Wednesday Wisdom: Steady Your Gaze

Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration for Women Entrepreneurs, Women in Sports, Female Entrepreneurs

Lying flat on a board, a little wider than my body, I stared up at the deep blue sky with cotton clouds and put my hands in the warm Bay Creek River. Listening to the calming voice of our instructor, the ever-positive Lynne Boucher, five of us settled into the calm of a late August afternoon.

Ever so quietly, we heard the creek reeds jostle in the late summer breeze, the water rippling, birds chirping in the wild, and even far away traffic on the road leading to our destination tickling our eardrums. “Ah!” it was so worth the wait.

In business, as in life, you have to be patient sometimes. This was our third attempt trying Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga for my lifetime sports goal. Bobbing next to me on SUP boards were four willing women, all of whom were entrepreneurs ending their summer office hours in peace. We were all hesitant paddling out to the perfect spot in the creek until we got our feet under us and natural instincts took over.

“I was stressed thinking about trying this sport today, but it was so relaxing.”

“It was easier than I thought”

“Once you get your balance, it becomes second nature”

All quotes from the women who came and conquered.

We likened the experience to starting a business when females gingerly step into a new adventure, unsteady at first in an unpredictable situation, until they gain their footing and steady their gaze, and what is new becomes familiar helping to propel them forward into unchartered waters. SUP Yoga has a sense of similarity to entrepreneurship if you are wise enough to notice.

As Lynne took us through contemplative poses all while “our floor” was moving below us, we struck many recognizable poses like downward dog, and child’s pose, and eventually moved up to tree pose and even jumped up off our boards into the air. No one fell in but delighted in the playfulness of yoga on a floating board in the middle of the afternoon.

I always relish the delight of taking women with me on new sports journeys to embolden them. Women can do so much more than they think they can do. Sports is just an avenue for pushing oneself a bit further and strengthening one’s mind about what else one can do.

Today’s Wednesday Wisdom is to gently inspire you to keep trying more and more new things in your life – whether in business or sports. We have more gusto in us than we know. We have a limitless amount of attitude to try. We only live and work one life so pushing the limits is an amazing way to test one’s abilities.

As this summer ends and your new business chapter begins after Labor Day, think about standing tall on a wobbly paddle board with women by your side, encouraging you to keep standing, trying, breathing, and believing you can do anything your mind tells you to do. You will find your strength.

** Photos and lessons by Lynne Boucher of Yoga Revolution in Rochester