A Bit Of A Boost

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 [email protected] 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: - Comparing ourselves with other people - Why it's important to focus on our own unique skills beyond our technical expertise - How to build the mindset where you anticipate and embrace imposter syndrome - Why imposter syndrome is an indication of learning opportunities - The importance of a coach or mentor - Identifying a tendency to focus on the negatives and ignore the positive - 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

========================== 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 ========================== 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: - Getting clear about what fitness means to you (without this clarity it can be very difficult to make any real progress) - The 5 elements of physical fitness, cardio endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility and skill - How we get fitter: stimulus, adaptation, super-compensation and the overload principle - Some of my favourite ways to build overall fitness rapidly and efficiently, minimising time spent in the process - How to eliminate or reframe the discomfort often associated with exercise - 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

======================== 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 ======================== 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 https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-judge-908293b1 https://www.steve-judge.co.uk

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. =============================== [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 - [email protected] or my LinkedIn profile. ] =============================== 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. ========================================== 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: 1) Plan the session 2) Negotiate with yourself 3) Put yourself in the bin 4) No rep 5) Through the line 6) It's why you're here 7) Go beyond 8) Trash talk 9) Overcome and become 10) 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 and boost 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: [email protected]

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.