None of that other extraneous “crap” that we think we need to feel valuable, worthy, lovable and whole.   

When we slow down and strip back, our truth comes out to play.

We see ourselves for who we truly are – the most amazing, magical, wonderous creatures with the ability to do amazing, magical, wonderous things.

How everything we’ve always wanted is already there.

And my goodness, in spite of the lack of showers and fresh clothes, we are beautiful.

#ownyourawesome

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If you’re secretly thinking you’d love to do something like this but it’s not you, it’s too scary or you think you’re not good enough, then we should talk. Here’s what working 1:1 with me is like.