In her last post, my girlfriend Paulina has captured beautifully one of the profound lessons that a long and challenging journey can present you with. For those who read Spanish, her original post is below. For the English speakers, here is a translation (read it then scroll down to see the photos)…..

IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU FALL, IT MATTERS HOW YOU GET UP!

When I started this journey I left assuming that maybe I could fall or have an accident. Travelling on a moto for so many months would have its risks, especially given that I had learnt to ride only four months previously.

I believe that in life we will always encounter some obstacles, limitations and barriers that prevent us from easily getting what we wish. Those limits or barriers are what I call challenges. And the challenges are tests created for us in order to help us grow and overcome our own mental limitations.

My trip showed me just that. I got somehow a very important lesson for my life. I had heard many times the phrase that no matter fail or fall, what matters is that we move forward in life after falling.

This trip made me see and prove all that. Although it was an incredible and magical journey, but there were certain moments that tested me. Those moments do not erase anything; instead, I accept them as very important and necessary to improve my attitude towards my own challenges in life.

I drove for seven months over 11,800 km by different routes and through different climates, along Chilean, Peruvian, Bolivian and Ecuadorian roads. And of course “I fell a lot.”

Many times I dropped my bike, I fell in the water crossing rivers, I got buried in the mud, I slipped between the stones and it was hard to learn to manoeuvre driving on the sand. I always took it carefully, but the falls were definitely very positive for my learning. I should always maintain a firm, calm and confident attitude to myself.

It’s a kind of mind game, where I self-challenged all the time. I never doubted my abilities and my limits, I always knew I could do what I intended. Always with respect and concentration, I fulfilled my challenges.

I had never practiced driving my bike through rivers or mud before in my life. For me it was “learning by doing” and that gave me a sense of assurance that I appreciate very much now.

At those times when I fell off my bike or I saw myself in the middle of a difficult situation, my mind made ​​me decide between two options: 1) stop the trip for fear, or 2) move forward with a positive and proactive attitude.

Following my heart, I never wanted to stop. Even if my mind told me otherwise.

I clearly knew that everything is in our mind and our Being is infinite. To say “cannot” does not exist. Every time I reached a dangerous path along the river, I promised myself to do my best without giving space to fear.

I progressed very well, but there was a voice in my mind telling me: “If you doubt, you fall. If you are sure, you’ll do it.”

In this way I saw myself as the master of my own path, learning to control the mental game, between fear and trust. And I discovered that the key to learning to play the game is related to quiet self-confidence and decision.

Thanks to the Universe nothing ever happened to me, I never had an injury or an accident which left a mark on my body. Today I have less than a year driving motorcycles and I’ve managed to handle many miles through different countries. I am proud to have been able to trust in myself.

I think it is the best reward one can receive in life is to become aware that things are infinite and unlimited. That anything is possible and that the most important thing is to choose the correct attitude in life and when facing challenges.

Do not give space and time to listen to fears and follow the path of the hear, trusting in our own abilities and remembering that there are no limits to fulfilling our dreams. For large or small, these are always attainable and achievable.

Nothing is impossible if we move forward with determination and confidence. Fear and doubt stop us and slow down our skills.

Now one of my next challenges, with the great lesson I learned on my journey, is not to forget that.

There is no time to doubt, to have fears about something, the Universe cooperates with those who want so help themselves. I deeply appreciate the life for giving me this experience and for being able to finish it in a happy way, for fulfilling one of my dreams, for having the opportunity to learn that the challenges are barriers of light that if we pass them, we transcend fears and life itself becomes infinite.