Life Can Be Really Tough Sometimes - Embrace It

"There is no education like adversity” - Benjamin Disraeli

For the most part, humans have evolved to seek the path of least resistance.

Laziness is part of our hard-wiring.

And without it, we wouldn't have made anywhere near the advances we have over the years as a species.

All inventions, physical or otherwise, have been a result of someone trying to find an easier way to do something.

But despite this desire, adversity has a huge part to play in our development, individually and collectively.

Because without adversity, what do we try and overcome?

We have evolved to find the easy way for a reason.

Because life can be seriously bloody hard.

In the past it was all about survival and reproduction.

These days we have overcomplicated things a bit...

But the fact remains - we need adversity in order to thrive.

So do we need to find a balance between seeking adversity and avoiding it?

Not really...

Because life will always find ways to challenge us.

We can curate our hardships in some instances, such as by choosing the difficulty of exercise over the difficulty of poorer health, or the difficulty of consistent work on our career over the difficulty of poorer finances, or the difficulty of investing energy into our relationships over the difficulty of being lonelier (of course these are all oversimplified examples, with many more factors at play, but my point stands...)

So rather than seeking it out, which goes against much of our intrinsic nature, we can for the most part meet it head-on with the understanding that it won't be pretty, but it is necessary.

No more head-in-the-sand avoidance of what is hard.

Instead, we can accept and embrace.

Life can really suck sometimes, but you have will always have the ability to chart a course through.

In the news this week...

UK workers’ pay rises fall behind inflation amid cost-of-living crisis.

Read the Guardian article here .

If you're a company who spout the line about 'caring about your people', and you illustrate this with the odd yoga workshop, and a pizza lunch here and there, while not paying a salary which keeps up with the cost of living - well, then, you're being a muppet.

(I could have used stronger words, I'm sure)

I am well aware that salary is a tricky one - it's often the biggest overhead in any organisation.

But it bloody should be!

Because your people are your most valuable resource.

(Even though I hate referring to them as that...)

Or, if you don't treat them right, they will be your greatest liability.

You are going to pay them either way... so why not pay marginally more for a team who back you, rather than marginally less for a team who resent the company and are constantly looking elsewhere for better conditions?

Financial wellbeing is a big part of wellbeing, so if you really care perhaps you should think about addressing this...

Take a look at the article for more insight...

Shout outs...

This week I want you to go and take a look at the social selling marvel that is Mr Dean Seddon .

I worked at his sales training firm, Maverrik , for a short time and I learned a HUGE amount about sales, marketing, and specifically LinkedIn.

If you want to get better results from your time spent on this platform (or on sales in general), I suggest you give him a follow.

This is relevant for those of you working in sales, of course, but also those of you seeking a new role, or networking with others in your industry... the skills and strategies remain true across the board.

Go?check him out here !

Recent and upcoming work...

No specifics this week, but I have some more great stuff in the pipeline for March and May, on top of the existing gigs in Feb and March...

It seems people are starting to take notice of my message ??

Fitness is becoming more and more of a priority for individuals and organisations.

And when I say fitness, I don't mean running a marathon, going to the gym, or getting visible abs... although if those are your goals then go for it!

I'm talking about the capacity to cope with and recover from stress, both physically and mentally.

Sound like something you could do with improving within your team?

April is Stress Awareness Month, and I still have some availability...

So the only question is: how much do you want to help your people deal with the stress in their lives?

Last week's podcast...

After getting on my social media soapbox about stress last week, I decided a podcast was in order as well ??

A short blast of me giving you some truth bombs regarding the concept of 'stress-free' living.

Spoiler alert: you might be triggered.

Check it out here!

What's coming up...

Earlier this week I put out a survey for employees, all around how supported they feel with their wellbeing.

It's a short affair, less than two minutes to complete, but it will allow me to tweak and hone my workshops and seminars to really address the issues faced by your workforce.

It would be great if you could hit this link and fill it out, regardless of your position in the company, and share it with your colleagues.

The more data I can get, the better!

(all identifying data will remain confidential)

As above, I'm currently booking for Q2 - so if you or anyone you know needs someone to come and speak to their team about fitness and wellbeing, habit change, resilience, or anything along those lines, please get in touch ??

In case you were wondering... (an insight into my week)

1. Last Friday I popped down to see the Maverrik crew at their Plymouth office - can't believe it had been six months already ?? was great to see everyone, and have a catch-up with Dean, Terry, Louise and the rest of the bunch. This is kinda what made me think to give Dean a shout-out up there ????
2. The lovely catharsis of a run to the tip at the weekend not only freed up some physical space from the building fallout, but also some mental space too. Cluttered space = cluttered mind (for me, at least... although I know I'm not alone). I do love getting rid of stuff, it's like therapy. How about you?
3. As a result of clearing some space, my garage gym is now accessible again ?? so I have been able to get back to some more variety of movement as part of my pre-lunch routine. How's your physical activity at the moment? Need some ideas or inspiration, or doing ok?

And finally...

Get your tax returns done!

If you haven't already, that is.

Perhaps you're more organised than me.

But even so - financial wellbeing is important, so please try and stay on top of these things. You don't have to be rolling in money to have some control over your financial trajectory.

In fact, if you're not rolling in money it's arguably even more important...

Of course, please help me spread the word by hitting the share button below ???? and sending this newsletter to anyone who pops into your mind as being keen to level up their own wellbeing and that of their team.

(and of course just tell them to ping me a message if they want to ask me any questions)

As always, drop me a comment below ???? to let me know your thoughts on anything I've shared in this newsletter, and let's start a conversation!

I look forward to chatting ??

Here's to making the best of the year ahead! ??

Big love,