The last few years have been a fantastic journey, and thank you, universe. I went on an epic hike yesterday. First, I couldn’t get to see the summit. I was exhausted, so I gave up. That has transpired me to write this article. It felt more challenging than the grand canyon Rim to Rim hike. The cactus to cloud hike is considered one of the toughest in America. It is 21 miles and approx 10800 feet in elevation gain. I could hike approximately 10 miles and 8500 feet elevation gain in 12 hours. The last 1-1/2 miles were spent walking on frozen snow. I slipped and fell a few times, hardly seeing the hiking trail. It was almost impossible for me to continue after the ranger station; disappointed, so I took the tram back. We started hiking at 12:16 am, which is not unusual. I had done such hikes in the past, but this time it was different, possibly due to elevation gain; I was taming a new beast. Other hikers were well prepared, so they left me in dust, and I had no moral support either. That is my story.

However, I still had a blast; I skipped my ritual celebratory pushups since I didn’t finish my hike. https://cactustoclouds.com/…/cactus-to-clouds-c2c-from…/ more details.

I learned two lessons; One) you must push yourselves beyond your limits because you don’t know what you are capable of. Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Two) if you aren’t prepared, you can’t accomplish it, even if the opportunity presents itself. It applies to life, entrepreneurship, and hiking too. I wasn’t walking much for the last three months. I haven’t slept well for the past few days and wasn’t eating balanced food. Expensive lesson learned, prepare well and give your all in.

A few of my friends have asked me why I put myself in such situations; what am I trying to prove? Is it an existential crisis or something else? I thought about it long and hard and realized it all started with my mental wellness and desire to be in a peak cognitive state, which is far more important than physical health. It is not about the health benefits of fitness or proving anything to anyone. It started as a curiosity and conquest to understand and learn myself. How far can I push myself, and what part of my brain does it unlock for me?

I started my current journey around 2018-2019. I relocated to Las Vegas in search of myself. I never thought I would get myself into so many troubles so quickly. I was a typical silicon valley geek; fun to me was sitting and watching adventure series on TV. However, the universe had different plans for me. I fell in love with Las Vegas.

• Firstly, I joined a squash and scotch group; it started with scotch first and quickly became a squash addiction. Funny, right; I used to plan my travel around squash Thursdays.
• I am learning rock climbing. It started with a few easy 2-3 mile hikes per week and quickly became scrambling 2-3 times a week. It turned into a serious Grand Canyon Rim to Rim in day-type hikes. Let’s see where this journey is going to take me.

I remember distinctly that three years ago, after each 2-3 miles hike, I needed a whole Sunday off to heal myself; severe migraine to excruciating body pain used to be the reward. However, I used to feel high for the entire week, almost like I was on cloud9. I could process information much better. My brain wasn’t sluggish, and it could function even without caffeine. I started feeling euphoric most of the time, so I kept going.

I have tasted the drugs and can’t live without them. I want more of it. But what is it? I needed to figure out this equation; I am an engineer. I started researching different chemicals our body produces and how it makes us feel; Serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, and oxytocin became my best friends. I found it fascinating that I can control and regulate it with a few specific activities without any CHEMICALS OR DRUGS. Oxytocin interacts closely with the neural pathways responsible for processing motivationally relevant stimuli. In particular, oxytocin appears to impact dopaminergic activity within the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system, which is crucial not only for reward and motivated behavior but also for expressing affiliative behaviors. What an exciting discovery for me.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3877159

I found a distinct correlation between pain and joy. I am still a student of it and learned that if you can harness the pain, you can transform yourself. I am talking about PAIN as the link between the mind and body. You may like to watch Human Playground On Netflix.

https://www.linkedin.com/embeds/publishingEmbed.html?articleId=8414253551020758053&li_theme=light

https://decider.com/…/30/human-playground-netflix-review

This definition of pain is different for each of us. Can you achieve ecstasy through the pain?