What is Warrior Spirit?

I have a saying hanging in my office that reads: “The life you live is the lesson you teach.” It reminds me that in order to be a thought leader in the women’s wellness space, the words I write and speak matter. The actions I take matter. And the daily choices I make matter. They matter not only to me, but to those who give me the privilege of their attention as part of the Athena Wellness tribe, through reading my writing, listening to my podcast and being a student or client.

This doesn’t mean I have to get it right all the time. The people I’ve learned the most from, whether I’ve met them in person or studied them from afar, embodied the qualities I wanted to enhance in my own life. And I learned as much from their missteps as I did from their successes. Witnessing their growth gave me permission to expand my own inner horizons and possibilities. It’s a lifelong practice – one that honors my Warrior Spirit.

Holding the Empty Space

In the weeks leading up to 2021, every time I thought about the new year, the image that came to mind was of my opened hands, palms up, forming a cup. Curious. I had no idea what it meant, but it felt like a clue.

For decades I’ve been a bit of New Year’s resolutions devotee. I’ve made basic resolutions in my twenties and created elaborate goals and related milestones in my thirties. The last ten years have been more about heart-based intentions – deeper changes on how I wanted to live my life. Always actionable and measurable. But 2021 was proving to be more elusive.

Clearing the Way for the New Year

It had been on my list of “to dos” for way too long. You know those tasks that get transferred from one week to the next, then to the next month, the next season? For me, it was sorting through boxes from my last move. Sounds innocuous enough, but I moved into my home more than five years ago. Sigh…

What moved me forward? Watching the wildfires burn from Los Angeles to Seattle during this record-setting year. I felt a strange combination of fear for those evacuating and my friends who live in those states, awe at the destructive power of nature and reverence for those called to the front lines to combat and report on it.

And then I asked myself this question: “If you needed to quickly evacuate your home, what would you take?”

An Unusual Holiday Season

It was Thanksgiving in the U.S. a few days ago. For me, and I’m guessing for many of you, it was an unusual day. As someone who has celebrated with throngs of relatives my entire life, the quiet was a new experience. But a good day emerged out of the strangeness, one filled with reflection and gratitude.

During a long walk after a minimal but delicious midday holiday meal, I stumbled upon a realization that stopped me in my tracks. This year, with its volatile ups and downs, is no accident. This year is a bridge from where we were to where we’re going. This year is leading us toward new territory. This year is asking us to ready ourselves for the journey ahead. Pow! With that as the backdrop, I thought about the upcoming month. Here are the questions I posed and some musings on each.

The Pros and Cons of Fitness Tracking

For years, I have been a relentless fitness tracker. In the 1990s, I kept paper logs of my workouts and meals. In the 2000s, I graduated to looking up macros online for more precision. When wearables were introduced, I tracked my steps, my heart rate and the distance of my runs. Then apps became commonplace and I was in heaven – one place to keep all of my fitness metrics along with my goals and trending capabilities. Ultimately, fatigue hit.

Business metrics are a way of life in the corporate world and I lived by them for decades. They are still important to me as a business owner, but my daily activities are no longer ruled by incremental measurement. Perhaps this is why I put my fitness tracker and related tools away. Here’s what I learned…

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