I’m very excited to announce that I will be hosting a live in-person workshop called The Art of Leaving your Comfort Zone on Friday 26th May in London. It’s taking place at Kensington Olympia as part of the Mind Body Spirit Festival.

This month is all about trying new things. Spring is filled with new beginnings, particularly in the natural world, so the challenges this time round reflect this. What better time than Spring to begin a series of new and adventurous pursuits? Exactly!

All of us have the ability to feel self-conscious about things. This is perfectly normal. We can often worry about how others view us and this fear of being judged badly can make us act in a certain way – it can make us more conservative and make us feel easily embarrassed.

A fantastic way to start challenging yourself at the beginning of the year is to play around with cold exposure. Granted, this will be easier if you live somewhere with a relatively cold climate but when there’s a will, there’s a way!

Japan has a very special place in my heart. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit the country multiple times and can’t get enough of it. I love how it’s a clash of the ultra-modern and the very traditional. You can spend the morning in a Zen temple and then the evening in a robot restaurant.

Anxiety is something that affects everyone and will come and go depending upon circumstances. When we are worried or afraid we can experience a series of physical symptoms in the body - a rapid heart rate, adrenaline coursing through the veins, dizziness, sweating, nausea and the feeling of unease/general fear are to name a few of the sensations.

Stoic philosophy has had a huge influence on my life. Ultimately, the ideas and concepts from the philosophy have inspired me to become a writer. I truly believe that these ideas can be incredibly transformative for anyone who uses them.

Buddhism is a religion/philosophy based on the insights of a man called Siddhartha Gautama (he eventually became known as the Buddha). After years of introspection, he discovered a system to alleviate human suffering. Siddhartha spent the rest of his life passing on this knowledge/wisdom to various students.

Below are some of the most important lessons I’ve learned from completing challenges. All of these lessons can be used immediately and I hope they will be of value to you when doing things that challenge you.

Finding balance in your life is essential for your mental wellbeing. If you feel that things are too much to deal with, the first and most important thing for you to do is TALK.

We are our habits. A huge part of our lives is determined by our habitual behaviour and we can spend a lot of our time doing things on autopilot without thinking. This can be both a blessing and a curse. Personally, I think it’s worth taking some time to think about our habits and see if they are working for us… or against us.

We’ve recently had several weeks of extremely cold weather in the UK. It’s certainly been a lot colder than last winter and there has been a decent amount of snow. I absolutely love snow so have been very excited by this! There’s something magical about the way everything looks under a white blanket. Anyway, the icy weather couldn’t have come at a better time…

I read loads of books last year so thought that I’d share with you my three favourites. The ones I have chosen were all released in 2020 and I couldn’t put them down! I’d love to know if you’ve read them so leave a comment at the end and let me know what you think.

Resilience is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days but the concept isn’t particularly new. Throughout human history we have had to face many types of adversity and rely on our resilience and grit to survive. Whether it’s been running away from sabre-tooth tigers, facing natural disasters, dealing with food shortages, fighting wars or recovering from vicious diseases, human beings are actually pretty good at facing up to these challenges.

I absolutely love climbing mountains and have been lucky enough to do this in some wonderful places all over the planet - Japan, The Rockies, The Andes, The European Alps and all over the UK. I often get asked where my favourite mountain is. Honestly, I don’t have to think about this for long. The answer is simple. Without a shadow of a doubt, it’s Tryfan in North Wales.

Let’s face it, we all worry about things. They might be big things or small things or random things but it’s something that we, as human beings, are particularly good at doing. I feel that in the past I could have been an Olympic gold medallist for worrying. I used to worry about everything. And anything! Granted, a lot of this was directly related to my bad anxiety at the time, but I had become a true professional at working myself up into worried frenzies. As you can imagine, it was unpleasant.

A morning routine can be a great way to start the day. It allows us to prepare for what’s coming and can help us to be structured with our productivity. It also gives us time for ourselves. Over the last few years I have been using a morning routine and have found it to be one of the most life-changing things I have ever done. It’s had such a profound impact on my life that I feel it deserves a bit of attention in this blog.

In my opinion, we should all be more honest and open about our mental health. The more we speak openly without fear of being judged, the more that people will realise that they can also share their experiences. When everyone starts talking, the stigma starts crumbling before our eyes. We are all in the same boat. We are all human.

I believe that having role models in our lives is essential for all of us. I also believe that every single one of these role models don’t have to be positive (as strange as that might sound).

I’ve just finished reading a wonderful book by Erin Niimi Longhurst and can’t recommend it enough. It’s called Omoiyari – The Japanese Art of Compassion. The book explores lots of Japanese philosophical concepts and is a beautiful guide to understanding certain aspects of Japanese culture.