No matter how well you have prepared for something in advance – whether it’s an expedition, an exam, a marriage or a race – when you find yourself in the thick of the action, however good your plan, things happen.

Adventure is unpredictable, and you had better learn to be flexible and to swing with the punches, or you will get beaten – it’s as simple as that.

Mike Tyson famously once said: ‘Everyone has a plan. . .until they get punched in the face!’

If the adventure is an exciting one, you can bet your bottom dollar you will get hit by the occasional punch in the face. So prepare for the unexpected, and remember that forewarned is forearmed.

Knowing that things will and do go wrong in the heat of battle is actually half the battle. It means that when it happens you are ready for it – you can react fast, stay nimble and you can survive the barrage.

We used to say in the military that when things took a turn for the worse you have to ‘improvise, adapt and overcome’. IAO. It is a good one to remember. It gives us a road map to deal with the unexpected.

Being caught out, being caught off guard often makes people freeze – it is a human reaction to shock. But freezing can cost you the edge. So learn to anticipate the unexpected, and when it happens, smile to yourself and treat it as a solid marker that you are doing something right on your road to success.

If nothing ever goes wrong then you haven’t been ambitious enough!

I also like to say that the real adventure begins in earnest when things go a little bit wrong. It is only then that you get to pit yourself against the worst the wild has to throw at you. When all is going to plan, with all the kit working perfectly and the weather benign, then it isn’t really a test of character. It is easy to be the hero when all is going your way.

But when it all goes wrong and life feels like a battle, it is then that we can see what sort of people we have around us. It is only through the hardships that our character becomes forged. Without struggle there can be no growth – physically or emotionally.

So embrace the unexpected, feed off it, train yourself to be a master of the curve ball, and you will have built yourself another solid ‘character’ rung on the ladder to success.