3 Lessons From Halfway Through The 30x30 Project Tour

As of Atlanta, I am halfway through my 30-city tour to bring awareness and funds to the amazing charity, To Write Love On Her Arms!When I set out to travel across North America, I didn’t know what to expect. I expected some things that didn’t come through, but then other things I hadn’t expected pleasantly surprised me.I’ve learned so much over this past month (yes, it’s only been a month!) that I wanted to take some time to share my lessons with you guys.Here are 3 lessons from the road…

Something’s Gotta Give

You may or may not know that I have a history of stress eating. I started the first 30-Day Challenge because I wanted to rid myself of the habit of mindless nighttime eating… and it worked!But on this tour, when nothing is routine and all semblance of control must be set aside to allow what happens to happen, I’ve fallen back into bad habits of reaching for instant gratification foods when I feel like I’m losing control.Since I’ve kicked mindless nighttime eating to the curb, I’ve been getting all that stress out in the form of exercise instead. I’ve upped my days per week working out in my normal LA life, but on the road, I won’t lie: it’s tough! I’m doing each and every bootcamp with all y’all, but it only equals out to about 3-4 bootcamps a week.Coming from 5 or so workouts a week including yoga, and add on the stress of travel and event planning, I’m like a little teapot with a gunked up spout.What I’ve realized is that something’s gotta give. Because my old, comfortable habits are to eat to make myself feel better, I immediately veered toward that when I wasn’t acting mindfully. Now that I am bringing myself back to the present, I am choosing to add in more runs and yoga classes so that I have a healthy outlet for all that stress and lack of control.This week has been the beginning of it, and the challenge will help me stay consistent. I’m even keeping a food journal again!I’m telling you all this to let you know that, even if you successfully give something up for a few months (or even years), you must stay mindful if you wish to keep it out of your life.Even trainers fall back into bad habits. :)Do you feel the threat of old, negative habits looming over you? Here’s what you can do to avoid them from sneaking back into your life:

• Get a handle on your stress in positive, healthy ways like physical, creative or therapeutic outlets. Find a way to expel that energy that forces you to deal with it in a cathartic way.
• Center yourself in what’s important to you. Why did you give it up in the first place? What will happen if it creeps back into your life?
• If you feel yourself slipping, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Reach out to a person who knows you well or even a professional to help you get back on track.

The most important thing you can do when you feel like your habits are gaining on you is to acknowledge them, and deal with it immediately. Don’t push them away or deny that it’s happening. You can do something about it right now if you choose to deal.

Be clear with what you want

There have been a couple of stops along my way so far, that I had weird feelings about. I saw that the location wasn’t really promoting the event, and correspondence was a little lax.I tried to tell myself that it would work out. I tried to tell myself that they were doing me a favor and I should just be grateful for the space, then I kept my mouth shut.When I got there, all my fears were justified. People who work at these locations even asked me what I was doing there as if no one had told them what was happening…And I can’t entirely blame them for it.I’m a hippie. I avoid confrontation like the plague.I still have issues asking for what I want, and letting people know that they’re not doing what I asked. These locations that didn’t show up (physically and metaphorically), may not have realized that I flew in just to teach their community and coordinate with them.From now on, I have vowed to be clearer with what I want and what I envision for the events. I’ve created a simple guideline that I think you may be able to benefit from as well:

• When you’re setting up something that means so much to you, you must be clear with what you want.
• You must not be afraid to ask for the things you need (rather than hoping that you get them in the end).
• You must not hold back if you feel you’re not getting what you need; you have to address the problem.

You are worth standing up for. Speak up.

The yearning to DO bigger is universal

Throughout this tour, I have heard similar feedback at every bootcamp and Movement Meetup I’ve hosted:

I want to do something bigger than me.

The Movement Meetups are all about how I went from story to movement, and I love being able to sit with people as we discover what their own personal movement is as well.But I want this to go further than that. I want to help the world change the world.I want to help you all as much as I possibly can, and I want to hear from you if this is something you’re interested in because I may explore it in a way that is more beneficial for all of you.In the comments below, please chime in:

Would you be interested in a book or program that teaches you how to create your own movement? If so, what aspects would you like me to cover?

I'm hoping to carry this movement further than just this tour. Hopefully that will be with you.I can't wait to meet all of you on the East Coast here soon! We have Montreal this Sunday (Movement Meetup on Saturday for those of you who were planning to come out that day instead), Toronto on Monday night, and Dedham on Friday! Click here to see all my upcoming tour locations, dates and details.Here's to another 14 locations just as great as the last 16! See you out there.With hope and fire,Amy