How challenge helps you grow by Sarah Murray-Boyd

What if challenge was part of wellbeing, rather than something you always tried to avoid?
Wellness is often aligned with comfort: reducing stress, finding calm and making life easier. But growth needs more. You need opportunities to stretch, try unfamiliar things and discover what you are capable of.

Nature can be a powerful vehicle for exploring that challenge.

This month, I’ll be in outback South Australia working with a group of young people. We will carry all we need, build shelters, cook over a fire, and work together to solve problems. The experience will put everyone out of their comfort zone, but offer an opportunity to test our capabilities, discover strengths and better understand how we respond when things get
difficult.

Time in nature can help you grow too.

Your challenge might be starting a walking routine or getting outdoors in uncomfortable weather. Or it might be quieter: slowing down, sitting in silence, or spending time outside in the dark.

Whatever the challenge, the opportunity is the same: notice how you respond when you step beyond what is familiar and see what you can learn when you meet a manageable challenge with curiosity and support.

Here’s the approach I use in my work:

Listen to your body

Challenge often begins with discomfort. Your heart beats faster. Your muscles tense. Your breathing changes. You might feel nervous, excited or uncertain. Rather than immediately deciding that discomfort is bad, instead pause and get curious:

What am I feeling?

Why am I uncomfortable?

Do I need to slow down, ask for support or something else?

A long day walking in the heat can bring fatigue, or a difficult task can be frustrating. Close work with others might bring tension. Learning to notice these responses can help you make better decisions about when to stretch and when to stop.

Learn by doing

When you try something unfamiliar — connecting to your senses, navigating a new trail,
climbing a steep hill or sitting with stillness — you experience it, and experience gives you
something powerful: evidence.

I didn’t know how to do that

I thought I couldn’t do it, but I kept going.

I was struggling, but I asked for help.

These moments build a sense of capability. They also show you that strength doesn’t always mean doing something alone. Sometimes the evidence is that you know when to ask for help, accept support or contribute to a team.

Reflect on what happened

In nature therapy, reflection might happen around a campfire or while walking, but in daily life it might mean taking five minutes after doing something difficult to consider how you acted or responded.

What did I learn about myself?

What strengths did I use?

What helped when things became difficult?

Perhaps you discover that you are more resourceful than you thought. Maybe you learn that you cope better when you slow down, or that asking for help makes difficult situations more manageable.

Take the learning with you

Finally, you need to incorporate that learning into other situations. You need to recognise where the same skills, strengths or responses might be useful elsewhere.

What situation in my life feels similar?

How could I respond differently?

What skills can I draw on?

If slowing your breath helps you feel less overwhelmed on a walk, use it before a difficult conversation. If a physical challenge shows you when you need rest, notice where you need to slow down in other areas of your life. If pausing helps you feel grounded when you lose your way, stop and centre yourself if you feel uncertain elsewhere.

This is the potential of nature therapy: using outdoor experiences to help you explore your capacity, build evidence of your strengths and carry that learning into everyday life.

Find your edge, meet it with curiosity and see what you discover about yourself. Wellbeing is not about feeling good all the time, but about growing your capacity to meet life’s challenges.
Time in nature can be part of that.

Want to experience nature therapy for yourself?
Join one of Sarah’s public walks – dates, locations, and bookings on her website.
Contact Sarah to work together 1-on-1.
Or learn more about nature therapy online, on Facebook and on Instagram

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