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Everything you learn outside follows you home. The resilience to own a mistake in front of your team. The ability to sit with discomfort without shutting down. The capacity to notice something beautiful you've walked past a hundred times.

Jesse Tubb, founder of GRIT Adventures and former active duty Army officer, joins The Parks Podcast to talk about what nature actually teaches us — and how the lessons from playing outside translate directly into the rest of life. He works with youth, veterans, grieving military families, sports teams, and corporations — using adventure racing and mindfulness-based resilience skills to help people build confidence, regulate emotions, and reconnect with themselves through the outdoors.

In this episode:
— What GRIT Adventures is and how it started during the pandemic
— Why our devices are the biggest barrier keeping people from going outside
— The somatic experience of getting lost in the woods — and why it's actually valuable
— The eating meditation Jesse does with kids in detention centers that reframes what it means to be connected to the earth
— Why we over-parent in the real world and under-parent in the digital world — and what it costs kids
— The healing power of communal outdoor experiences for veterans and military families
— The 5% problem — why outdoor marketing targets extreme athletes when 95% of users just want to take a walk
— Micro adventures — how to start with 10% outside your comfort zone
— Creeking — and why it might be the perfect entry point for anyone

Resources mentioned:
— GRIT Adventures: gritadventures.com
— TAPS: taps.org
— Wounded Warrior Project Odyssey: woundedwarriorproject.org
— The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt: anxiousgeneration.com
— Jesse's eating meditation: https://youtu.be/-uVj0Zqhb_k?si=iKu5g76F8ogldpDb

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