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Participation
The structure of the
adventure experience is built on the guide; however the
outcome of the experience is going to be determined in large
part by the level of participation. For an adventure to
become a great experience there needs to be buy in from
everyone involved.
A great attitude can overcome
the worst of conditions and deliver an outstanding day just
as easily as a negative attitude can ruin the best day. In
life you get back what you put in and participating in an
adventure is no different.
There are many factors that
can affect the level of participation. Some of these
include; having a sense of adventure, adequate fitness and a
willingness to give up control and trust the decisions of
others. Sometimes people don’t really want to be there, or
may have come under pressure from someone else. They might
be there for the wrong reasons. Their expectations could be
unrealistic or they expected something different than what
the experience actually is.
Some people have a really
hard time giving up control which means they may not want to
participate fully in the experience the guide is trying to
deliver. If they are the only ones the guide has to deal
with then it can probably be managed however in a group
setting, this can be very damaging to the overall
experience. An overly negative and controlling participant
can become a cancer in a group, if there is more than one of
these people in a group a guide can be in real trouble.
There are times when people
may not have a high enough level of fitness. This means they
wear down faster and may not be able to appreciate the
experience fully. Tired people often become grumpy people.
Having a high sense of
adventure can allow people to overcome inconveniences and
discomfort. Some people have a very low sense of adventure
which can make them risk averse and intolerant to
discomfort. It is common for people to go on an adventure
thinking that the experience will make them more interesting
people. Adventures do not make people interesting on their
own; a person needs to be adventurous and open to learning
from the experience for it to become interesting.
It is imperative for guides
to assess where everyone’s head space is at including
their own.
If everyone has a positive
attitude and their needs are being met, it can be very easy
to enjoy a great experience. The challenge is that sometimes
a guide cannot change people’s attitudes any more than
they can control the weather. As a guide it is impossible to
force someone to have a good time. All a guide can do is to
create an enjoyable, safe setting and do their best to guide
people towards achieving adventure.
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