2020 I’m sure is a year that most of us will want to put behind, and for most for more than one reason, but it has offered a reset and some essential learning’s that otherwise we may have missed and or failed to address.

I’ve been racing in one discipline or another for over 20 years, from my early Cross-Country running at 20 something to my more recent adventures in night alpine cross-country skiing… with all the variants in training, this year has been a challenge and I haven’t even competed.

We are all in this together.

#thegreatreset #adjusted #re-establish #reboot #rebooting #restart #restarting #restarts #restore #restoring #zero

Intention is our ability to redirect a (personalised) vision of the future instead of just letting our thoughts and ideals flow down the path of least resistance.  It’s something that for most they can relate to when they take themselves back to childhood, but here I want you to remain within the adult mind.

Intentional manipulation. It is unique to our species and a tool that I actually really enjoy playing with. An example is usually during one of my weekly winter cross-country training runs, for even the most hardy of winter athletes running in the winter is a grim experience, but the act of ‘intentional’ manipulation allows even the most challenging of experiences some comfort.

Language is key. “How can I complete this cross-country route, get as muddy as I can while enjoying the process and the physical and mental benefits”

YOU CONTROL YOUR INTENTIONS. DECIDE WHAT THEY ARE!

#treatments #psychotherapy #treatment #therapeutic #therapist  #medication  #regimen #counseling 

UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE AND THE STRENGTH OF THE WORDS YOU USE.

If words affect the mind in different ways, are some of the words that you use more persuasive than others? If you train the mind to use certain words rather than others would you be more productive?

More successful?

Able to navigate the world with greater ease?

Our Brain Is Listening To The Words We Use.

#words #terminology #speech #nomenclature #lyric #spoken_language #linguistic_communication #linguistic_process #oral_communication #dialect 

“I’m tired, I didn’t sleep very well, My mind was busy, I couldn’t shut off, I need a holiday’

These are all statements that you would have heard me repeat over the last 20 years and universally a ‘norm’ for most people I’m sure. There is no doubt that adulthood is exhausting. With the responsibilities of work, family, friendships and more, we are expending a lot of energy and are even limiting the amount of rest we can get to replenish it.

It took until my mid-30’s to work out that unless something changed, despite my health and fitness commitments and overall positive mental wellbeing I was headed to an early grave. I was on the verge of burn out and could see it happening before I reached 60, unless I addressed some aspects of my own life that were open for improvement, it didn’t take long to see the improvements when I got started.

If you find yourself repeating key statements regarding your health/wellbeing, avoid the temptation to delay the action. Before you know it you’ll be looking back with the frustration that you didn’t do anything to fix it …that’s the fear element, most do not act until it is too late – don’t be that person!

Here are several thought provoking points that can assist with the redevelopment of your mental-energy-output MEO.

#fatigue #overwork #exhaustion #overload #overuse #depletion #breakdown #strain #burn-out #boredom 

As an athlete, competing in marathons, 140-mile ironman triathlons in 24 degree heat and night ski marathons at minus 14, you could say that I perversely enjoy the mind-body conflict and challenge that pushes your mind to the point of emotional disconnection.

The discomfort of running a marathon in the blistering heat having completed 2.4 mile swim and 120 mile ride across 4000ft of climbs requires more than just a solid fitness level and aerobic endurance. As someone who works with Olympians, success in sport is dependant on mastering elements of your mental wellbeing and approach to life, but isn’t solely something that benefits athletes.

As I noted in a well documented interview, “mindset is usually the last thing to be considered but the key factor required to the win”, this interview was given just after a client had beaten all odds on the bounce back from a career ending injury and highlights the power that we all possess.

A clear mind and mental control is a key skill that requires mastery, when your body is failing and enters into survival mode, all rational thinking falls by the wayside. When you are bleeding from your arse because your body is shutting down your colon and you are cramping with pain and still have 10 miles to go, ALL physical ‘knowns’ are not considered and you need to quickly opt for mental reassurance.

#achiever #winner #successes #successful #accomplishment #achievements #achievement #triumphs #accomplishments #progress 

Why Are You Restricting Your Personal Growth?

You’ll be amazed at how many times I’ve heard from clients how they were at the edge of ‘success’ only to have reverted to past negative goals or intentions. Why they sabotaged their own dreams because it felt like the right thing to do, but couldn’t explain why.

So why do we do this? Why do we create a pain or pleasure feeling to the ‘having’ of a future dream? Does Covid-19 mean that we should give up on our dreams? What’s the point! What’s the point of aiming towards the successes of the future, or even thinking ahead, if factors beyond our control have the ability to wipe all prospects within just a few months, just as we’ve seen this past year.

Having gone through the stress of a marital separation, like many others I have been faced with the presentation of falsehoods. Blame and accusation that offer little and no fact despite appearing real to the accuser… but why!

How can another create a truth so believable with detail and yet offer no fact or evidence to suggest it ever existed. Truth is a motivator and has instrumental and intrinsic value. It is a comforter that reduces the pain of mistakes and potentially future suffering; it provides a manifested validation behind historic poor choices and attempts to add reason, even if the manifestation of ideals within is an absolute falsehood.

#truth #love #life #faith #believe #motivation #quotes #peace #inspiration #hope #wisdom #facts  #freedom #blessed #pray #wakeup #covid #trust #knowledge

There are no rulebooks, no guide’s…only historic advice from those storytelling a warped account of their own experiences. I remember in my early 20’s excited and nervous at the same time, I’m certain something that haunts even the most confident of people and for a new prospective father something that has the ability to keep you awake at night.

#parenthood #fatherhood #childcare #fathers #upbringing #fathering #nurturing #paternity #rearing #education 

There are significant issues with the collection of free mental quiz or tests available online, not something that I wish to go into here, but fortunately if you think you need one, it is unlikely you are functioning anywhere near a “crazy”.

For most developing serious mental illnesses, there is a disconnection between the realities they are experiencing, usually unaware and distanced from the reality of ‘knowing’. The difference being feeling and FACT!

Acting out can be for any number of rational reasons and possibilities, before opting for self-defining labels it maybe worth considering;

#mad #insane #strange #weirdo #loony #looney #gaga #demented #unhinged #infatuated #psychological #psychical #psychic #moral #intellectual #psychogenic #rational #unhealthy #genial #physical #epidemic #general #influenza #outbreak #flu #disease #cataclysm #epidemiological #epidemiology #scourge

Never has there been a time that uncertainty is the dominant fear in our life. Normal a word of the past and routines are no longer a consideration for those who considered life mastered.

We don’t know what the future holds for us and even the strongest can appear lost. You aren’t alone and everything you have worked towards has not been forgotten.

When a crisis happens, what we can control is how we react, what we do and how we treat others. Although this crisis is affecting everyone, it is doing so in such different ways and for some there is no better time to pause, own and act.

With the Coronavirus outbreak, the existential reality is that we are all in the same boat and are all having to manage difficult feelings, huge changes to life and all without knowing when it will all end.

The key to surviving the psychological and emotional experiences of this pandemic lies in being able to hold onto a thinking mind and in learning to regulate emotions. Both of which are the cornerstones of good therapy.

Coping With Covid-19 Counselling will help you do just that while also looking at the surrounding issues, worries and fears. While we may not be able to do anything about the outbreak itself we can help you find your way through it and deal with the issues you are facing and those we are all facing.