They say spending time in nature can change your life. But in a world packed with indoor life pressures, how can you make getting outside just a part of who you are?
Welcome to the Humans Outside podcast, where we explore life in the great outdoors from our perch in Alaska, all while hearing from fascinating outdoor-minded guests.
Disliking new things doesn’t make you weak or scared — it makes you normal. But the good news is that nature is the perfect tool for teaching us to be OK with the new and uncomfortable. Why is that? And how has it impacted Amy? In this week’s Outdoor Diary, Amy talks about why heading outside makes it easier to try new things in all parts of life, plus the new thing she’s finally working on.
[:26]: Life is full of trying new things
[:58]: Amy, the Queen of Avoidance
[1:37]: Avoidance is limiting
[3:08]: Skate skiing
[5:53]: Where to find Humans Outside
Getting outside with kids looks pretty easy and fun if you’re basing your expectations on social media photos. Delightfully grubby kids frolic through a meadow near a perfectly set-up campsite, and zero people are throwing a temper tantrum or muddling through a poor night of sleep. Also, they all look warm.
But of course that’s not the full picture. Getting to that moment required overcoming all sorts of challenges from mindset to using the appropriate gear. And when you think about getting your own kids out for adventure, you might see those challenges and simply feel, well, tired. I mean who wants to deal with a crying kid in the middle of nowhere when you could deal with a crying kid in the comfort of your home instead?
Today’s guest, Heather Balogh Rochfort, has made a lifestyle and career out of getting herself out for adventures and, since the birth of her daughter, doing so with her whole family. Now she offers advice for parents who want to overcome those obstacles in practical, normal-person ways.
[2:46] Heather Balogh Rochfort’s favorite outdoor space
[3:32] How Heather became someone who likes to go outside
[7:31] Going from college to total vagabond
[12:02] Figuring out that transition from adventure single person to parent
[15:06] How she found freedom from the “should” of the baby years
[17:37] How outside time with kids reality is different from expectations
[23:23] How to avoid feeling like you’re forcing your kids to do stuff outside they don’t want to do
[25:57] The challenges to getting kids outside and how to overcome them
[28:06] How to even afford gear for kids
[31:22] This is a bigger problem than gear
[34:00] What mindset has to do with it
[38:12] Why categories of fun matter
[39:14] Tips for getting your family outside and overcoming those challenges
[47:01] Heather’s favorite and most essential outdoor gear
[50:39] Heather’s favorite outdoor moment
This month Amy hit 1,600 days in a row spending at least 20 consecutive minutes outside. Along the way she learned two important lessons about what happens when you encounter something you don’t like. Hear what she learned on this week’s Outdoor Diary podcast episode.
[:25]: 1600 days outside
[2:16]: Some things you only know in discomfort
[ 2:38]: What Amy is most proud of
[4:05]: Change will come
[5:58]: The Humans Outside Challenge
One of the things that can hold people — adults, kids, families and otherwise — back from purposefully spending time outside is the idea that “nature” looks like something other than what is right outside their front door. If it doesn’t look like a National Park, does it really count as “nature?”
The truth, of course, is that “nature” is whatever is in the fresh air right outside your front door. But can you help yourself and your family see, appreciate and enjoy that, especially when you think parts of it — bugs, weather, etc. — are things you really don’t like?
Today’s guest Zenovia Stephens has made a mission of helping kids and families get outside near her home in Alabama. Founder of the nonprofit Black Kids Adventures, Zenovia and her family, known as the Black Adventure Crew, work to help Black families get outside while working to increase representation in the outdoor community.
[3:19] Zenovia Stephen’s favorite outdoor space
[4:37] How Zenovia became someone who likes to go outside
[8:11] How Black Adventure Crew and Black Kids Adventures got started
[9:17] Common misconceptions about heading outside
[11:10] Do people think nature has to be something that it isn’t?
[15:50] How she got to liking nearby nature
[19:23] How do you create a mindset to welcome discomfort?
[29:00] The trick of using our kids to get us outside
[40:30] How people can connect with Black Kids Adventures
Follow Black Adventure Crew on Instagram and Facebook
Follow Black Kids Adventures on Instagram and Facebook
Outside is outside, but sometimes it’s more nature-rich than others. Does that matter? In this episode of the Humans Outside Outdoor Diary Amy contemplates where her family just spent a week of vacation, and why its decided lack of nature-scapes was totally fine.
[:26] Is all outside time created equally?
[1:29] Amy’s actual vacation
[3:07] Different types of nature
[4:45] Taking nature as we find it
[5:29] Where to find Humans Outside
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. The following is an edited transcript of this episode of Humans
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. The following is an edited transcript of this episode of Humans
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. The following is an edited transcript of this episode of Humans