3 Steps to Leading Physical Activity By Example

It’s been a week since our provincial gathering, Inspiring Action-Jump in 2010! I’ve spent a lot of time pondering what I learned from the event and our guest speaker Severn Cullis-Suzuki.

Severn shared a lot of personal stories about her work within the environmental movement to explain how she became a young leader. We wanted the hundreds of youth in the audience and across the province to understand the incredible potential they have to be at the forefront of positive change.

Severn shared a story about a family trip to Brazil when she was young. She witnessed the forests burning in Brazil and it occurred to her that something was wrong. In that moment Severn decided she was not ok with what was happening, and that she would do something about it. She had found her passion.

At Saskatchewan in motion we don’t think it’s ok that only 15% of children and youth in Saskatchewan get their required 60-90 minutes of daily physical activity. Do you?

Severn broke it down like this: Once you’ve made the decision that you aren’t ok with a situation, whether it’s an environmental issue or physical inactivity, you have found your passion.

That is Step 1: Find your passion

Severn strongly believes in the power of education. You have to understand an issue if you plan on influencing change. So get informed, educate yourself as much as you can about what you are passionate about.

That’s Step 2: Educate yourself (Be in the Know)

Educating yourself is hard work, but now you have to put what you’ve learned into action. At this point Severn posed a question, she asked. Now that you’ve educated yourself about your passion what do you do with your knowledge? How do you make something happen? How do you lead?

>>Sounds a wee bit intimidating doesn’t it..the look on every kids face said, ya…a little..

Severn let us think for a minute, and then she explained that it’s easier than we may think. She told us you don’t have to start huge. She didn’t just wake up and go to the UN one day to speak at the Rio Earth Summit, she started small.

So, Step 3: Make a Commitment

The scope of Severn’s work is ginormous so she knows that thinking about the whole issue and how to solve it all at once is too big. Focus on something you can do and start from there. For Severn on a daily basis she focus’ on not drinking bottled water (among other things, as you can imagine). That is one choice she has control over, it is a starting point to lead from.

I am going to commit to riding my bike to work. It’s my way to take on a leadership role in physical activity and help the environment.

Do you have a passion? What are you going to commit too?

Kenji