#I get on my knees and pray boy tv#

If someone told me IвЂ™d be involved in that IвЂ™d have said, вЂReally? Ew, doesnвЂ™t sound very fun.

#I get on my knees and pray boy tv#

The younger me wouldnвЂ™t have understood the TV personality thing.В TV was never on my radar. My dad used to say, donвЂ™t peak at school or youвЂ™ll mess up the rest of your life. And donвЂ™t worry if you donвЂ™t want to go to university. DonвЂ™t worry about that side of things, just love what you do and keep smiling. If I went back to talk to that boy IвЂ™d say, hey, thatвЂ™s all just window-dressing and youвЂ™re not very good at it anyway. If I met the teenage Bear now, I think IвЂ™d see a shy young man, still trying to figure himself out.В I used to try to wear trendy clothes and spike my hair. IвЂ™ve never been very good at drinks parties or that side of things. All my school friends who joined went in as officers but I wanted to go in at the other end. After school I joined the army as a private, rather than an officer. But thatвЂ™s the opposite of life, where you have to forge your own path and embrace risk and be prepared to get things wrong.Д«y the time I joined the military I had the confidence to do things my own way. So many kids around me вЂ“ and I was the same вЂ“ we were terrified of doing anything different, in the class or on the sports field. It took me some time to gain any confidence. Especially if you werenвЂ™t naturally sporty or super-clever and I was neither. I went to Eton, and like lots of schools it was a bit of a survival exercise. I would also echo my dad and tell my younger self not to fear failure. If heвЂ™d lived longer I would have shown the gratitude you donвЂ™t always show when youвЂ™re young. He told me to look after my friends and follow my heart, that matters much more than school reports or things like that. He was the man who taught me to climb at a young age and he really encouraged me to go for things. He was a wonderful dad, really cosy and fun. IвЂ™d tell my teenage self to really appreciate having his dad around. And I think I have less of a fear of death as well because I see it as going home. My faith definitely plays a part in my love of the outdoors вЂ“В I see miracles everywhere I look, in mountains and in the jungle. But having a faith reduces my fear hugely because IвЂ™m not alone, IвЂ™m fighting these battles with the creator and thatвЂ™s amazing. After my sky-diving accident in the military, I still have to parachute quite a lot and I find that hard.

Well, I am, IвЂ™m scared of lots of things. I see miracles everywhere I look, in mountains and in the jungleД«elieving in God definitely makes me less scared in life in general. But to this day I start every day on my knees praying by my bed, and thatвЂ™s my grounding for the day. ItвЂ™s a very personal relationship, I still donвЂ™t go to church very much. IвЂ™m more convinced than ever, no matter how crazy it sounds, that there is a God and he is love. And that was the start of something that grew and grew and itвЂ™s become the backbone of my life. I was really upset and I said a very simple prayer up a tree вЂ“ if youвЂ™re still there, will you please just be beside me. Then when I went to school I thought, if there is a God, surely he doesnвЂ™t speak Latin and stand in a pulpit? But when I was 16 my godfather, who was like a second father to me, died. I wasnвЂ™t brought up in the church but I had aВ natural faith when I was a little kid, I always believed in something.

It was around 16 I found my Christian faith. The same with climbing вЂ“ we set up these mini-mountaineering trips to Scotland and I just loved it, fighting your way up a mountain in the wind and rain. But gradually they all quit but I stayed with it. I remember getting a bunch of friends to do karate with me and they were all stronger and fitter than me. Around 16 I was starting to find my niche, which was climbing and martial arts. I found school hard, especially being away from home. At 16 I was at Eton and trying to find my identity.