I love networking!
You know why? I dig it because you get to know others, you step out of your comfort zone, you practise doping any judgements in the hopes of not being judged yourself, almost always being welcomed in return. It's part of reconnecting with what is often disconnected (but that's a topic for the next blog). Communities are wonderful!
I don't know if you know the Sleek Geek SA community here in Cape Town? It's where all the health nuts or people who want change & who need a support community are flocking to. It's quite phenomenal. There are amazing stories to see, amazing transformations both in body and emotionally. More than ever, people are becoming tired of being sick and tired.
Anyway, I like hanging out with people who embody stepping up the quality of life; stretching, testing, taking risks to grow and connect.
On Saturday night, I was delighted to attend the Sleek Geeks Ladies Night out at Primi in Tableview. What an amazing experience it was.
Here I'm going to highlight some of the may discussions we had around the table and I want to share this because finding the right community to support ones higher potential is important.
Topics:
- One of the first discussions we had was around how almost all of the girls showed up solo. The thought process on wanting to join in and check out a community, but the doubt behind weather to join or not was quite fascinating to me. Many of these thoughts might be based on fears of feeling out of place because they don't know anyone else going.
- Guess what, I got a lot of feedback that curiosity and the pull towards wanting to connect was a greater force than any negative talk that went on in the head before arriving. It is brave... And I would encourage you to always challenge that negative talk... Test it, challenge it, even walk into any fears around it 'cause it ain't the truth until you at least try to disprove it!
- Acceptance that we are all different, but have a common value; our health.
We all want to be accepted for who we are. We all want to feel like we belong. We all have different interests, but that makes for an even richer and broader network of knowledgeable women around one table. Sure, sometimes we wish that "we had what she has" but someone else around that table is admiring you for your uniqueness. - We had cross-fitters there, people who eat paleo style, vegetarians business owners, mothers, people who have totally transformed their bodies; all who had something interesting to say.
- There was lots of discussion around ditching old friends who weren't happy about the changes we make to improve our lifestyle and replacing them with friends who keep us accountable (support) when it comes to living out the goals we set for ourselves.
I heard from more than one woman around the table that when they started improving their health, many of their family members and friends were not very supportive. I couldn't help wondering if that was because many resist change and don't feel as bad when you're justifying their lifestyle by being the same. Like I said, we all want to belong to a supportive network that validates who we are or what we choose to do or how we behave, think, move etc.
Often people who are resisting change will really do just that... resist. If you are in that situation as you are trying to improve the quality of your life, just remember, it has nothing to do with you; it has everything to do with what's going on inside of them. - We, of course, also talked about Cape Town's notorious reputation to how difficult it can be to crack into any social group if you're new. I definitely feel that there is some sort of revolution going on. People are becoming more open to making new friends by putting themselves forward.
This was a nice way to get together... not over hot chocolate and cake, but I found that it was easier to make the right kind of menu choices when a bunch of health Geeks were sitting around the table!
These women are all amazing!
There was one woman who lost 45kg since last year March, another who lost 20kg in 6 months, both of whom are super sexy mamas and feeling super happy about it. There were women who are on their way, women who are strong, women who are new and just getting started... just a table of all-round amazing women which filled me with inspiration to step up my game on the health level for real!
The really special thing about connecting on this evening like this is; it took us all out of the disconnection we feel into the embodiment, engagement, the openness that is the miracle of connection
Thanks Elan (founder of Sleek Geek SA), for creating a wonderful community! Rock on!
I look forward to the next ladies night social... we are already talking about that.
Check out the Sleekgeek Bar Babes Facebook page.
If you want to start your revolution, and you happen to have an aversion to movement, check out my other pages here on my blog for some yoga coaching... and yes, I teach other kinds of movement that will help you shed the excess if that's what you desire.
Today I decided I'll be stepping into the 12 week Vitality Lifestyle Plan by Dr. Greg Venning from The Vitality Concept. A friend and I have decided to do it together so that we can be accountability partners through our transformation. The free talk about it is happening on the 29th
As I work my way towards becoming a life coach, what I learn from participating will be my way of holding myself accountable for the ultimate health goals I wish to see embodied in myself (not to mention my friend who'll be adding another layer of accountability - it's bullet proof). Not only will this allow me to do more of what I preach about (walk my talk), but I KNOW that I'll be learning a ton through having this experience and therefore help coach/consult my own clients on their journeys towards what they wish to embody for themselves too!
Over to you:
What did you enjoy most about our ladies night out? I wanna hear what insights you gained from this evening I wanna hear all about it in the comments below.
If you haven't joined us yet, I wanna hear what kind of community you're looking for or if any of this resonates with you.
What do you wish to embody more of?
Here's to your ultimate happiness, health & well-being.
