"Pick-me-up or Power up?", different approaches to building up my mental health reserves

Another rollercoaster of a week. A few inspiring moments, but also some tough professional challenges. I’ve talked before about being in reactive mode and the principles I have as a COO to prepare the team for exactly this sort of thing.

But today, I want to focus on the personal side. The pressure of leading a company and maintaining that COO motivation, will inevitably create scars on your mental wellbeing.

So in no specific order, here are three things that I focus on to manage my mental health and repair those scars.

Music:

This falls into two categories for me. Do I need a pick-me-up, or do I need a power up?!

A pick-me-up would be something like Ennio Morricone (the Hauser covers are incredible), and a power up would be something like Daft Punk’s Alive album. Coincidentally, if I was to ever do one of those White Collar Boxing events, I'm definitely walking out to that.

Fitness

I would love to say “boxing is my thing”, but I've not hit a bag in 6 months, or anyone’s mitts in over a year! So instead, I'm one of those annoying Peloton enthusiasts (tank tops and all!). A 30 minute class can fit in neatly to most schedules though, so a perfect compliment to a busy day.

Professional networking:

Maybe less obvious, but probably the most impactful way for me to improve my mental health. Whatever professional issues I'm facing, it's very very likely someone has faced them before.

A problem shared, is a problem halved and all that.

Similarly, offering support to someone else gives me an enormous confidence boost, a reminder that “actually, i’m quite good at this”.

What do you do to improve your resilience and mental health? Please share, or get in touch if you’d like to discuss in a more personal setting.

First written on 25 February 2024