It’s Wednesday at 4pm and I’m packing up to leave the office. I’m… sulky. No, I’m angry. Okay, I’m f*cking fuming. I’m Courtney Love C-R-A-Z-Y. But I’m trying to keep it cool, obv.
Maya: How’s your day been?
Me: Yeah… *dramatic sigh*… I quit today.
Maya: You quit?
Me: Yeah. Just today. As in, I quit *today*
Maya: Bad day?
Me: Bad day. But yesterday was a good one and tomorrow will be better, so just for today, I quit.
The black clouds cry as the I trudge to the station, drowning in their pity… Sorry - I’ll cut the crap now, but it’s important to recognise that it was raining. Because, you know, drama.
A win a day
One of my favourite #lifehacks is acknowledging a “win a day”.
So often, we get into bed and beat ourselves over the head with our never-ending to-do lists. The emails we didn’t send, the calls we didn’t return, the conversations we avoided.
Instead, we should recognise just one win.
So, like any good practice-what-you-preacher, I reflected on my day.
I’d breezed through an important press interview that morning - something that six months ago would have been the “win of the week”.
*Brain locates more*
I’d grabbed lunch with a friend and nailed a pilates session. I’m doing some exciting work with my newly employed Media Manager (Yes - I actually have someone HELPING build Balpro now…).
So you know what? My world wasn’t as dark as those clouds, I just needed to recognise all those things that were going well, rather than focusing on what wasn’t.
No BS, the weight lifted.
Get your win
Sometimes, like on Wednesday, I think about my win partway through the day - I make sure that I have something to cling on to later. It can be anything: Make someone feel good, listen to a colleague, do a great presentation, give someone help, tell your kid you love them and make them know you mean it.
Just go and get one win. Try it. Test it. It works.
Done that? Build a community of winners
One of my clients started a “win a day” channel on Slack (their workplace collab/instant message platform). They all log a win between 5-6pm each day and bathe in each other’s glory.
Not applicable? Create a “win a day” WhatsApp group with your buddies.
You ain’t ever gonna burn my heart out
You’ll have noticed by now, this newsletter is where I wanna make sure I am keeping shit real. I’m committed to being honest about building this beautiful business. For glamour, go to… Instagram?
Because the truth is, it’s hard. If every person who wanted to be hired by Balpro actually wanted to be a client, then I’m pretty sure we’d be FTSE 500 by now. A business takes time to build. But what’s clear is that people want to be part of the revolution, and that warms my heart and fuels my diehard determination.
So there’s this week’s longer edition of small change. Thanks for being here as I work this stuff out.
Let’s build a revolution,
Amber
Every day I’m balancin’
How to help (not just post about it)
We tell people to talk, but we don’t explain how to listen. We say, “be kind” but we don’t explain how. Here’s how to support someone who’s struggling with their mental health - read it, share it, go save a life.
Get me in your ears…
As a lifelong Cystic Fibrosis sufferer, Tim Wotton's continuously cheated death. He interviews people about the incredible power of the mind and how it helps people deal with adversity, stress & negativity. This week, he interviewed me.
Search “The Gift” wherever you listen to podcasts (link to the Spotify episode below).
And for #branding, here’s our logo.