Author: Amy Purdy

Transition Tip #3: Give Yourself Grace

If you follow me on Instagram, I’ve been talking about life transitions and I asked this question:

“Do you feel you’re in a transition right now and if so, how do you feel about it?”

II continue to get an overwhelming response from people sharing the transitions they’re currently experiencing. From divorce, career changes, retirement, physical injury, illness, and the general discomfort and uncertainty of an ever-changing world.

In my last email, I presented a simple challenge aI already presented two challenges to help you in your current transitions.

Allow yourself to daydream. Read the 1st challenge.
Appreciate the magic of the unknown. Read the 2nd challenge.

While you’re already familiar with my story, from losing my legs at 19, having a kidney transplant at 21, and eventually becoming a professional athlete. What you may not know is that just 2 years ago, after sustaining a major vascular, I had my leg amputated for a 2nd time. This eventually lead to my retirement from professional snowboarding.

My snowboard coach used to tell me “Amy, have a tender heart with yourself, take the pressure off, you are doing fine.”

This is my next challenge for you.

Give yourself grace.

Being alive and moving forward in today’s challenging modern world is enough. We all go through moments of not feeling good enough, not being productive enough, or achieving enough. These feelings are often presented at a time when we’re busy comparing ourselves to others.

We are so hard on ourselves! If you’re anything like me, at times, I feel as though I’m not doing enough and put unnecessary pressure on myself to do more. This feeling is exhausting and self-defeating.

Alternatively, grace is self-care. Grace is giving yourself permission to be exactly who you are and being gentle with yourself.

Take a moment each day to look at how far you’ve come, allow yourself to have a tender heart, and be grateful for the place you’ve arrived.

When was the last time you looked in a mirror and said, “I love you and I’m grateful for you.”?

Remember to take a moment out of every day to show yourself some gratitude for the person you’re becoming.

Did you allow yourself to dream? Here’s another transition tip!

Live Inspired / By Amy Purdy

If you follow me on Instagram, I’ve been talking about life transitions and I asked this question:

“Do you feel you’re in a transition right now and if so, how do you feel about it?”

I got an overwhelming response in my DM’s of people sharing the transitions they’re currently experiencing. From divorce, career changes, retirement, physical injury, illness and the general discomfort and uncertainty of an ever-changing world.

In my last email, I presented a simple challenge and a life tip for dealing with transitions. Allow your mind to wander a bit, and allow yourself to daydream again. If you missed this challenge, you can read about it here.

Daydreaming is especially helpful when our life looks different from what we planned, or we feel pressured to continue working towards an undefined goal.

While I’ve been through many transitions in my life. From losing my legs at 19, having a kidney transplant at 21, and eventually becoming a professional athlete. I suddenly found “fame” when I appeared on Dancing With The Stars. Then, my life changed again, unexpectedly when I sustained a major vascular injury and eventually retired from competitive snowboarding.

Retiring from snowboarding wasn’t a transition I was mentally ready for. In many ways, I was in peak form and felt more prepared than ever to compete at the highest level. Yet, in the blink of an eye, I was hospitalized and had my left leg amputated for a second time and then.. a third time!

I remember feeling as If I was letting go of everything I’d built and floating into a vast uncertainty.

I want to give you a new challenge. Something that’s a bit deeper. A mindset that’s even more effective than simply allowing yourself to dream.

Appreciate the magic of the unknown.

At that moment I felt like a ship that had left the harbor, lost sight of land, with no clear destination, and no compass to guide me.

It was a terrifying feeling yet I had a moment of clarity. A calmness and realization that this ship could arrive in a place even more wonderful than before.

Deepak Chopra says it best “ the unknown is where the possibilities live.”

If you are always living in the “known” then you will only do what you’ve always done. You will only know the people you’ve already met, and be where you’ve already been.

When you make a decision to step into the unknown, anything can happen. You might find yourself in a wonderful place, that you never could have imagined.

Transition is when we are “in-between” the major chapters of our life. This is a place where magic can happen if you keep your mind and heart open.

“Are you open to the magic of the unknown?”

In my 5-steps to Resiliency, I talk about reframing a situation. Looking at it from a perspective of compassion and empathy. The same steps can be used to welcome the unknown.

1. Stay present.

The moments where you are looking out the window of an airplane or walking to work. It’s those moments when distractions are low that your higher self speaks to you, where your mind quiets down enough to hear your inner voice. Can you hear it?

2. Have empathy towards yourself.

Unconditional love isn’t just reserved for others, it’s important to love ourselves unconditionally as well. It’s about fully accepting the ups and downs of our journey in order to live our truest, most authentic life. Accept your story and your past and give yourself some grace for coming as far as you have.

3. Change the story you tell yourself.

Gratitude is the secret to happiness. When you celebrate what you have, you instantly live abundantly. When you focus on what you don’t have you instantly live in scarcity. Abundance is a mindset, gratitude is the key that unlocks the door.

Rather than looking at your present and mourning what was, choose to see this moment as an opportunity and allow the magic to find you. Negative things will happen in your life, but so can wonderful, magical things.

The unknown is a rigid box and as scary as it is to live in a space of uncertainty, it is where the possibilities are endless!

Do you feel like you’re in a transition right now and if so, how do you feel about it?

Live Inspired / By Amy Purdy

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have already responded to my question.

First I want to say, if you’re feeling a bit lost or uncertain about your life, you are not alone! The pandemic has put the majority of the world in an uncertain situation. Even years later, we are changed people, still trying to find our way through divorce, career changes, retirement, physical injury, and the general discomfort and uncertainty of an ever-changing world.

Maybe you aren’t as motivated as you once were?

Or feel pressured to continue working towards an undefined goal?

Perhaps you’re dealing with a life-altering injury or illness?

Or maybe your life simply looks different from what you planned?

You are not alone.

I want to talk about transitions because I think it’s important to remember that we’re not alone. To be human is to face uncertainty. There’s nothing more human than adversity.

I’ve been through many transitions in my life. From losing my legs at 19, having a kidney transplant at 21, and eventually becoming a professional athlete. I suddenly found “fame” when I appeared on Dancing With The Stars. Then, my life changed again, unexpectedly when I sustained a major vascular injury and eventually retired from competitive snowboarding.

Snowboarding has been part of my life since I was in high school and even with all my own experience with life transitions, learning to walk again for the third time reminded me just how challenging it can be.

This transition isn’t a bad thing. I’m learning to walk again! And that’s amazing! I’m suddenly walking for the first time in 3 years. How could I ever complain?

Yet this transition has brought up several emotions.

Now that I’m retired from snowboarding, I have more free time than I’ve ever had. While I feel gratitude for this time, I also feel a bit disoriented and unsure of how I want to spend my free time.

I’ve built a career that allows me to work as much or as little as I choose to. It’s one of the greatest blessings brought about by a life that I spent so much time building. The building of that life is time spent that I miss spending. I’m simply not ready to have so much free, uncertain time, on my hands. Like many of you, I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do next.

Through all of these life transitions, I’ve collected a few tips along the way. We don’t need to fix the way we feel when our lives change, we just need help navigating those changes. I want to help you navigate the changes in your life with a simple challenge.

Daydream

When I first lost my legs, I remember laying in bed realizing I could never go back to who I once was. This is a harsh reality because honestly, none of us can. I felt confused, scared, and unsure of what the future would bring or what my life would be like. This is when I began to visualize.

It started with a daydream of what I wanted to do with my life, the big things that seemed impossible, like snowboarding again. That daydream turned into a complete vision because I allowed myself to get excited about it, even though I had no idea “how” I would achieve it.

During this daydream, the feeling of my heart beating in my chest was all I needed to confirm my vision was possible. It became a goal that moved me through my greatest transition from losing my legs to becoming a professional athlete. Who would have thought that losing my legs, would open up a world of possibilities? Competing in the Paralympics began with a daydream that simply made me feel excited about the future.

“When was the last time you allowed yourself to daydream and truly feel excited about the possibilities?“

Forget about the ‘how’. Simply take a moment to eliminate distractions and allow yourself to get lost in your dreams.

The dream that makes you light up and feel excited is the dream that you should follow.

Have grace with yourself, allow yourself to daydream, and feel excited about the unknown future. Make a plan to do the thing that lights you up the most.

Mexican Street Corn Chowder

Cook Inspired / By Amy Purdy

You asked for it! Below is the recipe for my Mexican Street Corn Chowder, but let me tell you a few things before you dive in and get cooking! It has rained in the Colorado mountains nearly every day this summer. It’s beginning to feel like we live in Seattle and yesterday was no different! It’s been wet and cold and this soup was the perfect solution to warm us up.

Since my leg injury, I’ll be honest I haven’t cooked much over the last 3 years. In fact, I still can’t believe I’m standing on 2 legs again. It hit me last night that I could actually cook on my own feet in the kitchen.

When I cook, I mix multiple recipes that I love and add my own touch, so coming up with the exact portions to put in a recipe can be tricky. You will see me say something like “add as much as you want” or “2-4 cups” because it’s all personal preference and I don’t have things down to a science. I cook like a crazy woman in the kitchen and when it tastes good I do my best to put it into a recipe.

Let’s Get Cooking:

This soup has the same ingredients as Mexican Street Corn which is my favorite! It should be creamy and smoky with a hint of tartness due to the lime and only as spicy as you like. The Chipotle Chili powder adds a bit of warmth so add more or less as needed. Extra spice can also be added with green tabasco in the end but that’s up to you! Also, when it comes to salt and pepper everyone is different so add to taste!

INGREDIENTS ( 4-6 servings)

2 bags of frozen corn
1/2 chopped onion
3 cloves of chopped garlic
2-4 cans of chicken bone broth or basic chicken broth ( I found the bone broth in a 32 oz carton and used 1 1/2 cartons)
12-15 oz shredded chicken ( I bought mine already shredded in a 15-ounce package and used about 12 ounces. You can also shred 2 cooked chicken breasts)
Salt & pepper – Start with 1/4 tsp but add more if needed. I added about 1/2 tsp of both.
1 red bell pepper chopped
1/2-3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4-3/4 tsp chipotle smoked chili powder ( can use regular too)
1-2 limes ( the juice)
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
chopped cilantro- As much as you want we used 1/4 cup.
Few sprinkles of green Tabasco or green chili sauce if wanting more spice & flavor.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add 3 tablespoons of oil to a large pot, add corn and onion and a bit of salt and pepper, and cook 10-15 minutes until the corn and onion mixture is brown and even slightly charred in spots, stirring occasionally. Browning the corn makes this recipe so good! After it’s all brown scoop 1 cup out and save for later.

2. Add the 3 cloves of chopped garlic and the 32-ounce carton of broth to the corn and simmer for 5 mins. Then blend it all in a food processor or strong blender to make it creamy (You may need to do it in small batches)

3. Chop red pepper, add oil to the pot and sauté it with salt and pepper, then add blended soup mixture to the same pot.

4. Mix in garlic powder, chipotle chili powder, queso fresco, pepper jack cheese, shredded chicken, lime juice ( to taste), and add cilantro. You can add less or more spices to taste. I think I added the juice of 1 lime and extra garlic powder but do it until you like it!

5. Add the cup of corn that was set aside except keep a few spoonfuls out for garnish. Simmer 10 mins to let flavors combine and add the extra broth as it simmers. I just kept adding broth until it was a consistency that I liked! Not too thick and not too thin. if it’s too thin boil it down until it thickens a bit. For extra warmth and flavor, you can also add the green tabasco or green chili sauce. I did a few sprinkles.

6. Ladle chowder into a bowl, garnish with extra browned corn, cilantro, and queso fresco.

Tip- You can also add crushed corn tortilla chips on top for some crunch!

I hope you enjoy!

I would love to know how this recipe turned out for you so post a photo on your Instagram stories & tag me!

Just Breath

Live Inspired / By Amy Purdy

Recently, I’ve been quite obsessed with the song Hanuman Baba by Krishna Das and that’s why I really wanted to share it with you! I know it may seem like a very random song for me to share, so let me explain…

I’ve been pressing play on this song in the mornings or when I start to feel stressed to help calm and ground me. With everything that is going on, I have found taking deep breaths daily has been the best thing for reducing my stress, anxiety, and feelings of overwhelm.

Our mind and breath are more connected than we realize. If you think about it, when our mind feels stressed, our breath becomes short and choppy, right? And when our mind feels relaxed, our breath becomes slow and smooth. So if our mind and breath are connected, why not calm our breath in order to calm our mind?

Here’s the breathing practice I have been enjoying:

I lay on the floor, play this song, and take deep breaths for the entire length of the song.

To take it a step further, you can make your inhales and exhales equal. As you breathe in, count to four or five and repeat on the exhale. Also, try to see how steady and smooth you can make each breath.

Give it a try! I hope it calms you and grounds you as much as it does me!