It was a Thursday morning in mid October and I was at a rustic base camp at 9,100 feet on Vietnam’s mount Phan Xi Pang. Mentally preparing for the final 1,212 foot trip up to the summit, my body tingled and I was surprised at the high level of energy I still had. I expected my body to be shriveled with painful joints and muscles. Instead, I felt a jolt of adrenaline. I seem to have forgotten about the steep eight hour climb the day before, and welcomed a hot bowl of ramen before setting off on the trail in the diffused light of dawn.
What was I doing here? Pushing my personal boundaries, my inner self replied. Being uncomfortable was comfortable to me, and this peak was a rite of passage not only for those in the Hoang Lien Son mountains, but from around the world.
A challenge was not going to stop me. Not on this mountain, and not in life. Pushing my physical body reminded me I was a mind with a body, not a body with a mind. I was in control, and I knew the many benefits of creating serious work-life balance. We need to take days off to reconnect with the outdoors, to offset the gut wrenching decisions we often make. It’s the beauty of a simple resolution.
For many of us, our constantly demanding lives are ruled by our workplace, and at times, our short and long term goals fall by the wayside and we feel like we have failed.
Guess what boss?! It’s time to give yourself a break. The new year is still fresh with hope and a promise of success, love, health, finances, family and yes, plenty of outdoor time.
There is no lack of extraordinary women, that includes you. Whether you are power suiting it to the top of the corporate ladder, have gone from selling lemonade to a seven figure website, or opened your first start up. You are a part of a tribe. Boundary crushers like Heather Anderson who set the speed record on the Appalachian Trail or Mayan Smith Gobat and Chantel Astorga who made history with the speed record scaling the Nose Route of El Capitan. These women took chances, made sacrifices, and didn’t wait for the perfect partner or perfect timing to break their own boundaries, they made a plan, and they accomplished it.
Don’t worry if you haven’t set foot in the outdoors since your high school prom. This is about what drives you to obtain your goals, and understand the reasons behind why you do, what you do.
Is it because the goal has importance? Or is it the act of obtaining the goal that’s important? Knowing this can help strategically drive your success.
Take charge of your work-life balance, whether it’s in the outdoors or in. Be the #bosslady that defines you, because the desire to reimagine the traditional workplace is very real, and women are driving it.
Be a Boss, Be Adventurous.
