What’s in a name?
People often comment on the name of my business, Audacious Health & Wellness, maybe because “audacious” is one of those words that can mean several different things.
Personally, I've always loved the idea of audacity when making life choices. Women I admire from Eleanor Roosevelt and Margaret Sanger to Alice Waters and Debbie Harry, have all been considered bold, daring and gutsy, or in other words, audacious, for going against the so-called grain to ultimately change perceptions and create new norms.
To me, being audacious feels like an invitation to think and act in ways that might be initially uncomfortable but could ultimately expand my life for the better.
But audacious can have negative associations - especially for women. Beginning at a very young age, girls are taught that being audacious is sassy, impolite and defiant. Through social conditioning we are encouraged to go with the flow, keep quiet, not rock the boat and be good little girls. That message can stay with us for a very long time - even when we are grown and know enough to question its validity. But this needs to change! We women need to rock that damn boat, live boldly, speak up and advocate for ourselves in a society that is often not rigged on our favor. In short, we need to be way more audacious.
The key is to figure out what being audacious means to you and then live accordingly.
In the 1980's it was audacious for me to dye my hair, wear black clothes and pointy boots with silver buckles, listen to bands like The Cure and hang out with folks who had tattoos and pierced noses (ps - those things are all considered average now). Then it was audacious for me to move to Los Angeles where I had no place to live and knew virtually nobody. At the time, no one in my family (other than my "quirky" great-aunt Sarah who had long since passed away) had ever ventured further west than Ohio and that didn't last long. It felt incredibly audacious for me to move to Seattle, a place I could barely have found on a map when I was growing up. And my audacity continued when I started doing things like growing tomatoes, peas and beans in my front yard (they belong in the back!), finding a naturopathic doctor to treat my Graves Disease (it's been in remission for 19 years now), an acupuncturist to treat me during pregnancy and labor (it was awesome!) and so on.
My 'audacity' has continued to serve me and inform my life and health decisions for decades as I've learned that coloring outside the lines of what is considered "normal" is often the wisest, most beneficial and fun thing I could possibly do for myself.
For some women, working with a coach can feel audacious. We've been taught that investing time and money into self-care is "selfish" or "self-centered." In reality it's imperative for us to prioritize self-care if we are to be of any use to ourselves or anyone else.
Whatever we need to do to get ourselves back onto a happy and healthy path is always a worthwhile use of our time and resources.
Now that I'm older, wiser and I've learned how to check with my body about what feels right, it's gotten easier for me to make 'audacious' choices, even though they can still be challenging. It wasn't easy deciding to give up sugar when it's a cultural norm. Sugar is absolutely everywhere - especially at family gatherings and in social situations. But feeling 100% better in my body, losing some weight and getting a bit more sleep at night were excellent payoffs. It's never easy to get up at the crickety crack of dawn for a 3-mile walk around the lake on a rainy, still-dark morning, but I have never once regretted it. And I know it felt audacious to me when I changed my career at age 49, got certified as a Life Coach and started a business when I had no prior experience. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
What are some of your audacious goals? Have you said them out loud? Maybe you want to reconnect to some deeper passion and purpose. Or perhaps you want to rediscover vibrant health, lose some weight, and improve the quality of your sleep. Maybe you're dreaming of an adventure somewhere unfamiliar and fabulous. How about all of the above? If you are ready to make some legitimate and audacious changes in your life then I can help you get on the road to the transformation you are craving. My bet is that being audacious will help you feel motivated, alive and full of possibility.
Audaciously yours,
Lisa
