Amy C Christensen

How Well Do You Recognize Your Own Voice?

Amy C — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:02:14 +0000

I got summoned for jury duty this week. Two little words that can evoke such dread and eye-rolling. Jury Duty. I have to admit that while it was an inconvenience, I was curious.

I was curious about the “actual” system and how similar (or different) it would be from TV and movie courtrooms.

I got to the courthouse early and watched the other jurors arrive while sipping my americano. It reminded me of being at the laundromat while on the road. Everyone’s doing their own thing, no one’s talking to one another and it’s super quiet, yet we’re all connected by one task.

After everyone arrived, we watched a video about what to do and not do in court (no tweeting, blogging, posting anything on facebook, or even researching what a particular word means on google), who to expect in the courtroom and the different types of cases tried in front of a jury.

Sidenote: Did you know that some juries only need three members (some civil cases)? I digress.

My name was called along with about 40 others. We headed into courtroom “H” and heard our instructions. It was a criminal case, so they needed twelve jurors. They called 22 up for the selection process. (I wasn’t one of them, but was instructed to remain in case someone got dismissed.)

Legal trivia: Each lawyer got to choose five people to dismiss without having to give a reason. So 22 minus ten (five per attorney) ends up being your twelve.

I have to admit that it was absolutely fascinating.

I love people and love hearing their stories (go figure I chose to become a life coach and work with people for a living), so getting to observe and listen to those 22 folks talk about what they did for a living, what their parents did, whether they were married, how old their kids were (and what they did for a living) was really interesting.

And then it got even more interesting. After the judge went through those basic getting-to-know-everyone questions, both the prosecutor and defense attorney had an opportunity to ask questions that would help them determine whether a juror would be fair and impartial during the proceedings.

One of the first questions the Prosecutor asked was about how each person, on a scale of one to ten would rank our justice system. (And then he asked folks reasons why they thought that.)

The lawyer’s questions were designed to learn where jurors stood on issues of law enforcement (did they have good or bad experiences with them), how much evidence they needed to see before reaching a conclusion, what “beyond a reasonable doubt” meant, and how easily swayed by others they thought they were.

Here’s a question to think about that was posed to prospective jurors (paraphrased):

“If you are deliberating and eleven other people think one way and you think the other, would you go along with everyone else?”

the paradox of influence

You can obviously understand why this question is important for a lawyer to ascertain. And of course you’d claim you own your mind and opinions and would stick up for what you believed was right.

But then I think about the studies that show that when we are in a crowd, we’re less likely to help out a victim in need than if we’re alone with the victim. Why? Because we unconsciously assume “someone else” will handle it. Or is better qualified to deal with it.

How well do you know your own voice?

Of course we want to believe we are immune to influence. That we are able to stay objective when faced with others‘ wishes and arguments. That when faced with a decision about someone else’s fate, our own biases, perspectives and opinions can be controlled and set aside in order to serve justice fairly and honestly.

Earlier in the questioning process, I watched the Prosecutor ask those who scored the justice system an eight or higher to raise their hands. Then he asked those who scored it below four to raise their hands. He then looked at everyone and made the statement, “so the rest of you score in the four, five, six or seven range.”

A few started nodding and then one man in the front raised his hand and then everyone else raised their hands as well. Influence.

They weren’t asked to raise their hands, but we unconsciously follow what others do and often (unconsciously) mirror the behaviors of others. It’s a very normal and very human thing to do.

The lawyers want to be sure that you, as a juror, have an opinion based on what you heard and interpreted as fact.

Outrunning the storm

What happens when you’re out on a long hike, a storm is coming in and you’re feeling uncomfortable. Everyone else is moving forward. How likely are you to speak up? How likely are you to ask them to retreat because you’re uncomfortable? How likely are you to convince yourself “they must know what they’re doing,” or “they’ve done this before, it’ll be fine.”

Or how about, “I’ll look weak or inexperienced if I show that I’m scared”?

If you’re out climbing and your head’s not in the game, but you’re expected to lead a particularly tough pitch, how likely are you to speak up about your mental frame of mind? How likely are you to go ahead and do it anyway because everyone below you is cheering you on, even if you’re not feeling ‘quite right’?

These questions, they’re not easy to answer. We want to believe we listen to ourselves. That our convictions are strong and we don’t care what others think of us.

It’s not easy to speak your mind—especially when we feel alone in our opinion or our fear.

”Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” ~Steve Jobs

There is a cacophony of information these days. Not only within us (our own inner critics and sages), but our past selves, our parents, society, culture, the Internet, supermarkets, Superbowl Ads and YouTube memes (don’t even try and tell me you’ve never laughed with friends at a meme you didn’t think was funny). It’s a veritable glut of data to receive, weed through, decipher and make judgements about.

We can’t avoid being influenced.

But what we can do is learn to recognize our own voice amidst the noise. It’s imperative to learn what our own gut, instinct, inner wisdom—whatever you want to call it—sounds like and feels like.

When you just know something. And then we have to learn to speak up and say it. Or act upon it.

I think speaking up (especially for women) is often the hardest part.

recognizing our own voice

So how do we do it? Listening and owning.

Listen to yourself and honor that nagging feeling (you know the one). Stand up for yourself and own your voice.

Like anything else difficult and worthwhile, it takes practice. Start small. Tell your friends/partner what you want for dinner instead of going around and around with the “I don’t care, whatever you want is fine” cycle. Pick a movie you’ve been dying to see.

When you’re at a crag or in the backcountry, talk about fear. Talk about risk thresholds and get to know your own idea of what’s risky, what’s reasonable to push through and in what situations you might retreat. Get to know the ideas of those in your group, too.

Create time in your day for quiet time. Cultivate awareness around your thoughts and opinions. Notice them and observe yourself objectively. Where do your opinions come from? What are they based on? And are they still relevant to you today?

Self awareness and confidence cycles throughout our lives. The more we listen to ourselves and stop worrying about what others think or feel, the stronger our own voices become.

How would you answer the lawyer’s question? How easily swayed are you? How well do you know the sound of your own voice?

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I’m delighted you stopped by.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter for more inspiration and practical tips to help you get—and stay active. You’ll also receive a FREE download of 7 Secrets to Staying Motivated.

If you’re interested in life coaching and ready to make a change, contact me for a free consult.

Love Your Body: The Workshop and begin to build a peaceful relationship with your body. This six-week course begins March 6. Registration is open. Sign up today!

Other posts you might enjoy:

Winter Hibernation

Amy C — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:04:59 +0000

Winter Hibernation | Boulder, CO

I never thought I’d be one to hibernate. Never imagined I’d be a person that could sit in front of a TV screen indulging in a Grey’s Anatomy marathon session.

Maybe my past self wouldn’t be so worried. Twelve years ago I wasn’t running. Or doing much camping. Or snowshoeing. I hadn’t yet met the magic and charm of being in the outdoors on a crisp, cold morning with the snow sparkling invitingly along the trail. And I hadn’t yet learned how restorative, energizing and necessary for me getting outside would become.

No, twelve years ago I had yet to become the passionate outdoors enthusiast I am today. Which is why the idea of me hibernating these days is particularly unsettling.

Especially since I’m building a life coaching business around the idea that getting outside is so beneficial to all other areas of life. My own Inner Voices have become annoying: Why aren’t I taking my own advice? Why would anyone want to listen to me about the outdoors if I’m not out there? What if I stop loving the outdoors? What if I fall back into my old sedentary habits (this one was pretty strong).

Inner Voices have a way of infiltrating our subconscious to wreck havoc on our motivation and confidence. I don’t care who you are or what you do for a living. We’re all susceptible.

So I did what I tell my clients to do: face your Inner Voices. Get to know those fears up close and personal. The more I delved into my Inner Voices and confronted them, the stronger the pull I felt toward hibernation.

Simply put: I needed it. I needed time to settle.

It's easy to get caught up in familiar routines and plans. Easy to forget to stop and re-assess and ask ourselves if this (how we’re living our life) is what we still want.

It's important to remember why we do the things we love.

when the familiar becomes unfamiliar

When I thought about returning to Boulder as we wound down the adVANture, I anticipated a quick return to the life I lived before traveling.

I was sure I’d be back on my favorite trails, back at my favorite coffee shops working, quickly catching up with old friends and back at the climbing gym and yoga studios.

But that’s not what happened at all. The closer we got to Boulder, the more unfamiliar it all started to seem. It was a lot like returning to my elementary school after I’d grown up: everything’s familiar yet so very different.

I have realized that my hibernation stage is really my mind’s way of recovering from the past few months when:

I ended a year-long road trip (and two years of traveling).
I moved into a "stick" house (as my aunt refers to them) with four walls and actual rooms (one even has an oven!).
Not only were we unpacking after two years of travel, but we had boxes we hadn't opened in over five years that we had to go through (garage sale coming soon!).
I'm still nursing a couple of nagging injuries.
The holidays happened.
I put unreasonably high expectations on myself for my business growth after we settled (“Now that you’re in one place, it’s time to really hit the ground running and ramp up!”).

It’s a fair bit of change, especially when I think about being in constant motion for a long time and then suddenly I stopped moving. BAM. Just like that. We were settled. And although I knew it was the right thing for us to be doing, I missed the road a lot (still do).

I needed time to catch my breath and regroup.

Re-entry is a weird, transitional time between a significant event away from home, and finding a way to settle your "old" self with your new, changed self when you get back to your daily routine. For me, this has been the crux.

I've changed. And I needed this time—this self-imposed hibernation—to help me reassess exactly how I've changed. I entered into a familiar environment expecting things to be easy and frankly, it wasn’t. I felt lost and disoriented.

My nagging injuries have been a blessing in many ways. Their stories are best left for a future post, but not being able to run or climb has—in ways difficult to articulate—lifted the burden of finding the time to get outside.

My mind needed to rest and focus on other things. Like creating a new home. And focusing on my business strategy and future growth (more on that later, too).

I didn’t know it at the time, but when I quit my corporate job three years ago, I began the process of throwing everything that was familiar to me up in the air. During the past three years, I not only quit my job, but I got married. I moved. I traveled. I went back to school, started a new career, became an entrepreneur and launched a business.

Now everything has landed on the ground around me and it's time to re-organize and take stock. My old self has morphed and there are times I don't recognize my life as a married entrepreneur running a business on my own. It's hard to get my head around.

gratitude

So this hibernation period is about taking a look at everything in my life and choosing consciously those things I absolutely love and/or need. It's the same system I use to purge my physical items and the standard I have begun to use before I buy something new: Do I love it? Do I need it?

I’m beginning to apply that concept to every other part of my life.

And it feels good.

It used to be that I was afraid of stopping any kind of regular workout. What if I never went back? As a late-blooming athlete, I remember a time in my life I wasn't active. I don't want to go back to that state of inactivity.

These days, I know I won't. And for that, I’m incredibly grateful. The outdoors is a part of my make-up. Physical activity is an essential part of my sanity. I love the outdoors and I love being active. It's in my blood and is a part of my life. A few months of rest and re-grouping will not hurt me.

On the contrary, I know the time I’m spending inside is creating space for me to enjoy being outside. Hibernation, for me, is a time to store energy, nourish and cleanse my soul, and re-acquaint myself with me.

As spring teases from around the corner, I have slowly begun to emerge.

And I can't wait to see y'all on the trails!

What about you? Have you ever felt a strong desire to hibernate or take a break from something you love?

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I’m delighted you stopped by.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter for more inspiration and practical tips to help you get—and stay active. You’ll also receive a FREE download of 7 Secrets to Staying Motivated.

If you’re interested in life coaching and ready to make a change, contact me for a free consult.

Other posts you might enjoy:

You Will Be Tomorrow Where Your Thoughts Take You

Amy C — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:29:00 +0000

As you think, you travel, and as you love, you attract. You are today where your thoughts have brought you; You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. ~ James Lane Allen

Where are your thoughts taking you today?

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I’m delighted you stopped by.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter for more inspiration and practical tips to help you get—and stay active. You’ll also receive a FREE download of 7 Secrets to Staying Motivated.

If you’re interested in life coaching and ready to make a change, contact me for a free consult.

Love Your Body

Amy C — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:27:01 +0000

Love is defined as “an intense feeling of deep affection.”

We love our families, our lovers, our children. And we love our passions and our sports and hobbies.

But when’s the last time you either heard someone say, or said yourself, “I love my body.” (And really meant it.)

How many people do you think have an intense feeling of deep affection for the skin they’re in? I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that number’s pretty small.

Loving your body isn’t about looking good or performing well. It’s about connecting to our body as part of who we are.

We are one and the same with our bodies. Yet so many of us fight it. We launch long and drawn out battles with all the things we can’t stand about our bodies. It’s like this disconnection with something we see as outside of ourselves. Something separate.

Yet it’s not. The mind, the body, the soul, if you will, are all connected and the more we fight against one, the more disconnected and misaligned we become with ourselves. And the more misdirected our energy is spent. And, the more unfulfilled and unhappy we find ourselves in various parts of our lives.

It might be a subtle sense of dissatisfaction with our choices, or vague sense that there’s something we’re missing. Or it could be an all-out-war against our core being.

Whatever it is, reconnecting with ourselves (and the body we inhabit) is essential to feeling as alive and engaged in the world around us as we dream about. When we are aligned with ourselves, possibilities abound and life becomes richer and more vibrant.

get to know your partner

Think about your body as your partner. Your teammate. The one who’s there all the time, through everything with you.

Whether you like it or not, your body is sticking by you, and I think that’s pretty awesome. Who else has stuck by you and experienced your life with you every day?

So what would it look like if you treated your body as you treat your family? Your lover? Your kids? Even your business partner?

What would it look like if you were compassionate toward your body? Accepted it for all that it provides you? Were generous and patient with it?

It’s true: we’re often our own worse enemy. We expect far more from ourselves than we do others. And we tend to be much more critical of ourselves and our actions than we are towards others.

What if the story changed? What could life be like if we exercised our capacity to sincerely love the body we have (and stopped being so critical of it)?

How would it be different? How would we nourish it? Move in it? Would there be a different kind of energy?

love your body: the workshop

I am co-hosting a workshop that will teach you how to begin to build this new, loving relationship with your body.

If you're tired of fighting your body. If you find yourself spending too much time focusing on the negative aspects and want to shift your perspective to the positive and make a strong, internal shift on how you view your body, I hope you’ll join us.

The workshop begins March 6 and registration is open. You can check out more details here, but in short, it's a six-week course that will be conducted over the phone. (You can be anywhere in the world—and even hang out in your PJs).

We’ve been cooking this up over the last several months and it’s going to be good. It’s in-depth, customized and I think (though I might be biased) really special.

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I’m delighted you stopped by.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter for more inspiration and practical tips to help you get—and stay active. You’ll also receive a FREE download of 7 Secrets to Staying Motivated.

If you’re interested in life coaching and ready to make a change, contact me for a free consult.

Other posts you might enjoy:

Your Mountain Bike Can Teach You...

Amy C — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:03:21 +0000

Bracken | Prescott, AZ

Last week I posted about what my mountain bike taught me. As a beginner, listening to my body and stopping to catch my breath have turned out to be good things to remember.

As I was writing the post, I’d asked my husband for a link or two to a good video that would be fun to include in that original post.

Instead (because that’s the kind of guy he is), he sent a bunch of great videos, each with their own lesson. And clearly, I had to share. Here's wisdom from Bracken.

Enjoy!

your mountain bike can teach you...

That once you’re really good, you can casually talk while you do things that most would find terrifying:

No matter how well you think things are going, you might get clocked by a wild animal:

Riding with a happy friend is good:

Lily Shreds trailside. on pinkbike.com

It’s best to stay on your bike:

Danny Hart's INSANE winning run at Champrey Worlds 2011 on pinkbike.com

Forests are pretty:

Island Winter on pinkbike.com

And don’t forget, people are awesome:

PEOPLE ARE AWESOME on pinkbike.com

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I’m delighted you stopped by.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter for more inspiration and practical tips to help you get—and stay active. You’ll also receive a FREE download of 7 Secrets to Staying Motivated.

If you’re interested in life coaching and ready to make a change, contact me for a free consult.

What My Mountain Bike Taught Me

Amy C — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:19:53 +0000

lessons from a mountain bike

I’m hurling down a steep descent, gripping the handlebars of the hunk of steel beneath me as roots, rocks and trees blur past. I’m trying desperately to remember everything I’d been taught to do: look ahead, relax, watch for rocks as you pedal, don’t hit a tree, don’t look down, don’t hit the front break too hard, remember what leg to have down on the corners.

I’m quickly consumed with the overwhelming sense that I’m losing—no, by this time I’ve lost—control.

Instinctively, I slow down and then stop. My breath is heavy and my heart is racing. I look behind me at the terrain I’d just covered (whoa! I rode down that?), and then I look ahead and assess what’s coming up.

It only takes a few minutes for my breathing to calm down and my heart to settle into a more relaxed beat. The adrenaline slowly leaves my system and my mind clears.

I sit back on the seat, point the front tire downhill and breathe in one more time before taking off again to meet up with my friends. This time I’m not going quite so fast. And I’m not merely hanging on for dear life. I’m enjoying the rush of the wind against my cheeks. I can smell the damp soil of the loamy trail mingling with the pine trees.

I’m in control and know where I'm going. Everything makes sense again and I'm not longer gripped with fear. This, it's easy to remember now, is fun.

honing my instincts

My entrepreneurial instincts aren’t quite so well-honed.

In my day to day life, I forget the simple lesson to slow down and breathe when I start feeling out of control. Instead, my emergency training kicks in and it’s all about triage, crisis management and putting out fires. My head goes down with blinders on. All I can see is what’s immediately in front of me, as though I’m swimming in open water, watching my hands pull through the water, stroke after stroke, without ever coming up for air.

If you've ever watched the swim portion of a triathlon and felt sorry for those poor souls swimming their hearts out, heading way off course because they never take a moment to look up at where they're going, you'll agree that this is not the most efficient way to run a business.

Even though I’m fairly new to both mountain biking and starting a business, my survival instincts for one don’t seem to have carried over to the other.

And that’s a shame, because there’s a lot to be said for looking up once in awhile to focus on the big picture instead of the minutiae—regardless of what it is we’re doing.

I work with this issue a lot with my life coaching clients, so you’d think it’d come naturally to me, but case in point, it’s a lot easier to see the big picture when you’re not immersed in the details. And it’s easy for all of us to get lost in the details of our own lives.

redirect the energy toward the purposeful

When we get overwhelmed, it can easily spiral out of control. We worry and stress that we’re not getting everything done, even when our idea of “everything” isn’t well-defined. It’s like a big cloud hanging over our head, ready to pour down disaster in the form of stinging sleet pellets.

So what can we do? How can we stop The Overwhelm and find our purpose again?

I’m taking a cue from my mountain biking survival instincts:

Slow down and stop for just a moment. Take time to refocus on the bigger picture.

Then redirect the energy you feel from stress and worry and redirect it towards purpose.

Take a look at what you’ve already accomplished and recognize how far you’ve come. Re-assess what’s important, focus on your overall goals and prioritize accordingly.

Then point the handlebars forward, start pedaling and feel the wind on your cheeks.

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I’m delighted you stopped by.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter for more inspiration and practical tips to help you get—and stay active. You’ll also receive a FREE download of 7 Secrets to Staying Motivated.

If you’re interested in life coaching and ready to make a change, contact me for a free consult.

Other posts you might enjoy:

Keep Moving Forward

Amy C — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:13:45 +0000

Keep moving forward one step at a time.

Some wise words I wanted to share today:

You are not the product of your circumstances. You are a composite of all the things you believe, and all the places you believe you can go. Your past does not define you. You can step out of your history and create a new day for yourself. Even if the entire culture is saying, ‘You can’t.’ Even if every single possible bad things that can happen to you does. You can keep moving forward.

~Oprah Winfrey

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I’m delighted you stopped by.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter for more inspiration and practical tips to help you live your best life. You’ll also receive a FREE download of 7 Secrets to Staying Motivated.

If you’re interested in life coaching and ready to make a change, contact me for a free consult.

This week’s links:

31 Days of Adventure: The Wrap-up

Amy C — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:04:20 +0000

At the beginning of January, My friend Lydia and I launched 31 Days of Adventure, a project where we emailed participants every day for the 31 days of January a small, daily adventure meant to challenge and encourage them to find adventure in everyday life.

We had no idea what to expect, but as we brainstormed and fleshed out our ideas, we hoped there would be a few folks that would join in. We brainstormed adventures, built a website, and then invited folks to join. And BAM! People started signing up, sharing the links, tweeting and blogging about it. Whoa.

By the end of December, on the night before our first adventure went live, there were way more people than we expected on the list. And within the next few days, that number almost doubled.

Can we talk about how cool that was? So. Freaking. Cool. Flurries of emails traveled back and forth through cyberspace as Lydia and I watched the numbers grow.

I’m not usually that concerned with numbers, but boy, they can really be addicting!

the participation

My day 1 adventure | a new perspective

We set up a hashtag (#31adventures) on twitter for people to follow, share and meet other adventurers. And then we watched as people talked about and shared their blogs that recounted their reactions, impressions and what kinds of adventures they were creating.

There’s a list of some of the participants with links to their blogs you can go check out and read for yourself... there’s some great stuff there!

Personally, I found that participating and facilitating (and keeping track of all the mentions on twitter, reading as many blog posts as I could find, etc.) was a lot. A good kind of a lot, but a lot. So after those first few days, I realized that creating this project and seeing it through was going to be my daily adventure.

I definitely enjoyed a lot of the adventures, but let go of trying to get all the days in, which was liberating and wonderful.

Speaking of keeping up with the daily adventures, I want to assure you all that there was no expectation for anyone to complete every day on that day. Not at all! (I’m not sure there was anyone who did all 31 adventures on the days they arrived in your inbox, but if you’re out there, you seriously rock!)

Our primary goal was to get y’all to think and stretch your lives past the normal humdrum of everyday life and to realize that you can create (and watch out for) all kinds of adventures within the ordinary.

I appreciate every single person who signed up for 31 Days of Adventure, whether you simply thought about participating, got a few days in, or most days (or all the days). You mean the world to me (and I’m guessing Lydia, too)! So no more apologies or guilt or feeling bad about not doing all the days, okay? Okay.

For those of you who didn’t sign up and want to see what it’s all about, go check out all 31 Adventures on the website.

You can also check out my Pinterest boards from days one and two to get a peek into more daily adventure perspectives.

We’re busy brainstorming new ideas so if you’d like to hear from us about what’s next, you can still sign up.

thank you!

For me (and I’m pretty sure Lydia will agree), 31 Days of Adventure was a huge success. Thank you to everyone who participated, shared, blogged and otherwise supported us through this amazing month.

And a very special thank you to our guest contributors who brought fresh voices and inspiring adventures along the way: Katie Levy, Kim Kircher, Sara Lingafelter, and the ladies at Chicks Climbing.

Here’s to an adventurous year!

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I’m delighted you stopped by.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter for more inspiration and practical tips to help you live your best life. You’ll also receive a FREE download of 7 Secrets to Staying Motivated.

If you’re interested in life coaching and ready to make a change, contact me for a free consult.

Other posts you might enjoy:

Happy National Girls & Women in Sports Day!

Amy C — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:03:34 +0000

Title IX turns 40 today. For those of you unaware, Title IX of the Education Amendments to the 1964 Civil Rights Act which was signed into law on June 23, 1972 by President Richard Nixon, declares that:

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

women in sports

In 1971, 294,015 high school girls took part in interscholastic sports. By 2008, that figure would balloon to 3,057,266.
In 1971, there were 29,972 women NCAA athletes. By 2005, there were 166,728.
In 1971, one out of 27 school-age girls played sports. In 2000, that ratio was one in three.

We’ve come a long way (there’s still a long way to go), but today, let’s celebrate shall we?

Today, get outside. Go play. Teach a young girl. Or your mom. Feel your body move and appreciate it for what it can do and how it makes you feel good and powerful and confident.

If you’re interested in some of the health and behavioral benefits of physical activity and participation opportunities for women in sport, check these out (source: aauw.org).

Girls who participate in some kind of sport experience higher than average levels of self-esteem and lower levels of depression.
Sports participation is associated with reduced rates of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders.
Athletic participation can teach valuable life skills such as collaboration, dedication and perseverance.
Female athletes have better grades and higher graduation rates that non-athlete females.
Teenage female athletes are more likely to have positive body images than female non-athletes.

what title ix means to me

mountain biking | Hurricane, UT

On a personal level, I know Title IX has made a positive impact on my life.

There’s a universal phenomenon that happens when you see someone that looks like you doing something you didn't think was possible for you: it becomes possible.

For me, that something was seeing women in sport. I didn't grow up an athlete. I dabbled in sports here and there, but I was convinced I wasn’t cut out for field hockey or lacrosse (even though I envied the girls that played). I hated running and was quite happy focusing on singing and playing the violin.

But it was my choice. And as I watched the girls play from the sidelines as I walked home from school, it never occurred to me that girls couldn’t—or shouldn’t—play.

I talked with my mom this morning about her experiences in the 50s and for her, sports “just wasn’t something we did,” she told me. We being girls.

It didn’t cross her, or her friends, minds to feel one way or another about it. Girls were expected to wear dresses and be ladylike. There was no opportunity to choose. No organized teams to inspire or offer the possibility that she could join in and participate. And as she put it, “if you’re wearing a dress, you can’t go charging down the monkey bars or think about hitting a ball.”

running | Manitou Springs, CO

Maybe that’s just my mom’s thinking, but I don’t believe so. Lynne (the late-blooming athlete that climbed Kilimanjaro at 63) believed that to be feminine meant you had to be “meek, docile, pretty and slim.”

There was no room for sport or athleticism. I’ve heard women tell stories of when being athletic was “too masculine” and frowned upon. That women were considered too weak and fragile to put that kind of demand on the body.

I am so grateful for Title IX and the opportunities and sense of possibility it gives not only me, but generations of girls behind me.

And, actually, generations of women ahead of me, too. Late-bloomers are more and more prevalent as more women learn that what they were taught growing up pre-Title IX was completely untrue.

Our bodies are physical and are designed to move. When we get to know our bodies and learn how physical movement can empower and instill a sense of confidence and peace with ourselves, we take that power into the rest of our lives—our careers, relationships, families and passions.

I didn’t get into sports until my mid-twenties, but once I felt the power my body contained, my life transformed in every area.

So thank you, Title IX. And thank you to all the women who fought for the legislation, the women who continue to fight for our equality, and to all the women out there proving that athletics and sport make a hugely positive impact on all of us.

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I’m delighted you stopped by.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter for more inspiration and practical tips to help you live your best life. You’ll also receive a FREE download of 7 Secrets to Staying Motivated.

If you’re interested in life coaching and ready to make a change, contact me for a free consult.

Other posts you might enjoy:

January 2012 News & Wrap-up

Amy C — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:03:03 +0000

January hiking | Boulder, CO

The days are finally getting longer! Yes, I realize that the lengthening process began back in December, but to me, it always starts to feel more “real” during January, when you can look out the window at 5:00pm and the sky is still blue and you haven’t yet had to turn on the lights inside.

Yes, the days are getting longer and the new year is growing up.

It’s time to re-evaluate and re-assess the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the month. I know for me, I was a bit too ambitious about what I could get done in a month.

If you’re feeling the same, or feeling like you need a little extra guidance, there’s one day left for my life coaching special to kick-start your 2012 goals. I know I’ll be adjusting a few of mine and I’d love to help you with yours.

31 days of adventure

One thing I didn’t anticipate for January was how many people would sign up for 31 Days of Adventure and how much fun it would turn out to be. I’ll be writing more on this experience later this week, but for now, know that it was a ton of fun and Lydia and I are busy cooking up new ways to bring y’all more daily adventures.

If you’d like to hear first-hand what we’ve got planned, go ahead and sign up. You won’t get the 31 days prompts (those are available on the site), but you will be on the list to hear what’s coming next.

beginnings

As always, I like to provide y’all a list of posts from the month in case you didn’t see them all.

We’ll start out with the theme of beginnings: Starting out the new year, starting out a new sport, reading a new book, and creating a new life (an amazing late-blooming athlete guest post!):

the outdoors

Here are a few posts written about the outdoors and how powerful and life-changing getting out to play can be:

monday morning excuses

We all have excuses and reasons why we can’t do something. These become especially troublesome when our excuses prevent us from doing the very things we want to do.

Here are this month’s Monday Morning Excuses:

friday link love

And finally, on most Fridays I post a few links that inspire, challenge and entertain:

coming up

February promises to be an equally busy (although hopefully more manageable) month here at Expand Outdoors. I’m working on an exciting new project with a life coaching colleague that we’ll be announcing later this month, so stay tuned.

If you’d like to hear about it first, sign up for my newsletter—I’ll announce it there first (as with all special offers and new products).

I’m also returning to climbing after a long recovery from elbow tendonitis, as well as running (after I figure out some nagging pain in my tibia) and plan on sharing the challenges I’ve been dealing with, along with the journey back into action, so keep an eye out for posts on those subjects.

And last, but certainly not least, I’m on the lookout for more late-blooming athlete stories and guest posts. I find these incredibly inspiring and motivating and know y’all do as well, so if you (or someone you know) became interested in sports as an adult and wants to share what you’ve learned, please contact me with your story.

And with that, we’ll wrap up January and welcome in the month of love. Happy February y’all!

welcome

If you’re new here, welcome. I’m delighted you stopped by.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter for more inspiration and practical tips to help you live your best life. You’ll also receive a FREE download of 7 Secrets to Staying Motivated.

If you’re interested in life coaching and ready to make a change, contact me for a free consult.