Tuesday Thoughts And The Courage to Choose Your Own Path

Isabelle
6 days ago
3 min read

Hi Friends,

Last week, as we stepped into Women’s History Month, I wrote about the unforgettable moment when Surya Bonaly landed her famous backflip at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

It was a moment that still gives people goosebumps when they watch it today. Surya knew the move would not count for points, and she knew it might even cost her with the judges, but she chose to do it anyway. In that brief moment on the ice, she showed the world something powerful, that sometimes the bravest thing a woman can do is trust her own voice more than the rules that surround her.

Watching moments like that reminds us that women throughout history have quietly and boldly pushed boundaries in their own ways. And every generation finds new ways to continue that story.

One of the women carrying that spirit forward today is Alysa Liu.

Alysa burst onto the international skating scene at a remarkably young age, dazzling audiences with both technical brilliance and a lightness that made her skating look almost effortless. She became a national champion as a young teenager and quickly rose through the ranks of elite competition. From the outside, it looked like a dream unfolding exactly as planned.

But then something unexpected happened.

At just sixteen years old, right when the world expected her career to accelerate even further, Alysa chose to step away from competitive skating. She wasn’t forced out. She hadn’t failed. She simply listened to something inside herself that said she wanted space to grow, to live life, to breathe outside the intense world of elite sports.

That kind of clarity is rare at any age.

In a culture that constantly encourages us to push harder, achieve more, and never pause, Alysa did something quietly radical. She stopped. She gave herself permission to step away from expectations that others had already mapped out for her life.

And then, in the most beautiful twist of all, she returned.

As the excitement around the 2026 Winter Olympics begins to build, Alysa has stepped back onto the ice again, but this time in a completely different spirit. She is skating on her own terms now. Her style feels freer, more expressive, less about perfection and more about joy. She has spoken openly about fueling her body differently, caring for herself differently, and approaching competition without the crushing pressure that once surrounded her.

Watching her now, there is something unmistakably beautiful about it. You can see the freedom in her skating, the lightness of someone who is no longer trying to prove anything to anyone. She moves across the ice with the quiet confidence of someone who knows she chose to be there.

And that may be the most powerful performance of all.

For many women in midlife, this story feels surprisingly familiar. After decades spent caring for children, building careers, supporting partners, and meeting expectations, there often comes a moment when we pause and ask ourselves a simple but profound question:

What do I actually want now?

Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is not a dramatic backflip in front of the world.

Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is step away from the path everyone assumes we should stay on. Or return to something we once loved, but this time in a way that honors who we have become.

Courage doesn’t always look spectacular. Often it looks like honesty with ourselves, and the willingness to choose again.

Surya Bonaly showed the courage to break the rules.

Alysa Liu reminds us of something just as powerful: the courage to choose our own path, to step away when we need to, and to return when our heart tells us the time is right.

And perhaps that is the quiet invitation for all of us this Women’s History Month: to listen a little more closely to ourselves, to trust that our path can evolve, and to remember that it is never too late to begin again.

This week's affirmation:

I trust myself to choose the path that feels true for me.

PS: Message me for a free consult to start moving toward a more confident you..