How do you keep going when it all seems too much? 

Dr Alia Bojilova is impressed by the Walk1200km challenge: “It’s such a beautiful undertaking. And I imagine everyone who takes on this challenge will walk an entirely different path, not just physically but also in their own minds. There’s something magical about that.”

Bojilova, a former lead psychologist and officer with the NZ Special Air Service (SAS) who has a PhD in psychology in which she explored the link between resilience and curiosity, says for people to successfully complete on a year-long challenge like Walk1200km it is important for them to differentiate between alertness and self-awareness. “Alertness (paying acute attention to the risks and the things that may take away from you) versus awareness (how do I sit in this space, and what do I have to use within myself, including my motivations, values and beliefs, to continue moving forward) make a huge difference in the extent to which we can endure.” 

In her recently released book, The Resilience Toolkit, Bojilova examines ideas such as the importance of having a purpose, and the fundamental characteristics (authenticity, clarity, elevation) that she believes lead to the realisation of goals. It provides valuable insights for Walk1200km participants.

To test authenticity, she asks herself, “Does this align with my values and beliefs, the ways in which I truly view myself in this world and the ways in which I view the world outside of me? To what extent does this actually represent me and my sense of purpose?” 

She admits this is easier said than done. 

“What we tend to do is change our mind the minute pain and discomfort come our way.”

Walk1200km participants will have such days! According to Bojilova, we need to be “prepared to adapt our way around all the saboteurs that our minds are inviting us to tango with –  their job is to stop us from pursuing our purpose. So that crunchy sense of clarity is something that we need to tailor before we step on the starting line of that journey. 

“How clear am I on how I will sit with it? To what extent can I envisage myself taking the next step in pursuing my goal? And how do I overcome all the predicaments that will come my way?”

Bojilova says she encourages people to consider ‘elevation’ because it applies well to complex goals like Walk1200km and allows people to fulfil a purpose in multiple ways: “Endurance athletes often set timeframes for themselves to achieve before they reach a particular checkpoint, and suddenly they don’t reach it because it’s been wet and the shoes don’t fit right and the equipment is a little off and the pants are too tight. And so they think to themselves, ‘I’m doomed. I have no chance of catching up on the goal that I’ve set for myself.’ But if you elevate yourself or your purpose high enough so that you can adapt your way around that, you can often find a work-around so you can continue to pursue your goal.”

I ask Bojilova if she has any advice for people embarking on Walk1200km. “I don’t know if I can offer advice to such amazing humans,” she says. “But if I was to take on something like that, I’d look to hook my motivation onto something bigger than just the walk. 

“I would look on this as the most exciting discovery I could make about myself and go ‘okay, come here, little gremlin. Let’s have a conversation about the possibility in this!’”

Resilience in action

What resilience looks like for Walk1200km participants.

“I have 106km to go and four weeks to do it in. While in hospital I fell behind by 40km, but a
couple of big weeks have addressed that and now I’m less than 15km behind. 3.8km a day still required to finish on time.”

“I went wheeling around Te Kuiti in my wheelchair in the rain today. It was for a very good reason though … I was on the hunt for a book (Adventures with Emilie by Victoria Bruce) which I found in the local
bookshop. I ended up doing 3.68 km in the wheelchair. So I’m ever so slowly getting closer to my Walk1200km. Have wheels, will explore.”