Do You Ever Think or Say “I Wish I Was Younger”?

Last weekend while out hiking with friends I caught myself thinking “I wish I was younger”. 

A friend was proposing a kayaking and camping trip to the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior. 

Camping and kayaking sounded fun but…

… it was her saying “they say the water is dangerous and you’d better get a guide…”

And my husband chiming in, “ah you just need to know how to roll in a kayak”.

The problem…

…I’ve only rolled a kayak in a pool and my last big lake adventure lasted 5 minutes. 

Going from upright to upside down and back up again with a special stroke of a paddle…

…isn’t easy to do in a pool.

Trying to do it in a lake with waves…could be interesting. 

I tried a Lake Michigan kayak adventure once and my spray skirt wasn’t on tight enough. 

Water poured into my kayak as I tried to blast through waves to get away from the shore. 

The end result was me swimming and towing my kayak back to shore before it sank. 

Those on the beach had a good laugh as I probably only made it 10 feet out.

That’s when I decided paddle boarding was more my speed. 

I’ve paddle boarded things I wouldn’t have dreamed of kayaking.

Apparently my nervous system needs a way to bail if things get tough. 

I’ve opted for snorkeling vs scuba diving as I’ve gotten older.

Less chance for drama, I’ll save those stories for another day.

Is the thought “I wish I was younger” coming from an overwhelmed nervous system trying to protect you?

Or has society brainwashed you into a paradigm of what’s age appropriate?

I believe there’s often a nervous system protection issue keeping many from dream adventures. 

How do you counter the an underlying fear disguised as an “age issue”?

You find someone that will teach and guide you before and on your adventure. 

Two weeks ago I met Kelly Howard.

She leads adventure trips to places like the Smoky Mountains, San Juan Islands, Alaska, Portugal and even Costa Rica. 

But not only does she lead, she trains you for the trip you choose before you go. 

Having owned an outdoor gear business for years, Kelly learned the ins and outs of what’s needed for various adventures…

…and how to train for them at any age. 

Kelly is the owner of fitisfreedom.com and she was born to inspire, coach and guide women to use their passions to stay consistent with fitness.

In my podcast interview with Kelly I kept thinking – how cool is it to have someone training you for an adventure that you can do with her?

There are many adventure companies out there yet I haven’t seen many that offer pre-event training.

Knowing who you’re adventuring with eases your fight or flight nervous system. 

Having a tribe of women who love to adventure cheering you on further calms you.

Many of Kelly’s crew meet up outside of the trips and stay active together. 

She’s creating a culture of wellness by helping women re-imagine fitness.

I know many of my clients would be more active if they had a tribe to hangout with.

The older you get, the harder it is to make friends let alone find ones that want to adventure. 

Connecting with groups like Kelly’s to reduce the nervous system’s fearful thoughts that increase as you get older is key. 

If you’re catching yourself thinking or saying “I wish I was younger” but you know deep down you want more from life – now is the time to act.

Maybe you want to get fit to adventure with your family, make new friends or see new places – don’t let your nervous system hold you back. 

Take a listen to my podcast, The Health Fix, Episode 464 with Kelly Howard.

Check out her website fitisfreedom.com

And if you’re ready to explore and you’ve always wanted to see the Smoky Mountains she has a few spaces left for her October 2024 trip – click HEREfor more information. 

Life is too short to let your nervous system talk you out of an adventure!

Here’s to adventuring,

Dr. J

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