I saw a few mountain film festival films recently and one thing that struck me was this Western need to be the first at something. I questioned the motives and came up with the following ponderings:

Do We Really Need to Be First?

There is something fascinating about our human obsession with being first.

First to climb a mountain. First to cross a desert. First woman to walk across a particular country. First person to run a certain distance, visit every country, reach every summit, or complete some extraordinary physical challenge.

And I find myself wondering: why?

Take someone like Alice Morrison, for example, who has undertaken extraordinary expeditions, including crossing Saudi Arabia. It is undeniably impressive. It takes courage, physical endurance, determination, organisation and an enormous amount of commitment.

But underneath the achievement lies a more interesting question: what are we actually chasing when we chase a “first”?

Sometimes the answer is beautifully simple: a personal goal. We set ourselves a challenge because we want to discover what we are capable of. Perhaps we have spent years being told what we can’t do, and completing something difficult becomes a way of reclaiming ourselves.

There is something deeply satisfying about saying, I wondered if I could do this — and I did.

But then there is the other side.

How much of our desire to achieve comes from being seen to achieve?

We live in a culture that rewards accomplishment. We collect qualifications, promotions, followers, medals, kilometres, summits and passport stamps. We post our achievements online and watch other people’s achievements scrolling past us every day.

And suddenly, simply having an experience isn’t always enough.

We want the biggest experience.

The most remote place.

The longest trek.

The highest mountain.

The most unusual challenge.

And, ideally, to be the first.

Social media has arguably intensified this. An extraordinary experience can become content, and content can become recognition. Recognition can become sponsorship, opportunities, status and sometimes money.

So perhaps there is nothing wrong with admitting that fame, recognition or impressing others can be part of the motivation. Humans have always wanted recognition. We are social animals. Being admired feels good.

But I wonder whether something else is happening too.

Perhaps our Western culture has quietly taught us that being is not enough.

We are encouraged to improve ourselves, optimise ourselves, challenge ourselves and push ourselves. We are told to make the most of our lives, seize the day, achieve our potential and never settle.

Even travel can become a competition.

How many countries have you visited?

How high have you climbed?

How far have you walked?

What’s next?

And when you’ve done that, what’s next after that?

There is always another mountain.

Another expedition.

Another record.

Another box to tick.

And yet there is a strange paradox here.

The more we achieve, the more difficult it can become to simply be content… and not be social media content 

What if we didn’t have to prove anything?

What if walking a beautiful trail wasn’t about completing the fastest or hardest route, but simply noticing the flowers, laughing with the people beside us, eating lunch in the sunshine and feeling incredibly lucky to be there?

What if reaching a mountain summit wasn’t necessary for the experience to have meaning?

What if crossing a country wasn’t more valuable because nobody had done it before?

There is a profound difference between doing something because you love the experience and doing something because you need the achievement.

And perhaps most of us fall somewhere in between.

I don’t think ambition is bad. Quite the opposite. Humans have achieved extraordinary things because someone was willing to say, I wonder if this is possible.

Exploration, adventure and pushing boundaries have given us some of the most remarkable stories in history.

But perhaps the question worth asking ourselves is:

If nobody ever knew I had done this, would I still want to do it?

That is quite a powerful test.

If the answer is yes, then perhaps the motivation is deeply personal. It is about curiosity, growth, adventure or simply the joy of discovering what lies beyond the horizon.

If the answer is no, perhaps we should ask ourselves what we’re really seeking.

Approval?

Status?

Attention?

Proof that we are still relevant?

Proof that we are extraordinary?

And maybe, particularly as we get older, there is another kind of courage: the courage to stop proving ourselves.

To realise that we don’t have to be the fittest, fastest, youngest, bravest or first.

We can simply be here.

We can travel because somewhere is beautiful.

We can walk because walking feels good.

We can climb because the view is worth the effort.

We can have adventures without turning them into achievements.

And perhaps there is an achievement in that too.

Because in a world constantly asking us to do more, be more and achieve more, there might be something wonderfully radical about saying:

I’ve done enough. I’m happy to just experience this.

Maybe the ultimate adventure isn’t being first.

Maybe it’s learning that we don’t need to be.