The Bootcamp Effect

It's always a sign of a quality post to be able to start with a Wayne's World quote.  As Garth likes to say:  Let me tell you a little something I've learned about women...

I never was someone who operated in big groups of female friends - rarely did girls' nights out, never shopped in a pack at the mall, never had major pajama parties (apologies to the male fantasists out there.)  Instead, I tended to form close friendships - a tight group was more often my style.  As I matured through college and my early adult years, the number got even smaller. 

It has not been until recent years I've begun to understood the singular power of working within a group of women interested in what you do, not competing with what you do, wanting to encourage you in your efforts.  Shall we call it the Bootcamp Effect?

Three mornings a week, at Stupid O' Clock, I go to a Fitness Bootcamp.  I only knew one person there, when I started in January, but something about the class drew me in.  It isn't competitive - other women there cheer you on as you finished your set of wind sprints, other women are there to joke with about jump roping and birthing three kids [if you get it, you get it], other women are there to inspire you as they burn through a set of plank stands without quivering.  It is not about looking your best at 6 in the morning - it is about pushing your body to be its best.

Then in March I attended a Baltimore event called Bloggy Bootcamp.  It was designed on the same principles:  through meeting up with, and talking to other bloggers, we would somehow inspire each other, push each other, make each other better.  There were 100 bloggers in the room - all of us with individual goals, unique passions, varying 'angles'.  But all of us were there to push ourselves to be our best.

Here's what we need to know: there is power in a group of women.   It is a power that takes the positive, supportive energy that women seem so naturally to tap into, and that power then seems to generate more effort - more creativity - more strength, and not only that, it motivates us to continue.  To come back for the next workout, to post the next post even though only your grandmother and your OB/GYN read that last one.

This weekend, I attended a Momzshare event, and the same thing hit me:  this is a group of women who want nothing from me but to know that I am pursuing my passion.  That I am in pursuit of authenticity.  There is power in that, and that is the "little something" you need to know about women:  we can work together to make it incredible.