5 BYTES FRIDAY Five bite-sized snippets of insight and things to explore.

Hi All!

I'm back. I graduated last week! It has been a long time since I donned a cape and gown, but the experience was wonderful.

I am grateful to say that I am now an accredited Mentor and Coach.

Anyway, enough about me on with the newsletter.

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A documentary I've watched

'Race to the Summit' , directed by G?tz Werner and Nicholas de Taranto, follows, at times, the bitter rivalry between Ueli Steck and Dani Arnold. This story had personal meaning to me.

I once had the privilege of filming Ueli Steck at the Geographic Society in London. In the short period of time I spent with him, he came across as a very warm, patient and affable character who had a lot of time for those around him. It was a real shock to hear about his death on Nuptse in 2017.

I also found out subsequently that G?tz did a lot of film work for a Snowboarding brand I once worked for. So, if you like jeopardy, adventure and climbing, it's worth watching!

What I’m reading

'Things Fall Apart ' by Chinua Achebe is an incredible novel of its time and follows the life of a fierce tribesman against the backdrop of missionary intervention and colonialism.

It is very much a novel about values and how tribal African traditions and beliefs conflicted with Christianity and the rule of Western law.

At times, brutal and visceral, we come to understand Okonkwo's toxicity and overt masculinity and are left feeling sympathy for him as the missionary fervour engulfs his tribespeople and family. ?

A practice I am experimenting with at the moment

Recently, I have been experimenting with stream-of-consciousness writing and the therapeutic benefits Pennebaker observed in his studies in the mid-eighties.

Whilst in the therapeutic sense, Pennebaker advocated that participants write about their most traumatic experiences, I set the task of answering a question each day or exploring a topic that was troubling me. Other than this change, I observed his rules for writing:

• Write continuously for a set duration (3 pages in my case, but you could set a time limit)
• Express freely; don't sensor, edit, judge or worry about grammar.
• Write honestly, be open, express emotions, and tackle things that matter.
• Write for yourself and to understand, seek deep insights and clarity.
• Write regularly, every day, ideally.

From doing this, I've experienced the following benefits:

• Greater clarity - My mind feels more focused, and I'm clear on what I need to achieve.
• Feeling Unburdened - With this lack of general burden on my mind, I have found that I am better able to problem solve, and I'm making better decisions.
• Improved Mood - I've experienced being less anxious and generally being lighter of heart since I started the practice.

If this sounds good to you, why not give it a go?

What I’m listening to while working

'Ci ty of Electric Light ' - Chad VanGaalen. This track popped up on my Spotify Discover the other day, and I have been obsessed ever since. I didn't know anything about this artist before hearing this track, but the former Calgary busker released this track back in 2008.

I have to shout out another track on the album (purely because of its title), 'Bare feet on wet grip-tape', which will resonate with the skaters amongst us.

This off-kilter pop is repetitive but strangely mesmeric and created with low-fi equipment, which gives it an air of Calgary basement. Well, that's just my view. Check it out for yourself!

What I’m celebrating!

Even though it was last week, I am still celebrating National Mentoring Day .

It was an amazing day, and I was humbled to hear and read about all the incredible work mentors are doing across the country and further afield.

I feel very honoured to have been a small part of it. It was so touching to see the impact mentoring has had on people's lives.

So, I'll raise a glass to all the mentors this weekend!

As this newsletter is still less than a year old, I would welcome your feedback.

Which byte was your favourite?

What do you want more or less of?

Please let me know, and comment below

P.S.

Here’s a Polything post from the archives which you might be interested in. In this helpful guide, you’ll learn how to choose the marketing consultancy for your business.

If you’d like more information, please reach out to us.

Read Here

P.P.S.

I'm #MadeByDyslexia - Expect big ideas and small typos