Some years ago, faced with a daunting timed route over some of the lumpier parts of Wales, I was told to ask myself the question “How would I eat an elephant?”. It’s something I have asked myself more than once since then.

When confronted by a big challenge, whether it is a major work project, the redecoration of your house, or the prospect of climbing a mountain, it is easy to look at it and say “how am I going to do that, it’s impossible”. Start out with that mindset and it tends to become self-fulfilling – that little voice in your head can be incredibly persuasive!

The trick to turn that negative voice into a positive one is to break the challenge down into a series of manageable, achievable steps – identify the stages of your project, plan your redecoration room-by-room, or work from one checkpoint to another. That way, instead of a huge challenge, it becomes a serious of smaller ones. It is easier to be positive about each one, and completing each stage will only reinforce that positive mindset. You can even give yourself a little reward at each stage!

Our Kilimanjaro Challenge is a great example of the kind of activity that at first glance can seem very daunting. Our first full team activity is fast approaching, and three days walking some of the tougher hills in the Lake District is going to be tough. Adding in the forecast of “classic” Lake District weather – there’s a reason it is called the Lake District – will only add to that. Actually, it is three days, one peak per day, we walk up and then down, and that is six smaller challenges, and there will undoubtedly be tea and cake at the end… Doesn’t sound so bad now, does it!

So, with apologies to any vegans, vegetarians, or other non-carnivorous identifying entities out there, how does one eat an elephant? It is actually quite easy – one bite at a time….