067 | Humans Outside 365 Challenge with Amy Buschatz

Website for this episode: https://ordinarysherpa.com/067
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Join the Ordinary Sherpa Facebook Group to interact with other listeners. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ordinarysherpa First and foremost this episode is dropping on my birthday. 2 years ago I felt like I got robbed of a 40th birthday when the world literally shut down on my birthday. I decided I wanted to do something to celebrate in a very different way. On February 1st, I kicked off the 42 days hoping that on my birthday I would have something to celebrate. The thing I wanted to celebrate was 42 days to 42 hours outside (as part of my 1000 hours outside challenge). I am happy to report that thanks in large part to my igloo building project I have spent over 60 hours outside for the past 42 days and am 4 hours away from my 100 hour mark for 2022. This birthday is less about indulging in something to escape and more for me to celebrate something I am getting better at and that is better for me. There is significant research that shows countless benefits of spending time outdoors. Today's episode is yet another example.

In 2016 Amy left behind life as she knew it and moved with her husband and two sons to Alaska, looking for a fresh start and more time in the great outdoors. While Amy had a background as a reporter, editor, runner, and Army wife she was not an expert in designing a life in all things outdoorsy. She created the Humans Outside podcast to help people like her get outside and love it. But just talking about getting outside wasn't enough. Since September 2017 she has spent at least 20 consecutive minutes outside every single day. She also hosts the Humans Outside Podcast where she talks with outdoor-minded guests; When she's not busy getting outside or hosting the Human's Outside podcast she is Executive Editor of Military.com.

Key Takeaways

1. Alaska is full of people looking to get away from something and experience a fresh start. While there were many reasons that led to Amy's family moving to Alaska you don't need to move to Alaska to experience the transformation of spending time outside. A change in mindset can be experienced anywhere. Sometimes that is easier to do with a change in scenery.
2. We are conditioned to do things as humans that make us feel good. It is a great day when the things that feels good is also good for you.
3. There is therapeutic adventure and there is adventure therapy. Going outside makes you feel good, and one is using a licensed mental health clinician to work with you through the adventure experience.
4. After a year of living in Alaska where the purpose for the move was to be outside more, she wasn't actually leaning into that in reality. She challenged herself on Memorial Day 2017 to go outside every single day between then and Labor Day 2017.
5. At the end of the 3+ month experiment of going outside everyday she realized she liked the experience, she felt better and liked how many new things she had done. She wondered what would happen if she kept doing it for a year.

1. To mimic the Happiness Project, Amy decided to create rules she would follow as a part of her everyday outside challenge. This was critical for her success to create a meaningful benefit.
2. One rule she created was to define what counted as outdoor time everyday. After some research a healthy dosage of outside time was 20 minutes. Combined with the fact that 20 minutes was an amount of time she would actually do each day. Her accountability was to post a picture every day on instagram and began using the hashtag #humansoutisde365 as a way to find the photos after.
3. Outside is Outside, the challenge gave her permission to just be outside doing whatever she wanted. She did want to push herself to try new things such as classic country-country skiing, dog sledding, among other things.
4. She signed up for a course called Becoming an Outdoors Woman, which is offered every state (she believes) sponsored by the state Fish and Game department. In Alaska, they offer a 3-day retreat which exposed her to experiences such as skinning and hide prep, a chainsawing course, and downhill skiing. After forcing herself to spend time outside and try new things, new things don't seem so scary.
5. When you realize what is outside your back door and you are intentional about exploring it, so many more opportunities open up to you. The practice of being aware and intentional.
6. Outside is always new, because outside is always changing. Even if you do the same trail the rest of your life you will encounter something new on that trail, whether you see something new or not depends on how much attention you are paying to what you are doing.
7. While mountains and the Grand Canyon and all the epic adventures are great, Amy challenges us to experience adventures where we already are in a new light.

To follow or connect with Amy

Website: https://humansoutside.com/
Podcast: Humans Outside
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HumansOutside/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humansoutside/

For a full list of resources mentioned in this episode head to the episode website: https://ordinarysherpa.com/067