Redefining family-life and motherhood

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A personal win and a great feeling when I got featured as a fitness ambassador at my companies Heath and Fitness center.

​Yes, there is never enough time and I multitask as it is! It is true that a traditional working lifestyle can take away from having quality personal-life .

As an active, busy mother of two, there never seemed to be enough room for my own hobbies, while still juggling my daily routine. The “how” was the tough part.
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Robert Moor, author of On Trails: An exploration wrote, “As a species we’ve evolved a curved and forgiving spine, a skull set straight and upright, an efficient metabolism – all uniquely suited to propel us long distances. But it wasn’t until the advent of the automobile that we began hiking long distances recreationally.”
 
Growing up, I enjoyed hiking and mountaineering with my father, a military man. My outdoor life, and many other hobbies, came to screeching halt when I finished graduate school and immersed myself in my career. Married with two wonderful sons, I would take the little ones on nature walks. However, between a demanding job and motherhood, there was really no time for any sort of adventure sport. 

At some point you realize that taking time aside to do something that helps you bring your best self to the table is critical for high performance in any craft.
 
A few years ago I was introduced to rock-climbing by my neighbor. The perfect climbing partner, she was encouraging, yet pushed me to reach beyond my self-imposed limits. We made it our Monday evening routine to climb at the local rock-climbing gym. 

​I assumed that focussing on career and family meant that it was normal for your own hobbies to take a back seat. I wish someone had told me that when life-changes occur (a new role, a child or a new city etc), it gets that much more important to turn to your passions.

The outdoors serve as fuel for many successful people. Celebrated adventure photographer Chris Burkhard wrote in Outside magazine, “I have a hard time focusing, but all I need to do is jump in the ocean.”
 
I now spend a good part of my weekends and weekdays, either climbing, hiking or going outdoors with my sons. When they’re older, I would love to take them to Yosemite, and hopefully keep up with them!

​Yes, there’s never enough time, and yes, we already multitask – but there’s always time to pursue a hobby or a passion. 
 
Now more than ever, our kids are over-scheduled and too addicted to screens. It really is about time to set them free into the outdoors. 

Give it a try - go outside on a regular, weekly basis, get away from your desk, your meeting room or your laptop and see what the world has to offer!

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