When we think of someone who is strong, we typically think of someone who is physically strong — someone who lifts heavy weights, wins ultramarathons, or treks miles in the snow. The truth is toughness applies to what our minds are capable of too
When we have a strong mind, we can better manage our emotions, thoughts and energy when we’re faced with any type of challenge, setback or difficulty. We gain the ability to remain cool, calm, and poised no matter what we’re up against. Mental strength really is your secret super power
Top performers learn that this super power of mental strength is essential to effectively regulate their emotions and attention to ensure best performance. Because if they don’t keep their emotions in check, they compromise their performance under pressure. This goes for all high performers and all high performa...
Don't know about you, but right now, a lot of people tell us they are feeling exhausted and overwhelmed yet also want to move faster so they can keep up and keep ahead. To get the most out of life, especially today's seemingly ever-changing whirlwind world of work and home life - we all deserve the practical tools to mentally thrive. You know what's great? Well, just like building our physical strength, we can all build our mental resilience
The first thing to be aware of is that ensuring we refuel and recharge results in mental strength. Failing to recharge or refuel weakens our mental capacity and leaves us less strong and less able to perform at our best
At Progressfull, we believe that's why so many peop...
It’s certainly true there is a lot going on right now which seems to be very different and larger than anything we have faced before – yet in reality from the fire of Prometheus to the mutinous neural network of 1984s "The Terminator" – humans have often been afraid of new technology. Some building structures in recent earthquakes and tsunamis would also be evidence of how we struggle to adapt to new ways of living in the face of impending natural catastrophes. Rather than doing what we can to mitigate the oncoming threat, we focus on impending doom scenarios, reach for a cold beer to drown our sorrows, and so the problem just gets bigger
What to do?
It's...
Letting go of anxiety so we can increase our energy would greatly improve a lot of our lives right now. From bar-tenders to bitcoin bankers, we are realising that living with extreme anxiety is simply unsustainable
In fact, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), as one of the two most common mental health conditions, alongside depression, anxiety costs the global economy US$ 1 trillion each year
When I first thought about this, I was actually quite angry - how can we simply 'let go' of anxiety?
Well, the truth is, that some things are a lot harder to let go of than others, yet in reality a lot of us could genuinely deal with the actual problem we are anxious about a lot more effectively, if we were able to let go of at least some of our anxiety
Why is that then?
In today’s complex and ever changing world, it is no surprise that a lot of us carry feelings of anxiety which drain ou...
Don’t know about you, but a lot of people are feeling low on energy right now and are asking us how they can build Mental resilience – from sports players, to successful entrepreneurs - mental strength really is the new Zeitgeist
The truth is, to get the most out of life, we all deserve the practical tools to mentally thrive and guess what – just like building our physical strength, we can all build our mental resilience
The first thing to be aware of is that ensuring we refuel and recharge results in mental strength. Failing to recharge or refuel weakens our mental capacity and leaves us less strong and less able to perform at our best
If we are honest, we often feel overwhelmed, frazzled and flagging rather than flexible, and flourishing
Defined in physics as the capa...
You know the great news? When we think about living a great life, we often think of having great energy, and when we think of energy, we often think in terms of batteries. What is fabulous is that when it comes to mental strength – spending time doing the things we really, truly want to do, the actions which are aligned with our values, our own unique vision of our own life – rather than depleting our batteries, this gives us mental energy – it actually refuels our batteries and builds our mental strength. Mental strength really is the new Zeigeist…
Mental strength is often linked to top performers, from Tom Daley - the British diver who competed in three prior Olympic games and only recently won his first ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, to Andrew Hoy - the Australian eques...
I admired their grit and determination as for sure, the challenge of how to enable our children to thrive by helping them build mental strength is one of the biggest challenges we face as a society today, especially post the pandemic
All around the world, the headlines inform us that we are all facing a monumental mountain of mental wellbeing issues in young people. We are swapping worrying about whether our kids will get the right grades with worrying about if they will either burnout through the pressure of perfectionism or drop out altogether through the feelings of somehow not fitting in because they aren’t the most successful tiktoker in their class. Yet taken to the extreme – I could also see the perfectionist parenting pitfalls
Remember being eleven? In 2022, are your year 7 classmates happy and content or burnt out and overwhelmed?
Here’s a thing - think about the kids who were in top set, who were striving for scholarships, crazy competitive on the sports fields – the ones fighting for success, obsessed with achievements, studying like ninjas
Take a look around and you may see that a lot of the big themes we see around us – the burnout, the great resignation, the overwhelm - are themes often driven by feelings of deep insecurity, a striving for perfection and a lack of understanding of how to build real mental strength. Feelings and behaviour which started in year 7 (or even before)
Scratch our shiny surface and underneath, many of us, even if we are so-called successful, are in truth attacked by deep insecurity - a wicked imposter syndrome which started when we were small, often alongside a lack of tools to build mental strength. Indeed,...
This is pretty much a regular scenario now in homes across the world ...
Overwhelm. The great resignation. We are leaving sour relationships, unfulfilling jobs, toxic work environments in our millions. Left, right and centre, over the last 18 months an overarching theme of overwhelm is leading us to reflect, reconsider, and re-evaluate our lives
We are picking different choices in an attempt to rid ourselves of this feeling of overwhelm – and often the choices we start with are the obvious ones – new job, new partner, new routine, (new laptop!)
What we often don’t start with, when we feel so overwhelmed – is building our mental strength
Which is ironic really – because actually – when we start our new job, our new relationship, our new routine – wouldn’t we want to start from a position of mental strength?
Because if we don’t – guess what – in 6 months time, that feeling of overwhelm might just still be there...
Success is rarely instant - from Simone Biles to leading edge scientists, from Tom Daley to tech founders we are increasingly aware that mental strength is the real secret sauce of success
In fact, in all walks of life - from start-up founders to chefs to musicians - when we look at successful people, we are fascinated to learn how they do what they do - what their secret for success is
Being an Olympian not only requires immense physical talent but also an incredible amount of psychological control - resilience and determination help them bounce back from defeat and keep on keeping on. From Tom Daley - the British diver who competed in three prior Olympic games and only recently won his first ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, to Andrew Hoy - the Australian equestrian eventer who ...