The Pathfinder podcast- for a life less ordinary

#HeadStrong- a Mental health Awareness Week Check-in

A short reminder of the critical importance of looking after our Mental Health, particularly given the shocking statistics around male mental health and suicide, but specifically around Mental Health across ALL genders.  Here's a link to the blogpost with Liz Fosslien's great image about Social Media- https://fitforeveryman.wordpress.com/2021/05/12/mental-health-awareness-week-2021/  Some time last year, someone asked me if I was suicidal because I’d been posting a lot of content around the issue of Mental health and particularly around male mental health and suicide. In answer to the question, I was fine then and am fine now, but it’s been SO good to talk! As this second year living with a pandemic continues, and mental Health remains a priority topic, I thought this would be an opportune time to re-share this as it is such an important message, especially when so many people are feeling overwhelmed by Covid, lockdowns, isolation and loss of freedoms, jobs, income and loved ones. So here’s to being real & being proud of our IMperfect lives, owning our mistakes, sharing our triumphs with those who helped us get there and living our lives authentically… warts and all! As I end my check-in today, its important to ensure that we break the stigma and make sure EVERYONE knows… #ItsOKtoNOTBeOk Stay #HeadStrong Stay Safe, Stay Positive, Stay Connected.

The Parent trap- Caroline Rowett on the privilege of parenting

Today's podcast guest is Caroline Rowett, a qualified Time to Think® coach and facilitator, Transformational Coach and mum of two, specialising in supporting parents through a mixture of online groups, live workshops, and 1-2-1 coaching, where she helps parents find confidence in their parenting, so they can enjoy time with their children. Caroline's interest in children and parenting began 13 years ago when her daughter was born and she realised she knew nothing about children and needed to learn fast! Caroline now creates space where parents can think for themselves about how to best live their life as a parent. They come to understand the influences on how they parent, and their assumptions of what a parent should look like. With that understanding, they can more consciously choose how they wish to parent. She shares tools for better parenting and information on best practices when needed, but the key to parenting well Caroline believes is "to understand ourselves more fully, so we are capable of developing a deeper, lasting relationship with our children." Caroline shared some great tips and tools on the parenting journey and my key take-aways from our conversation were that children, no matter whether biological, adopted or inherited in a blended family, need: - Affection- as it says in the good book, "love covers a multitude of sin" - Acknowledgement- we need to know our kids deeply through observation, presence and reinforcing their strengths through praise and encouragement; we also need to continue to learn and grow as they go through their own developmental cycles - Attention- we need to be attentive to our children's needs, be truly present when we give them our time and attention, so they KNOW they are our priority A great question we can all reflect on as parents/ fathers with respect to our interactions with our offspring is "what is my child(ren) taking away from this interaction, and at what cost to their wellbeing/ our relationship?" Some great book recommendations for parenting that Caroline shared were:  'Between' by Sarah Ockwell-Smith (most relevant for parents of children age 9-12) 'The Grown Up's Guide to Teenage Humans' by Josh Shipp (Caroline says this is full of great practical advice- she loves his idea that parents are like the seat bar on a rollercoaster, the teenager will probably push against it to check it holds, we need to be like a seat bar and keep those boundaries in place so our teens feel and remain safe!) Finally, she recommended 'The Choice' by Dr Edith Eva Eger, as a wonderful book for grown ups about survival, choice and the journey to freedom. If anyone wants to connect with Caroline, you can do so via her website- carolinerowettcoaching.com where she has generously offered anyone who signs up to her newsletter in May will also receive a copy of her "My screentime" workbook to help you address some of the challenges you may be facing with children and mobile devices.

Introducing Caroline Rowett- Coaching for Parents

Introducing Caroline Rowett, a qualified Time to Think® coach and facilitator & Transformational Coach, who is a mum of two, specialising in supporting parents. Through a mixture of groups, workshops, and 1-2-1 coaching she helps parents find confidence in their parenting so they can enjoy time with their children. Parenthood, and especially Fatherhood, with all the macho/ so called "toxic" elements of masculinity can be a minefield- this conversation with Caroline will be a great opportunity for us to deep dive into some helpful tools and strategies to parent more effectively, whether we are single parenting, conventional parenting or parenting in a blended family. Keep an eye out for this one- even better, subscribe and share- lets grow our community and empower more men to learn and grow! Until then, stay safe, stay positive and stay connected!

Housekeeping 101

A quick update on recent Podcast guests and a heads up on what's coming- the Housekeeping 101 pods are short, briefing updates to keep you informed and up to date with the Pathfinder podcast.  Please subscribe and share- help us to spread the word and get as many men as we can reach living their lives intentionally, purposefully and passionately!

Richard Whincup- From stammering... to the Stars- how to be like a Lobster!

Husband, father, University lecturer, after dinner speaker, rugby coach, Macguire Program course instructor, entrepreneur, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Ambassador and all round legend Richard Whincup joins me on the Podcast today, discussing how he overcame his stammer and found his voice, which set him on a path to "a life less ordinary". Rich is one of those people who personify my absolute favourite people- those seemingly ordinary, everyday people, doing extraordinary things.  You can follow Rich on social media @richtheboot and Rich's Kicking School on facebook.com You can also learn more about his involvements with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme https://www.dofe.org/ or the MacGuire Program: https://www.mcguireprogramme.com/en  Enjoy!