A Bit Of A Boost: Recent Episodes
George Anderson
Sometimes we all need a bit of a boost. A boost of energy, a boost of motivation, a boost of positivity. In A Bit Of A Boost, wellbeing and performance expert George Anderson shares ideas and strategies to give you the boost you need.
Drawing on 2 decades of experience as a personal trainer, wellbeing, performance and mindset coach, George offers new perspectives and practical tips, and introduces an exciting lineup of guests who share their own personal go-to methods of boosting their wellbeing.
A Bit Of A Boost aims to equip you with the tools and resources you need to boost your motivation, energy and mindset, and bridge the gap between knowing and doing as you move from information to implementation.
You can find out more about George on his website at https://bygeorgeanderson.com/podcast, follow him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachgeorgeanderson and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/coachgeorgeanderson
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
My guest today is the Chief Nutrition Officer at Simple app, and founder of Fertility Dietitian UK, Ro Huntress.
Her background as an NHS dietitian where she specialised in diabetes and weight management has given her a wealth of insights into what really works and more importantly how to make necessary changes to your diet.
I didn’t want to talk to Ro about just general nutrition, but more what she has noticed about the impact that ‘health tech’ such as the Simple app can have on our long term results and consistency.
In this episode we talk about…
- What the data say about whether we should be weighing every day or a maximum of once a week
- Why time-restricted eating isn’t restrictive at all
- The staircase of weight loss
- What gets you started won’t keep you going
- The link between app engagement and consistency
...and a whole lot more.
Ro is deeply knowledgeable about this topic and one of her other core areas of research and work is in the world of fertility where she her platform has become an indispensable tool for many couples trying to conceive.
You can find out more about Ro's work on her websites and social media:
simple.life
dietitianro.co.uk
fertilitydietitian.co.uk
instagram.com/dietitianro
instagram.com/fertility.dietitian.uk
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
Today’s guest on the podcast is performance and resilience expert Charlie Cannon.
Charlie is a coach, speaker and author who I truly admire for the way he blends his personal story with lessons and simple frameworks.
I was keen to get him on the podcast because every time we speak we always end up having really interesting discussions so I’m delighted to bring you a flavour of some of that today.
We talk about how to cultivate resilience through self-awareness and what it really means to be able to adapt to change.
Charlie’s own story is fascinating and inspiring and I ask him about how his own perspectives have developed over time.
With his background as a personal trainer we were always going to share similar philosophies around the connection between resilience, mindset and performance, and physical wellbeing.
So it was good to swap stories and experiences of sharing these messages with people over a number of years.
Our conversation takes us all over the place, including into the territory of values and purpose which to me are the foundation of resilience.
Charlie has the kind of energy that you can really feel when you listen to him, so I know that today’s episode will give you a bit of a boost!
Connect with Charlie:
https://charliecannon.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-cannon
I hear a lot of people talking about the non-negotiables in their lives, usually habits around exercise or sleep or other areas of wellbeing that make a huge difference in their lives.
And whilst I am clearly an advocate of having these routines, I don't personally have any 'non-negotiables' with any of them.
I was asked what my non-negotiables were in a recent panel discussion at a wellbeing event, and figured why not share my thoughts on the topic here as well :)
In this short episode I talk / ramble about:
- Why I don't have non-negotiables
- The difference between a STANDARD and a non-negotiable
- The importance of TOLERANCE
- Why our habits should SERVE you and not ENSLAVE you
- Why it's better to be DELAYED with your progress rather than DERAILED
If you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn where I post some of these musings through the week, it would be great to see you over there...
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachgeorgeanderson
And if you have a corporate event coming up that you think could benefit from a bit of a boost, drop me a line and find out about my masterclasses and conference keynotes!
Today I am delighted to welcome on the show co-founder of Huel and nutritionist of over 30 years, James Collier!
James recently published his first book - Well Fed - which is a very different kind of nutrition book where he introduces the idea of Contemplative Nutrition.
In our conversation today we get into the 5 pillars that underpin this food philosophy, and some of the challenges that I know clients of mine have struggled with over the years.
One of the major challenges is the amount of conflicting and misinformation readily available, with social media influencers hard at work to earn their sponsorships, and just the vast number of different approaches you can take with nutrition.
We talk about how to navigate this sea of information and decide what’s right for you and your family.
One of my favourite things was discovering where the word ‘lunch’ comes from, and how our culture of 3 square meals a day is rarely questioned despite not always being optimal.
Even the etymology of the word ‘culture’ comes up as James is a self-confessed word geek, and I promise you the links he makes are both fascinating and insightful.
We talk about Huel itself, ultra processed foods, balance, mindful and intuitive eating and a whole lot more.
Make sure you check out James’ book Well Fed and follow him on all the socials:
Well Fed (Amazon.co.uk)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescollierrnutr
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamescollierrnutr
Jim Rohn tells us that 'we are the average of the 5 people we spend most of our time with', so are you actively seeking out the 'right' kind of person to be around?
If you have goals that require you to develop different habits, skills, beliefs or even sense of identity, then getting around other people who normalise these behaviours and beliefs is going to make it easier.
People, communities, physical spaces and even your inner environment can be curated to help you stay on track with your goals.
This episode looks at a few examples and I share some personal stories including how the episode topic was inspired by a conversation with Penny Mallory, a previous guest on this podcast from September 2022!
I also mention LinkedIn in this episode and invite you to connect with me over there, which you can do so by visiting:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachgeorgeanderson
I’m joined on the show today by a senior director of customer success at the software company, ServiceNow, Damien Davis.
I haven’t known Damien for long but whenever we have spoken I’ve come away feeling like I’ve had a bit of a boost so it just made sense to invite him on the podcast!
Damien shares stories of both triumph and tragedy.
We talk about perspective, impact and workplace culture, Mental health and wellbeing, and the challenges of integrating these into a high pressure role that involves International travel.
Our conversation does also touch on the topic of suicide
Damien really is a positive energy radiator, and I hope that listening to this conversation will give you a bit of a boost!
Connect with Damien on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/damiendavisuk
A lot of conversations with clients and audiences recently have been about consistency.
Starting a new habit is one thing, sustaining it takes a whole other set of strategies.
This episode gives a few insights about how to achieve this, and find a level of consistency that keeps you on track for continual progress.
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Why small actions can make a big difference
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The anatomy of a habit and what that's important for consistency
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How to avoid being Derailed by slip ups
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Creating habits that serve rather than enslave you
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Why it is essential to acknowledge the wins along the way
If consistency is one of your priorities for this year then this episode may be just what you need for a bit of a boost!
I’m joined today by the chief operating officer at Genistar - one of the fastest growing financial services companies in the UK - Michael Cody.
But you’re not going to hear us talking about financial services, or even his role as a COO, but you are going to hear about his incredible transformation over the last few years.
At the end of 2020 Michael weighed over 32 stone - that’s 451 pounds or 204 kg and a BMI of over 60.
Today he weighs under 18 stone, having lost - or as he puts it - ‘released’ - over 14 stone which is just about how much I weigh and I’m not particularly light.
The real gold in this conversation isn’t the mechanics by which Michael achieved this, but the mindset he has adopted that has allowed him to be so consistent.
We talk about identity and beliefs, the way you speak to yourself, self-compassion, being intentional, self-leadership and sovereignty, the importance of your environment, and designing systems into your life that allow you to succeed.
Michael shares the impact that this has had on so many areas of his life, and of course I ask him about his energy and how he feels since adopting new habits and upgrading his life systems.
This interview is packed with wisdom and inspiration and yes, some of the actual changes that Michael made in order to lose the weight but that really is secondary to the deeper inner work that I hope this inspires for you as well.
You may not be on a weight loss journey but the principles of mindset changes when you embark on any major goal are relevant regardless of the context.
Happy 2025!
It's the time of year when a lot of people will be setting New Year resolutions, even though they have a spectacularly high failure rate!
In this episode I discuss the difference between goals and resolutions (and why the confusion between the two is often partly to blame for the failure), and share some top tips for setting resolutions that stick.
Some people say that you shouldn't need to wait for January to bring about change in your life but if it's done the right way it can be the perfect time for it!
I'm looking forward to resuming regular episodes with interviews and more solo podcasts, and hopefully there'll be something in there to give you a bit of a boost.
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
I went to the National Sales Conference in June and one of the highlights for me was seeing Jim Steele delivering his keynote.
Jim is described as a ‘holistic performance strategist’ and as soon as the conference ended I was straight over to invite him on the show!
This conversation was a real treat for me as bounced around ideas for high performance, motivation and wellbeing, many of which are described in more detail in Jim’s book ‘Unashamedly Superhuman’.
We talk about a wide range of topics including:
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The simple formula for performance - event plus response - outcome.
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The importance of active recovery and mental fitness.
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The link between our mindset and the conditions we find ourselves in, and the 4 quadrants of performance.
Jim also explains what he means by ‘unashamedly superhuman, and shares some of his favourite tools that he uses personally as he strives towards this.
There is a ton of great ideas and insights in this episode but if you’ve not had enough by the end of it make sure you check out Jim’s website hplab.co.uk, the book itself and some of the other resources and courses he offers.
Follow Jim's work on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jswsteele
Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119828511
Website: https://hplab.co.uk
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
My guest on today’s show is Cath Bishop, a personal trainer and women's wellness coach who has a deep passion and commitment to self-healing.
We get into a number of different topics in our conversation today, including inflammation, menopause, fibromyalgia and plant-based nutrition.
Cath shares some really practical ways to reduce inflammation and why it can be beneficial, and some of the other ways that she works with her clients to help them boost their wellbeing and energy.
She has a brand new online wellness programme – the ‘Complete Body Reboot’ - which specifically helps menopausal women regain control of their health, as well as live lunchtime workouts and a whole range of other useful resources on her website
I think you’ll find today’s episode interesting and uplifting, and packed with ideas to give you a bit of a boost.
Connect with Cath on all the socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MenopauseResetCath
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/menopause.reset
Website: https://www.menopause-reset.com/online-wellness-programme
Reboot30 Live workouts: https://www.menopause-reset.com/live-lunchtime-home-workouts
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
10 years ago I was mid-way through running 10 marathons in 10 days and it felt fitting that I record an episode on the topic this week as I reflect on this challenge.
There were 10 big lessons that I took away from this challenge that I recorded soon afterwards, and reading back over them recently made me realise how many of them I have ingrained into my life.
This episode delves into each of these lessons and how they apply to a variety of different aspects of life beyond running or sports, and then as I went to upload the episode I realised that I did actually record a similar episode about 2.5 years ago!
The one that seems to resonate in particular is 'you can only run the road that you're on', hence the name of this particular episode.
So here we have it, my updated version, possibly with a few new reflections in case you're feeling short changed by having a repeat topic to listen to!
Welcome to A Bit Of A Boost, I'm George Anderson, a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
I recently returned from a week away with the family and a couple of people asked if I exercise whilst I'm away, or put my feet up and relax.
The short answer is 'both', but the longer answer is this 16 minute podcast episode!
Listen in to find out about my personal approach to training whilst on holiday / vacation.
I hope this episode gives you a bit of a boost!
You know how important mindset is to you approach to challenges and other situations, but how do you go about improving it?
It's about more than 'being more positive', and the more awareness and understanding you have about your mindset the easier it becomes to start making changes that will benefit you.
In this episode I describe the 4 Peak Performance Mindsets, how to spot them and what you can do to start developing them.
I have developed a free self-diagnostic tool you can use to determine your Performance Mindset Score, and see how you are doing for each of them 4 Mindsets individually.
bygeorganderson.scoreapp.com
This will give you a starting point to start developing them in day to day situations, so that they become your defauly mode of operation.
There is also a brand new Mindset Boost program available on the Boost Wellbeing & Performance app, that guides you through the process of strengthening each of the 4 Mindsets:
bygeorgeanderson.com/mindset-boost
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
I’m delighted to welcome back to the show one of my favourite guests, David Robson who previously joined me back in February last year after I had read his book The Expectation Effect.
I’ve just finished reading his latest book and I think you’ll find our conversation about it today both interesting and informative.
The book is called The Laws Of Connection and is really a play book for how we can build deeper and more meaningful relationships with the people around us, and also some of the more unexpected benefits from doing so.
David also unpacks some of the research that shows how we may be better at socialising than we may think, talking about phenomena such as the Liking Gap.
Of course, I highly recommend you have a read of the book itself which is out this week, but in this podcast we get into several of the 13 strategies and learn many new things:
- how asking for help benefits you and the person you’re asking
- how to express gratitude and pay compliments effectively
- and why a strong social network even improves our ability to fight off illness.
I think you’re going to enjoy this one, so get ready for a bit of a boost!
The book is available on Amazon and all good book stores.
Read more about David on his website here: https://davidrobson.me
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
After a short break from the podcast I'm back, with a look at INNER performance... what it is, how to measure it, and how and why to improve it.
Usually when we think about performance our thoughts run to the external markers; the KPIs at work, the times we run or the weight we lift in our training, or generally the results we're getting in life.
But all of these are outcomes that are influenced by our inner performance.
Your focus, clarity, empathy, mindset, optimism, energy... all of these (and many more) elements will have an impact on your behaviours which in turn largely dictates your results.
If you're enjoying A Bit Of A Boost and would like to leave a review or rating, I would very much appreciate the support. Equally if you give the show a follow or subscribe and share your favourite episodes with your friends, all of this helps me to spread the word and reach more people.
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
My guest on today’s podcast is author of the book The Curveball, Colby Sharma.
Colby shares his own personal story of growing up and having to overcome adversity, and how this experience lead him on the path not only succeed in his education and a career in law, but ultimately to become a real motivator and expert in resilience.
During the course of our conversation we get into the 4 central messages in his book, and what I love about the way Colby describes them is the way he makes them so practical.
It’s very easy to think of resilience as quite an abstract quality, that we maybe know we should have more of or be better at, but how exactly do we do that?
We talk about breaking big challenges down into manageable steps, how to get better at controlling our response to difficult situations, prioritising the rituals that lead to our best performance and building a team around us that can support us through anything.
We both end up sharing personal experiences through the course of our conversation, and some interesting insights came through for me right here within the interview which was a reminder in case I needed it that we are all always learning.
Colby's book 'The Curveball' is available from Amazon:
https://amzn.eu/d/2xPW83L
Connect with Colby on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/colbysharma
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
Today we discuss strengths... not the 'strengths and weaknesses' where you should 'work on your weaknesses to turn them into your strengths', but the elements of your character that you may or not already be aware of are something of a super power.
I talk a lot about strengths with my clients and in presentations, and there's a free tool you can use to identify your top 5 'Signature Strengths'.
If you head over to https://viacharacter.org you can take the free survey and I encourage you to do so (after listening to today's episode of course!)
The 24 Character Strengths are grouped into 6 categories:
Wisdom
1) Creativity 2) Curiosity 3) Open-mindedness 4) Love of learning 5) Perspective
Courage
6) Honesty 7) Bravery 8) Persistence 9) Zest
Humanity
10) Kindness 11) Love 12) Social intelligence
Justice
13) Fairness 14) Leadership 15) Teamwork
Temperance
16) Forgiveness 17) Humility 18) Prudence 19) Self-regulation
Transcendence
20) Appreciation of beauty 21) Gratitude 22) Hope 23) Humor 24) Spirituality
We all have all of these strengths, but some come more naturally to us than others and it's the top 5 that we're really interested in.
If you can find ways to harness and use these strengths more, you can elevate your wellbeing, performance and impact in almost any aspect of your life.
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
I came across some research recently about the impact of open water swimming on menopause symptoms, and was delighted when the study author Professor Joyce Harper accepted my invitation to join me on the podcast to discuss it.
Having had an overwhelmingly positive response to a previous episode on menopause with Catherine O’Keeffe I know this is a topic that many of you are interested in so I was excited to get into the topic again.
Joyce Harper is an award winning Professor of Reproductive Science at the Institute for Women’s Health, University College London.
She has worked in the fields of fertility, genetics, reproductive health and women’s health for over 30 years, is author of the book ‘Your Fertile Years’ and host of the ‘Why didn’t anyone tell me this?’ podcast.
You can find out more about Joyce and her work at joyceharper.com
Purchase a copy of Your Fertile Years on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/152935627X
Listen to Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me This on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Etr1ygKlT7aLgrW4B0fyg
Link to research and Joyce Harper’s academic profile: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/jan/cold-water-swimming-improves-menopause-symptoms
I was fortunate enough to attend the recent World Happiness Summit (WOHASU) in London a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share a couple of takeaways from the event along with some more general observations about what comes up when I ask the question 'what does happiness mean to you?'
The strapline of the conference was 'Wellbeing is the Purpose' which gives a clue about at least one of the dimensions, but what does this really mean and how important is it that we find our purpose?
That's one topic that I get into in today's episode, along with the 2 different timescales that we can think about happiness in - short term moment by moment 'positive affect' happiness, and longer term life satisfaction.
Hopefully today's episode all about happiness will give you a bit of a boost!
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
There's a 'mild to moderate controversy warning' for today’s episode, as we get into the topic of stretching… not ‘the best ways to stretch’, but exploring the question ‘should we be stretching at all?’
As trainers we're taught the importance of stretching as part of a warm up routine to help avoid injury and to enhance the performance of your body during the workout.
Then at the end it’s essential to stretch the muscles to return them to their original length, reducing muscle soreness and tightness the next day.
Then of course it’s important to include developmental stretches in your routine so you can increase your joint range of motion and maintain flexibility through your life.
My guest today is Ryan Phillips, a personal trainer and Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) expert and in 2008 we sat side by side in our very first seminar on MAT at a fitness convention where we learned that maybe all wasn’t as it seemed with these so-called ‘rules’ about stretching.
For me it was interesting, for Ryan it was the start of a long journey into his education in MAT, and a successful practice that he now combines with personal training.
In our conversation today we start off by talking about some of the changes we’ve both seen in the fitness industry over the last 2 decades, and get into a topic I find fascinating which is why some people are ‘low responders’ to different types of exercise.
If you’ve ever wondered why some people get far better results than others despite doing the exact same training, this will give you some interesting insights!
And then we really get into MAT, what it is and even some simple ways you can start applying the principles today.
We discuss why, if stretching is so ineffective - or even BAD for us - it can feel so good?
Ryan explains what’s actually happening to our muscles and joints when we stretch, and the role the nervous system has to play in muscle tightness.
Ryan is a true master of the work that he does and his Instagram page @muscleactivation is packed with education, case studies and tip to help you move better, get stronger and reduce injuries.
Have a go at some of the exercises and movements that Ryan suggests during our interview, and notice what a difference it makes.
As well as Instagram, you can connect with Ryan and find out more about his 'Get Activated™️ Programme of Isometrics' on his website:
https://www.phillips-fit-brighton.co.uk/get-activated
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Some of the research that Ryan mentioned in our interview is listed here:
Stretching myth 1 - stretching improves your sporting performance: A 60 second stretch before a vertical jump test reduced performance (jump height) by 3.4% http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24936897 Static stretching before running slowed down the initial 100m pace and jump height was reduced by over 9% http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24905918 http://img2.timg.co.il/forums/1_150249330.pdf https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/Chronic_Effects_of_Static_and_Dynamic_Stretching.94938.aspx Stretching myth 2 - stretching helps to prevent injuries: A meta analysis of 60 different randomized control trials showed that stretching had no benefit to injury prevention what so ever. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24370993 Stretching myth 3 - stretching before/after exercise reduces muscle soreness: No significant reductions in DOMS by stretching before/after exercise. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21735398 Stretching myth 4 - stretching increases range of motion in people with limited mobility due to contractures (chronically tight muscles): "Stretch does not have clinically important effects on joint mobility in people with, or at risk of, contractures if performed for less than seven months. The effects of stretch performed for periods longer than seven months have not been investigated." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20824861 Stretching myth 5 - stretching your muscles makes them longer: "After 6 weeks of static stretching, no structural change in muscle length was detected despite a significant increase in range of motion which can only be explained as being a change in tolerance to the stretch." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24856792 Also, no structural change in fascial length after stretching: http://www.jelectromyographykinesiology.com/article/S1050-6411(15)00063-2/abstract?elsca1=etoc&elsca2=email&elsca3=1050-6411_201506_25_3_&elsca4=Orthopaedics
Despite change being an inevitable part of life, it can cause quite a headache when it comes at us and feels like it's happening TO us.
I've covered this topic a few times on the podcast and many of my guests have mentioned it also, so today we're going to look at some of the reasons behind why it can be such a struggle, and 5 self-coaching questions to ask to help you feel more confident as you work through it.
Welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
My guest today is described as a Mother, Marketer, Mariner, Motivator.
Felicity Ashley has an incredible and inspiring story and I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing her for this episode and extracting some of the lessons
Whenever I speak to somebody like Felicity, what interests me most isn’t just the things that have happened but how they have responded to them.
You and I may never have a hip replacement in our early 40s, decide to row across an Ocean or have a potentially life changing medical diagnosis, but we will have our own versions of these challenges and there’s so much we can take from how others like Felicity - whose story includes all of these episodes - have responded to them.
Make sure you take a look at Felicity’s website felicityashley.com and follow her on the socials for more of her inspiration but for now, I hope this conversation gives you a bit of a boost.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicityashley
https://www.instagram.com/mothership_twac
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Connect with me:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachgeorgeanderson
https://bygeorgeanderson.com
I speak at conferences, away days and bespoke events on wellbeing and performance-related topics - email george@bygeorgeanderson.com to schedule a call to find out more!
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
i’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
Today I want to discuss an experience that all of us will have had, and no doubt will continue to have in one form or another - and that is disappointment.
We'll look at what disappointment is, what can cause, what happens in our brain and body, and how we can rethink it so that it becomes something that fires us up rather than crushes us down.
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
My guest today brings with her a combination of deep wisdom and powerful mindset messages, all underpinned with a truly inspirational story.
I’m delighted to welcome the host of Mindset Kitchen, Dajana Paliokaite to the podcast to share her story and unpack some of the lessons she has learned over the years.
We talk about navigating change, both the kind that you intentionally bring into your life, and the kind that happens to you.
Dajana talks about how she dealt with the grief of losing her husband to cancer at a young age, including how she connected to the spirit world and trained as a medium, which opened up some really interesting insights.
On her own show Mindset Kitchen she asks her guests to share their 3 mindset messages and I was lucky enough to be invited on recently to share mine - make sure you check out that episode to find out what they were!
What was clear from the conversations I’ve had with her in the lead up to our episode and this podcast is that she has plenty of her own powerful and positive messages and she shares many of them with us today.
As well as exploring her approach to grief and all the change that came with losing someone, I ask her about how she built the vision and belief for something like Mindset Kitchen, given that she had no experience, connections or any sort of a clear plan of how to get there - her previous career was in investment banking which couldn’t be further away from what she is doing now.
Dajana talks about how she built this belief and some of the stumbling blocks and challenges she had to overcome along the way.
Towards the end of the podcast I ask her what’s next, having realised the initial vision of bringing Mindset Kitchen to life. She describes her goal of having the show turned into a production for Netflix and discussed the importance of being clear about what you want and communicating that to people around you.
Some will laugh or try to tell you why you can't do it, others will support and encourage you, and one or two might just be able to give you practical help and connect you with somebody who can help you on your way.
I’m excited to share this conversation with you today, and I know that it will give you a bit of a boost!
Connect with Dajana on her Mindset Kitchen website (subscribe to her emails) >>
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When you think about resilience, mindset or mental toughness it's important not to see them as fixed qualities but rather attributes that you can develop - or cultivate.
In this episode I explore this simple idea and look at the many ways we have to do just that, through deliberate day to day actions that we are in control of and then reframing situations where we perhaps feel less in control.
I believe that there's practical application of this idea for all of us so as you listen think about how you could apply it to your own life.
Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
On today’s episode I welcome to the show a lady who’s sports nutrition books I have been reading for over 20 years.
Anita Bean is a registered nutritionist, health writer and author and as well as writing over 20 books and hundreds of articles has been a lifelong advocate of strength training and became the British bodybuilding champion in 1991.
She has worked with the British Olympic Association, London Marathon, Swim England and Ride London, and I met her a few weeks ago after seeing her keep a huge audience engaged on the main stage at the National Running Show in Birmingham.
In our interview I asked her about the major shifts in our understanding of sports and performance nutrition, which opened up conversations about intermittent fasting, the role and importance of carbs, supplements, plant-based eating and gut health.
Talking to Anita was a reminder of the importance of checking in with the latest research when making decisions about our approach to key elements of our wellbeing like nutrition.
The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition has had 9 editions since she first published it in 1993, demonstrating Anita’s dedication to bringing the latest scientific consensus to you and I in a way that’s both easy to understand and put into practice.
She shares some great insights in this episode so get ready for a bit of a boost!
Visit Anita's website to find out more about her work and books
https://anitabean.co.uk
Connect on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/anitabean1
Welcome to A Bit Of A Boost; I'm George Anderson and I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
Today's solo episode shares a simple strategy that may help you in those moments when you feel you're lacking motivation: take action FIRST!
Putting action ahead of the need for motivation can have a surprising effect, and although some may call it simply lying to yourself, I've found it to be an effective method of getting more done even when I don't really want to.
Often on A Bit Of A Boost I have guests who are experts in their field, sometimes guests share their inspirational stories, and other times I invite people who have developed certain wellbeing and performance strategies that they are effectively using in their every day personal and professional lives.
Today’s episode is one such person: Sukhraj Takhar, who is the non-financial risk director at Direct Line Group.
I interviewed Sukhraj for another piece of work I was involved with and felt that his philosophy and approach to his life was something that I wanted to share with you.
So I’m delighted that he’s come back to delve deeper into some of our conversation about wellbeing and high performance and some of the habits he has adopted over the years.
One of the main topics that we get into in today’s podcast is meditation.
Sukhraj describes the unexpected influence that got him started, some of the challenges faced by many when it comes to incorporating it a regular practice, the techniques involved and the benefits that keep him coming back to it as an essential daily ritual.
We cover other topics such as self-awareness, metacognition & cognition, identity and having better conversations.
This is a fascinating conversation that I was delighted to be able to record and share with you, and if you'd like to connect with Sukhraj you can find him on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sukhraj-takhar-3ab02526
Today's episode draws on a couple of themes from previous episodes, in particular the interview with Dave Robson on his book 'The Expectation Effect' (13th February 2023), and the episode on optimism from 19th February 2021, and gets into the topic of self-talk and beliefs.
Beliefs impact thoughts, emotions, behaviours and even physiology and so it makes sense to pay attention to what you're paying attention to.
I'm joined on the podcast today by love and relationship coach Heather Garbutt to talk about the 5 Love Languages (and the additional 6th that Heather also talks about).
Love Languages is the work of marriage counselor Dr Gary Chapman published in his 1992 book and Heather integrates it into the work she does with individuals and couples as part of her psycotherapy practice.
It's not just romantic love from a partner, but also from parent to child or even appreciation between colleagues at work.
This is a really interesting topic because it gets right into what’s at the heart of all relationships which is communication.
We talk about expectations, assumptions, and of course the inner narrative that accompanies all of the beliefs we hold about what people should be doing or how we should be acting.
If this is the first time you’ve come across the Love Languages I’m sure there will be many lightbulb moments as you listen to our conversation, and if you’re already familiar I’d encourage you to listen to the discussion against the backdrop of some of your own relationships.
You can find out more about Heather and her work on her website https://heathergarbutt.com or visit her LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-garbutt-44a62b22
How you talk to yourself matters and having a few set phrases to say to yourself can act like your inner coach who kicks you into action.
Through 2024 I will be publishing a number of short episodes with ideas, insights or thoughts that you may be able to apply in your own life.
Today's episode gets into the topic of mantras, and how they can be potent triggers to take a pre-agreed course of action.
My guest on today's episode - the first of 2024 - is a very special friend of mine, Heather Barrett.
Over the years we have had so many conversations where we've got to the end and said 'we should have recorded that!', so I'm delighted to have finally managed to do exactly that.
Heather is an executive coach and author, and over the years she's been my go-to whenever I'm stuck, struggling or have an idea I want to develop.
One of the things I was keen to talk to Heather about for this podcast was her deep sense of intuition which has always been something that has intrigued me.
I wanted to dig into this and find out how she developed it to become one of her superpowers, and how the rest of us can do so as well.
This was the first 'long form' podcast that I have recorded, and we covered a lot of ground in the 2.5 hours that we talked for.
Although intuition was the main topic I wanted to explore it lead us to talk about the following as well:
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Setting intentions
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Giving yourself permission
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Vulnerability and self-compassion
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Gremlins and negative self-talk
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Creating an infrastructure for success
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Consistency
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Underestimating the things that come most easily to us
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Creating boundaries
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Finding purpose
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Imposter Syndrome
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Comfort zones
I hope you enjoy this episode and that my conversation with Heather gives you a bit of a boost!
Every year I've had some process for looking back over the previous 12 months and then setting goals and making plans for the next 12.
This year I developed a new framework and it's one that I'll be using much more frequently through the year.
The 5Rs are Review > Reflect > Reconnect > Refine > Realign
In this episode I describe each element, why it's important and how to use it as part of an annual check in and also through the year.
Whatever your 2023 has been like I hope you're looking forward to and lining up for a big 2024, and I'll be right here alongside you ready with A Bit Of A Boost when you need it!
It's been a couple of months since the last episode of A Bit Of A Boost and I'm keen to get things back to a regular schedule again!
If you've ever found a good habit drift away to the point where it's no longer there, then this episode contains some questions to ask yourself that could help get you back on track.
I have a very special guest on the show today, somebody who’s research I have been following for a number of years and that is having a tremendous impact on creating better places to work around the world.
Professor Christina Maslach is a social psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and has been studying burnout for over 4 decades.
When we think about engagement, burnout, or wellbeing at work it would be impossible to do so without getting into some of the areas that Christina and her team have explored and researched over the years.
With the focus on these topics becoming ever stronger the work that Christina has done to put the challenges and ideas into frameworks and models that make them easier to understand and take action on has become even more important.
Her latest book ‘The Burnout Challenge’ lays down these frameworks and explains how we can start to take action on an individual basis to support our wellbeing and engagement at work, but more importantly what leaders and managers can do to create the environments that will enable their teams to thrive.
In our conversation today we talk about the 3 dimensions of burnout and the 6 'job-person mismatches' that could predict our tendency towards disengagement and burnout.
Christina shares examples and suggests starting points for how we can start to bring about change in teams and organisations regardless of size and whether they are remote, hybrid or back in the office.
Our conversation is the tip of the iceberg and I strongly encourage anybody with an interest in driving engagement in their teams to get a hold of The Burnout Challenge, read it thoroughly and start to take action!
The Burnout Challenge > https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burnout-Challenge-Managing-Peoples-Relationships/dp/0674251016
Christina Maslach profile > https://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/christina-maslach
I love the expression ‘success leaves clues’ and today I get to talk to a man who has plenty of these clues to share!
So often we look at people who are already achieving what we want to achieve - whether that’s in their careers, personal life or with their physical wellbeing - and focus on the results that they’re getting.
This can be inspirational, but it can also lead to comparison, or a sense of not-enough-ness, which ultimately has the opposite effect to motivating or instructing us.
Paul Avins is a business coach and mentor specialising in helping already successful entrepreneurs and business owners to scale up, and become even more successful.
As you can imagine, he’s made a few observations over the years about some of the habits and approaches that high performers have in common, and has integrated many of these into his own day to day philosophy.
We talk about mindset and attitude, habits and routines, energy and flow, and Paul also shares some of his own personal story which incredibly includes a rather pivotal wake up call 9 years ago after coming very close to death.
I was particularly excited about recording this interview with Paul because later this week - depending on when you’re listening! - I’ll be speaking at one of his mastermind events and this is another topic we get into during our conversation today.
Paul regularly shares valuable content on LinkedIn so that's the place to follow and connect with him: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulavins
For longer video content check out his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@paulavins
His main website is https://www.paulavins.com and for a free 90 minute masterclass visit
https://www.scaleupmasterclass.co.uk
Following a bit of a break from the podcast over the last few weeks I have a new series of interviews and solo episodes lined up.
But first though I thought I'd start with a topic that's always top of my mind around this time of year (September - though it's relevant whenever you're listening to it!): resetting your 'environments'.
We have several environments that I touch on in this episode; notably the internal and external ones.
Every year as a personal trainer I saw a significant increase in enquiries in September as the chaos of summer gives way to a more structured and predictable few months to the end of the year.
It's like the new year, but without the pressure.
A good time to make a few changes, reclaim a few good habits and get set for some change.
I've personally I've always found it a good time to review goals, make plans and get organised, which itself can lead to a nice boost of motivation.
So in today's episode we get into this topic, and some of the things you might want to consider.
I would also love to hear from you if you have suggestions for future episodes. Books you may have read and want to know more about, challenges you've been experiencing, things you've heard about but don't fully understand...
Drop me a line at george@bygeorgeanderson.com or connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachgeorgeanderson and let me know!
I hope you enjoy this episode and that it gives you a bit of a boost!
“I know what to do, but I just don’t do it!”
If you’ve ever found yourself saying these words to yourself then you’re not alone. With so many things that you could be doing to help boost your physical and mental wellbeing, it can feel overwhelming when there’s no structure.
This episode outlines a series of points in the day where a set of behaviours can be turned into routines, rituals and habits that have a positive impact for minimum effort. The idea isn’t to try and do them all, but rather to find the ones you think will be sustainable and have the biggest difference.
Pick 5-10 new things that you want to try and add in, then set up a tracker so you can note your progress. Don’t worry about missing a few days here and there, but try to build up a picture of the changes you are making and what differences you’re noticing.
You can download a copy of the notes for this episode with all of the habits and behaviours briefly described by visiting the website bygeorgeanderson.com/podcast
This is a direct download with no email-opt-in required, though whilst you're over there you wish to sign up to my occasional email musings anyway!
If you've ever found yourself at a fork in the road, needing to make a decision - or the default of NOT making one - then this strategy might come in handy.
It's a simple thought exercise that can bring clarity to the decision, and ensure that you won't look back at a later date with regrets.
Hindsight can mess with our memories and what seems obvious now we assume must have been obvious back when we made our choice.
This method prevents this from happening and can help give you the confidence to make the call.
If you've ever thought to yourself "I wish I'd been more confident!", or "I shouldn't have got so angry...", then being more intentional could help shake you out of your default reaction patterns.
In this short solo episode I share some of the ways that being intentional can help you show up as your best self more consistently, and improve the way that other people (and you!) experiences you.
We take abstract 'showing up words' and turn them into real world demonstrations of how you want to be, and look at a number of different scenarios where this technique can be helpful.
Being intentional is like an antidote to autopilot as it makes you more mindful and deliberate about the way you choose to respond. You won't always get it perfect, but being intentional vastly increases your chances!
The world of wellbeing has changed a lot in the 20 years that I've been professionally involved in it. One of the biggest areas of development has been in the science and research, driven by the relatively new area of positive psychology.
My guest on today's episode spent 12 years researching the subject of happiness and positive psychology for his PhD and he shares some of what he learned in that time.
Dr Andy Cope - AKA The Doctor Of Happiness, AKA Dr Happy - lives and breathes the practical applications of the science to our every day lives.
Much of what we intuitively knew about how we should be taking care of ourselves has been proven through numerous studies, and one of the most exciting developments has been the shift towards happiness as a 'performance enhancer'.
We have more energy, we’re more creative, more productive, more resilient and concentrate better when we’re happy, but is it as simple as just deciding that’s how we’re going to be?
Andy and I get into this topic, as well as what happiness really means, and what is it that differentiates what he calls the ‘2 percenters’ when it comes to performance.
Andy has written numerous books for adults and children (including the Spy Dog series!), and is the host of the Art Of Brilliance podcast.
https://www.artofbrilliance.co.uk
Setting big goals is the bread and butter of ambitious people. But when you are solely focused on 'what's next', it can push happiness out to a future that keeps moving further away.
On the other hand, you may not want to 'play small' and get too content with what you have in case it diminshes your drive and ambition to become all that you can.
So how do we tackle this conundrum?
My guest on today's episode is Kate Trafford, a coach, speaker and author of the book 'Get There, Love Here! The busy professional's guide to authentic, enjoyable success'.
Kate helps successful professionals wrestle with these seemingly opposing attitudes and helps her today she shares some of her insights.
We talk about authenticicy (and what it really means), purpose, courage and character strengths, and why for some people 'getting there and loving here' may require a change of job or even career, for most of us it can be achieved with a few tweaks to the current role.
A lot of the conversation today is about quite high level thinky topics, but Kate brings it back to practical steps we can take to boost happiness in the present whilst accelerating towards our most meaningful goals.
Connect with Kate on LinkedIn here (https://www.linkedin.com/in/katetrafford) or check out her website where you can buy her highly recommended book (https://www.katetrafford.com).
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Get-There-Love-Here-professionals/dp/1912300869
Continuing our series of interviews with people out there in the real world using their powers of resilience, wellbeing, mindset and motivation in their day to day jobs, this week we have Gökhan Nazenin, the MD Europe at Paycore.
We set out to talk about motivation as this is a topic that has come up in a couple of our conversations over the last couple of years since we first met, but as predicted we move along all kinds of tangents.
We talk about the importance of building habits and systems, how to cultivate confidence and overcome the fear of rejection, the dangers of toxic appreciation and finding the balance between holding yourself to account and being self-compassionate.
The subject of motivation is such an interesting one as it's 'easy' to be motivated when things are going well, but how about when they're falling apart?
How do you stay on track and motivated to keep going in those conditions?
Dive in and find out, and don't forget to connect with Gökhan on LinkedIn to follow his posts:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/g%C3%B6khan-nazenin-86aa365b
Continuing the series of interviews with 'in the trenches professionals', this week we have Shopify's Matthias Kleven.
One of the biggest workplace challenges at the moment is the number of meetings that are in diaries.
Of course, meetings can be an essential part of collaboration and productivity, but the conversations I’ve been having lately with coaching clients and in audiences I speak to suggests that the amount of time spent in meetings is detracting rather than adding to productivity and wellbeing.
Matthias is a sales lead at Shopify which is a company that had a pretty punchy response to the whole too many meetings conundrum at the start of 2023.
Matthias explains how the new Shopify meeting policies were implemented and what it’s meant from a practical point of view when it comes to getting work done and managing his team.
We talk about asynchronous work and other more effective methods of communication, work life balance, prioritising, natural energy rhythms and the concept of Deep Work.
There are some great insights from this conversation that can be applied to anybody’s workflow to boost productivity, effectiveness and wellbeing.
Matthias also has his own podcast, Free Shipping, where he interviews merchants and entrepreneurs about their journeys.
https://rss.com/podcasts/freeshippinguk
You can connect with Matthias via LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthiaskleven
I’m joined today by the chief business development officer at Exness, Artem Seledtsov who I met during a wellness consultation as part of the Senior Executive Program at the London Business School.
As we spoke that day it soon became clear that he already had a number of high performance wellbeing habits and in our conversation today he shares what some of them are.
Arty also talks about what life was like for him in his 20s when he was out of shape and struggling with his weight, and the pressure of conforming to a corporate culture that had a very narrow view of what success looked like.
Now, as an advocate for wellbeing and a true example of how to combine healthy habits with a high-pressure role he walks us through a typical day and some of the non-negotiable features that enable him to perform at a consistently high level.
His approach to switching off at the end of the day, scheduling in time for himself during the day including exercise and eating, and defending his time in a way that boosts his effectiveness and productivity.
Arty shares how he started the process of making these changes 12 years ago, some of the challenges he faced and how he overcame them.
And with a team of 350 people, we talk about his approach to motivation, mindset and leadership, in the context of managing a remote workforce spread across the globe.
Connect with Arty via LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/artemseledtsov
Most of my interviews for this podcast are with subject matter experts, or inspirational individuals sharing their stories, and I have loads more of these lined up as well, but for the next few episodes I have a something slightly different.
Through my presenting and coaching work I get to speak to many really interesting people, many of whom are already doing some aspect of wellbeing and performance really well.
It’s like they’ve cracked part of the code and gained some crucial insights that have helped them through a successful career, and after one of these conversations I thought to myself, ‘I wish I’d recorded that it would have made an awesome episode for the podcast!’
So I’ve managed to pin a few of them down to do just that - talk about some aspect of wellbeing and performance, and share their approach, experiences or insights in a way that we can all learn from.
Today’s episode is the first of this series, and I get to speak to Maninder Randhawa, the UK, Ireland, Middle East & Africa Early Careers Leader at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, about a topic that’s come up a few times in the sessions he’s been on where I’ve been presenting - Imposter Syndrome.
He shares his own experiences and understanding of what it is, how it’s held him back in the past and how - even though it’s still present for him - he’s learned to manage it more effectively.
We talk about:
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Comparing ourselves with other people
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Why it's important to focus on our own unique skills beyond our technical expertise
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How to build the mindset where you anticipate and embrace imposter syndrome
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Why imposter syndrome is an indication of learning opportunities
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The importance of a coach or mentor
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Identifying a tendency to focus on the negatives and ignore the positive
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Mindset strategies to counter holding back
This is a conversation that I know many people will relate to and I’ve had my own experiences with it as well, and if you would like to connect with Mani you can find him here on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maninder-randhawa-88179552
Ahead of moving into a series of interviews with professionals where I'll be attempting to extract how they're 'doing' wellbeing and performance in their every day lives, I wanted to hit pause and reflect on the last 16 interviews I've done so far this year.
One of the best things about running a podcast is the guests I get to meet and speak to as a part of the show.
I always end up learning something personally from these conversations and in this episode I summarise what some of those lessons or reminders have been.
I'm joinined this week by mindfulness coach and ex-RAF helicopter pilot Sarah Furness to share her insights into mindfulness.
It's a topic that can divide opinions, but Sarah's approach to practicing and using it is highly practical and no-nonsense.
Today we talk about what mindfulness is and isn't, and situations in every day life where it can be helpful to have more presence and awareness.
Sarah has been on the podcast previously about a year and a half ago and talking about resilience and control and much of her work as a coach and speaker is now centred on the topic of mindfulness.
I recently read her first book 'Fly Higher - train your mind to feel as strong as you think' which among other things details a number of different approaches, some of which we get into talking about today.
The book is available on Amazon and Sarah's website:
https://sarahfurness.com
Also make sure you connect with Sarah on LinkedIn where she regularly shares insights and reflections that make you stop and think!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-furness-7173a538
Have you ever fallen off the wagon and told yourself you’ll start again on Monday?
Or started a new exercise habit and said ‘this time I’ll make it stick’… only to find yourself getting home from work the next night exhausted and stressed and opting for a night on the couch instead of going to the gym?
We all have our own narratives that have the potential to derail us and my guest today is somebody who’s unpacked her fair share of them, both personally and with her coaching clients.
Sonia Jhas is a mindset coach, speaker, and author of the book, “I’ll start again tomorrow (and other lies I’ve told myself)”. I’m fascinated by the power our inner voice has to either encourage us towards our goals and growth or hold us back and Sonia’s approach to understanding and gently changing this narrative is refreshing and honest.
We talk about how to identify limiting beliefs, (which can be a challenge when we… well, believe them!), then how to start chipping away at changing them.
Sonia shares her alternative approach to practicing gratitude, and how to balance holding ourselves to account with enough self-compassion that we don’t feel crushed or inadequate when we miss the mark.
There’s a ton of useful insights and techniques you can take away from this conversation and Sonia has really made a name for herself with not just her content but also her personality, energy and ability to connect with her audiences so I know that this episode is going to give you a bit of a boost!
Connect with Sonia here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soniajhas
Website: https://soniajhas.com
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Check out the 6 week Spring Boost fitness program starting Monday 17 April
If your fitness and exercise routine has hit a bit of a plateau or decline lately, this could be the perfect way to get back on track and build some positive habits.
https://bygeorgeanderson.com/spring-boost
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I've been having an increasing number of conversations lately with people telling me they've noticed their fitness either in a bit of a rut or declining.
Although I've covered exercise on this podcast before I've not tackled the topic of fitness directly, so wanted to pull together a number of related topics that could become a useful resource for you.
In this episode I cover:
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Getting clear about what fitness means to you (without this clarity it can be very difficult to make any real progress)
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The 5 elements of physical fitness, cardio endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility and skill
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How we get fitter: stimulus, adaptation, super-compensation and the overload principle
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Some of my favourite ways to build overall fitness rapidly and efficiently, minimising time spent in the process
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How to eliminate or reframe the discomfort often associated with exercise
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Different ways to measure fitness and the one we should all be using
Nothing can beat the feeling of being physically fit, and you're the only person who can do it for yourself.
Define what fitness means to you, build the habits that will get you and keep you there, and enjoy the feeling along the way!
IF you want to find out more about the 6 week Spring Boost, check out the website at https://bygeorgeanderson.com/spring-boost for more information and to register.
In 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, Tetiana Fomenko's life changed forever.
A qualified pharmcist, she had forged a successful career as a sales leader for global pharmaceutical companies and had recently launched her own business as a health coach whilst living in Kiev with her husband and son.
It soon became clear that remaining in Kiev wasn't an option and so eventually Tetiana and her son moved to the UK which is where I met her at a Toastmasters meeting in Oxfordshire.
Listening to her stand up at the front of the room and share not only her story but the philosophy and mindset she embraced was inspiring and moving and I'm delighted to have her on the podcast as a guest to explore this more.
In our conversation Tetiana shares what it was like to move out of her family home and to leave behind the life and goals she had, and start again in rural England.
We talk about control, change, stress, mindset, motivation and goals, all set against the backdrop of some of the most significant world events in the 21st century.
Tetiana has a masters degree in pharmacy and is currently studying naturopathic medicine at the London College whilst working as a pharmacy specialist as part of her goal of launching her health coaching business here in the UK.
You can follow Tetiana's journey via her Instagram and LinkedIn profiles:
https://www.instagram.com/tetiana_s_fomenko
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tetiana-fomenko-8b01691b8
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NEW: Boost Performance app
Delighted to finally launch this 6 week course designed to nudge positive wellbeing and build better habits.
Download on iOS or Android
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Do you have clearly defined goals that you’re motivated to achieve? Turns out that most people do not, and my guest today shares some of his insights into why that might be the case, and what to do about it!
Steve Judge is a professional speaker, author and resilience coach and his mission is to deliver his story that took him from wheelchair to world champion and beyond.
His story is inspirational, but what’s even more impactful is how he addresses some of the specific challenges so many of us face when it comes to achieving what want in our lives.
Steve's new book - GOLD - gives you five winning ways that will unlock the power of your potential so that you can achieve the GOLD in your life: Goal – Opportunity – Love – Dream
Available on Amazon or through Steve's website.
Connect with Steve on LinkedIn or through his website
Accredited psychotherpist and performance psychologist Sam Bishop returns to share some insights from behind the curtains working in the world of elite sport.
Sam and I have regular mini-mastermind sessions and when he shared with me his PER framework for elite level performance I figured it could be helpful to you as well.
The framework is very simple:
P for Preparation
E for Execution
R for Reflection
But where Sam brings his expertise and experience is helping us understand how this can be applied in a range of situations where we need to perform at our best.
In our conversation Sam shares some specific examples that help translate the ideas from theory to reality.
Find out more about Sam on his website:
https://www.sambishopcoaching.com
Or follow him on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-bishop-4958b117a
I send out a weekly email called the Boost Bulletin to professionals who are looking for tips and strategies to help boost performance and wellbeing.
(If you're not already signed up for it you can rectify that situation over at https://bygeorgeanderson.com/bulletin )
A couple of editions back I wrote about slee and shared 10 'top tips' on the topic, and given the positive response it received I thought I'd share them here on the podcast as well.
I've had sleep expert Dr. Lyndsay Browning on the show in the past (9th April 2021) to talk about sleep and I've also done an episode on the protocol NSDR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest) which, despite the name, is actually another great way to help promote better quality sleep.
You can find both of those episodes here:
https://abitofaboost.libsyn.com/lindsay-browning-how-to-improve-your-sleep
https://abitofaboost.libsyn.com/nsdr-10-minute-stress-busting-sleep-boosting-mind-clearing-technique
In this episode though, I wanted to get straight into the tips and strategies that can help improve sleep quality and quantity.
The objective isn't to completely transform your sleep - don't put that pressure on yourself! - but to give it a bit of a boost and notice what an impact that has on your health, wellbeing, energy and motivation the very next day.
Try some of these strategies on for size and let me know how you get on!
And don't forget - you can register for the Saturday morning Boost Bulletin over here:
https://bygeorgeanderson.com/bulletin
How are you doing today?
If you answer is 'fine thanks', 'ok', or maybe 'not too bad', then you DEFINTELY need to listen to this week's episode!
My guest is Michael Heppell, an author, coach and speaker who has made it his mission to help more people strive for BRILLIANCE.
I read his book 'Flip It' over 10 years ago and recently read How To Be Brilliant, and I loved the strategies and ideas behind it.
In our conversation Michael shares his thoughts on the power of language, including the impact that throw away responses like 'I'm busy', or 'I don't have the time' can have on our energy and motivation (and what we say instead!)
We discuss the power of certainty and beliefs, both limiting and limitless, and how we can start to identify, challenge and change them.
Beliefs, confidence, stories we tell ourselves, motivation... and the BIGGEST consequence of living your life through limiting beliefs.
There's a ton of gold packed into this episode.
You can find out more about Michael and his work on his website:
https://www.michaelheppell.com
Or find him on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelheppell
His new book Write That Book is available on Amazon or through his website:
https://shop.michaelheppell.com/wtbbook
\\\ Episode 100! \\\
Delighted to reach this podcasting milestone, thank you to everybody who has listened, subscribed or shared the show, and especially to my incredible guests from whom I've learned so much over the last couple of years.
Today's episode is an introduction to the topic of burnout which, it turns out, is best prevented by creating more engagement.
That's according to the work of Christina Maslach, one of the world's leading authorities on the subject of burnout.
I share the framework she has developed over 30 years of research, including the 3 Dimensions of burnout and the 6 Predictors.
When I'm facilitating sessions with senior leaders and managers on the subject of burnout and engagement, this is the framework I use and it's incredibly useful on an individual level to understand some of the elements that are important for us to feel engaged with the work that we do.
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[On that note, quick plug: I work with teams within corporate organisations to deliver wellbeing and performance programs, covering areas such as physical and mental wellbeing, resilience, stress, mindset & motivation and of course burnout and engagement.
If you have a team and want to find out more about how I support my clients, get in touch via email - george@bygeorgeanderson.com or my LinkedIn profile. ]
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Ultimately, the responsibility for our own wellbeing is shared between us as individuals and the leaders who shape the environment in which we work.
Whilst we have a high degree of control about how take care of ourselves and manage our enegy through the day, the culture we operate in has a significant influence as well.
My guest this week is Celynn Morin, a qualified dietician, author of two books and workplace wellbeing consultant.
I heard Celynn speak at an event, and because I'm the absolute last word authority on anything related to wellbeing I noticed my 'oh this'll be good' reaction when I read the agenda.
My defensives dissolved within the first few seconds of her presentation and I found myself nodding along, participating and - gasp - learning a thing or two.
I came away with a real sense of being uplifted and having enjoyed myself for 90 minutes, but I also noticed a slight niggling about whether this was due to biases I had towards the information. The first question I ask Celynn in this interview - quite off the cuff - is how we can monitor and work around our own biases so we find the best information that's going to help us move forwards.
This spiralled into a conversation about breakfast, and whether it really is 'the most important meal of the day', and our individual wrestlings with this question over the years.
The big topics we get into centre on gut health and epigenetics, two areas that Celynn is a real expert in. But as always we wended our way around a variety of other areas of nutrition, wellbeing, performance and life with plenty of takeaways and advice along the way.
Celynn mentioned her Wellculator framework that I have completed and this is freely available through her website: https://www.celynnmorin.com
She also mentioned a gut health masterclass which you can access through her YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/wH67OYojb7o
You can also connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celynnmorin-wellbeingexpert
Save or favourite this episode as it's one you may want to return to.
The 5 senses mindfuness technique is a fantastic way to quickly bring your awareness and attention to the present moment and practice mindfulness in a meaningful way.
The script itself is only 4 minutes long and we get into it pretty quickly.
Although you can take this and use it any time, any place, without having to rely on accessing the recording, this guided version is best used either sitting or lying down somewhere comfortably (definitely not driving a vehicle or operating heavy machinery!)
The 5 senses can be used as a regular practice to help hone and strengthen your mindfulness muscle, or in those moments where you really need to create a few moments of calm.
If you're a fan of A Bit Of A Boost you've probably read your fair share of personal development books, listened to other podcasts or watched inspirational and uplifting videos.
But how much of it do you put into practice when the right moment arises?
Personal development is less about the accumulation of knowledge and more about the implementation of new approaches.
To do that we need to be able to quickly access these tools, and my guest today is somebody who helps with exactly that.
Hannah Wilson is an illustrator and creator of Quoted Visually, and produces the most amazing, powerful illustrations that condense big ideas into simple and memorable takeaways.
She's amassed over 100k followers on Instagram and her work is regularly reshared by the likes of Dragon's Den star and host of the Diary Of A CEO podcast Steven Bartlett.
We talk about the kinds of the ideas Hannah shares, what draws her to them, and how it was her dyslexia that motivated her to start illustrating in the first place as a way to help her recall information for exams.
Some really interesting insights in this conversation and I highly recommend giving Hannah a follow to beef up your own toolkit for life.
Hannah's website - https://www.quotedvisually.co.uk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/quotedvisually
Twitter - https://twitter.com/quotedvisually
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/quotedvisually
This week I’m joined by Jack Kavanagh to talk about resilience, inspiration, grief and change.
Jack’s a pharmacist and speaker on health & wellbeing and his personal story is simultaneously tragic and uplifting.
In 2012 he suffered a life changing spinal cord injury leaving him with just 15% muscle function, and as he shares his story there’s a real honesty and vulnerability that comes through as you realise this is a guy has really had to do the work to get to where he is today with his outlook and determination.
When we’re going through challenging times in our own lives it can sometimes feel like there’s a pressure to ‘be resilient’, to bounce back or stay positive but that’s not always the case.
Jack shares the ups and the downs, and how he moved through this unimaginable change in his life and there are many lessons that we can all take from this.
As always, when it comes to inspiration it’s about your own personal change. I hope that you listen to this podcast and today’s episode in particular and are moved to make some small change in your own life, whether that’s a behaviour you do or a belief that you hold.
Find out more about the work Jack is doing on his website:
jack-kavanagh.com
Or follow him on LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter.
I have always been fascinated by the power of the mind to help you accomplish more and effectively change your reality.
It’s something I’ve leveraged in nearly every aspect of my life, from relationships to health and fitness, challenges and my business.
When I read Dave Robson’s book ‘The Expectation Effect’ I made pages of notes and got some big takeaways that I’ve since gone on to apply.
David is a science writer and his book was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and won a British Psychological Society Book Award in the popular science category.
The Expectation Effect is the power of our beliefs or expectations to not only bring us more motivation, but potentially bring about physical changes to our brains and bodies.
The book covers a whole range of different areas where this has an effect, and details a number of fascinating studies that demonstrate just how important our beliefs and mindset really are.
I spoke to Dave for today’s episode of the podcast and we got into some of the areas that I’m particular interested in around health, wellbeing and performance.
Dave talks about how the brain is a ‘prediction machine’, and how reappraisal techniques can help us view discomfort in different ways.
We get into the application to fitness, diet, stress and will power, and what the science tells us about how we can take advantage of this inbuilt expectation effect.
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You can find out more about Dave via his website:
https://davidrobson.me/
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-robson-5761791b/)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/d_a_robson
And the book is available on Amazon and good book shops:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Expectation-Effect-Your-Mindset-Transform/dp/183885326X
in April 2020 Robert Glynn was given 12 months to live following a terminal cancer diagnosis, 2 months after losing his father to cancer.
He was also offered the chance to be a part of a trial treatment at The Christie hospital, which he 'jumped at', and at the same time made some big changes to his lifestyle through nutrition and exercise.
Two years later and Rob is not only still with us but his cancer is all but gone and he has a completely new approach to life.
Speaking to Rob I wanted to find out how he managed the mental pressure, and what some of the changes were that he made to his lifestyle.
He details the research he did into diet and countries with low cancer rates, and the specific foods he cut out of his diet to help 'create a hostile environment for the cancer', losing 31kg (5 stone) in the process.
Being given 12 months to live is a bit of a hyperthetical scenario sometimes posed with the purpose on focusing your attention on what you'd do differently with your life.
For Rob it was very real and we talked about how his attitide to life has changed over this period.
We talk about the importance of having support around you, speaking to friends about your inner struggles, and finding beauty and happiness in every day moments of life.
Why do we have to wait until our health is in jeapoardy before we reevaluate our lives and make course corrections?
Maybe we don't have to. Maybe we can choose to do exactly that today.
I’m joined today by Emotional Empowerment and Wellbeing Coach Daniel Dzikowski to talk about ‘letting go’ of stuck emotions.
This is something he introduced me to when we first met at an event and I was really intrigued to find out more, so I invited him on the podcast to explore it!
Early on in our interview I became aware that understanding this was something that was going to take full concentration and I had to step out of ‘interviewer’ mode and into the role of ‘curious questioner’.
Although there’s a lot of cross over between the two, there were moments where it felt a little too disjointed and that perhaps we ought to start again, but then it just felt natural and conversational and so I decided to just keep going.
Daniel explains the process and benefits and how it’s possible to separate out stuck emotions from the story we tell ourselves about them, and I’ve since gone on to do a session with him which was incredibly powerful.
Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn >>
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-dzikowski-1857845/
Visit his website >>
https://www.clearthepath.co.uk
My guest on this week’s episode is mental health nurse, speaker and educator, Alex Williams.
Alex has almost 2 decades of clinical experience working with patients suffering from severe cases of mental ill health. Over the years as he has helped these people he has made a number of observations about mental health that don’t often get discussed.
He also has a powerful personal story of overcoming significant trauma as he was growing up, and just a few years ago his own mental health was at it’s lowest ebb.
In our conversation Alex shares some of his insights into mental health, including an outline of what he calls ‘the 3 Rs of getting back up, when life knocks you down'.
For such a deep and potentially difficult topic, Alex has a knack of talking about it with a real positive energy and sense of optimism.
Links to follow Alex's and the work he is doing:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thealexjwilliams
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thealexjwilliams
Website - https://thealexjwilliams.co.uk
Today’s guest is a friend of mine and fellow fitness enthusiast, Greg Williams, who has established himself as the go-to guy for everything and anything related to Hyrox - the emerging sport of fitness racing.
Greg is the man behind the RoxLyfe website and YouTube channel, and as well as sharing information on tips and techniques to train for and approach a Hyrox event he has interviewed some of the sports biggest stars.
I took part in my first Hyrox event in Birmingham in October 2022 with my training partner Martin Shipperley, and we were delighted to come 5th in our category and qualify for the world championships taking place later this year in Manchester, and used Greg's blog extensively as part of my preparation.
In our conversation today I ask him about some of the things he’s learned from talking to some of the elite competitors, as well as explaining what Hyrox and fitness racing is all about, why it’s suddenly exploded in popularity, and we even get into a discussion about Stoicism towards the end.
Maybe you’ll feel inspired after listening to today’s episode to get out there and 'get your Rox on' with your first Hyrox event, but even if this isn’t your thing there’s plenty of the good stuff in our conversation to give you a bit of a boost…
Roxlyfe blog >>
Roxlyfe Instagram >>
Roxlyfe YouTube channel >>
Hyrox main website >>
Today’s guest is a lady who I came across in a Facebook group for marathon runners, and after reading some of her jaw dropping story I knew that she’d make a great guest for the podcast.
Rachel Kennedy is a runner, and just a few short years ago she was a complete beginner. In fact, she describes how she despised anything related to athletics - at school she was sick a lot with asthma, was - as she put it - the theatre nerd - and thought sports were a joke.
I’ve spoken to many people over the years who have been put off physical exercise during their school career so the story so far isn’t particularly unusual.
But then in 2018 she decided to try running and was delighted to eventually complete a run without having an asthma attack.
She stuck with it, started entering races, half marathons, then marathons, and made a few other changes to her lifestyle along the way.
Fast forward to today, and she’s running marathons in elite times, and is currently eyeing up the qualifying times required for selection by the US team for the next Olympic Games.
Her trajectory has been astonishing, and of course we get into some of the details of this in our conversation, but I was most interested in how she shifted her mindset - and even her identity - to shake off old stories and begin a brand new one.
I get the feeling that right now we’re parachuting into the middle of Rachel’s story: even since recording this at the end of 2022 she has been setting yet more personal best times and has been invited to join the elite field of a major event in the US.
There’s a huge amount of inspiration to be found in listening to Rachel share her story, but some practical tools as well. We all have our own stories and some of these may well be holding us back. We might not all be vying for a spot at the next Olympics, but some of these ideas may help us unlock a little more of our own potential.
Check out Rachel's Facebook profile to follow her incredible journey
* NEW FOR 2023 *
Join the weekly Boost Bulletin, exclusively for professionals working in high-pressure roles and receive a copy of '7 Quick Wins for Busy Professionals To Boost your Energy'
The short weekly email is delivered on a Saturday morning and contains an immediately applicable strategy, tool or resource, and takeaways from recent podcast episodes.
Sign up for free at https://bygeorgeanderson.com/bulletin
I’m joined today by leading lifestyle behaviour change specialist Dr Heather Mckee to talk about one of my favourite topics, habits.
Having studied health behaviour change psychology for 10 years, her mission is to offer a sustainable, evidence-based alternative to an industry saturated with quick fixes and health fads.
In today’s conversation among other things we talk about:
- What is a habit?
- Frequency of habits (including annually!)
- Why we get distracted from our new habits
- The link between goals, motivation and habits
- Goal dilution, and how to avoid it
- Values and identity in relation to habits
- The role of curiosity and self-compassion in change
- Creating systems for change
- The role your environment plays in sustaining change
- Skillpower over willpower
- Building Bite-Sized habits
Heather referenced some a number of studies and resources during our conversation, and here are some direct links if you want to explore further:
Wendy Wood:
-
Podcast episode (https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ZUfGd8WLyzTvjligc4u3O?si=ViTIgRaASQqFtLKjdPATMg&dl_branch=1&nd=1)
-
Summary of key studies (https://behavioralpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/BSP_vol1is1_Wood.pdf)
-
Good Habits Bad Habits book (https://behavioralscientist.org/good-habits-bad-habits-a-conversation-with-wendy-wood/)
Katy Milkman’s book ‘How To Change’ (https://www.katymilkman.com/book)
Dr Heather McKee’s website (https://www.drheatherspeaks.com/) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/drheathermckee/)
* NEW FOR 2023 *
Join the weekly Boost Bulletin, exclusively for professionals working in high-pressure roles and receive a copy of '7 Quick Wins for Busy Professionals To Boost your Energy'
The short weekly email is delivered on a Saturday morning and contains an immediately applicable strategy, tool or resource, and takeaways from recent podcast episodes.
Sign up for free at https://bygeorgeanderson.com/bulletin
The previous strategies I’ve been sharing in this series are applicable in most areas of life but the ones I have for you on today's episode are focused on training mindset.
There may be some carry over to other areas as well but I wanted to put together some of the top strategies that I regularly use with my own training in case as some of them may be of value and benefit to you.
There are 10 altogether - 3 that help me before a workout*, 5 during and 2 after.
I wouldn't lean on all of them in any one workout, but they all come up regularly and then all help.
Have a listen, try a few out, keep what works, discard the rest.
Here are the 10 strategies:
- Negotiate with yourself
- Put yourself in the bin
- No rep
- Through the line
- It’s why you’re here
- Go beyond
- Trash talk
- Overcome and become
- Just for you
Enjoy!
*My training is very varied - some running, some swimming, some cross training, some strength. Some (though by no means all) of my workouts end up with me pushing myself to my limite which isn't appropriate or desirable for everybody, but I wanted to share the strategies in their raw form and leave it to you to decide which ones are applicable to you!
Part 5 of the mini-series of mindset strategies is 'deliberate discomfort'.
Life inevitably involves brief moments of physical discomfort, whether it's carrying heavy bags around an airport or having to run to catch a bus.
If you're used to training and pushing yourself as a part of your exercise routine, you can use the Deliberate Discomfort strategy to reframe these moments andboost the mental toughness you get from your workouts as well.
Part 4 of this mini-series of mindset strategies is another one that can be boiled down to a short and snappy phrase: control the controllables. It’s one that could application across many different aspects of your life, particularly when you find yourself feeling overwhelmed.
We’re going to take a look at what it means, where it comes from, and how adopting it could potentially benefit you.
Part 3 of the mini-series of mindset strategies is 'cast a vote'.
This phrasing comes from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, where he talks about 'casting a vote for the person you want to be'.
In this week's episode we take a look at how we can use small habits to reinforce a part of our identity that is important to us. Related quotes that we dig into is Aristotle's 'we are what we repeatedly do... excellence, therefore, is a habit, and not an act' (though it turns out this wasn't actually an Aristotle quote!), and Admiral William McRaven's 'make your bed' from his famous commencement speech.
You've got to love a quote, but to lift them off the bumper sticker and into our lives we need to look at how we can apply them in reality and that's exactly what this episode (and all the episodes in this series) aims to do.
Part 2 of the mini-series of mindset strategies, is the 'Fertile Garden'.
This comes straight from a Bruce Lee quote where he says “The mind is a fertile garden – it will grow anything you wish to plant – beautiful flowers or weeds. And it is with successful, healthy thoughts or negative ones that will, like weeds, strangle and crowd the others. Do not allow negative thoughts to enter your mind, for they are the weeds that strangle confidence.”
In this episode I get into why this quote is so powerful as a mindset strategy, and how it can be used in every day life.
A Bit Of A Boost has had a bit of a break for a couple of months but we're back with a short series of mindset strategies that have helped me over the years. Some may resonate, some may not, but they're all practical with real world application.
This week's episode descibes a strategy called 'Get Out Of The Chair', which I frequently call on when I'm tackling some big project or task.
My guest today is former World Rally Championship driver Penny Mallory, who became the first woman in the world to drive a Ford Focus World Rally car.
I met Penny at an event a few years ago and having seen her presenting numerous car-related programs on TV and listening to her talk about her specialist topic of mental toughness, I knew she’d make a great guest for the show.
We talk about her own incredible story, of homelessness and hopelessness, to winning trophies skidding around forests in high powered cars.
I asked her about her own mental toughness and where it came from, and how she encourages other people to develop more of it in the 4 key areas of control, commitment, challenge and confidence.
Penny has worked with hundreds of corporate teams over the years since hanging up her driving gloves, and we also talked about some of the insights she’s gathered in that time, in particular what some of the biggest challenges are that professionals are facing today when it comes to their mental toughness.
As well as being a champion racing driver, Penny has turned her attention to marathon running, triathlon, mountain climbing and even boxing, and the tools and techniques she developed behind the wheel are equally as applicable in any high pressure situation.
You can find out more about Penny's work as a speaker and coach through her website and LinkedIn profile:
https://www.pennymallory.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pennymallory/
Her book '365 Ways To Develop Mental Toughness' is due for publication in November 2022:
https://www.pennymallory.co.uk/product/365-ways-to-develop-mental-toughness
We all know people who are the absolute masters of their craft, whether that’s as an artist, in sports or in their job.
We look at people who make it look so effortless and ask the question ‘how on earth do they do that!’, yet often when we have mastery of an aspect in our lives we dismiss it or don’t even notice it as being anything exceptional.
Parenting, in our relationships, in our own approach to exercise or perhaps an aspect of our own jobs, there are likely to be areas that we have achieved a level beyond ‘consciously competent’.
My guest on today’s episode is William Buist and he talks about intentional mastery and the stages that go before it. The area that he specialises in is small business mentoring, but the concepts and strategies that he offers are translatable to almost every other aspect of our lives.
William and I have worked together in the past and I recently read his new book by the same name - Intentional Mastery - and I was intrigued to see an entire chapter devoted to the importance of ‘Self’, where he discusses emotional wellbeing, physical wellbeing and mental resilience.
William also has his own inspirational story of making changes in his life to reflect the need to take better care of his health and energy, and I ask him about how he started on his journey towards losing 2 stone and keeping it off.
If you’ve ever yo-yo’ed with your weight loss in the past I think you’ll find this particular section of interest.
You can find out more about William's work (and the book) through his website or LinkedIn:
https://www.williambuist.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wbuist
20 years ago when I started out as a personal trainer answering the question of ‘what do you do?’ was an easy one.
Over the course of the last 2 decades the scope of my work has expanded to include what can be broadly described as 'wellbeing & performance', but what do these words actually mean?
There are many definitions depending on who you talk to, and although I don't claim to have the definitive answer I do believe that a part of it must include something that relates to the 'dynamic tension between a desire for progress and a contentment with the present'.
But rather than try to come up with the perfect definition, this episode drills into the 5 'pillars' that I believe make up the concept of wellbeing & performance:
1) Wellbeing
2) Drive
3) Mindset
4) Resilience
5) Connection
I break each of these down into smaller chunks as follows:
Wellbeing
- DASH
- PERMA
- Stress & Energy
- Emotions
Drive
- Goals
- Motivation
- Confidence
- Purpose
Mindset
- Global Mindset
- Beliefs & Values
- Optimism
- Self-Talk
Resilience
- Grit
- Bouncebackability
- Change
- Acceptance
Connection
- Relationships
- Support
- Belonging
- Self
And then finally identify some of the common blockers that stop us from doing and being more of what and who we want to do and be!
Blockers
- Procrastination
- Self-Sabotage
- Confidence
- Overwhelm
- Defaults
Finally finally, all of this is wrapped in habits, systems, planning and evaluation processes that if you're not careful can quite easily suck out all the messy joy from life so be warned: this is just a model!
My intention for sharing this is to encourage you to ask yourself the question: how am I doing right now with my wellbeing & performance?
Try rating yourself on a scale of 1-10 and make a note of any scores that come out lower than you are happy with, and then start to make a plan for what you could do to nudge them up by +1.
These are also all topics that I speak about regularly, at conferences, corporate events and in training rooms both in the UK and Internationally.
If you want to find out more about how I work with my clients please get in touch via email: george@bygeorgeanderson.com
There's been a bit of a pause on the podcast these last few weeks because my father sadly passed away at the beginning of the month.
In today's episode I describe the process that has been helping me navigate the challenging landscape of grief in what feels to me to be a healthy and adaptive way.
Often in times like this we know that we should 'take the pressure off' or 'go easy' on ourselves, but this can be a difficult thing to do in practice. On the one hand we don't want to let people down or let our high standards slip, and on the other we know that something has to give in order to create the space and time necessary for grieving.
Giving a eulogy at his funeral a week ago also gave me the chance to put into words some of the many life lessons he taught me through his life, and I share a couple with you today in the second half of this episode.
A couple of resources I mention in the episode include the book 'On Grief & Grieving' by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross & David Kessler, and this Huberman Lab episode on grief which I had been listening to on my several trips up to Manchester to be with my dad in his final days.
We all have the capacity to survive and thrive in the presence of stress.
In fact stress is the very thing that enables us to perform at our best but if the pressure grows too much we can slip into a paralysing feeling of overwhelm.
In today's episode I explore some of the areas that a state of overwhelm can impact, and some practical techniques to bring you back to a more grounded, action-oriented state.
To find out more about the 6 Week Boost fitness challenge I mention in this episode, head over to the website for more information (starts June 13).
bygeorgeanderson.com/boost-challenge
Have you ever come away from an event with loads of ideas but then gone back to your day to day and not done anything with them?
Or perhaps you've listened to a podcast, read a book or watched a video and felt motivated and inspired to put things into action but struggled to bridge the gap between knowing and doing.
Today's short episode is dedicated to the simple idea of implementation, not just information.
Creating movement, not just consuming content.
It's about progress not perfection, and how even just a small amount of action can build momentum.
It's about the journey from data > information > knowledge > wisdom.
It's simple but powerful and the question at the end is worth considering.
A bit of an unusual episode this week as it was produced in two parts. I interviewed a friend of mine, Mat Poole, a couple of days before he departed for the Sahara desert to take part in the infamous Marathon des Sables.
At the start of this episode I share the notes I made during this call with Mat, where I asked him about his hopes and fears, logistics and expectations of the event.
Then in the interview itself we find out how it went, and how close to his expectations it came!
In a challenge like this there are always lessons to be learned and I was interested to try and extract them in a way that could be useful to you and I in more day to day areas of our lives.
Mat was raising money for the charity Walking With The Wounded who support mentally, socially and physically wounded veterans.
For a few more weeks following the publication of this episode the Just Giving page will be open should you care to donate:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/matp
My guest this week is cognitive neuroscientist Dr Lynda Shaw, and we spend the episode discussing the brain and neuroscience and how we can improve our wellbeing and performance.
I seem to spend most of my free time reading journals and books and studies about neuroscience and we had a great conversation!
I was really interested to hear from Lynda where the cross over lies between psychology and neuroscience, and how we can use the latest research to benefit us in our wellbeing and performance.
I know Lynda through the Professional Speaking Association of which I’m a member, and Lynda is the current president so I’ve heard her speak on numerous occasions.
She always explains complicated subjects so clearly and I knew we’d have a blast talking about all things brain-related in this conversation today.
I asked Lynda about the neuroscience that underpins some of the commonly known areas such as growth mindset, neuroplasticity, and the fight and flight stress response.
We talk about neurobiology and chemistry, and some of the chemicals we produce that influence our mood and motivation such as dopamine, serotonin and the less-well-known nitric oxide.
Lynda works with a lot of senior leaders to help them ‘recalibrate their thinking’, and we touch on some of the approaches and tools she shares with her audiences.
https://drlyndashaw.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndashaw
I’m joined this week by life coach and author Simon Ong, who’s new book Energize has just been published.
We talk about the subject matter of the book and the importance of optimising your energy. This is a topic I’m passionate about and active with in my own work, and it was great to get Simon’s take on it.
He shares some of his own journey through a decade in the corporate world and into the world of personal development and coaching, what he’s learned and how he applies it.
I love it when my guests share tips and tools, and Simon is very generous with some real crackers so this is a truly high-value episode for you today.
https://getenergizebook.com
https://www.simonalexanderong.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonalexanderong
https://www.instagram.com/simonalexandero
If I look back at my life it’s been relatively straight forward. There was a bit of a course correction after I graduated with an engineering masters and moved into personal training, but from there on it’s more or less been a series of variations on the theme of wellbeing.
I’m always fascinated by people who have lived a more unconventional life and finding out what makes them tick and I was delighted to be joined on the podcast by the ex-Scritti Politti drummer, Rockstar Activator Tom Morley.
I met Tom at an event a few years ago and am a big fan of his work. His stories reel you in and give you snippets of a life spent crossing paths with cultural icons. We talk in this episode about creativity, tribes and story telling rhythm, identity and human connection, and how it all relates to our wellbeing and sense of place.
I asked him to send me a bio to make sure that I got everything right and he replied with this:
“Tom Morley has just sent me this. He says, "I don't want people to follow me, or pass my details on to anyone, or think of me in any way that's business related. My whole way of being is serenading serendipity, chanting to chance and drumming up a storm for social justice.
All else is confetti in the wind. I've talked with the social media gurus and I wish them well.
During the pandemic the world moved to a different paradigm. You either feel it or you don't. I'm not out to teach anyone anything. I'm just saying, "OK, here we are on this day. Let's see what we can do together. Given the skills we have and the time we've got let's create something.
That's it."
This is what we created last Thursday, I hope it gives you a bit of a boost!
You can follow Tom on social media and his website:
https://tommorley.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommorleyrockstar
In 2014 I ran 10 marathons in 10 days. My cover story was that it was for charity, but I knew there'd be something in it for me as well.
What I got were a number of lessons that transcended the domain of running and positively affected every other aspect of my life.
I reflected on 10 of these lessons after the event and wrote 95% of a piece of work that I never finished.
When I came across them the other day I realised how much I have applied the lessons in the 8 years since the marathons, and I recorded them to share with you on this week's episode of the podcast.
Chocolate, ice cream, alcohol, smoking, checking social media… most of us have something we indulge in a little more than is really good for us.
The level of indulgence will determine how much - if at all - it is a problem for you but even if you’re not quite at the stage of sleeping on a park bench with a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag, there’s a chance that overindulging could be having a negative impact on your life.
My guest on the show today is coach and speaker Duncan Bhaskaran Brown who doesn’t just have a remarkable story of getting over his own unhealthy indulgences, he’s literally written the book about it!
We talk about some of the most common indulgences, why they’re so common, and how to start the process of breaking a habit that is no longer serving us.
We unpack willpower and how it’s possible that strengthening our resolve in one area of our life can have a positive knock on effect in others.
We also talk about self-compassion and forgiveness as a critical starting point for boosting our ability to get over indulgence, along with all the usual fun chat that’s become a part of these interviews!
Whatever your vices or indulgences, no matter how rampant or inconsequential they may seem, I hope you’ll find there’s something of value in this episode for you.
https://www.bhaskaranbrown.com
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Get-Over-Indulgence-Control-Stress-Free/dp/1999966570
One of the things you hear a lot about when it comes to motivation, goals or high performance is the importance of mindset.
But what is mindset and how do we make sure that we have the right one?
My guest today to discuss this topic is a man who I’ve learned a lot from over the years, business psychologist and coach Bret Freeman.
I know Bret through Toastmasters International and he’s forged a strong reputation for facilitating change and development programs in some of the world’s largest organisations.
We talk about mindset, why it’s important and how to spot when your thinking is holding you back.
Bret also shares a few tips for how to cultivate a non-toxic positive mindset and how to use implementation intentions to do more of the things you want to do.
We also get into the subject of unconscious bias which is another of his specialist areas.
The recent International Women’s Day theme was ‘beat the bias’ so we get into discussing how we can try to uncover our own biases that crop up in all sorts of areas of our life.
This is a great episode packed with insights and tips and if you’re interested in mindset and performance then I know you’re going to love Bret’s approach.
You can connect with Bret through his website or LinkedIn:
https://bizvroom.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bretfreeman
For a decade and a half exercise was more than just a passion, it was also my career.
I trained clients as a personal trainer and boot camp coach, and also taught on PT diploma courses and delivered masterclasses to other trainers.
I was fully immersed in it and although my work these days is more holistic, it’s still clearly an important topic for me and I’m pleased to have the opportunity to share some of my philosophies, insights and approaches to exercise.
In today's episode I talk about
-
The motivations to exercise
-
The difference between activity, exercise and training
-
The 5 minutes a day exercise approach that can bring surprising results
-
The 10000 steps a day myth and what to do instead
-
Exercise calories and the after burn effect
-
Benefits and approaches to fasted exercising
-
The importance of a flexible plan
-
The best time of day to train
-
The ultimate motivation for exercise
I’ll also share a few answers to some of the most common questions I’ve been asked over the last 20 years.
Program references:
Strong Arm Solution
https://bygeorgeanderson.com/strongarm
The Glute Plan
https://bygeorgeanderson.com/glutes
To The Core
https://bygeorgeanderson.com/core
I live just outside a little town called Thame in Oxfordshire and one of the many things I love about the place is the independent health food store, Planet Health & Organics.
It’s run by Nutritional Therapist and Practising Naturopath Peter Dewdney, and over the years we’ve had many a long conversation about wellbeing, supplements and health and I was delighted to get the opportunity to record some of his wisdom for today’s episode of the podcast.
Supplements is such a vast topic and I wanted to find out how much it’s changed over the last 15 years that I’ve known him.
We talk about why somebody might want to supplement their diet and what some of the most common ‘cover your bases’ options are.
Peter is also an expert in gastro intestinal illness, fertility and end of life care and will be qualifying as a phlebotomist from the London Medical School in summer 2022.
He practices from Thame Therapy Clinic (http://www.thametherapyclinic.co.uk/therapies/peter-dewdney) and you can also find out more about his work and shop in Thame from his website:
https://www.peterdewdney.co.uk
Peter also owns and runs Planet Health and Organic, 8 Greyhound Walk, Thame, which is open 6 days a week and if you’re passing pop in and say hello!
On today’s episode I’m joined by fellow coach Laura Brunton to talk about living life more authentically and as ‘Totally You’.
When I first met Laura a few years ago she was in corporate and you wouldn't have known it to look at her but she was on the brink of burnout.
We talk about some of the things that aligned for her to help her realise how she was holding herself back, how she was misaligned with her priorities and values, and what she did to start bringing about some pretty big changes into her life.
As well as values, beliefs and burnout Laura shares some tips and techniques for identifying and challenging the stories we tell ourselves that could be limiting us, and how to get a grip on those moments in life when things feel like they’re just overwhelming us.
Whenever I read one of Laura’s posts on LinkedIn or watch one of her videos it always gives me a boost of positivity and energy so I knew that she’d be a perfect guest for the podcast… she’s one of those people who I can have an ad hoc conversation with and think to myself afterwards… ‘that would have been awesome to have recorded and shared with other people!’… and now we’ve done just that!
You can find out more about Laura and her work (including her incredible Spring 2022 offer!) on social media and through her website:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-brunton-71b9289
https://membership.totallyyou.me/membership
https://www.facebook.com/laura.mccourt.7
https://www.instagram.com/totallyyoucoachlaura
Some of my own big fitness goals recently have been just that - fitness goals. Not so much the running or the swimming, but all round fitness that includes strength, endurance and power.
But how do you motivate and test yourself with these less linear goals?
Well for me, Turf Games came along and gave me the answer.
My guest on the podcast today is Turf Games founder Andy Manteit, who tells us more about what the Turf Games involves, who it’s for, and some of the benefits.
We talk training and competing, motivation, community and teamwork, and at the end of the interview I give Andy some quick fire exercise-related questions!
There may be a bit of less-than-common terminology in this episode so here are some explainers:
AMRAP
A workout where you complete As Many Reps (or Rounds) As Possible in a given time
EMOM
A workout where you do an exercise for a given number of reps Every Minute On The Minute for a prescribed number of minutes
Ski Erg
An indoor cross country ski machine like this one: https://www.concept2.com/skierg/concept2-skierg
Double Unders
Skipping rope exercise where you pass the rope underneath your feet twice for every jump
Clean
Bringing a barbell (or dumbbell or kettlebell) from the floor to the front rack position on the shoulders
Snatch
Bringing a barbell (or dumbbell or kettlebell) from the floor to an overhead position
D-Ball to shoulder
A D-Ball is a heavy medicine ball that lands on the ground with no bounce ('dead'). In the D-Ball to shoulder exercise you pick the ball up from the floor and place it on one shoulder before returning it to the floor
The Worm
A long, heavy sandbag typically lifted by 2-4 people at a time. Coordination and teamwork are everything! https://youtu.be/VykOrx4c-q8
If you train in a gym and haven’t yet discovered Turf Games get yourself over to their website once you’ve listened to today’s episode.
And even if ‘putting yourself in the bin’, as they say, isn’t for you, then still listen in because I think you’ll find it interesting to hear how this fitness-as-competition movement is gathering momentum.
https://turfgames.com
https://www.instagram.com/turfgames
My guest on the podcast today was the RAF’s second ever female fast jet pilot, flying the Tornado GR4 on the front line, completing three tours of duty and 45 missions over Iraq.
Mandy Hickson talks to me about mindset and motivation, resilience and imposter syndrome, stress and confidence, both in and out of the armed forces.
I saw Mandy speak at an event a few years ago and recently read her book, ‘An Officer not a Gentleman’, which is like a guidebook for how to set and accomplish your most ambitious goals, but also packed with edge-of-your-seat stories and humour.
In our conversation Mandy shares some great tips about how to bounce back from setbacks, how to manage immense pressure and also how to ‘debrief yourself’ objectively to help learn from mistakes.
You can find out more about Mandy's work through her website and I highly recommend picking up a copy of her book An Officer, Not A Gentleman.
https://www.mandyhickson.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandyhickson
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck and unable to find a way forwards? Do you procrastinate, self-sabotage or hold yourself back some other way?
If so then you are in the right place as my guest on today’s episode has over 25 years of experience helping people with overcoming precisely these challenges.
Moira Geary is known as the Recombobulator. She spoke at Momentum last month and her presentation on the subconscious mind, fear and positivity was a huge hit so I invited her on the show to dive a little deeper into some of these topics.
With a background in nursing, Moira has been in the personal development space for over 25 years and among many other qualifications holds a Master Practitioner in NLP and a masters in psychotherapy.
In today’s episode we chat about where fear comes from, the different ways it shows up and what we can do to create a better understanding and response to it.
Moira shares a number of simple tools and techniques that can help us deal with overwhelm and stuckness, as well as some powerful reframing methods that allow us to work with some of the more negative emotions such as fear, anxiety and worry.
Moira’s no-cost Positivity Project is worth checking out if you want to find out more about her work and discover more of her tried and tested strategies.
https://www.moirageary.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/moirageary
https://www.facebook.com/recombobulator
Through my work as a speaker I get invited to present at a lot of company wellbeing weeks and events. A topic that I’ve noticed an increasing number of organisations have been including on their agendas lately is the menopause.
The more people I spoke to about this the more I came to realise how important it is for all of us - men and women - to understand the menopause and how we can have more constructive and supportive conversations about it, both at home and in the workplace.
I’m delighted today to have on the podcast a guest who is a world class expert on the subject, Catherine O’Keeffe - AKA the Wellness Warrior.
She is Ireland’s first menopause coach and founder of the Menopause Success Summit being held later this year, and in our conversation today I asked her to lay out the ‘menopause basics’.
We talk about the difference between menopause and peri menopause, some of the common symptoms and how these can affect confidence, performance and mental health. We discuss the various treatment pathways and also how men can support women at home and in work who are going through the menopause.
I was fascinated to learn that in some languages the equivalent word translates as 'renewal', and Catherine looks at the more empowering aspects of the journey.
Of course we also had to briefly discus the male menopause which it turns out it is a real thing and in fact something that 30% of men will go through.
You can find out more about Catherine's work here:
https://wellnesswarrior.ie
https://www.menopausesuccesssummit.com
In the interview Catherine references a number of resources, the links to which are here:
Symptom checker:
https://menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/MENOPAUSE-SYMPTOM-CHECKER-Nov-20.pdf
CBT
https://www.womens-health-concern.org/help-and-advice/factsheets/cognitive-behaviour-therapy-cbt-menopausal-symptoms
Understanding menopause for partners
https://menopausesupport.co.uk/?page_id=13696
We're often told when we're trying to build a new habit that we should try and carry it out at the same time of day, in the same place and in the same way.
This makes sense as it uses the 'Reminder, Routine, Reward' process that James Clear describes in his book Atomic Habits.
But what happens when that routine changes, such as when you go on holiday, when you're unwell or just hit the weekend?
This simple tip can help you build a habit that is context independent, and becomes just a part of what you do.
In today’s mini-motivation episode I share one simple idea: your energy flows where your attention goes. With all the noise in the world today it’s up to each of us to decide in advance what we’re going to pay attention to.
20 years ago when I started my career as a personal trainer clients would come to me asking the question ‘George, how should I be eating and exercising in order to lose weight, tone up and get fit?’
This is the bread and butter of many personal trainers and although I think things have got a bit more sophisticated over the past couple of decades with out understanding of the other more immediate benefits of diet and exercise, ultimately the question of ‘what should I be eating’ is still very much at the front of most people’s minds when it comes to making positive changes
In today’s episode I want to get into the subject of diet, sharing with you my personal approach as well as some of the Food Foundation Principles that I believe can be overlaid to any diet you choose to follow
I’ll share with you some mindset tips and tricks that may also help you do more of the things you say you’re going to do
This is a brand new series of podcast episodes I’ll be dropping into the show throughout the year, where I’ll aim to share just one quick idea with you in just 2 or 3 minutes.
It’s actually a part of one of my own goals to improve my ability to be concise, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback about how useful or interesting you find them!
This first Mini-Motivations episode is about the different ways we can measure progress, and how it can affect our motivation.
My first guest of 2022 was also my first guest of 2021, and I’m thinking maybe this will become a thing as long as he’s happy to keep coming back on!
James Stott, AKA the Magic Marine joined us last time to talk about motivation, and he returns today with to talk about adventure, magic, myths and motorcycles. We also talk about taking ideas we read about in books and applying them to our own lives.
James is an ex-Royal Marine turned professional close up magician and if you want to see some of his skills in practice make sure you take a look at his Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/themagicmarine
The end of one year and the start of another is a great time for reflection.
Among other things it’s a good time to look back over the previous 12 months and identify some of the things that you’re going to take forwards into the next 12, and some of the things that that you’d rather leave behind.
In today’s episode I want to share some of the things that have made my list.
The 6 things I will be taking forwards into 2022 are:
Planning
Disconnection
Attention
Flow
Creation
Implementation
The 6 things I'll be working on leaving behind are:
Disappointment
Over consumption
Distraction
The Quick Check
Clutter
Attachment to outcome
Thanks for tuning into the A Bit Of A Boost podcast this year, I hope you've managed to take something positive away from the solo episodes and guest interviews.
Don't forget you can join my podcast wellbeing email list here and if you subscribe, rate and review the podcast it really does help more people find it who may also benefit!
Every experience we have in life has the potential to teach us something about ourselves, and if we pay enough attention to it we can take these lessons and transfer them across to other areas of our life.
My guest for today’s episode is a living breathing masterclass of precisely this. Following a 21 year career in the RAF flying combat helicopters, Sarah Furness has taken what she has learned about performing under pressure in war zones and the resilience required to resist interrogation, and transferred her wisdom to building a second career as a performance coach and speaker.
I asked Sarah about what it was like to fly helicopters on the front line, as well as using them to usher elephants out of the way in Kenya. We talk about making big bold changes in your life, why wine and mindfulness go together so well, and how your choice of underpants can never be taken away from you!
Find out more about Sarah here:
https://wellbeitcoach.com
https://sarahfurness.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahjfurness
Are you outgoing or reserved? People or task focused? Are you an influencer, a supporter, decisive or cautious?
Although your answers may change from situation to situation, we all have a set of general tendencies that we otherwise know as our ‘personality’.
Personality profiling is the topic of today’s podcast, and I’m joined by award winning DISC coach Vicky O’Farrell.
Vicky recently did my own DISC profile and we spent some time together going through the results, and I figured it’d make for an interesting discussion, especially if you’ve never done any profiling before and are wondering what it’s all about.
We talk about the benefits of understanding yourself and others better, what this can mean for relationships, emotional intelligence and team work. I ask Vicky about how to use something like DISC without feeling like you’re putting yourself and other people in a box, and the all important question given the time of year we recorded this; is leaving your Christmas shopping to the last minute despite every year swearing you’re going to have it all done by the end of November, fundamentally linked to your personality or is it something we can change?
You can find out more about Vicky and her work over on her website:
https://queenofbehaviours.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriaofarrell
My guest on today's episode is Jess Robson, mental health activist and creator of the global movement 'Run Talk Run'. Jess is doing some tremendously important work in the world of mental health, and has created a space for a growing number of people to talk about their mental health in a supportive and positive environment.
I asked her about her own mental health journey and some of the strategies that have helped her over the years, and the power of saying ‘no’ which ironically is how Jess came onto my radar in the first place.
Visit the Run Talk Run website for more information
TW: Episode continues references to eating disorders
NSDR, or Non-Sleep Deep Rest, is a relaxation technique where you bring your mind and body into a state of deep relaxation, somewhere between being awake and asleep.
NSDR is a term coined by Dr Andrew Huberman, professor of neurobiology and opthamology at Stanford University and it's similar to a form of yoga called Yoga Nidra.
It brings numerous benefits that I’ve been enjoying recently and I want to share it with you today.
NSDR is a powerful stress-buster as it activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which is the opposite to your fight and flight stress response. Any time you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed out and you need to take a moment to reset yourself, this tool can be great way to accomplish that.
NSDR can also help clear your mind, opening you up to fresh ideas or inspiration. I sometimes do this in the mornings immediately before a bout of journaling, and always find that I can think much more clearly and have more ‘ah ha’ moments.
It also helps to embed new information as a part of the learning process, and this is another areas that I have found it to be particularly valuable.
If you struggle to get to sleep or fall back to sleep once you wake in the night, it can be a great help with this. Even though it’s called ‘Non-Sleep Deep Rest’, it will move you away from ruminating and dwelling on worries, and towards a state of relaxation that will help you get back to sleep again.
As you work through the 10 minute NSDR that I’m going to share with you today your brainwaves will slow down similar to how they would in a state of deep sleep, yet you remain conscious throughout. In fact I encourage you to set your intention to stay awake right at the start.
But that said, this is definitely not a podcast episode to listen to if you are driving, operating heavy machinery, or in water. You want to find yourself a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed for at least 10 minutes.
References:
Huberman Lab podcast: https://hubermanlab.com
When many of us define success we think of things such as those that we are able to have or to do, but my guest on today’s episode has a different take.
Jennifer Merritt is a success mentor, and after a successful corporate career you might expect her to fall in line with the traditional society views of what success is.
Although she sees success as something we can all create as a feeling, it’s not something that needs to diminish our drive to strive for more.
In our conversation today she shares some of her top tips for reframing success, how to put yourself first, and why it’s so important to be clear on why something is important to you if it stands any chance of bringing you any kind of happiness.
Jennifer also shares some of her own incredible story, about burnout, about loss, and about a life changing medical diagnosis just before she got married about 10 years ago.
This episode is packed with inspiration and information, and although Jennifer and I clearly share lots of similar ideas and philosophies, her approach is unique and there are many ideas you can take aways and start applying to your own life today.
Find out more about Jennifer and her work on her website:
https://www.jennifermerritt.com
If there's been one positive from the pandemic it's that it has shone the spotlight of attention even more fiercely on the conversation about mental health.
Although the statistics inform us that 1 in 4 of us will suffer from a mental health problem at some point in our lives, every single one of us has 'mental health' that needs looking after.
Today's episode is less about the general societal challenges with mental health, and more of a conversation with you as an individual.
I share a dozen different ways you can take care of your mental health, not just to avoid ill-health but to boost positive health.
This Sunday October 10 is World Mental Health Day, but no matter when you're listening to this episode and whatever is currently going on for you, I hope that it gives you a bit of a boost!
Resources:
Mind.org: https://www.mind.org.uk
Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org (call 116 123 to talk to somebody)
Time To Change: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/mental-health-and-stigma/help-and-support
The early bird catches the worm, but the early worm gets eaten by the bird.
You don't have to be a 'morning person' to benefit from some kind of morning routine.
In this week's solo episode I get into one of my favourite subjects, why I believe they can make such a big difference to how your day goes, and how to set up your perfect routine.
There's some more general advice and observations on habits and routines, and how to get back on track again when you hit an obstacle that knocks you off course.
One of the resources I mention in this episode is journaling, and you can now get a free 3 part video series on how to get started with journaling from the website:
http://mywipjournal.com
Journaling is one of those things that lots of people know they could probably benefit from, but struggle to get started and turn it into a habit.
I've been writing in a journal since I was about 13 years old and these days it's one of my most important tools for maintaining my motivation, performance and personal development.
A couple of years ago one of my coaching clients Alexa Whitten - herself a book coach and author-maker and another avid journaler - approached me to suggest we collaborate on creating our own journal.
Fast forward almost 3 years and we published the wonderful Work In Progress journal - essentially a beginner’s guide to building a journaling habit.
In today’s episode, which is being sponsored by the WIP journal - available from mywipjournal.com! - I speak to Lex about journaling.
Not just the WIP, but her own experiences of journaling and how she uses it.
I always find it fascinating that despite having many similar beliefs about the value of journaling, we have very different ways of using the tool!
We discuss some of the common challenges that many people face when it comes to starting to journal, and how you can overcome these blocks.
If you’re already journaling then hopefully this episode will reinforce this wonderful habit, and if you’re just curious about it or have struggled in the past to keep it going then perhaps this will be the beginning of a long and positive relationship.
The Work In Progress is available from the website here:
http://mywipjournal.com
And the WIP Insta is here:
https://www.instagram.com/wip_journal
You can also find out more about Alexa Whitten and her work as a book coach and 'author maker' here:
https://www.thebookrefinery.com
And her 'Pen To Published' podcast is another great resource for anybody interested in publishing their own book:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-pen-to-published-podcast/id1565327859
For today’s episode I’m joined by the award-winning host of the Game Changers podcast, Sue Anstiss MBE to talk about women in sport.
Sue has been a major player in driving change in women’s sport for over 30 years. She’s a founding trustee of the Women’s Sport Trust and co-founder of the Women’s Sport Collective and was recognised for her services to women’s sport with an MBE in 2018.
More recently though, she has written a book that charts the history of women in sport and exposes many of the inequalities that are still hiding in plain sight
I was lucky enough to have a read of ‘Game On: The unstoppable rise of women's sport’ ahead of publication and I can honestly say that my eyes have been opened!
I was delighted to have this opportunity to interview Sue and ask her some questions about the book, and of her own experiences of sport.
We talk about how girls are so often put off sport and exercise in general at a young age, both through practical barriers but also societal beliefs about things like femininity and acceptability.
I asked Sue about how the media and major sports sponsorship are helping or hindering progress, and the role that men have to play in actively supporting and encouraging, but also calling out inequalities that simply don’t make any sense.
Whether you’re a man or a woman, a participant or a spectator, Game On is a fascinating read and I hope that you find it as enlightening as I did!
'Game On: The unstoppable rise of women's sport' is available on Amazon and all good book stores from September 2 2021:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Game-Unstoppable-Rise-Womens-Sport/dp/1800180624
Sue's website https://www.fearlesswomen.co.uk is the access point for more information about the book, her 'Game Changers' podcast, and all the other work and services she offers as part of her mission to promote and bring equality to women's sport.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sueanstiss
https://twitter.com/sueanstiss
https://www.instagram.com/fearlesswomen__
Much as I love the holidays I know that I'm at my best when I have routine in my life!
In today's episode I share 5 of the key areas of my life I regularly reset. Not just after a break, but any time I sense they're starting to drift away.
1) Morning routine
2) Planning
3) Training
4) Evening routine
5) Goals
You may have other areas that benefit from a bit of a reset, but the principles I share in today's episode can be applied anywhere.
I'd love to hear from you if you have any comments or questions from today's episode - please get in touch by emailing me at george@bygeorgeanderson.com
Welcome back to Season 3 of the A Bit Of A Boost podcast!
And what a start to season 3, as I welcome back a guest from episode 27, positive psychologist, happiness expert and all round wonderful person Vikki Barnes!
During my time off I relaxed by reading her brand new book ‘Free Happiness’, made many notes, and decided that I’d ask her to join me again here on the podcast for another chat about happiness, positivity and life in general.
We talk about festivals, working with Sir Richard Branson, optimism, acceptance and enjoyment, as well the difference and overlap between vulnerability and authenticity.
You can find Vikki's book on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Free-Happiness-art-science-positivity/dp/B0997RJW3L
Follow Vikki on social media here:
https://www.instagram.com/drvikkibarnes
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drvikkibarnes
https://twitter.com/DrVikkiBarnes
And her website here:
https://www.drvikkibarnes.com
A couple of weeks ago I was in the North East visiting my mum and I dropped my friend Dean Coulson a line to see if he was around for a workout.
Dean is a coach and trainer with a very similar set of beliefs to me when it comes to how to approach holistic wellbeing, and our training sessions are always peppered with fascinating conversations.
I knew Dean would make a great guest for the podcast, and the timing was perfect as his brand new book THRIVE! is published today! (July 22 2021)
Dean’s personal story is inspiring, and he ended up leaving a career in IT to open a gym and become a lifestyle coach working predominantly with men. He’s been practicing martial arts for 30 years and we talk today about some of the lessons he’s taken from the sport that other non-practitioners could also benefit from.
We get into talking about Dean’s 4 elements of health and wellbeing - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual - and keep coming back to a central question that we are always asking ourselves - though usually subconsciously - “am I safe?”
The answer to this question is often the reason why we struggle to do the things we said we were going to do, and keep repeating patterns of behaviour that we know are harming or limiting us.
As well as delving into the book, I wanted to make sure that through our conversation we extracted a few solid takeaways that you can begin to apply immediately to your own life.
You can order a limited edition hardback copy of THRIVE! from Dean's website here:
https://www.theleanwarrior.com/thrive-pre-order-page
You can also follow Dean on social media here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanncoulson
https://www.instagram.com/dean_n_coulson
https://www.facebook.com/DeanNCoulson
One of the things that continually intrigues me is how people perform consistently at a high level. Whether it’s in their work, their sport or any other area of their lives, pushing and holding themselves to higher standards seems to be a hallmark of the high performer.
My guest on today’s episode is ex-professional rugby player Leon Lloyd, who now works with individuals and organisations to help them build high performance habits, teams and culture. Leon started playing professional rugby union for Leicester Tigers at the age of 16 just as the sport turned pro, and went on to have a successful International career.
After retiring from rugby, Leon gained a first-class honours degree in Leadership and Management, followed by an MBA where he received a distinction.
In our conversation today I asked Leon about what it was like to choose rugby as a career at a time where it hadn’t previously been an option, and being around the likes of Martin Johnson and Neil Back in that early Tigers professional team.
He talks about setbacks and mistakes, and how he recovered from them to improve his own game and cement the high performance mindset he now shares with others.
We also talked about the challenge that professional sports people often face as they transition out of the structure of full time sport, and have to create their own routines to help them stay motivated.
Leon gives us a fascinating insight into the world of professional rugby, and how some of these lessons translate across to life outside of sport.
You can find out more about Leon and the work he does at the following links:
Website: www.leonlloyd.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leon-lloyd-mba-ba-hons-b409201a
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeonLloyd13
In today's solo podcast I get into the vast topic of exercise. With so many different approaches, is it really possible to claim one way is the 'best'? And what 'results' are we looking for anyway?
We talk about the difference between activity, exercise and training, the WHO recommendations and what they really mean, the FITTA principles of exercise, the 5 components of physical exercise, the strength / endurance continuum, and why some people are 'low-responders' to exercise.
My guest on today’s episode is double Paralympic gold medalist archer Danielle Brown.
After becoming disabled as a teenager, Danielle realised that even in adversity we have a choice. Choose to let the things outside your control defeat you, or choose to control your response to it.
Taking up archery on her fifteenth birthday, Danielle made the Great Britain team three years later, jumping straight in as world number 1. She hung onto that position for her entire career. Danielle is a five time World Champion and 2 time Paralympic gold medallist, winning gold in Beijing 2008 and retaining her title on home soil in London 2012. She also became the first disabled person to represent England as an able-bodied competitor at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, where she won gold.
Danielle was awarded MBE in 2013 and now works as a keynote speaker and mentor. She specialises in helping others unlock their potential, break through barriers and achieve more. Always wanting to put something back, she is very passionate about helping young people achieve all that they are capable of and develop strong foundations for success.
I got to know Danielle through her work as a speaker and she has such an amazingly positive mindset I knew she’d be a brilliant guest and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
In today's interview we talk about the book and some of the incredible stories she shares in it, as well as her mission to educate boys and girls, men and women about the importance of inclusion.
I ask her about archery, and what kept her going after back for more her first experience despite not being a 'natural'. Oh, and we clarified that the middle bit isn’t actually called the bullseye as I originally thought!
This conversation is really all about resilience and mindset, put into practice in the most stunning of ways.
Danielle's published works include:
- Be Your Best Self: Life Skills For Unstoppable Kids
- Run Like A Girl: 50 Extraordinary and Inspiring Sportswomen
- One Hundred Reasons To Hope, curated with Captain Tom Moore’s family’s support
You can find out more about Danielle and her work here:
https://www.daniellebrown.co.uk
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-brown-mbe
https://www.instagram.com/daniellebrownmbe
https://twitter.com/danibrownmbe
The theme of today’s episode is happiness, and my guest is a man who knows a thing or two about the subject - Raj Nayak.
Raj left a high flying job in one of India’s largest media networks to launch his own business driving positive change and bringing happiness to workplaces around the world.
But how do you even begin to talk about happiness when there is so much devastation in the world right now, especially in India, where Raj is based?
We get to talking about this among many other topics in today’s episode of the podcast.
Raj spent over 3 decades in media. He was one of the founding members of Rupert Murdoch’s company Star TV in India, he launched India’s largest news network NDTV, and then joined Viacom where spent 8 years, ending up as the chief operating officer.
He shares how and why he quit his job to start his new mission, some of the challenges he’s faced already and those that he anticipates are up ahead and we talk about one of his old companies that had a tattoo allowance, and whether or not Raj took advantage of this unusual perk!
Raj has also started a ‘global happiness campaign’ which you can get involved in by filming a 45- 60 second video in horizontal mode about what happiness means to you, with your name and location and emailing it to hello@happyness.me.
You can find out more about Raj and follow him on social media here:
https://happyness.me
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raj-nayak-53a15b69
facebook.com/Rajcheerfull
My guest on today’s podcast is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, Chris Fensom. We’ve known each other for a long time now and he’s a real goldmine of wisdom and insights. When I was going to his classes he would regularly drop a thought bomb that would stop me in my tracks, and I wanted to see if we could capture some of that essence in today’s conversation.
Typically, Chris came to the interview armed with questions for me! So what you’re about to listen to is very much a 2 way conversation which was great fun to record!
They say that a BJJ black belt is a white belt who never quit, as it typically takes over 10 years to get there. Chris is also an analyst for Battle Arena TV on Sky, a former ISKA British MMA Champion at middle weight and light heavy weight, coaches more than 200 kids in karate, and is a proud father to 4 of his own.
We talk about failures and mistakes, ego and the Beginner’s Mind, Stoic philosophy and SAS Who Dares Wins, parenting and why I never post pictures of my kids on social media - which was one of his questions!
Find out more about Chris's classes here:
https://a1martialarts.co.uk
In the world of ultra endurance, one thing I’ve come to realise is that no matter how much you’re doing or how far you’re going, there’s always somebody doing more or going further.
Logically then, there must be a person who is doing the most and going the furthest, and it’s quite possible that this person is my guest on today’s podcast, Adam Holland.
We recorded this episode on a Monday, the day after he had completed a 24 hour ultra marathon. I’ve done a couple of these in the past, and I can tell you I was good for nothing for more than a few days!
This particular ultra marathon - which he won with over 118 miles of running - was preceded by cycling over 500 miles as a part of another challenge.
He’s run over 1000 miles in 28 days, he holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest half marathon on a treadmill, and also the record for the fastest average time for 10 marathons in 10 consecutive days.
And he does all this whilst holding down a full time job and raising a family.
In our conversation we talk about motivation, comparing ourselves to others, how 10 back to back marathons becomes ‘easy’ after you’ve done it a few times, and how you would even start preparing for the next challenge he has his sights set on… which will be bigger than anything he’s done before, if you can imagine that such a thing exists!
You can find more inspiration from Adam over at his Facebook page.
We all know that feedback is valuable. It can lead to growth, accelerated improvement and see things from different perspectives.
But it can also feel uncomfortable and we put up defences that stop us from benefitting from it.
Whether it's solicited or unsolicited, the 6 steps I talk about in today's episode will increase your chances of getting the best from what's being offered.
It’s another podcast first for me today, as I welcome not just one but TWO guests to speak to! In 2019, Nigel Pattison, Steven Gregory & I completed the Frog Graham Round, a 42 mile ultra marathon in the Lake District that included swimming across 4 of the lakes.
These guys have been hugely inspirational to me both for a long time, and I gain a lot by watching their approach and attitude to whatever they take on. They’re both fitness industry pros (Steve runs a local gym (https://www.fitlife.co.uk) and Nigel is an exceptional personal trainer and class instructor) and they share their enthusiasm and passion for fitness and wellbeing with everybody around them.
They’re both currently training for Iron-distance triathlons, and I wanted to ask them some questions about their sources of motivation, and what changes they’ve seen in the world of fitness over the last 14 months.
It’s quite possible that you’ll want to get up and go for a workout or sign up for a marathon after listening to these two guys, but for now get ready for a bit of a boost of motivation!
https://www.instagram.com/fitlife.steve
https://www.instagram.com/nigelpattison
My guest today is a Katherine Blackler, CPO Certified Professional Organizer, a London-based decluttering expert who was the first certified professional organiser in the UK, and for the last 3 years has been president of the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers. Yes, such an organisation exists and has been enjoying a period of tremendous growth over the last few years.
In our conversation we talk about the difference between tidying up and decluttering, why some people have tendencies towards hoarding or just general untidiness, and the reason I started folding my underpants in a ‘special way’ a few years ago.
Katherine is a goldmine of life hacks and ideas to help create the systems that make it easier to maintain order and calm and she shares a ton of useful ideas in this conversation.
If your life could do with a bit of extra order and little less ‘stuff’, you’re going to love today’s episode.
You can find out more about Katherine on her website SortMySpace.co.uk and to find a helping hand in your area go to APDO Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers
www.findanorganiser.co.uk
Katherine can also be found on social media here:
Facebook: @sortmyspaceuk
Instagram: @sortmyspaceuk
Twitter: @sortmyspaceuk
LinkedIn: @katherine-blackler-sortmyspace
We’re returning for season 2 of A Bit Of A Boost after a short break, and I was delighted to speak to my first guest Jen Martin LLB MAaPPCP to kick things off.
Jen is a Psychological Coach, Speaker and Facilitator. Through her research with business, government and sporting leaders, she specialises in vulnerability and psychological safety. In addition to her work in Ireland, Jen has spent the last decade working with non-native English speaking C-suite executives, politicians, diplomats, and actors, in Europe, Russia and Asia, where she leverages her vulnerability research to optimise their performance and communication.
Other areas of work and research interest include self-efficacy, imposter phenomenon, psychological capital and optimal performance. She is deeply passionate about human connection, belonging and inclusion.
In our conversation today we talk about the impact that Covid has had on our collective vulnerability, and she explains more about what ‘psychological capital’ means.
You can connect with Jen and follow her updates on her work over on LinkedIn.
My guest today is clinical psychotherapist Emma Reed Turrell, who I first heard being interviewed on one of my favourite podcasts, How To Fail with Elizabeth Day.
Emma was talking about her new book ‘Please Yourself’ - ‘how to stop people-pleasing and transform the way you live’.
In our conversation today we talk about the 4 people pleasing types that Emma has identified through her clinical practice, and how most of us will have tendencies towards each one in different situations.
I asked her about some of the steps we can take to start saying 'no' and set up firmed boundaries, but without swinging so far the other way that we end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
I was also interested in Emma's views on people pleasing in men, as this isn't just a female trait (I personally identified with many of the stories she shares in the book!).
I highly recommend reading the book, which is available from all good book stores.
Emma also puts out some great content on Instagram and you can find her here:
https://emmareedturrell.com
https://www.instagram.com/emmareedturrell
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-reed-turrell-mbacp-accred-42328436
https://twitter.com/etcounselling
I'm being completely self-indulgent today and dedicating this whole episode to giving myself a bit of a boost!
I have a goal for 2021 that I've been stalling at rather than starting, and need to draw a line in the sand and fully commit to doing what needs to be done.
As Jim Rohn once said, 'don't set a goal for what you will achieve but for what it will make of you in order to achieve it'. I know that working towards this goal will reveal some as-yet undiscovered aspects of my character. I know that it will teach me the answers to questions I haven't even been asked. I know that it'll help me grow and... look, I just need to get started!
In this episode I explain WHY I'm doing this, HOW I'm doing it (with my 8 session training program!) and what challenges I anticipate needing to overcome (including regulating my core temperature which was a surprise problem in a previous marathon treadmill run!)
Training starts on Sunday and I feel ready for it :)
We talk a lot about energy on this podcast, whether that’s physical, emotional, mental.
But my guest today works with energy in a very different way, in his role as a Pranic Healer.
I’ve known Mark Willis for over 15 years, and in that time I’ve watched him consistently apply his teachings to himself as well as his clients. It’s made a dramatic difference to his life, and also to the many others he works with.
Energy, life force, Chi, Prana… it can all sound a bit spiritual and unquantifiable, but in our conversation today Mark explains how it connects with more commonly held understandings and beliefs.
We talk about how you or I might notice a ‘block’ in our energy flow, and some of the things we can do about ourselves without necessarily having to see a healer, including meditation.
The session today ends with Mark leading us through a simple 10 minute meditation and if you would like more of these then head over to ukpranichealing.co.uk where you’ll find a number of similar resources.
Mark is a fascinating guy and he’s also incredibly down to earth. One of my favourite sayings from him is a reminder to be an ‘open minded skeptic’.
Don’t blindly believe everything you hear, but don’t close yourself off the possibility of different approaches either.
That applies not just for this podcast episode, but for any new information you encounter elsewhere as well.
You can follow Mark here:
https://www.instagram.com/markdwillis
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdanielwillis
https://www.facebook.com/MarkWillisPH
http://www.ukpranichealing.co.uk/markwillis
“Vague wishes to improve my work life balance which have been in my mind for the last 5 years, have now been clearly detailed and actioned”
This was part of a review somebody left on this podcast a few weeks ago and it really intrigued me.
How many of us have listened to a podcast, or read a book or watched a video and felt motivated or inspired to do something, but then nothing changes.
We can’t (and don't need to!) put absolutely everything that we learn into action, but I also know that the thing most of us struggle with is bridging the gap between knowing and doing. Doing things differently enough such that it brings about positive change.
I was delighted to track down the lady who wrote those words, Karen Gibson, and was even more grateful that she agreed to come on as a guest herself!
In our conversation she explains a little more about what she did, what had stopped her in the past, how she started to put the ideas into practice, and the difference it’s made to her.
Everybody’s situation is different of course, and there are plenty of general lessons in this that could be applied to yours.
This is a topic that's come up a lot lately, with many people saying that they either always or regularly struggle to switch off.
Lying in bed at night tired but wired, with thoughts from the day buzzing around your brain can really disrupt your sleep. Mulling over work problems in your mind when you're playing with the kids or socialising with your friends can take you away from the moment and lead to disengagement and a lack of deep connection.
Today's episode examines 3 questions:
1) What does 'switching off' really mean
2) Is it necessarily a bad thing if you can't switch off (and why we should be talking about switching gears instead)
3) What can we do to help avoid intrusive thoughts and the associated stress that goes with it
When it comes to physical wellbeing, one of the most important habits we can try to create is around getting a good night’s sleep.
We all know that this is important, and I’m sure we’ve all experienced the fall out of a bad night’s sleep, but it’s easier said than done.
My guest today is sleep expert and author of ‘Navigating Sleeplessness’, Dr. Lindsay Browning. We talk about how to improve the quality as well as quantity of your sleep, the different stages of sleep and some of the common myths.
How Covid has affected our sleep patterns, caffeine, shift work, getting up in the night for the loo…
It’s a packed session and if you do ever have trouble sleeping - that’ll be nearly all of us then! - then definitely make sure you have a pen and paper to hand as you listen.
You can find Lindsay on her website and social media at the following links:
https://troublesleeping.co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08SMSPGX5/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbrowning
https://twitter.com/DrBrowningSleep
https://www.facebook.com/DrBrowningSleep
https://www.instagram.com/drbrowningsleep
In 2014 I wrote the book 'Beginner's Luck Guide for Non-Runners' and since then it's helped thousands of complete beginners build the confidence to go out enjoy all of the benefits of running.
In today's episode I introduce 3 practical tips that many beginner runners seem to find useful, as well as 3 mindset tips and 3 common mistakes.
It's a bit of a niche episode and if running isn't your bag then you might want to skip over this one, but if you've secretly wanted to learn how to run for a while now, this could be just the start that you need!
My intention with this podcast has always been to try and give you a bit of a boost of positivity, or a boost energy, or a boost of motivation. But ultimately what I think we’re all trying to achieve, is to give ourselves a bit of a boost of happiness.
My guest today is Dr Vikki Barnes, a clinical psychologist and specialist in positive psychology and the science of happiness.
Vikki delivers workplace wellbeing programs, she runs retreats, and she’s just finished a book on happiness that will be published soon… and she’s promised to come back on the podcast when it’s released to tell us more about it!
In this conversation Vikki talks about what happiness means to her, why she thinks so many more people are practicing habits like gratitude, and how to do it in case you’re not familiar with this wonderfully simple yet effective happiness habit, and we also get into the prickly subject of what to do about ‘happiness guilt’, where some people have a tendency to deny themselves happiness because there’s so much other bad stuff going on around them.
https://www.drvikkibarnes.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drvikkibarnes
https://www.instagram.com/drvikkibarnes
Pat Divilly is one of Ireland's leading resilience and wellbeing coaches, a sought after corporate speaker and host of The Pat Divilly podcast. We've been friends for many years and for the last 5 have hosted the annual Momentum New Year kick off alongside Gerry Duffy.
Pat runs meditation, journaling and personal development programs, retreats, mountain expeditions, and puts on hugely popular sell-out events in the personal development space.
He's also in the process of finishing off his 4th book which will be published in December 2021, and we spend a bit of time getting into what it's about in our conversation today.
There's so much I could have spoken to Pat about, but I decided to keep it fairly broad and talk about the subject of personal development. When we've realised that it's possible to work on ourselves, the next obvious question is 'how?'
We explore this question and Pat being the natural teacher that he is, shares some real gems of wisdom right from the start of this podcast.
I highly recommend checking out Pat's website https://www.patdivilly.com, and subscribing to The Pat Divilly Podcast for a weekly dose of inspiration!
I hope that today's episode gives you a bit of a boost!
On today's episode I speak to mental health campaigner, adventurer, speaker and coach Dan Keeley. I almost met Dan recently at an event we were both speaking and was intrigued enough by the title of his talk to get in touch with him afterwards. After our initial 'virtual coffee' I knew I wanted to get him on the podcast to share his story, and also ask him a few questions about his work.
Dan had a 5 year battle with bipolar, and I realised that I knew embarrassingly little about this mental health issue, so I figured this was my chance to ask!
We talk about the power of vulnerability, what it was like to run from Rome to London in 63 days, and a shared favourite Viktor Frankl quote that made it into the title of this episode.
I also wanted to get Dan's opinion on HOW to ask for help or talk to somebody when we're not feeling great. We know that we SHOULD talk more, but I wanted to hear about some of the ways we can do this practically without the fear of being invalidated, judged or even worse (for me anyway!), fixed.
This is such an inspiring story and I know that you'll be drawn to Dan's openness and generosity with his answers to my questions.
You can find out more about Dan and the work he does to promote mental health awareness and action through his website https://www.dankeeley.co, or on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram at @iamdankeeley.
Most of us are familiar with the expression 'use it or lose it', but my guest today is a man who has been living by that mantra for almost a century.
I first met Garry Garretts at a Toastmasters speakers club meeting last year, which he had recently joined because he wanted to 'keep his mind active'!
In our conversation today Garry shares some of the other things he does to stay physically and mentally fit, and why at the age of almost 99 (it's his birthday next month!) it's even more important now than ever.
His stories of being blown up as he tried to put out a German fire bomb in the Blitz (before returning to work 3 days later once they had removed the 19 pieces of shrapnel from his legs!) and joining the RAF on his 19th birthday are both inspiring and grounding.
If I have half the spirit, energy and enthusiasm for learning new things when I'm nearly 100 years old as Garry does, I'll be more than happy!
If you want to find out more about Garry and his 30 year career in the RAF (including flying on the Berlin Airlift), Legasee have done a nice series of biographical videos you can access from here:
https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/garry-garretts/
One tool that's massively changed things for me in the last few months has been my approach to planning, which has elevated my sense of effectiveness and productivity from 40% to 80%. In today's episode I outline the different elements of my personal process and why I include them. My system may not be the perfect solution for you, but my hope is that there are a few elements you can take and experiment with, and experience some of the same benefits that I have enjoyed.
Chris is the race director for one of the UK's most popular ultra marathons, Endure24. With running events starting to look more likely to take place again this Spring, I wanted to get the inside scoop on what’s happening with events in the UK, what’s going on behind the scenes, and what we can expect to see with these races. He also gives some pretty eye-opening insights to what it’s like being the race director for an event like Endure. RaceSolutions.co.uk
Over the last few years there’s been an explosion in the number of wearable health monitoring devices, gathering data on our heart rates, movement, and even sleep quality.
One of the less well known variables is heart rate variability, which I had never come across until a few years ago when I saw today’s guest giving a talk at Lords cricket club. Simon Shepard is a chartered physiotherapist, and he’s been head of health and performance at Lords cricket for the last 30 years.
In our conversation today we get into what HRV is and how it differs from HR monitoring, what it tells us about our stress levels, and what we can do about it. Optima-life.com
SMART goals, big scary goals, creating a vision of your success so that you're magnetically drawn towards it... There are many different approaches to goal setting and on this episode I share mine. Following the GOALS framework that my Great GOALS online course is based on (bygeorgeanderson.com/goals) I lead you through each element to help you set more meaningful goals that make a difference, not just when you reach them but at each step along the way.
For today's episode I'm joined by TV star Vicky Pattison, I'm a Celebrity winner, Masterchef finalist, author and host of the Vicky Pattison: The Secret To podcast. Our conversation revolves around the subject of the inner critic - that niggling, annoying little voice inside your head that chastises you, judges you and puts you down. We talk about her relationship with her inner critic, how it's evolved over the years, and how she deals with real life critics. Check out @vickypattison on Insta!
Why do some of us struggle to perform at our best when the pressure is on, whilst others seem to thrive? How is pressure different to stress, and how can we change our relationship with it so that it becomes a force for helping rather than hindering us? I caught up with accredited psychotherapist and performance psychologist Sam Bishop (sambishopcoaching.com), to discuss all of this, and he shares some fantastic insights, metaphors and strategies to help us perform at our best, under pressure.
I’m keeping it in the family for today’s episode, as I’m joined by Kenneth Keavey, my brother-in-law and founder of Ireland's largest organic box delivery scheme Greenearthorganics.ie. We talk about repairing our relationship with food, understanding where it comes from, the benefits of keeping it local and what lead to the breakdown of the supermarket supply chain 12 months ago.
There are 5 Roles that we all have to play in our lives. Not roles for other people, but roles for ourselves - Director, Manager, Worker, Coach and Administrator. I've been using this basic framework to help me get clarity on which of the roles needs attention or support. In today's episode I explain each of them, and discuss how articulating your principles can help you more closely stick to them.
Today's interview with co-founder of Wolfhound Fitness in Mullingar, Katie Murphy, is absolutely jam packed with insights and nuggets of wisdom to give you a bit of a boost of motivation and positivity.
We talk about how our values can influence our resilience, what it was like being given a life expectancy of just 13 years, and why the biggest compliment Katie ever received was ‘I didn’t notice you at all’. Follow Katie on Instagram at @Wolfhound_Katie and check out her website wolfhoundfitness.ie
If you drop your toast on the floor and it lands jam side down, do you automatically assume that this is how the rest of day is going to go?
Are you a glass half full or glass half empty kind of person?
Today’s we're getting into the topic of optimism. What is it, why it is helpful, and how can we build a more optimistic mindset?
In this episode I explain the '3 dimensions of optimism', and how a pessimistic or optimist mindset might view positive or negative events
Ultra runner and co-founder of 33Fuel, Warren Pole is one of the most positive and optimistic people on the planet. So when he suggested 'embracing negativity' as a topic for our conversation today I was intrigued! Turns out that throwing yourself a private pity party and having a bit of a moan, can actually be a great way of giving you back your mojo! Although this technique comes with plenty of warnings, Warren manages to turn the subject of negativity into something incredibly positive. 33Fuel.com
Is it possible to become more positive? Is it a habit that we can cultivate? I believe that it is! Nothing can guarantee that you'll never have another negative thought or emotion (and neither would you want it to), but there are certain things we can do to boost our positivity, optimism and sense of hope. Here, in this episode, are 5 such habits.
Nutrition expert and author Jenny Tschiesche talks about building confidence in the kitchen. How do you get started with cooking healthy food? What are some of the time saving short cuts? What equipment do we really need? How can we avoid the cook book overwhelm (that has been my problem in the past!)? I could talk to Jenny all day about food and cooking, and we slide into chatting about gut health, the rise of popularity of plant-based diets, and asking Siri to convert cups to ml, but largely we focus on kitchen confidence! Her latest book 'Modern Vegetarian Instant Pot Cook Book' is out now!. Find out more from lunchboxdoctor.com
Freddie is a coach, speaker, and host of the Over The Influence podcast. In our conversation today he talks candidly about his mental health struggles, and own transformation from stressed-out city boy with an alcohol addiction on a fast track to oblivion, to an ultra running, world-record holding adventurer. We talk about these polar opposite lives, but crucially I wanted to find out how he started to make the changes in his life.
Check out freddiembennett.com for more inspiration
Today’s episode is a little different, as I’m the one who is being asked the questions! A friend of mine and host of the ‘Focus on Why’ podcast, Amy Rowlinson, offered to come on the show and interview me.
Amy’s super power is her ability to hear what’s not said, and then ask questions to dig deeper.
After a few stock answers I was disarmed by Amy’s questions and curiosity and find myself sharing stuff that doesn’t come up very often!
Check out Amy's 'Focus on Why' podcast, and her website amyrowlinson.com
If you've ever got to the end of the day feeling wrung out and tired despite spending most of your day sitting down, you'll know what I mean when I talk about emotionally or mentally drained! Energy isn't just physical, although our approach to our physical wellbeing has a significant influence on how we feel. In this short episode I discuss a few practical strategies and mindset approaches that may help give your energy levels a bit of a boost.
I was introduced to QiGong last Summer by a friend of mine, and started doing a regular class over Zoom. I've really benefitted from this very practical way to slow down, and I've my preconceptions blown away by it!
My guest on this episode is Tom Watson, a practitioner and lecturer in acupuncture and Chinese medicine in North London, who has been teaching Qigong for over a decade and has been practicing Taoist arts for almost 20 years having first come to the practice through martial arts.
I ask Tom about the difference between QiGong and Tai Chi, the benefits, what draws him to the form, and why it isn’t ‘just for old people!
Last summer I realised my screen time was out of control. I was constantly distracting myself with an endless loop of checking messages, social media, news and email and I was clocking up an average of 6.5 hours a week on my iPhone. I knew I had to get a grip and over the course of the next few weeks I brought it down to a much saner 3-3.5 hours, which is where it still sits now. Our devices and the apps we use are addictive, and for all the value and convenience they can bring to our lives unless we pay attention it can quickly spiral out of control. In this episode I share some of the strategies I used to restore more of a digital balance to my life, without having to 'give up' using my device.
Known as ‘The Five Element Wellness Woman’ Rhiannon is an acupuncturist, coach, and host of the Sacred Rest Retreats and Powerfully Gentle podcast. She has such a calmness about her and her and in our conversation we talk about why so many people struggle to give themselves permission to slow down and just be, what the benefits are and actually HOW to do it. We talk about burnout, listening to your body and living more in sync with the seasons.
James Stott spent 14 years in the armed forces including time as a medic with the SBS. I met him a few years ago as he was transitioning out of the military and embarking on a career as a full time magician and we've been good friends ever since.
In our chat today we talk about resilience, routines, virtual coffees, adventure and connection. I also ask him about meeting Simon Cowell at Britain's Got Talent last year, and how he got the other nickname 'Steel' (I was NOT prepared for the answer!)
Check out James's Instagram for some of his mind-blowing card magic: https://www.instagram.com/themagicmarine
And join his brand new Steel Mind Facebook group that we talk about in today's podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/steelmindchallenge/
Who doesn't love a great big long list of things! Sitting down at the end of 2020 I wrote this list of some of the lessons, habits, and revelations that I took from the year and this is the list that I'm sharing with you today.
2020 was a challenging year for most of us but I was determined to draw out some positive lessons from it, and in the process of making this list I felt a tremendous rebalancing boost.
From the nutrition and exercise that's been working for me, to mindset and more practical techniques that have become established parts of my life, I'm sure there'll be something in here for everybody!
Whether it's a new weight loss program or writing a book, sometimes getting started is the biggest hurdle. We busy ourselves with planning and preparing for the perfect time to start, but when it comes to taking the action we need something stops us. The fear of starting is often the fear of judgement or the fear of rejection. Although this fear is there to keep us safe, understanding it can help us overcome it, and make a start.
In the first episode of A Bit Of A Boost, I kick off with a look at motivation, and 5 simple ways to give it a boost. This is a topic we'll be coming back to throughout the series, as I ask guests what motivates them personally. I wanted to start with a quick introduction to the podcast, and share some ideas that could be of use.