We could have an endless debate over the definition of suffering and what constitutes hard. And there are a lot of vague and dismissive things that are said on the topics, such as ‘There’s always someone that has it worse than you.”, ‘Look for the silver lining’, ‘Everything happens for a reason’, or ‘Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger’ but no amount of perspective on severity, or validity changes your personal reality at any given moment. You are faced with what you are faced with, you are experiencing that thing or litany of things in the way that you are, and over whatever internal or external time frame that has been imposed on you, it needs to be survived if you are going to. That’s it. Just stay in it and fight to get more wins than losses over time. This is what goggins means when he tells you to ‘stay hard’. You don’t have to have a great attitude about it, and the root problem or problems may not be solved, but take the steps you can towards it or through it and chalk up another time you were the type of person that acted in the face of something difficult. Show yourself that you can, remind yourself of the times you have before and then show yourself again.

My guest this episode is a tremendous resource of hope and possibility in the face of adversity. Yet another powerful example of navigating difficulty as an imperfect human in a complex world. It’s a pleasure to bring you Ricky Nuttall

Ricky is a Firefighter with the London Fire Brigade and was one of over 250 first responders who were called to the fire at Grenfell Tower, on the 14th of June 2017. The fire tragically claimed the lives of 72 residents and injured over 70 more.

He suffered from PTSD as a result of the life-changing decisions he had to make that night, as well as carrying the weight of previous traumatic incidents over a long career.

With a new perspective, He’s now a mental health advocate and public voice, focusing on raising awareness of the importance of social and workplace mental health and well-being.

https://www.justrick.co.uk/

@rickynuttallofficial

Sponsorship: @southwest_fire_academy

Editing: @bradshea

Marketing: @premiummixmarketingco

Administration: @haileyfirefit