Edition 31 - Mental Health Hacks - Part 2 - Do your laces up.

Hey folks, 👋🏽

Welcome back all 9,600+ of you (come on 10k we are so close!!) to the second half of my two-part series which is all about mental health hacks. 

Last week, 11:FS People Assistant Mel Harker shared some of the things we’ve put in place to 10x (that should be 11x shouldn’t it really!) our employees' mental health and wellbeing and as promised, today I’m going to delve into one of my personal motivational hacks. 

Like most things in my life it starts with sneakers… I know right!

Whenever I arrive in London, or anywhere else for that matter, wearing a new pair of sneakers, which is quite a lot, I can be sure my team will chastise me almost as much as my wife does. I get it. I have like 100 pairs. But what is seemingly an addiction on the outside is actually a mechanism for self-motivation on the inside… honestly! 

Let’s double click. 👇🏽

Rituals. 

Lacing up a new pair of trainers is a ritual that I’ve carried with me since my days playing basketball. It’s like putting on my Avengers suit. When I know I’ve absolutely, positively got to get everyone into something I want to do and be on my ultimate A-game, a speaking gig or an important client meeting for example, this small daily act gives me the confidence boost I need to get in the right frame of mind and get the job done with a little bit of extra swagger.

Knowing what hacks, triggers or rituals to put in place is a gigantic part of good mental health. But unless you really take the time to understand yourself then you will never be as prepared or healthy as you could be. You won’t know what is right or when to change something because you feel off your game.

You knowing you, and knowing how to pick yourself up in hard times without having to rely on others to do it for you will always ensure that no matter what situation you might find yourself in, you have a toolkit that powers you through with grit, determination and resilience aplenty. 💪

Now I’m not saying that other people shouldn’t be supportive or empathetic of others in order to give them a sense of comfort - let’s face it, we all could use a hug or an ear every now and again to air our emotions or opinions. But relying on extrinsic factors and “others” to build you back up isn’t sustainable. Putting that kind of pressure on those around you or having that expectation is not only unhealthy, but it’s a sure ride to disappointment for you and them. 

You can’t control the people around you, you can only control the person who is with you night and day at all times, yourself.  

Frameworks. 

I am painfully aware that there’s a bunch of super smart people who spend their lives inside human brains to tell you about all the frameworks there are in order to get to know yourself better. There are tonnes, a lot of which you’ve probably come across in one team offsite or another. 

What I like about some of these frameworks (heck, even as far as star signs!!) is they give us a starting place to begin to understand how we individually operate both towards ourselves and, more importantly, to others. The Big 5 is the one that I would call out here which I used with my team that has a great backing with large amounts of empirical evidence. As well as answering the questions and getting results for yourself, you can also select to mark someone in your team alongside you. This allows you to see where you both may differ in approaches to things. Pretty handy for building a working relationship. 

Humans crave understanding of things so any of these personality tests gives a sense of comfort and control, and provides data which can be used to put actions in place for change. Even if you think you know yourself, I’d suggest doing a couple of these tests as I’ve known people who think they are self-aware be surprised by the results. It’s these same people who often rely on others to give them a motivational shot. 

When you’re at a point when you know what leads you to progress and what holds you back, every time you find yourself standing in front of one of life’s doors, it’s the rituals, the small life hacks that become the key in your hand to facing what’s behind it. 

Attitude.

My ritual of lacing up my trainers may seem small, but it’s as much a call to arms to me as someone else running 5k every morning, or someone who spends the first 30 minutes of their day making the perfect cup of coffee. 

Energy is directional, and getting the right attitude is a huge part, when coupled with the right effort, of what leads us to success in everything we do. It’s like the basic theory around jumping - if you look up you will go further, if you look down you will fall short. I know everytime that I lace up a fresh pair of Nikes that the best me, on top of my game, can achieve anything I put my mind to and this little hack powers me to do just that. 

So when you see me with a fresh pair of sneakers looking like I’m on a mission know that I am and it needs me on point every single day… hence why I’ve got a lot of shoes. This is my story and I’m sticking to it.

What small things do you do every day that get you ready to face the world? I’d love to hear in the comments below. 

That’s all for now. 👋🏽

D