Every mountain comes with its challenges, but with the right tools, girls can learn to navigate the climb.
Growing up comes with plenty of ups and downs. From navigating friendships and managing schoolwork to facing disappointment and trying something new, girls experience big emotions as they encounter new challenges. While these moments can sometimes feel overwhelming, they also provide opportunities to build confidence, practice problem-solving and develop important life skills.
At Girls on the Run Greater Connecticut, our current fall participants are exploring what it means to be a Mountain Mover. Through our Mountain Mover curriculum, girls are developing skills that help them navigate obstacles, recognize their strengths and discover that they are capable of accomplishing more than they might think.
An important part of navigating life's mountains is learning how to manage the feelings that come along with the climb. With encouragement, practice and the right strategies, girls can learn to recognize their emotions and respond to challenges in healthy, helpful ways.
Sometimes, girls encounter obstacles that leave them feeling frustrated, nervous, disappointed or unsure of themselves.
Being a Mountain Mover doesn't mean never experiencing difficult emotions or always knowing what to do. It means learning how to face challenges, recognize personal strengths and identify the tools and support needed to keep moving forward.
Self-regulation is one of those tools.
Self-regulation is the ability to recognize and manage emotions, thoughts and behaviors in different situations. It helps girls pause before reacting, work through frustration, and make thoughtful choices when things don't go as planned.
When girls develop these skills, they begin to understand that although they can't always control what happens around them, they can learn how to respond.
And that is a powerful lesson to carry with them far beyond their Girls on the Run season!
Three Tools to Help Girls Navigate Big Feelings
Just as a mountain climber needs the right equipment to navigate a challenging trail, girls benefit from having strategies they can turn to when emotions feel overwhelming.
Here are three practical ways to help girls work through big feelings and build confidence in their ability to handle life's challenges.
1. Pause and Take a Breath
When emotions run high, it can be difficult to think clearly. Taking a moment to pause gives girls an opportunity to slow down before deciding what to do next.
Put it into practice: The next time your girl encounters a frustrating situation, take a few slow breaths together. Remind her that taking a pause isn't giving up. It's giving herself the time and space to figure out her next step.
2. Recognize the Feeling and Explore the Options
Before girls can decide how to respond to a difficult situation, they need opportunities to recognize and understand what they're feeling.
Is she disappointed? Embarrassed? Worried? Angry? Sometimes, simply putting a name to an emotion can make it easier to understand.
Help girls explore their feelings by asking:
The goal isn't to tell girls how they should feel. It's to help them recognize their emotions, understand what may be contributing to them and consider their choices.
Put it into practice: When a challenge arises, resist the urge to immediately solve the problem. Give your girl space to share her perspective and brainstorm possible solutions with you.
3. Choose a Next Step
Once girls have taken a moment to breathe and think, they can begin deciding how they want to respond.
That might mean using their words to communicate during a disagreement, asking a trusted adult for help, trying again after a mistake or taking a break before revisiting a difficult conversation.
Not every solution will work perfectly the first time and that's okay! Learning to navigate challenges takes practice.
Put it into practice: Celebrate the effort girls put into working through difficult moments. When your girl pauses before reacting, communicates her feelings or tries a new approach, let her know you've noticed.
You might say, "I noticed that you were frustrated, but you took a moment to think about what you wanted to do next. That took effort!"
These small moments help girls recognize their own growth and build confidence in their ability to navigate future challenges.
How Girls on the Run Helps Girls Become Mountain Movers
At Girls on the Run Greater Connecticut, we know that the skills girls develop through our program extend far beyond running.
Through movement, teamwork, guided discussions and engaging activities, girls have opportunities to practice important social-emotional skills in a supportive environment.
Every practice is an opportunity to learn something new, work through a challenge, encourage a teammate or discover a strength they didn't know they had.
With the support of their coaches and teammates, girls are learning that challenges are a normal part of growth. They can develop strategies to work through difficult moments, recognize when they need help and take steps toward their goals even when the path isn't easy.
These lessons extend well beyond the season. The confidence and skills girls practice at Girls on the Run can help them navigate friendships, classroom challenges, new experiences and future obstacles.
Every Girl Has the Power to Move Mountains
As parents, caregivers, educators and mentors, we can't prevent every difficult moment in a girl's life. But we can help her build the tools to navigate those moments with greater confidence.
The next time a big feeling or unexpected obstacle comes along, remind your girl that she doesn't have to figure everything out at once.
She can pause. She can take a breath. She can explore her options. And she can choose her next step.
With practice, patience and encouragement, girls can learn that difficult feelings don't have to define them and that challenges don't have to stop them.