Where do I even start! In last month’s post, I spoke about the seasons changing…and this month has certainly delivered some positive changes in pretty much every area of my life which is very exciting! 😀
I could ramble on for hours, but you guys have way more important things to be doing with your weekends so today I want to take a bit of time to talk about overcoming your fears.
I mentioned in last months post about doing something scary…well not wanting to do things by half I’ve done a few! 😜
I climbed a fucking mountain…like literally!
If you’ve been following my blog from the start, you’ll know that one of my 30 before 30 goals was to climb a mountain. Thankfully with the lifting of restrictions we were about to go up to the Lake District last week and I was able to tick that off my list!
So day 2 of the holiday came with one goal in mind…get to the top of Helvellyn. A little context, it’s the third highest mountain in England at 950 m (3,120 ft) so ambitious to say the least, especially for someone who has never hiked that far let alone anything near that high before…it was all new territory.
As we set off I was a bundle of nerves and excitement. I had been training quite hard in the gym in the weeks before, so I was quietly confident that my legs could handle it but there was still an element of the unknown which made Alice feel uncomfortable.
We were doing ok with the heights and the constant climbing…but there was definitely a ” oh shit” moment as I approached the last climb up to the summit. The path was a little uneven and at this point you’re really aware of how high you are (and just how far you’ll fall).
I froze, only for a moment, but Alice had decided “I can’t do this”. My response to that was…well where are we going to go! You’d only have to go down the scary path and you’re so close to the top. Luckily my Dad being the superstar that he is waited with me whilst I stopped, got my bearings (whilst he also reminded me to put Alice back in the box) and then we carried on to the top.
Once we got there, the feeling of accomplishment and euphoria was unlike anything I had experienced before. I know I said it a few times, but you literally feel like you’re on top of the world…and the fact you are the one that got yourself up there…you feel like wonder woman!
It was worth all of the hard work, the fear and the achey legs…and I now have the mountain bug…I can’t wait to tackle the next one.
Finding my colour!
Now this one may not seem as challenging or scary as climbing a mountain, but for me it was just as big of an achievement.
I’ve always loved the idea of colouring my hair, but after some not so successful experiments in my teens with box dyes…it left me in a a position where I wasn’t able to colour it in the way I wanted.
There was a part of me (Alice) that woudl scroll through pinterest and think “I’d never be able to pull off anything like that”. Always worrying about what others would think, what if I didn’t like it, what if it didn’t come out the way I liked…the usual what if game that Alice likes to play!
I’m a firm believer that timing is key with these things, and over lock down I came across the amazing Poppy Tremain Hairdressing and she was doing all the things I had dreamt of with my hair.
So when the hairdressers re-opened, I plucked up the courage to make an appointment. The earliest one being nearly 6 weeks away, I booked in…then came the waiting game. Lots of internal conversations happened in that time…and I nearly talked myself out if it at least 10 times!
The day came though and I decided if not now, then when? I knew that I was going to be in safe hands…so all I needed to do was trust that it was gong to be ok.
Well it’s safe to say that it came out much better than ok…I’m so in love with it…I can’t imagine ever going back to my normal hair colour now. It feels so “me”, I wonder why I ever worried about doing this before.
So please…go do something scary!
I’m finding that with my “new mindset” I’m much more inclined to lean towards doing the things that scare me. Not only does it give me a crazy big buzz (sounds like a total adrenaline junkie) but I find that I learn so much more about myself in the process.
I know that it sounds easy – and I’m not here to suggest that at all, it’s fucking hard! There will be times where you doubt yourself, where you question why you’re even doing it, and ultimately the thought process of will it be worth it? My answer is simply, yes!
Going from my experiences, from the boudoir shoot to climbing a mountain (and everything in between) I’ve found that the things that scare you the most are actually the things that are going to be the best for you!
So it doesn’t have to be a big grand hike or anything as drastic as changing your hair colour, but if there is something you’ve always wanted to do but are too scared to do it…go do it! I promise it will be worth the hardship and you’ll be so much happier for it!
