This post includes many vulnerabilities, which is not easy for me. I have never shared this detail with my closest friends & family. However, one of the areas to continually develop and work on is my mental well-being - so here goes
DISCLAIMER
When writing this blog, I met with a good friend, Paul Taylor (who also happens to be my financial coach and advisor).
He talked about his theory of modern-day evolution, outlining three life stages:
Stage one: 0 - 18 years (survival, safety & connection)
Stage two: 18 - 40 years (individual identity, forging a path in life)
Stage three: 40+ (satisfying our souls, finding our purpose)
This theory resonated with me.
It helped me identify where I currently stood, where I subconsciously planted the idea of TIME and where I wanted to be in the future.
I built a successful career in the corporate world, providing me with unique experiences travelling the world, working with global organisations, and engaging with different cultures.
Naturally, what comes with managing multi-million-pound contracts and meeting deadlines is stress, pressure, anxiety and a feeling I can only describe as constant jet lag.
I was also building a family and in the blink of an eye (quite literally) I had a 4.2 family with a fantastic wife and two kids. However, building a family brings added financial, well-being, and moral responsibilities.
During this stage of my life, I was never worried or concerned.
Grateful for a fulfilling career and family, any financial concerns were non-existent.
But I remember feeling that I was running on a treadmill, set on an incline, and going at a pace that required some attention to keep up.
Unlike gym treadmills, mine had no big STOP button. If I dropped off the pace, it’s spitting me off the back and it’s going to hurt.
Deep down, I think I knew that this was the case. But I was still in stage 2, forging my path in life, paying attention to my financial health and still believing life was a fairly smooth road with no major bumps or roadblocks I couldn’t navigate.
I was under a lot of pressure, but I felt okay.
Yet, life presented me with a roadblock that made me stop in my tracks (what I believe is the most impactful reason for TIME to be created).I began brainstorming, researching, and planning to see how I could make it happen. I worked with Paul to build a property investment business which ultimately secured my family’s financial future.
Up until this point in my life, I had never read a book. A 38-year-old man who went through school, college, university and the rest of his life without reading a single book (except reading children's books with my kids). Pretty crazy, right?
I had no choice. I had to read to upskill myself and gain knowledge. This led me to pick up a book, which led me to audiobooks. This made me fall in love with books, and I consumed 76 books (and counting).
This kickstarted something within me. I started to pay close attention to improving my mental health and uncovering my purpose in life.
Sport and exercise have always played a huge part in my life.
However, I'd yo-yo between health and fitness goals and events. I'd go from incredibly fit and healthy to unfit and not very healthy.
During my daughter's diagnosis, I realised how crucial being healthy was for managing stress and anxiety. It made me reflect on times when I felt in control, capable of handling anything life threw at me and performing at my best.
Some of these times are:
I realised that when my nutrition and training were on point, I’d handle stress, pressure and anxiety with relative ease. On the other hand, I could pinpoint the more challenging periods when I'd be at the opposite end of the health curve.
This was my lightbulb moment. I started my journey by learning how to be fit and healthy consistently. 100% of the time.
I invested in coaches and nutritionists, read books and listened to podcasts, but I couldn't find the silver bullet. So, I returned to education, gained my qualifications and built my philosophy and methodology.
I’ll be honest with you; I’m not going to say I’ve nailed it.
I know this is a lifelong journey of learning and refining my offering. Yet, at this moment in time, I’m consistently fit and healthy and have been for a VERY long time. Along the way, people began to notice a change in me (even though for most of my life, I was in a fit and healthy state anyway).
They started to ask for advice and guidance, and I began to coach and educate them through my philosophy and methodology. A knock-on effect occurred and people would notice them and they would signpost them to me.
And that is when TIME Nutrition & Fitness was born!
To finish, I'd like to show how hard it was to share. The night of the first draft (not publish, just draft)! Anxiety kindly paid a visit, as demonstrated by my overnight sleep scores:
DISCLAIMER