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November 16, 2019 By GOQii Leave a Comment

Dinesh’s Ultimate Trick to Completing the GOQii Trail Challenge

(L-R) Vishal Gondal, Vandit Panvelkar, Dinesh Thakur after completing the GOQii Trail Challenge

From everything you have heard about the GOQii Trail Challenge, you’re aware that it puts your limits to the test. The endurance event challenges you, shapes you, breaks you and after each step closer to the finish line, it transforms you with an overwhelming sense of joy of having completed the arduous trail! While GTC is not a race, you can’t deny a human’s ambition to fight against all odds, battle time and fatigue and still hold the desire to win. Does completing a 50km trail that snakes through rough terrain within 8 hours seem impossible? Our very own Dinesh Thakur was able to do this after starting 30 minutes late! How did he do it?

Who Is Dinesh Thakur?

Dinesh Thakur has been a part of GOQii since 2014, working in the Logistics Department. He is 31 years of age and lives with his parents in Mumbai. Before the GOQii Trail Challenge, he didn’t have anything specific that he was looking forward to. He just wanted to experience the trail, enjoy nature and get his mind off everything – much like most of us today.

Apart from playing cricket with his colleagues on a daily basis, he wasn’t into any specific activity. He enjoyed it as it helped him alleviate a lot of stress. When the GTC was announced, he decided to walk a total of 7km from his home to the office and back home every day in order to get used to walking. To achieve this, he even locked his bike in the garage, not using it at all.

Unfolding Destiny

During the trail, Dinesh Thakur was not meant to be a participant despite the fact that he trained for it. He was at the venue as a part of the support team. His participation wasn’t planned although he wished to test himself against the trail before him. When the other participants embarked on the trail, he couldn’t just stand there. The will to achieve sparked within him and he incessantly convinced his manager to let him walk too.

Who’d deny a man’s passion? His manager gave him the signal and Dinesh rushed the trail 30 minutes after the other participants. For someone who wanted to reach the finish line first, this was a clear disadvantage. However, it did not deter him and he decided to compensate for his lost time by not taking any breaks throughout the entire trail.

Grit, Guts and Broken Shoes

At this point, Dinesh’s only strategy was to keep walking until he reaches the finish line. He wasn’t geared enough as he didn’t carry a proper pair of shoes as he was only going to volunteer. In fact, he didn’t even carry a bottle of water. He got one at the first checkpoint.

As he reached Checkpoint 3, the sole of his shoes gave way. He had to tie it with a string so that it wouldn’t come apart. Using his wits, he decided to take his shoes off and walk in just socks on flat terrains, saving the shoes for rocky and difficult patches. By the time he reached Checkpoint 4, he was exhausted. He had to request support for an energy bar to fuel him.

With that being his fuel, Dinesh raced on when he came face to face with his competition – another participant who was vying for first place. Dinesh and his competition were neck-to-neck as they inched towards the finish line. His supposed opponent, a little ahead, tried his best to block Dinesh on a narrow path. This continued for quite some time. When they came close to the finish line, Dinesh decided it was all or nothing and gave his opponent a shock by coming from behind, jumping over a bush and landing on the finish line ahead of him. With nothing but grit and guts, Dinesh was the first one to complete the trail in 8hours and 12 minutes.

Recounting the Experience

Dinesh praises the location chosen for the trail. He loved the fresh forest path, the water bodies which he encountered and the encouragement he received from the locals. He says it was a memorable experience and him finishing the trail before anyone was just a cherry on the proverbial cake. In his own words he says, “I never realised when I started and when I completed it. All I knew was that I had to keep walking.”

There are so many things one can take away from this story. Whether you’re ready or not, prepared or unprepared, at the end of it, it is your determination which counts and your willpower which pulls you through. That’s the real trick – your own determination and willpower!

We hope you’re excited for GOQii Trail Challenge 2019! We know we are ready to #BeTheForce!

April 16, 2019 By Anusha Subramanian 3 Comments

Why is it Difficult to Make a Lifestyle Change?

In a user story I recently wrote, the player said, “Making a lifestyle change is easy. What is difficult is the commitment to follow through with determination”. Rightly so, it’s indeed considered a tall order and hence, many give it up midway. Most consider it forced, rather than a positive change to bring about within themselves.

This very attitude and constant cribbing of people around me prompted me to write this piece on why is it so difficult to make a lifestyle change?

Many of us have tried it at some point in our lives. Some of us have succeeded, while many have found it extremely taxing. Making a lifestyle change is challenging, especially when you want to transform many things at once. Lifestyle changes are a process that takes time and requires support and lots of patience.

Here are a few tips that you could follow from my personal experience:

1. Start Small

After you’ve identified realistic short-term and long-term goals, break them into small steps that are well defined, that can be managed and measured. If your long term goal (6-8 months) is to lose 20 kilos, then a good goal would be to reduce about 2 kilos a month in a healthy way.

Physiologically smaller goals give you a sense that it’s achievable and keep you motivated for the long term goal. Look at healthy eating options. Eat smaller, balanced meals at regular intervals. Replace a dessert with a healthier option, like Yoghurt. At the end of the month, you’ll feel successful knowing you met your goal.

2. Change One Behavior at a Time

It is said that old habits die hard. It is simply because behaviors develop over the course of time. Replacing then will take a while. Focus on one goal at a time. If need be, get professional help to understand what changes you need to bring within yourself to become healthy and fit. The problem arises when you try to change things really fast. Take it slow!

3. Have a Buddy, a Personal Coach or a Trainer

It can be anyone from a friend, to a family member, a co-worker or your personal trainer. Your buddy and you can go for a walk, cycle or run together and keep each other motivated and charged. You can challenge each other to create some excitement in your training and make sure that it is not boring. Having someone with whom you can share your struggles and success makes the work easier and the mission less intimidating.

4. Make a Plan That You Will Stick To

You will have to devise a plan in such a way that it will be your guide. Think out of the box and have things in your plan which you have never done before. For instance, an adventure or sports climbing (artificial wall climbing). But, don’t go haywire and be specific. Manage time well.

Detail the time of the day when you want to exercise, how long you want to exercise or when you can take walks and how long you’ll walk. Maintain a diary in which all your tasks are jotted down and ask yourself if these activities and goals are realistic for you. If not, then start with baby steps.

5. Have Support Around You

Having people around you to support you while you are on your journey will keep you away from slacking. Don’t feel shy to ask for support wherever and whenever needed. If you feel you are unable to meet your goals on your own, get help!

6. Self-Motivation

All the above points will help you in your journey to change your lifestyle. But the biggest factor of all and one of the most important factor is being self-motivated. No matter how many buddies you have, no matter what support your dear and near ones will give you, no matter how good a plan you make, none of this will be effective till the time you are self-motivated and want to make the change.

Do it for yourself, do it on your own and feel good at the end of it all!

Making the changes that you want takes time and commitment. You can do it! Just remember that no one is perfect. You will have occasional lapses. Be kind to yourself. When you eat a brownie or skip the gym, don’t give up. Minor bumps on the road to your goals are normal and okay. Resolve to recover and get back on track.

#BeTheForce