I also thought a lot about my family and friends who support me. When you're going down you are more prone to error since you're more tired. You have to stay focused. Sometimes that's hard to do. Best thing is take a mountaineering course and work your way up.
Experience is the key.
You said Everest wasn't your toughest climb. I didn't summit Makalu because of weather. The trek in you see some wildlife. I saw deer and many different birds. Mt. Everest is fairly clean, relatively.