In this post we’ll chat thru…

① Coming out of my DENVER retreat.
② The BUFFALO STORY
③ A couple (REALISTIC) ways to BUILD RESILIENCE

Okay so a few months ago I caught wind that one of my FAVE podcasters would be hosting an intimate retreat in Denver. There was an application process to get picked and I wasn’t quite sure my chances, but I went for it anyway. First off…I gotta share that it was an INVESTMENT. Like the kinda money you don’t easily toss around. And it was non refundable so if I got selected…there was no backing out. I say this because so often I see women STOP themselves from going after their dreams + goals because of the time or money it might take to get there.

No one is an island, though. I know this. We grow and stretch BEST when we can be around others who empower and support that in us. So I knew I needed to BE at that retreat if I got picked.

Going INTO the retreat I knew NO ONE. I didn’t know the PLAN or SCHEDULE. And I didn’t really know much of what to expect other than it being a retreat where we’d dig into our Enneagram type. I’ll do an entire blog about that, but for now, I’m a 4 and if you know me + the Enneagram, it’s pretty obvious. 4’s are what you’d call an “intense creative” and we’re in our feels quite often. But there’s so much more to that (and me) and I can’t wait to unpack it later for this community. It’s so good.

Coming OUT of the retreat, though, I feel like I have 11 new sisters and such a CLEARER understanding of who I AM on a deeper level…who the people I love most truly ARE…and what to do with that information to be a better HUMAN moving forward.

Life isn’t always easy and one of the most fascinating parts of the retreat was learning what each personality type will do when they are in STRESS MODE vs GROWTH MODE. And being here in Denver it reminds me of an amazing story about buffaloes which I’ll get to in a sec, but first…

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THE ROAD GETS ROCKY?

When you gravitate into STRESS MODE? When it feels like life has become a bit of a STORM? What do you do? How do you show up? Do you tend to prolong your storm and dwell in it or do you try to rush thru it fast like it never happened?

We’ve all been there…no one is immune to the storms of life. And what’s fascinating to me is when I witness two people with seemingly similar storms GO THRU THEM differently. Why? What causes people to face storms in such different ways? At the end of the day…the main choice we have is HOW we respond to the storm.

THE BUFFALO STORY

I love this story. I actually heard it from a pastor years ago and it’s stuck with me ever since. I wanna help you visualize it so stick with me…

Colorado is divided almost exactly in half where in the western part of the state you’ll find The Rocky Mountains and in the eastern part are The Kansas Plains. Because of this unique landscape, Colorado is one of the only places in the world that has both buffalo (from the Rocky’s) and cows (from the Plains). And even better…there's an awesome lesson + example for us as purpose driven women when we study the way that these two animals respond to storms.

When storms come, they almost always come in from the West and roll out towards the East.

Cows can sense that a storm is coming from this direction. So, a cow will try to run East to get away from the storm.

Which is fine and all, I suppose, but cows aren’t all that fast. So as the storm comes from this direction, it catches up with them pretty quickly and then without knowing any better, the cows continue to try to outrun the storm. What they don’t realize, though, is that they’re actually running WITH the storm…making the amount of pain, time, + frustration they experience from that storm a LOT longer in the process.

WE DO THIS TOO, FRIENDS.

We spend so much of our lives trying to avoid the inevitable challenges that come with difficult situations + seasons. And what ends up happening is we make the pain, time, + frustration worse than if we actually did what buffalo do…because what they do is very unique to the animal kingdom.

Buffaloes wait for the storm to cross right over the crest of the peak of the mountaintop. And as the storm rolls over the ridge, buffaloes will turn and charge directly INTO the storm.

They run AT the storm and by running at the storm, they run straight through it coming out the other side much faster…minimizing the amount of pain, time, + frustration they experience from that storm.

Friends. Notice it’s the SAME storm. Simply HANDLED differently. And this becomes such a great metaphor for all of us because even though we're in different places in life, all of us have storms. Professionally, personally, financially…maybe even a relationship battle or a health issue. We don’t get to choose. The storms WILL come.

The only choice that we have is HOW we respond to those storms. And even more specifically… WHEN we respond to those storms.

A COUPLE (REALISTIC) WAYS TO BUILD RESILIENCE EVEN IN YOUR ADVERSITY

Knowing that life won’t be perfect it’s important, I think, to have tools in your toolbox that you can turn to WHEN that inevitable storm hits. I won’t sugar coat your storm or rush you thru it. I believe there’s lessons to be learned IN the hard spaces. But. I will nudge you not to linger. Not to make it HARDER for yourself…more painful, more time wasted stuck in the hard, and more frustration.

So I wanna give you a couple REALISTIC ways to build some buffalo resilience even when you’re sitting in adversity.

① JOURNAL IT OUT.

Set a timer for 10 minutes and grab a journal or somewhere you can write and then…just get it out. DUMP. Whatever the thing is that you’re going thru, write about it without trying to make it pretty or neat. I like to remind myself that no one is going to read this so it’s mine. My feelings. My thoughts. My perspective. My emotions. Poured out onto the page.

② MEDITATE.

Ya’ll this has been TRANSFORMATIVE for me. No joke. I polled my Sisterhood Members the other day what one self care routine they have implemented this year that has been a game changer and MEDITATION was mine. I originally started bc I “had to” for 75 Hard Phase One, but it has been this daily thing I’ve KEPT + CLUNG TO bc I come out the other side of those 10ish minutes feeling so. much. lighter.

③ REMEMBER THAT GRACE IS FOR YOU, TOO.

Often I have to think about how I would speak to a friend when I am going thru something bc I’m not always the kindest to myself. But I want you to remember that YOU deserve to grieve, process, cry, get angry…all the things. So often we stifle those feelings down and try to rush THRU the storm, but end up making the journey longer because we haven’t fully healed thru the pain. Give yourself GRACE. One of my mentors at the retreat said “you came upon this innocently” and I love that. Speak to yourself + advice yourself the way you would to a close friend.

Honestly I hope this story + example sticks with you the way it did for me so many years back. It empowers me to take stock in HOW + WHEN I respond to the storms. Because as much as I don’t wish painful, challenging, or difficult seasons on anyone of you…I know that it’s those seasons that bear the most GROWTH in my journey. And I’ll always remind you that GROWTH looks so so good on you, sis.

PS…did this blog speak to you? Are you kinda feeling like you need a little motivation to get back up + reclaim a little bit of your spark even in the midst of a storm? I got you, sis. 😉 Kicking off May 22nd I’m hosting a {FREE} RECLAIM YOUR CONFIDENCE mini challenge in my Self Care Sisterhood Facebook community.

This is for the woman who is ready to FEEL HER BEST. Is that YOU?!

For 5 days we're going to show up and take small actions that will help us FEEL OUR BEST + REGAIN OUR CONFIDENCE. Doing the small things that make the biggest impact + keeping promises to ourselves.

FOR 5 DAYS WE WILL...

Make FOOD choices that support our best self (I’ll provide some awesome recipes!)
Commit to MOVING OUR BODIES (I got you!)
Crush your daily WATER GOALS
GET OUTSIDE for at least 10 min per day (walk, jog, run...)
LEVEL UP YOUR MINDSET w/ daily podcasts (Again...I got you!)

Oh...and what you've come to know and love and what I believe is the secret sauce to success..community + support + sisterhood.

Imagine how GOOD YOU WILL FEEL as we kick off a fresh summer season.

TAP THE BUTTON IF YOU’RE IN 👇🏼

TAP HERE TO JOIN THE MINI CHALLENGE

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