Hello my friend,
Last week I ran our first Running Minds signature event.
A huge thank you to all of you who attended!
After creating the group in January it felt really special to be able to put this event on.
Seeing so many open minded and curious people come together to connect with others and to discover more about their own wellbeing was inspiring.
Since the turn of the year the weekly meetups we’ve had, moving together alongside open and honest conversation has made it all so worth it for me personally.
The event last wednesday offered another reminder of how meaningful real conversation and connection really is.
The power in which it holds and that is available to all of us.
People showed up with intention.
They shared with vulnerability.
This in turn created a space for others to feel more comfortable doing the same.
There is a real lesson in this.
During the event itself we covered a lot around health and wellbeing.
The mindset, habits and actions we can engage to better protect and strengthen our body and our mind.
The name of the event ‘A Purpose in Wellbeing’ was a particular point I went deeper into.
How we can find more meaning in our wellbeing.
Why putting our physical and mental health can be that purpose we’ve been seeking.
Putting our wellbeing first not a selfish act, it’s very much on the contrary.
On a plane when safety instructions are read out they always tell us to put our own seat belt and oxygen mask on first.
Before we do anything for anyone else.
I see it the same with our health and wellbeing.
We can only show up with what we have.
We can only give what we’ve got.
If we are running on an empty tank physically or mentally, or both, we cannot possibly be of value and service to the people around us.
By having more we get to give more.
The fact is that our health is the table that everything else sits on.
It’s the foundation for everything else in our lives.
Without it nothing else matters.
If the table isn’t strong we can’t place much weight on it.
If the table collapses everything else goes down with it.
Many of us have it around the other way.
We will find the time to move our bodies, go to the gym, spend quality time with friends, take a hike, start the meditation, begin the journal only once we have the resources and time around all those other things that are on the table.
This was the biggest turning point for me.
Recognising this some years back profoundly changed my life for the better.
I realised after many years that I was putting everything else I ‘needed’ to do first.
Living much of my life on autopilot.
Fulfilling constant demands of others.
Chasing hard the things I thought I ‘should’ be chasing.
That everyone else appeared to be doing.
This came at a heavy price.
My health and wellbeing suffered.
I wasn’t putting myself first.
Many sleep broken nights and days filled with stress, fatigue and worry.
I wasn’t giving my body or my mind the things it needed.
Strength, nutrients, calm, rest.
After much of my twenties in this state I realised it couldn’t be sustainable.
I had to make a change.
I realised that nothing in my life would be stable if my mind and body were unstable.
I recognised that it wasn’t just myself who would suffer but also those around me.
When I wasn’t good for me I was certainly no good for them.
When I was better for me, I was better for them.
This was the shift I needed.
Making my health and wellbeing my number one value and priority.
Giving it more meaning. Making it a purpose.
By doing better by ourselves we are doing better by everyone else.
A rising tide lifts all boats.
As Gandhi said, “If you want to change the world, start with you...
Things I’m learning
Thinking ahead.
"Focus on the seeds, not the trees. What seeds are you planting today?" - James Clear
Why we should walk and walk some more.
Albert Einstein put it this way: I take time to go for long walks on the beach so that I can listen to what is going on inside my head. If my work isn’t going well, I lie down in the middle of a workday and gaze at the ceiling while I listen and visualise what goes on in my imagination.
Mozart felt the same way: When I am traveling in a carriage or walking after a good meal or during the night when I cannot sleep - it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. - Morgan Housel
Life is what we pay attention to.
“Satisfaction comes not from chasing bigger and bigger things, but paying attention to smaller and smaller things.” - Arthur Brooks
Question
Where could you invest more into your life? Your health, relationships, work, personal development? Which of these would most likely pay off the most in the long term?
That’s all for this week.
Thank you as ever for reading.
With love, Nick. x
P.S To keep up to date with all things Running Minds follow here :)
P.P.S. My new Public Speaking workshop is live! Book yours now.