With International Women’s Day coming up, it’s made me reflect on my experience as a woman who owns her own business, has a family, and supports many other women through adventure. I just wanted to share some of the thoughts I’ve had recently in my own private time, or in chats I’ve had with people around me. Hopefully, you can take away a little nugget of wisdom or inspiration for some March Motivation, or just have something interesting to reflect on for yourself.
The first is the most obvious, of course, because I’m usually thinking about this – adventure improves mental and physical health. Seeing people’s lives improve in front of my eyes on the trail (or seeing photos from some of our other awesome guides) over the last several years has truly solidified this in my brain. Some of the best advice and life tips I can give is to spend some time outside every day. I promise you won’t melt in the rain, nor will you catch a cold – but definitely find a good rain jacket! Learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
Another thing that can be hard to unlearn, especially as a woman, is that food has no morals. You are no better a person because you ate a salad over eating a hamburger; eat the hamburger and enjoy it!
Our phones can be ingrained into every aspect of our lives: socialising, work, entertainment, contact with family, the list goes on. Although it can create a temporary sense of comfort or pleasure to use, it’s amazing how refreshing it feels to completely disconnect for a while and experience some real personal connections or enjoy the sounds of nature over the sounds of the latest TV show. Have a go at switching off your phone and leaving it behind for one hour a day or one day a week. I promise your world won’t fall apart and you may find more time to make new connections with people or strengthen the ones you already have by creating some real-world memories together.
Although many brands would have you think the opposite, it’s important that we don’t live beyond our means. Do we really need the latest tech release or that shiny new pair of shoes that look exactly like the ones we already own? Where you can, try to buy local and Australian products. Try to grow some food of your own; this is a great way to connect more with nature and is a great skill to pass down to your kids to connect with them.
This one can be incredibly difficult, especially for women who are so often told they need to be perfect, safe, and careful – much more so than men anyway. But if your life is feeling dull, or like a never-ending cycle, hit the reset button and learn from scratch. Make heaps of mistakes and learn from them. Do something even if you think you are going to fail at it. In fact, that’s when you absolutely should do it. Take risks, but listen to your intuition.
Maybe a controversial one… Have a messy house or a messy appearance because you are too busy living! Don’t put makeup on or change into a nice outfit to go to the shop. Be comfortable in your skin because you are beautiful as a person. The outside layer can always be washed off, but your inner beauty will shine.
Work to live, not live to work. Slow down and know there is no shame in taking time off to look after yourself. Your number one asset is time, so use it wisely and do the things you truly enjoy; book that trip you’ve wanted to do for years, make friends with that person, try that new activity. Laugh from the belly, loudly, and often. Be brave enough to fail, make mistakes, and have regrets, while knowing that this does not reduce your worth as a person. Do all this because you love yourself and know you are worth it.
Don’t numb or ‘keep busy’ with work, exercise, food, and alcohol just to avoid doing hard things or facing negative emotions. Learn to find things that fulfil you. Have a current to-do list (or a self-love list as I prefer to call it) of things that fill your cup and write your thoughts down as reminders. How do the things on this list make you feel? Which ones do you most enjoy and want to keep prioritising? Are there some that maybe aren’t as effective as you originally thought?
Move without machines, times, numbers, statistics, or anything that adds unnecessary stress to your movement. If you really find those stats interesting and motivating then great! But if you find they make you think about movement in terms of being “perfect”, then maybe reevaluate. Try moving with music, in nature or surrounded by others (friends or strangers!) because it feels good and because you love what your body can do, not because it’s a punishment for what you have eaten.
Speaking of kids, these are some things that I have found invaluable as I’ve watched mine grow up. Teach your children finances, how to take risks, how to fail, how to be uncomfortable. Raising a “perfect” child is nice, but raising a child who knows their worth and is willing to have a go and put themselves out there is incredibly important. Listen to them. Spend time with them. Invest in them. And most of all, show them and model for them a healthy life.
Learn to laugh at yourself and don’t take life too seriously. Live it, it’s short. Don’t judge anyone because you haven’t walked in their shoes and have no clue what else is going on in their life. So don’t repeat rumours about others and have a voice to stand up for those who need it. Be humble, honest, down-to-earth, and always be a person of your word. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Listen to people before speaking and judging. After all, that’s why we have two ears and one mouth. On the flip side, what people think about you is not your business, it’s theirs. You will meet people who try to take advantage of you, but don’t let it change the person you are. Be kind and always remember the people who helped you along the way. Have respect and appreciation for them.
It’s good to have a passion that drives you, but not every day has to be exciting or full of happiness. After all, true emotional health is about experiencing the whole spectrum of emotions and being able to recognise and accept them, not to judge ourselves for feeling upset or angry. Find joy in the small things. Another way to create purpose in life without just striving for constant happiness is to define what kind of person you want to be and work towards being that person. This is not a one-time task; it will adapt over time as you, your circumstances, and the world around you change.
Learn to enjoy your own company, but make the effort and compromise to add another person to your life. Make the time to connect with others and build friendships. Building relationships with other people isn’t always easy but those connections will save your life; humans are social creatures and we need others in our lives. You don’t have to be in control of them or hold power over them, a pet is good but people are worth the effort!
So there you have a few (or maybe more than a few!) things I’ve been reflecting on recently. Some of these are more relevant to women than others, but I think there are some lessons to be learned for everyone about embracing mistakes and imperfection to truly live a life full of wellbeing. If this has prompted any thoughts for you, feel free to send through a DM or an email – maybe I can make another blog of great advice from our wonderful community!
