Small is Beautiful - updates from the Friday Towards Move Club

[00:00:00] Hi there, and a very warm welcome to season six, episode 46 of People Soup. It's Ross Macintosh here This week it's a cup of soup, a short episode, and I'm going to update you on our new free club. It's a club that anyone can join and it's called the Friday Towards Move Club.

If this is your first time listening to Peoples Soup, you are so, so welcome. Peoples Soup is a podcast that mixes stories, science, and a sprinkle of daftness To explore what helps people thrive at work and beyond. Our mission is to give you the ingredients for a better work life through insights and stories grounded in behavioral science, especially acceptance and commitment therapy, and other evidence-based approaches.

The Friday towards Move Club is beautifully simple. Each Friday, we make one small move towards something that matters to us. Not a grand transformation, not a productivity hack, not a life overhaul. Just one small [00:01:00] intentional step in the direction of our values. What matters to us. It might take two minutes, it might take five minutes.

It might take a little bit longer. It might feel tiny from the outside, but psychologically it's powerful because every towards move is a vote for the kind of person we want to be. When I shared the idea last week, I had no idea what would happen, and honestly, the response has been heartwarming, creative, and deeply human.

Let me share some of the moves people made. On LinkedIn, Robert decided his Friday towards move would be a 24 hour social media fast. He posted and then stepped away. That's such a beautiful paradox. Posting and then choosing presence. Shona said her towards move was a 20 minute indoor cycle, even if it was just 20 minutes.

I love that. Even if.

That gentle negotiation with resistance. Kate booked a hotel for a [00:02:00] two day business development break, a courageous and intentional investment in growth. Helen planned to switch her phone off while on retreat and keep it off a while longer. Cosima shared something I found particularly relatable. Her move was researching something for 20 minutes. She talked about procrastination, about excitement, about fear, and about starting with a tiny step.

Anyway, That's it. That's the club in action. Not fearless people, not perfectly motivated people, people who feel the wobble and make it towards move. Anyway, Over on Instagram, Ben was going to see former students in a play connection, pride showing up. Lisa took leave from work and met a friend for lunch and is already thinking about next week's towards move. on Facebook, Claire said she was going to contact old friends because love and connection matter to her. [00:03:00] Even though she finds it hard to reply and stay in touch,

this one really got me because that's what it's all about. Values over comfort, connection over avoidance. Tiny courage over familiar habits. she even joked about feeling a bit Groucho Marks. I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member, but thankfully she made an exception for this club, and I think that captures something important.

This isn't an exclusive club. There's no membership form, no rules. No Gold star chart, just a shared experiment. What happens if once a week we gently turn towards what matters? The deeper aim of the Friday towards Move Club is this, to build psychological flexibility in real time To practice choosing in the direction of our values, even when we're busy, distracted, tired, or unsure,

to remind ourselves that momentum doesn't come from [00:04:00] intensity. It comes from consistency. tiny repeated values-based steps, and something else is happening too. Community, when you see someone else switch off their phone. or book the hotel or cycle for 20 minutes or message an old friend.

It makes your own move feel possible, and that's beautiful. So here's my invitation. If you've already made a Friday towards move, do feel free to tell us what did you do and what value was underneath it, what got in the way, and what surprised you? And if you haven't yet, you could start this week. Keep it small, keep it meaningful, and keep it kind.

And if you have ideas for experiments, we could try as a club, like themes, challenges, creative twists. I'd love to hear them. This is a living thing. We shape it together. So as this Friday approaches, I'll leave you with this question. [00:05:00] What's one small move you could make towards the person you want to be, not someday.

This Friday, the 6th of March. Thanks for being part of this. See you on the socials on Friday, and please do share this if you think you know people who might be interested. Thanks to Andy Glenn for his spoon magic, but most of all, dear listener, thanks to you. Look after yourselves. Peace supers, and bye for now.