Thrive - Do What Matters

Sometimes the weight of what we think we need before we can begin, keeps us from beginning at all.

More time. More resources. More confidence. More preparation.

Arthur Ashe’s three-line permission slip is a reminder that we don’t need more than what we currently have to take the next step.

Friend, start where you are. Start small. Start imperfect. Just start. 🩷

If I asked you to describe someone you know who is resilient, what would you say?

The chances are, you'd use phrases like "bounce back" and "determined", maybe "courageous". And there's a very good chance that you'd consider resilience a personality trait, rather than a learned skill.

One of my favourite authors is Martin Seligman, father of Positive Psychology. Seligman's research on Learned Optimism has found that one of the reasons some people recover quickly from adversity and others stay stuck results from differences in their explanatory style - how we explain what happens in our world.

⏸️ People with an optimistic explanatory style tend to see setbacks as temporary, specific and circumstantial.
🛑 People with a pessimistic explanatory style tend to see them as permanent, widespread and personal.

Imagine you come home after a long, busy day. Your hands are full of grocery bags and as you navigate your way up the stairs the cat rushes past, your phone starts ringing, you trip and the dozen eggs you just bought are now broken, oozing all over the stairs.

In that moment, what do you say to yourself?

"I guess no eggs for dinner then. Next time I'll take 2 trips." OR
"I'm so clumsy, I should have known this would happen."

If you tend towards a more pessimistic explanatory style, the great news is that friend, your style is not fixed. It is a skill, which can be developed and strengthened.

You can start simply by noticing the story you tell yourself the next time something does not go to plan. Catch the story. Is it serving you? If not, challenge yourself to find a version that is more resourceful.

Step by step, setback by setback, we can build our optimistic explanatory style and learn to choose our response. 🩷
(And buy more eggs.) 🥚

Friends, June is almost here! Wasn't it literally just January 2 days ago?

Anyhoo. For many of you, June is crunch time as we head into the end of the financial year. So, before June arrives, pause and consider - how do you want to show up during the month? Not just in terms of what you want to achieve, but in terms of how you want to respond when things get hard, busy or uncertain?

Because the quality of our responses shapes it all - our results, our relationships, and our well-being.

Research has proven that even a small daily reflection practice can change the neurological state we are responding from. It reduces amygdala (threat response) reactivity, while simultaneously activating the prefrontal cortex. This calms our nervous system and a calmer nervous system produces better responses. 🧠

Choosing your response is not about being perfect. It is about strengthening your response-ability.

Support yourself during June with 30 days of gratitude. Start building the practice now. At the end of each day, spend five minutes reflecting on two things. What's one thing that went well today? And what do I want to do differently tomorrow?

You don’t need a fancy journal, you don't need to take an hour. Just one moment, consistently, strengthens your ability to choose your response when things get tricky. 🩷

Share below: what is one thing you're grateful for today? 👇

(PS - Evolve and Amplify peeps you'll recognise this as part of our F.A.I.T.H. framework. Keep that practice going, Superstar!)