A Lesson in Putting your Foot Down

Say hello to the Secretary Bird—a spectacular bird of prey that has a little something to teach us about the importance of putting your foot down.

The Secretary Bird I encountered was roughly 13,000 km away at the time of our meeting. I was in my home office in Ottawa, while the bird was striding across a field outside the home of a dear friend in Port Alfred, South Africa. It arrived unexpectedly during an outdoor Equine group coaching session we were sharing over Zoom.

As an aside, if you aren’t familiar with Equine Therapy, it’s a form of coaching where human facilitators work in partnership with horses to promote greater self-awareness and insight. Horses have an acutely sensitive electromagnetic energy field—five times stronger than a human’s. They’re fully present in the moment and effortlessly respond to whatever energy we bring into their space. (I’ll share more about this fascinating work in a future post.)

Now, let’s get back to my story. On this particular day, our session was focused on personal boundaries. Mine centered on the ongoing struggle of drawing a line between work and self-care—especially when it came to my fitness routine.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been quick to abandon exercise the moment work demanded more of me. I’d prioritize emptying my inbox, regularly work through lunch to keep projects moving, and consistently stay late to catch up after a jam-packed day of meetings. The work would always get done—but my health paid the price. A few extra pounds here, a little flabbiness there, and the disheartening moment when my favorite jeans no longer fit.

I was sharing my tale of woe with the group when, as if on cue, the Secretary Bird appeared in an adjacent field and my South African friend began to tell us a bit about the magic that is this bird.

These statuesque raptors—sometimes called “eagles on stilts”—are native to the savannahs of sub-Saharan Africa. At 1.3 meters tall with a nearly 7-foot wingspan, they’re striking to behold.

As you can see from the photos—captured years later, when life offered me the chance to encounter this bird in person—they have a dramatic crest of black plumage that juts out from the back of their heads, like an ornate fascinator of sorts. Beautiful long eyelashes that would rival Elizabeth Taylor’s, designed to protect them from the dust they stir up as they stride across the grasslands.

But what truly sets them apart is their hunting style. The Secretary Bird doesn’t swoop from the skies like other raptors. Instead, it uses its powerful, long legs to deliver a mind-crushing blow to its prey, with kicks measured at 195 Newtons—five times its own body weight. When this bird wants something, it puts its foot down and does so with gusto! In that moment, I realized that if I wanted to start feeling better about myself, I would have to do the same.

I am of the mind that nature is always speaking to us, offering us lessons and reminders in surprising forms. That day, it took the shape of a long-legged bird striding across an African field, arriving just as I was fully caught up in my own story, insisting I “didn’t have time” for exercise. I don’t think our intersection that day was coincidental.

This was the message I needed to receive. The Secretary Bird highlighted what I already knew: it was time for me to put my own foot down with myself. To reclaim my boundaries, bring some balance back into my life, and take better care of the body I’ve been gifted to carry me through this lifetime.

Since this encounter, I’ve made great strides in establishing a fitness routine that I’m in love with. I’m deeply committed to it and I rarely, if ever, prioritize anything ahead of it. As a result, I feel much better about myself on the inside and out. Who knew a bird halfway across the world would give me the kick I needed? It just goes to show you that messages are all around us, if we’re willing to pay attention.