Breaking Free From The Glass House...

For about the last 7 weeks, I've been trapped in a glass house—seeing the world but unable to break free, until now. (At least I hope so health wise).

This summer, I launched my agency, Collabity , feeling unstoppable, like I was on top of life again and verging on touching the sky again. But over these past seven weeks, I’ve been grounded in ways I never ever would have anticipated. What’s transpired has not only set me back in workflow but profoundly affected my personal life and health. I’m now ‘woke’ to the fact for sure.

It’s been a bit of a humbling experience, one that’s forced me to hit the reset button in my body and mind—for the sake of my well-being.

I don’t want this to all sound mega dramatic, nor do I usually share personal matters publicly, but this feels important. I hope my experience resonates with someone, perhaps (not that it's important in the scheme of things) explains why I launched something exciting career wise and then went on mute for several weeks. But these experiences can wake you up to the fact that there is plenty more in life that's far more important. I hope it can help make you realise, maybe even shake a few people awake before they end up walking down the same alleyways I’ve stumbled through—whether intentionally or not.

The Breakdown

In short, my body rebelled against me. We’re still unsure of the exact medical causes, but I’ve been dealing with something that's then caused some serious knee issues that left me physically incapacitated for weeks. Chemical imbalances, chronic conditions, all there and questionable. I’ve had every test under the sun—x-rays, ultrasounds, you name it. I’ve been poked and prodded enough to feel like a human pin cushion. But the good news is, I’m well on the mend and starting to gain momentum again.

Now, with the help of doctors, professionals, and some very knowledgeable friends, I’m on a quest to figure out why this happened. What triggered it?

Was it stress? Residual mental trauma? Burnout lying in wait? Poor health choices?

We can’t say for sure, but I suspect it’s a combination of all of the above. The loudest culprit? Dormant stress. My body finally said, “Enough is enough!” and hit the emergency brake. Fortunately, I’m almost fully recovered and back on my feet, ready for a fresh start—and a new way of living.?

Lessons Learned

Here’s what I’ve taken away from this experience:

Rule No. 1: Physical health is everything. Don’t take it for granted.

I’ve always considered myself fairly active—running, cycling, football, you name it. But looking back at the past couple of years, I could’ve done more. A weekly game of football isn’t enough if you’re eating poorly and carrying extra weight.

Neglecting your body will catch up to you, and trust me, when it does, it’s brutal. It’s not just about exercise—it’s about maintaining your overall body composition. Get outside, take walks, breathe in fresh air. You don’t have to hit the gym every day, but you do need to keep moving. Your physical health is deeply tied to your mental health. Those endorphins? They matter.

Rule No. 2: Pay attention to what you put into your body.

I’m realising that "dieting" is a myth. It’s not just about dropping a few pounds. Nutrition is a science, and understanding what fuels your body is eye-opening. If weight sits really important to you or your health in this spectrum. Do it right and balanced, trust me it will fall off anyways.? Importantly, It’s about balance—knowing what to increase, what to eliminate, and how to nourish your body in ways that keep it thriving, for you. Most of us think we have balanced diets, but we’re consuming foods filled with additives and chemicals that mess with our health and we think somethings healthy, but possibly for your own body make up, it may not be. It’s a science.

This isn’t about restriction. It’s about making informed choices, ones that support better health and mental clarity.

Rule No. 3: Your mental health matters more than anything else.

I’ve had my share of mental health battles over the years, and I’ve learned a lot from them. I’ve even dedicated myself to helping others, serving as a trustee for a mental health charity, Mentality. But despite everything I’ve learned, I was still ignoring my own stress.

For the past two years, I’ve carried an enormous amount of stress—career pressure, financial strains, fear of failure—and I did what so many of us do. I built up walls, buried my emotions, and convinced myself I was handling it. But inside, I was a ticking time bomb.

Eventually, the body catches up to the mind. And mine did in a way I couldn’t ignore. It literally shut me down, forcing me to reboot my life.

Moving Forward

Now, I’m hitting that reset button. But I wish I had done it sooner, on my own terms, instead of being forced into it by weeks of pain and anxiety. This experience has taught me that being "strong" and “resilient” isn’t about ignoring your problems. It’s about confronting them head-on and making the right changes before things get out of hand.

The Takeaway

None of these lessons are ground-breaking. We all know we should prioritise our physical health, eat better, and take care of our mental well-being. But it’s easy to let life’s demands distract us from what really matters. Stress and anxiety can lie dormant for years, only to erupt when you least expect it.

So, my advice is simple: don’t wait. Don’t ignore your health, your stress, or your mental state. Because eventually, it will catch up to you. And trust me, you don’t want to wait until it’s too late.

But value life, loved ones and the day to day of everything. Not what this career does, what this person thinks, throwing more and? more wood on your fire, as it needs to be bigger and better, it’s just creating pressure in every sense. Slow down, take stock and concentrate on that well-being within your own skin and the rest will come.