Challenges

Pry Bar

on February 2, 2022February 2, 2022 By Hyla Ridenour

A bunch of years ago, a good friend of mine was approaching his 50th birthday. He was a fellow runner and together, we had formed a small running club in our community and I volunteered with a couple of youth running programs he organizes through his work with kids.

As the date approached, he decided that he wanted to commemorate it by running 50 miles the week of his birthday.

Being the friend that I am and always one to want to see my friends succeed with their endeavors, I offered to run as many of the 50 miles with him as scheduling would allow (his birthday falls around the holidays and I believe he had plans to travel out of state).

I can’t recall all the details but I do remember that at some point (early on if memory serves me), he felt like he’d bitten off more than he could chew. However, I was not about to let him quit. I made it my mission to cheer him on, to encourage him, and to drag his butt out to hit the pavement when he wanted to do anything but run.

He gave me the nickname Pry Bar.

And, he ended up running all 50 miles over the seven days. I was so incredibly proud of him and grateful that I could support him in achieving what he set out to accomplish.

I’m sharing this because a few days ago, I decided to cancel my February Aligned Activation workshop and not schedule any additional ones at least for the immediate future.

There are a handful of reasons which I may expand on at a later time. But the number one reason is that I prefer the intimacy of working with people one-on-one. Group coaching feels sterile to me. I want to have real conversations, not just speak into a social media abyss. I want to connect and know who I’m working with… What makes them tick. What lights them on fire. What scares the shit out of them. What their roadblocks are. And, how I can best support them in whatever goals they desire to achieve.

I may not be able to physically go run with someone that has the goal to complete their first 5k or train for a half marathon. But I can offer support in overcoming challenges. I can provide perspective when things seem unclear. I can help generate a game plan and facilitate the creation of strategies that align with the goal.

I can be your steadfast co-pilot, your biggest fan, and your loudest cheerleader.

What I’ve decided to offer in lieu of monthly workshops is private goal support mentoring. A la carte style; 44-minute private, one-on-one sessions for $44.

Together, with your desired outcome as a guide, we troubleshoot anything you feel is holding you back. We’ll explore whatever it is that you need to succeed, whether it be gaining clarity around what you seek to accomplish, the creation of systems, examining tools for implementing tangible actions, time management, habit stacking, or whatever else support looks like to you to help actualize your vision.

If you need your own personal Pry Bar or a HYpe woman in your corner, I’m your gal!

The Self-Sabotage Spiral

on January 19, 2022January 19, 2022 By Hyla Ridenour

I know a thing or two about self-sabotage…

In my experience, most of our perceived challenges or roadblocks when it comes to reaching a goal, actualizing a desire, etc., are the result of our own self-sabotage.

There are infinite ways that we get in our own way but I’ve identified what I see most common in my work with my private nutrition clients. And if I’m being honest, are challenges that I’ve imposed on myself in one way or another over the years.

I view self-sabotage as a means of self-preservation; that means that we deliberately keep ourselves in a static zone of safety to reduce the potential for discomfort.

Sound familiar?

During my February Aligned Activation workshop, The Self-Sabotage Spiral, we’ll dissect three common self-sabotage diversions and deep dive into understanding why we default to them as well as explore some practical solutions to self-correct so that you can get out of your own damn way.

The workshop will be held live on Wednesday, February 2, 2022. The transmission will be approximately 44 minutes within a private Facebook group and the replay will be available immediately afterward. An accompanying workbook will be provided. The activation (investment) for my workshops are $44 but I do offer an early bird rate so keep an eye out!

Warm-Up

on November 14, 2021November 14, 2021 By Hyla Ridenour

I was having a conversation with a friend recently and within the context of sharing the core of what Aligned Activation is with her, I called myself a “goal pro.”

Taking pride in the things I’ve checked off my list of desired achievements is fuel when I find myself challenged when things don’t seem to go my way in working toward or reaching a goal.

Because 9 times out of 10, my first attempt at a goal was not when I actually achieved it.

(I may be a “pro” but I’m also a pro at trusting the divine timing of things and that means trusting there is a reason they don’t always go in my favor.)

When I think about current goals and things I’ve dreamt of doing for a long time – and how far off they feel or how little progress I feel I’ve made toward them – it can be discouraging. And, for transparency’s sake, I’m currently in that state with a few aspirations.

A couple of relevant examples would be how many attempts to quit drinking I made before it stuck. I honestly lost count. But in less than two months, I’ll be celebrating five years of sobriety.

Or, my dream of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. When I got bit by the bug to run Boston, I really only had the intention to run two marathons: the marathon that I would run to qualify for Boston and then the actual Boston marathon.

Guess what? I didn’t qualify on my first attempt. Nor my second or third. If my memory serves me correctly, it was my fourth attempt, nine months after my first try.

I’ve been giving a lot of careful consideration to something that has, for about 19 years, albeit in a cyclical fashion, been a dream. I’ve started, and stopped, for various reasons a handful of times and have questioned whether or not it’s something I really want to pursue given that after an attempt, I tend to think that maybe it’s not in my highest excitement after all or that I’m not cut out for it.

Plus, I’ve looked at each attempt as a “fail” because I didn’t really get what I’d hoped out of the experience and then, out of fear of further failure, talked myself out of trying again. (Out of a little compassion and fairness to myself, there have been a couple of other factors beyond my control that also played a part in changing course the past few years. But for the most part, I take responsibility for the choices I’ve made.)

Being that I consider myself an alchemist when it comes to turning challenges into opportunities, I’ve applied that mindset reflecting back over past experiences and this is what I’ve discovered: those previous attempts… the times I stopped drinking for a couple of months… the marathons I ran that weren’t quite fast enough to earn a spot at Boston… the bodybuilding competition prep that ended with a canceled show or placing just one spot outside of the top five…

They weren’t failed attempts. They were just part of the warm-up.

Every effort was a preparatory opportunity to gain experience and extract lessons that then could be applied to the next try. Offering me insight to apply to the next attempt.

It’s like playing a video game. Do you slay the dragon and save the princess on the first attempt? Not in my experience. Typically, I lose a few lives before I successfully complete a level, let alone an entire game. However, each time I pass through level 1, level 2, level 10… I remember where the obstacles are. I’m able to collect the coins and extra lives quicker. I recall the point at which the giant venomous ants come out of hiding and know how to access the secret spring that catapults my character over the river of molten lava that instantly ends the game if you fall in.

Every attempt is a warm-up for the next attempt… getting closer to the prize, rescuing the princess, checking another achievement off the list of goals.

Whatever goals you have yet to reach, if you don’t nail it on this try or it takes a few attempts before you do nail it, look at each one as a warm-up. Extract whatever lessons you can. And most importantly, if you feel a burning desire within the core of your being that tells you to keep going, to keep working towards that goal, please KEEP GOING. Even if you warm-up a hundred times, keep going. The princess is counting on you.