Ape Summer school Part III: Slow is your superpower!

Welcome back to our slow living series here at APE.

If you're new here, welcome!

This summer we've been taking a  look at the art of of doing things a little slower than usual.  Taking on a more realistic, reflective way of working and actually taking time to stop and smell the roses, dare I say it!

It's easy to get caught up in 'being busy' and rushing around for the sake of it.  Convincing ourselves that we are all the more important and that big things are getting done if we are chasing our tails!

Well, in my case, and in the case if so many of my clients, the world often has a funny way of slowing you down if you don't take the initiate and do it for yourself.

Don't get me wrong.  Inevitably we all have to dash about sometimes, tis the way of life...but I'm not talking about that.  I'm talking about those of us that have begun to equate busy with 'successful', or always being on the go with, I'm getting lots done!

It's often this way of being that leads to burn out, stress and actually, always rushing around means we often don't get to do our best work or sadly still, we don't stop for what's really important and forget why we're doing it all in the first place!...and that's exactly what we dive into today.

So without further ado, here is this week's little instalment.  Do have your pen and paper handy to jot down your ideas and as usual there is an exercise at the end...

..and don't forget to come back for the last video next week.

Til next week!

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Working on your Mental Health when you feel well...

When was the last time you sought help for something?

I don't mean menial help, like you needed a hand carrying some shopping bags into the house.  I mean the kind of help from someone you considered to be an expert?

What was it for?

Was it that you hired a Personal trainer at the gym to help you lose weight or get fitter?  Did you hire a Business Coach to take you through the intricacies of your business to help you achieve your next set of targets?  Or was it that you went to the doctors for a health issue?

The natural peaks and troughs of life mean that we are not always resilient.  We also don't always have all the answers....no mater how much Google convinces us we do, and sometimes when things get really tough, and we feel out of our comfort zone, we do look for external help from those that may be able to offer guidance.

In my work as a psychologist, people obviously come to me when they need help too.

They come to me when they know something has to change and often there's been some kind of catalyst for that change.  Often it's just that creeping feeling of overwhelm or lack of sleep due to stress and unhappiness that has crept in too much into their daily life and they now realise that the time is nigh.  They need an external force on this one.

Although it's great that people feel comfortable to do this, and we can all be guilty of leaving things too late to get help....what I wish, is that people would start this kind of work when they are well.  When they have resilience.  When they don't feel in crisis or a desperate need to change something.  Ultimately this is doing the work, and positively impacting our mental health when we are well enough to do so.

In todays video, I dig into this a little more and offer up some important reasons as to why we should all work on a the basis of a prevention model, and that we can do this, not just for our physical bodies but also for our mental health too.  So let's dive in..

So what do you think?

More than anything I'd love to know what you think you could be working on now, that you know you keep putting off.  What could you be working on when you're well, instead of waiting that feeling of desperation or panic?

If you're brave enough do share in the comments below, or come on over to the APE Facebook page by CLICKING HERE to join in the discussion.

Til next week!