Adventure, passion, and simplicity
A Journey to the Extraordinary
The snow is relatively deep here in Gothenburg right now. Winter arrived late this year, but suddenly it's here. Of course, just as I was starting to feel the vibes of spring. Just a few weeks ago, I was running in shorts around the neighborhood while the sun was high in the sky. Now it's winter, and the snow is likely to stick around for a while. But regardless of the snow cover, spring is on its way. In fact, I can feel it in my body. The days are getting longer, and the desire for adventure is slowly returning. For my part, I haven't yet nailed down a specific race or event I'm going to participate in, except for one – EcoTrail Stockholm in mid-June, an 80-kilometer ultramarathon.
The questions I'm pondering today are quite simple: How do primal health and adventure actually relate? And what is an adventure, really?
Let's start with the latter question. According to my own concocted definition, an adventure is: "An exciting experience with an uncertain outcome, often involving an element of physical danger. An adventure can be short in duration or take place over extended periods."
Wikipedia adds, "An adventure is an activity that involves risks or uncertain outcomes and places demands on participants. Common to adventures is that they provide strong experiences, either as positive (flow) or negative (fear). Adventures can be a planned leisure activity, typically involving a journey in nature, off the beaten path, or a visit to a foreign culture."
In other words, it covers a broad spectrum. Essentially, almost anything can be an adventure. What I personally consider the essence of an adventure is that it should involve something out of the ordinary. Adventure goes beyond routine, beyond our usual patterns. Personally, I tend to think of ultrarunning, long-distance hiking, long-distance cycling, and traveling in foreign cultures as adventures. Besides being something out of the ordinary, it should also contain an element of excitement. A feeling, in essence. Perhaps something you sense before the adventure begins and, of course, during the adventure itself. I think of running and the environment I experienced when climbing Asahidake, a volcano on Hokkaido Island in Japan. It was a completely magical experience of flow, being in the moment, there and then. Nothing else existed, hardly even myself. Everything was one. I also believe that something primitive and perhaps ancient awakens within us when we experience adventure.
The connection to a lifestyle based on primal health is therefore perhaps straightforward. Adventure is about our dreams and goals, living a life beyond the ordinary, both in everyday life and in individual projects. It's about returning to a more primitive and straightforward existence where the body and mind are in sync. A life where you are fully present in the activity itself and in the experience. Everything becomes more vibrant and richer during an adventure. Sometimes we can become blind to what's around us at home. But as soon as we go abroad or just travel away, we notice everything that's different. All our senses come alive—smell, hearing, sight, touch.
More adventure through endurance coaching?
Once again, I want to draw a connection to our ancestors, who were more dependent on their senses for survival than we are today. The brain is an extremely sensitive instrument. When we find ourselves in big cities, chaotic environments, workplaces, and the like, we quickly adapt. We start to tune out. The stimuli are too numerous, and everything happens simultaneously. That jackhammer the construction crew is using outside the house, a chaotic school environment, a couple of ambulance sirens passing by on the way home – we tune out to protect ourselves. It's only when we are in a calm, quiet environment, perhaps up in the mountains, that we notice how sensitive we actually are to stimuli. Then we can pick up on birdsong, something rustling in the bushes, maybe even our own heartbeats.
Spending extended periods in noisy environments can take its toll. However, with that said, stays in nature are not always necessarily positive. In the very definition of adventure, there is also uncertainty, perhaps even fear. Climbing a high-altitude mountain, diving in deep waters. Margins can sometimes be slim. Personally, my biggest fears are heights. The thought of one day climbing, for example, Everest, seems to me more like a terrifying experience than a challenge and perhaps enjoyment.
What my business is all about is helping people embrace an adventurous lifestyle. Through my endurance coaching, I aim to empower individuals to break through barriers and live life to the fullest with adventure at its core. Adventure lies at the heart of both the primal business I'm building and the lifestyle I'm cultivating.
The specific nature of adventure varies from person to person. For some, it may involve hiking to Everest Basecamp, for others, it's about ultrarunning, and for some, it's finding everyday adventures. We bridge the primal aspects of adventure—simplicity and connection with nature—with the principles advocated by primal health. In essence, achieving our adventure goals necessitates being in excellent physical and mental condition.
Endurance coaching is the key to optimizing our potential for living this lifestyle. Within this framework, I integrate various techniques, tests, and strategies to enhance our mental and physical capabilities for optimal performance. All coaching and elements of this process are practical tools rooted in routines, established habits, and behaviors related to nutrition, sleep, stress management, and more. These tools empower individuals to bring their vision of adventure to life. In essence, endurance coaching is the pathway to realizing one's adventure.
In closing, I want to highlight that I'm personally living out this adventurous lifestyle. While some of the adventures I have been on, have been significant, many have been on a smaller scale. Through my journey, I aim to share my knowledge and experiences with all of you who, like me, are striving to progress in life and discover that additional spark of excitement and challenge.
/Erik
