Open Minded

JK sits down with Tofe Evans, a young man with a big resume; author of ‘Everyone has a plan until shit hits the fan’, ultra-marathon runner, wellness coach, and business owner.

Tofe talks candidly about his addictions to drugs, alcohol and external validation, and shares the tools he has developed to build practical resilience and overcome these struggles. 

A big part of Tofe’s journey has been with The Man Kind Project, a global program providing wellness coaching for men. JK and Tofe dig into this program and how it uses classical literary archetypes to contextualize emotional expression and foster better mental wellbeing.

Finally, the guys talk about Tofe’s experiences with ultra-long-distance running, from the challenges he faced in a race across Scotland, to the triumph of running the highest foot race in the world on the slopes of Everest.

Read and Listen To:

‘Everyone has a plan until shit hits the fan’ - by Tofe Evans

King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine - by Robert L. Moore, Douglas Gillette

Diary of a CEO - Podcast by Steven Bartlett

TRIGGER WARNING: This podcast episode mentions suicide, as well as drug and alcohol abuse. Listener discretion is advised.

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Dr Hillary is the director of Leading Safety, a consultancy specialising in safety leadership, safety culture, human factors, and workplace health and safety. 

She is a registered psychologist and works with organisations across all sectors to develop safe and healthy workplaces. 

With a particular interest in mental health and wellbeing at work, she was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the New Zealand Health and Safety Awards 2019.

After appearing on a couple of our Mentemia customer webinars to offer up her advice for workplace wellbeing, by popular request this episode gets a full hour of her insights, advice and where the agenda should be focused for workplace wellbeing in 2022.

In particular Sir JK and Dr Hillary dive into:

• What is psychological safety
• As people leaders and business executives, how we can’t just help build mental health literacy and create a psychologically safe environment. How we’ve got to really start tackling the issue of workloads and make that a real focus.
• Dignity in the workplace - without dignity you can't have wellbeing
• Dignity in leadership and how it is different to respect
• The importance of taking restorative breaks

Enjoy this episode!

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When Joey D returned home to NZ after travelling at the age of 21, he stumbled into the first and biggest turning point of his life so far. Realising his lifestyle didn’t align with his values and the people he surrounded himself with were not making him feel good, he made the tough decision to distance himself from the relationships that were impacting his wellbeing and hindering his personal growth.

He talks to Sir JK about the impact this decision had on him, and the steps he took to take care of number one and build the life he wanted by eliminating the things that didn’t make him feel good, and pursuing the things that did. 

Raised in Wainuiomata, Joe Daymond, the 25-year-old Fijian-Māori comedian is barely four years into his career but he’s sold out the SkyCity Theatre, been on TV and is about to have his own web series ‘Bouncers’ shown on Comedy Central in the UK.

Listen to this authentic and open discussion about connecting with yourself, healing, acknowledging when you need help and the experience of imposter syndrome.

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In this special Open Minded podcast episode, we share the recent live chat between Sir John Kirwan and Dr Fiona Crichton as they tackle the topic of re-entry anxiety, sharing tools and strategies to help us emerge from lockdown and transition well back into the workplace and our communities.

As public spaces open up across many parts of Australia and New Zealand while we continue to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic, it's no surprise that the prospect of re-entering the world might leave you feeling anxious.

Tune in as Sir JK and Fiona provide some practical advice for managing re-entry anxiety in different situations, how to support those around you who are struggling, what to do to better cope with heightened anxiety, fear and stress during this time, and how to encourage supportive conversations around the topic of re-entry anxiety with the people in your life.

The full video recording of this live chat is available in the Mentemia app.

Explore Mentemia as your workplace wellbeing solution here --> www.mentemia.com

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Following the release of the 2nd edition of his hugely successful international best-selling self-help book, ‘The Happiness Trap’, Dr. Russ Harris joins Sir JK on Open Minded to discuss his journey with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and some of the techniques you can put into your day.

With a background in medicine as a GP, Dr. Russ became increasingly interested in the psychological aspects of health and wellbeing, and increasingly disenchanted with writing prescriptions.

Ultimately this interest led to a total career change. He now works in two different, yet complementary roles – as an ACT therapist and as a coach.

In episode 22 of Open Minded, Russ and JK explore some of the basic principles of ACT, and ways you can begin to apply these to your toolbox to live a values-driven life where you feel more comfortable and in control of your thoughts and feelings.

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In Episode 21 of Open Minded, Dr. Stephen Hinshaw, renowned psychologist and expert on mental health and stigma speaks to Sir John Kirwan about mental health disclosure and inclusion in the workplace.

Our first repeat guest on Open Minded, he draws on his years of experience as a professor and his research on children’s behaviour. Dr Stephen and JK explore the parallels of successful modern schooling and how these same strategies and developments can be applied to the workplace.

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This special episode of Open Minded is taken from a recent live chat with Dr Siale Foliaki. With changing alert levels and lockdowns still affecting many of us in Australia and New Zealand, Sir John Kirwan caught up with Dr Siale on how they are both currently feeling, their advice on how to stay well and prioritise your wellbeing, the quality of sincerity in the workplace, with plenty of Q&A from the live audience.

Dr Siale has over 20 years experience as a psychiatrist, primarily with Counties Manukau District Health Board in New Zealand and sits on the Clinical Advisory Group at Mentemia.

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In this episode Sir JK chats to Eroni Clarke, the former New Zealand rugby union player who played for Auckland, the Blues, the Highlanders and the All Blacks at international level. Eroni gives a deep insight into the protective factors for mental health in the Pasifika community, the impact lockdown is having, the need for courageous conversations and cultural competency, plus a wonderful answer on how his son Caleb copes with being compared to him, as the 21st former All Black whose son also represented the team.

Eroni was appointed as New Zealand Rugby's first Pasifika engagement manager in August 2020, and updates on how that is going and what success looks like. A deeply inspiring, educational episode - another must listen!

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With ongoing lockdown levels and restrictions across many parts of Australia and New Zealand, it is normal to be feeling anxiety, overwhelm or maybe even some burnout symptoms with juggling home and work life.

This special episode was taken from our live chats as part of our support of RU Ok Day 2021. Sir John Kirwan checks in with the incredible Shantelle Thompson OAM on how she is going and how she stays well and her coping strategies through lockdown. They also remind us of the importance of checking in, and practical ways we can do that with friends, loved ones and work colleagues.

About Shantelle Thompson OAM

Known as the Barkindji Warrior in her community, Shantelle Thompson is a 3x Brazilian Jiu-jitsu world champion and was NAIDOC Sportsperson of the Year 2019. In 2021 she received the Medal in the Order of Australia for services to the Indigenous community of Victoria.

A proud Aboriginal woman, Shantelle is passionate about inclusion, diversity, and mental wellbeing. She has an incredible story of courage and resilience, having overcome challenges like bullying, adversity and abuse in her life.

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In support of RU Ok Day 2021, Sir John Kirwan checks in with Australian actor, speaker and entrepreneur Sam Webb. Well known from Neighbours, Home & Away and a popular contestant on Survivor, Sam shares why he always prioritises self care, the tips he has for practicing vulnerability, how to really check in with a mate and the incredible story and work he is doing with Livin, the mental health charity he co-founded in 2013.

This chat is packed full of advice for practicing vulnerability and being the safest version of ourselves. Enjoy!

Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ review and share the podcast with your friends! You can connect with us on social media at @getmentemia.

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