RISE weekend is a personal growth conference where women from every walk of life come together to be inspired by Rachel Hollis and friends. Check out my top takeaways from day one – own your present!

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It’s been ten months since I was introduced to Rachel Hollis. If you asked me how I was introduced to her I couldn’t even tell you. I don’t remember, but I do believe it was a divine intervention. Shortly after I was introduced to Rachel, RISE tickets went on sale and I was one of 3500 woman to get a ticket to her personal growth conference that sold out in 24 minutes. Yes, 24 minutes!

RISE weekend is a two day personal growth conference where women from every walk of life come together to be inspired, supported and enveloped in a like-minded community. This year they added an optional health and wellness day to feed women’s bodies and souls with positivity and acceptance.

Want to know what it really took for me to get to this conference? Click here.

I have been to a few conferences in the past, but this was my first ever personal growth conference. It was nothing like I have ever experienced and more than I ever expected. It was part conference, part workout, part comedy act, part dance party and the energy was always high. Rachel Hollis and friends lit up the stage and every single woman in that Minneapolis audience!

It’s been two weeks since I attended RISE and I am finally able to unpack it all mentally. My workbooks are littered with notes, my camera roll is full of inspirational video clips and I am ready to unapologetically go after my dreams. 

Here are MY biggest takeaways, MY aha moments from RISE Minneapolis Day 1.

DAY 1 – OWN YOUR PRESENT: HEALTH & WELLNESS DAY

Today’s Goal:

To change the perception of what it means to be a vibrant and healthy woman. To understand that being in great health is not about the way you look, it’s about the way you feel.

What Does Health Mean to You?

Before I get to my takeaways, I’m going to challenge you to take a minute to think about what health means to you.

Seriously, what does it mean to you?

As women, we spend so much time taking care of those around us. We will show up for everyone else, but we struggle to keep a commitment to ourselves. We say we will start on Monday, but something comes up and before we know it a full week has gone by. We say we are going to run this many miles by this date or loose this many pounds by this date and we fall off the wagon. It’s a cycle that has us drowning in shame. But what if we changed our perception? What if instead of looking at health as a certain size, a certain weight or a punishment to what we ate, we look at it as the way we feel, the energy we have, the mindset we bring to each day and a celebration of what our body can do? What if we love ourselves exactly as we are today, while striving to improve our health?

What Health Means to Me

To me, health means feeling comfortable and confident in my body. It means having the energy to show up for my kids, my marriage and my dreams. It means taking care of my mental health, just as much as my physical health. It means celebrating what my body is capable of and all it’s accomplishments (including birthing those two babies!). It means food is fuel, not comfort. It means health is not about perfection, it’s about showing up consistently and imperfectly. It means pushing myself outside of my comfort zone mentally, physically, and spiritually. It means getting back up every single time I fail.

Here’s the thing, in my journey toward health I have tried all the diets, I have gained weight and I have lost weight, I have been in the best shape of my life and the worst shape of my life, I have been mentally fit and mentally unfit, I have been happy and unhappy. My biggest takeaway from my ups and down, whether on the scale or in life, is if you can’t love yourself as you are, you aren’t going to love yourself when you are more, have more or weight less. Period.

Takeaways from Rachel Hollis

Rachel spent a lot of time on stage on day one. She drilled home the importance of health. She asked hard questions to help us understand how our current habits may be sabotaging our current health. She gave us tactical tools to help us adopt new habits and achieve our version of health. My favourite tool is “Five to Thrive”, which is Rachel’s tried and true method. Check it out…

Five To Thrive:

1. Wake Up
   • get up one hour earlier every day to work on personal goals

2. Work Out
   • move your body for 30 minutes a day

3. Water
   • drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day

4. Food
   • give up one category of food that you know is not serving you

5. Gratitude
   • list 5 things you are grateful for that happened in the last 24 hours

Takeaways from the Guest Speakers

In addition to Rachel there were two guest speakers for Health & Wellness day.

The first was Alex Ortner of The Tapping Solution who lead us through a Tapping Meditation. Tapping is a powerful technique that helps to calm the nervous system, rewire the brain to respond in healthier ways, and restore the body’s balance of energy. If you are interested in trying tapping, check out the Tapping Solution App.

The second guest speaker was Nick Santonastasso. Wow, this guy is an inspiration! He shared his story and in turn challenged everyone in the audience to change their perspective on their life. Read all about his story here. I have so many takeaways from Nick, like pages of notes. He reminded me that confidence is a skill you acquire. He taught me that my body is an authentic filter. He encouraged me to play the hand I was dealt to the best of my ability. He inspired me to challenge my mindset in every situation. 

We ended day one singing “This Is Me” by Keala Settle. Yes, all 3500 of us! It was beautiful and emotional. It was the perfect ending to a day that focused on owning who we are. Loving ourselves exactly as we are, while we reach for more.

3 Takeaways I Am Implementing Today:

1. Committing to “Five To Thrive” for 30 days.
2. Mastering My Mindset – Choosing to see the positive.
3. Striving for my version of health, daily.

There you have it… my takeaways from day 1. What resonates with you the most? Let me know in the comments below! And, be sure to check back tomorrow to read all about day 2 – own your past.

More from this series!

Check out my takeaways from day 2 & be inspired by Rachel Hollis, Jen Hatmaker and Trent Shelton!

Check out my takeaways from day 3 & be inspired by Rachel Hollis, Dave Hollis and more!

Prefer Video Highlights?

Want to watch my highlights? Check out my #RISExMINN story highlights on instagram!