Overcoming "NO"

We’re kicking off the LYF Project’s monthly themes with one of the toughest barriers to overcome when pursuing something you really want. Overcoming the word “NO”. Such an icky word. A dream killer. A huge roadblock. Total rejection.

But hearing “NO” to a plan or a dream does not need to end it. It could simply change your plans timeline to “not yet”. It’s a huge mental shift to be able to find the opportunity in such a terrifying word. I can assure you that keeping an open mind, while strapping on a bit of thick-skinned armour, can lead to more opportunities than barriers.

I am personally a big fan of the “not yet” reframe. I use it with all of my athletes who get frustrated with a skill they “can’t do”. My response is always to redirect their frustration towards the “not yet”. I watch their minds shift into what progressions they can do. I can see the determination level go up 3 notches. And sometimes, when the goal is well beyond their reach, we troubleshoot new, related skills that are within their reach.

Our paths to fierce will be riddled with roadblocks. Being prepared to hear “NO” and shift it to “not yet” can be such a powerful tool. Try it out sometime ;)

Fiercely Yours,

LYF Team

WTF is LYF?

Hi there! It’s been what seems an eternity to write this first post. Birthing this passion project has been years in the making. So stoked to share the official rebirth of the Live Your Fierce Project. My partner in crime, Amber, and I have poured a lot of love, sweat and brainstorming sessions into creating this. Hoping it doesn’t suck… but totally ok if it happens to be less awesome than we imagined it to be.

So we should What the actual F*&k is the LYF Project? Perhaps better to start out with what LYF is not…

The Live Your Fierce Project is not:

• A group of man-hating women who are hellbent on succeeding over the figurative corpses of men

• A community reserved only for super high achieving women with a collection of accolades to their name (although there are loads of them in here too)

• A platform where women compete for attention and waste their energy criticizing the journeys of others

• A group of women that takes ourselves way too seriously

Amber and I started the Live Your Fierce Project because we have both spent the better part of our own lives coaching, mentoring and supporting females of all ages in a variety of pursuits including sport, business and community outreach. We have witnessed firsthand how powerful removing barriers of entry and barriers of advancement can be to a group of women who are open to trying new things, testing their limits and overcoming their fears that might be holding them back.

Our mission is:

To build an online, and eventually, a physical community where women find their fierce, share their journeys with other women and find ways to live their fierce in their daily lives.

LYF is for fierce women, led by fierce women, and we aim to help bring our passions and dreams into reality.

Hopefully that clears some stuff up and gets you a little jazzed for future posts. Over the coming months, our social media accounts will be filled with motivating material, relevant articles from experts in their fields and features on fierce femmes who have already found a way to live their own fierce. Some pretty cool sh$t if you ask me.

Fiercely Yours,

LYF Team

Entering The Dragon – A martial arts introduction

When I began my pursuit towards a career in stunts, I knew that I had the acro and aerial abilities. I also knew that I did not yet have the fighting abilities required to be a versatile stunt performer. Fight, flip and fall equals the triple threat (and then there’s the driving, water safety, fire burns and any of the multitude of other special skills required to be a top professional, but that’s for another post).

I knew that learning how to punch, kick, evade, and strike with a weapon would be a painful experience. Both figuratively and physically. It can take a Sifu or a Guru between 10-25 years to become a master in one discipline and here I am hoping I can condense it into a weekend course. Ba! This was going to take time. Lots of time, discipline and humility.

It is quite easy for me to show up to a gym and jump, flip, or contort my body with great confidence. The first time I showed up to a martial arts class, I felt so incredibly awkward and out-of-place. Holding a small stick in one hand and drawing an “x” in the air with it sounds simple right? I had forgotten how many thousands of cartwheels I have done in my life to be able to produce one flawlessly acro trick. Well that stick did not want to go in a straight line. It hit me in the side of the face, it fell out of my hand if I was holding it too tight or not tight enough, or I’d forget to swing that damn stick altogether as soon as the instructor asked us to move our feet at the same time. I was a hot, embarrassed mess. Out of my element.

I believe that many of us experience being the least knowledgeable or capable participant in a room. It’s not a great feeling. One tends to desperately jump to the part of learning where we are considered good or competent. That feeling of vulnerability, of needing guidance, patience and assistance to learn is far to uncomfortable to bear. Or is it? Perhaps it could be one of the most liberating experiences instead. In the words of Bruce Lee:

I continued to show up, to be the least knowledgeable student in the space, to fill my cup with a new knowledge and a new set of skills. I have spent so many years of my life being a teacher of other sports, it became refreshing to submit my ego to the humble truth that a teacher can and should always remain a student. To truly learn something, one has to check their ego at the door. I have infinite examples of students I have taught in the past who spend the entire class interrupting me in order to demonstrate their knowledge and prowess. They get in their own way of learning.

I started taking martial arts class because I thought I had to, for my career. I have continued to study various martial arts because that ‘filling up of one’s cup’ every single class has become such a welcomed experience in my life. My wooden sword “x’s” continue to get sharper and less awkward. I may never become a master at any of the martial arts I’m studying, nor is that my goal, but damn the journey is pretty sweet.

Athlete Inspired