Episode 32 - Keep moving
Transcript
00:00:03 Alison
Welcome to mental wealth, the podcast to invest in your mind. Here I will help you make sense of your mind and behaviours, giving you the tools to have your best life there is so.
00:00:16 Alison
Much to share, so let's get.
00:00:17 Alison
Into this episode and explore another great topic.
00:00:22 Alison
So welcome to episode 32 of mental wealth, and I am delighted to say that I am sharing this space with a very inspirational lady, somebody who has literally blew my own mind the first time I heard her speak and the first time I heard her story and we are hopefully going to inspire.
00:00:42 Alison
You the listener, so welcome to Lucy Gossage.
00:00:46 Lucy
Hello. Thanks for having me on. Nice to see you again.
00:00:49 Alison
Are. Yeah. Well, we, you and I have shared.
00:00:51 Alison
A space together haven't we.
00:00:52 Alison
Up three mountains, or at least, certainly.
00:00:54 Alison
Up 1 Mountain you came back.
00:00:55 Alison
Up when I did the three peaks.
00:00:58 Lucy
Ohh it was such a it was such an amazing day and I remember.
00:01:01 Lucy
Being, yeah, meeting you the night before and being like, who's this lady who's come on alone like, A, wow. And B, is she gonna be able to do it? And then yeah, it was such a such a cool few hours with you and and the people in your group at the end of.
00:01:18 Lucy
At the end of that hike, I yeah, one of the highlights of my year actually.
00:01:21 Alison
Yeah, it probably was THE highlight for my year.
00:01:25 Alison
And I I actually.
00:01:26 Alison
Love the fact that I chatted to.
00:01:27 Alison
You a little bit on the.
00:01:28 Alison
Friday and there was.
00:01:30 Alison
Something in you that said, I'm not sure that she'll do it because we were talking.
00:01:33 Alison
About how how much training you had done, you know this is the Yorkshire three peaks. So it was 24 miles, wasn't it? Up and down three mountains. And and I love the fact that.
00:01:44 Alison
Not so much that.
00:01:45 Alison
I proved you wrong because it's not about that for me, but it there is something in me. The perception that we.
00:01:51 Alison
Gave or or.
00:01:52 Alison
Whatever it was that I said, and then the interpretation, you know, I'm always interested in how we interpret what other people are saying.
00:01:59 Lucy
I think it wasn't.
00:01:59 Alison
Another impact.
00:02:01 Lucy
It wasn't that I I didn't think you could do it. I was just amazed by your and Mel as well. The bravery of you coming on your own because that's something I would never do. I find it really hard to put myself out of my comfort zone and and turning up something like that on my own to do something that you had never done anything.
00:02:18 Lucy
Like that before.
00:02:20 Lucy
And and so it wasn't that I didn't think you could do it. It was more. I was worried that, you know, how would you cope if you couldn't do it? And and and I guess blown away by the the courage it takes to to just turn up.
00:02:34 Lucy
Because that's that's obviously that's often the biggest hurdle for people, is turning up and and I think that was, yeah, I guess that was that was where I was and and to be fair you you know you.
00:02:46 Lucy
Weren't that selling that confidence that you thought you'd be able to do it? It was a massive thing for you and you had never done anything like that.
00:02:53 Lucy
For so yeah, I guess that's where where I was.
00:02:58 Alison
I think you're right.
00:02:58 Alison
To be there. I mean, I wasn't sure, you know, I mean, I did. I remember signing up to.
00:03:02 Alison
It because I've been inspired by you.
00:03:04 Alison
You and Caroline and some of the other.
00:03:07 Alison
People that I've.
00:03:07 Alison
Met at the Louise Minchin's the Fearless launch and there.
00:03:12 Alison
Was a bit of.
00:03:13 Alison
Me. That's like, what have I done, you know?
00:03:15 Alison
Have I done the right thing here?
00:03:18 Alison
Pushing through has become.
00:03:20 Alison
Something that I.
00:03:22 Alison
Can see is part of what I'm offering to everybody, but I think the fact that I've had that experience has actually given me another lift in terms of no come on. We've got so much we can push so much.
00:03:36 Alison
More what I.
00:03:37 Alison
Observed on that.
00:03:39 Alison
That that walk was.
00:03:41 Alison
The depth that you can go to.
00:03:44 Alison
You know.
00:03:45 Alison
I'm a big fan of people knowing when to stop, I think.
00:03:48 Alison
There's something in there.
00:03:49 Alison
But I just.
00:03:50 Alison
Sometimes you know, just that relentless. Come on, let's encourage each other. Let's you know, as you say Mel, I had Mel on as a previous guest few weeks ago and she was just, yeah, in sensational young person.
00:04:01 Lucy
But I think that is that is why I that was a highlight of my year because.
00:04:07 Lucy
I for so long, I never did anything I didn't know I'd succeed at. I was so scared of failing until I did my first triathlon and and nothing for me will ever beat that feeling of of achieving impossible when I when I've did my first iron man. And I guess for me seeing seeing someone.
00:04:26 Lucy
Achieve something that to them felt at the start, so impossible is is something that gives me the biggest pleasure, and that's what I love. With 5K your way, move against cancer. And that for me is what I took from from that group. Because for me doing the three peaks, you know, I did stuff like that every weekend. It's it's my bread and butter.
00:04:44 Lucy
So it's but, but for everyone in that group, it was such a massive, massive thing, and I love being part of that and being part of that joy and overcoming all these setbacks and, you know, Mel was limping in with her knee and and that that seeing people really put themselves out their comfort zone and get that high, that that I've learned to.
00:05:04 Lucy
Yet it's it's just ohh it's just, say say rewarding.
00:05:09 Alison
It's brilliant and I think just having Someone Like You there was inspirational because it does help you keep going. I mean, I limped in not physically, but tourists are still sore today, but I brought my my boots. I don't know if you remember my my boots fell apart and you know.
00:05:24 Alison
I did with one boot missing really but.
00:05:28 Alison
I just love the whole.
00:05:29 Alison
Yeah, I do.
00:05:30 Alison
Love the whole.
00:05:30 Alison
Thing anyway.
00:05:32 Alison
Let's just tell everyone who's listening in a little bit more about you, Lucy, because you've sort of hinted, you know, you've hinted Iron Man, but we know that you've done multiple and you are somebody who is out there pushing yourself. And I just think let's just introduce you a little bit more about who you are because you've also got a very important job.
00:05:54 Lucy
Yeah. So I'm an oncologist. I work in Nottingham. I do a lot of work with younger people, so I treat testicular cancers and sarcomas. I used to be a professional triathlete. So yeah, I did race professionally quite a long time. That was all the all the a drunken dare that started my whole triathlon career. And I Co founded the 5K your way.
00:06:14 Lucy
Move against cancer initiative and spend a lot of my time supporting and move charity move gets cancer charity which basically uses exercise movement physical activity as a tool to support people living with an after cancer.
00:06:30 Lucy
So that was the whole point of the the Yorkshire three peaks. So yeah, those are my kind of three strands of work. I'm not not a professional athlete anymore, but I love.
00:06:38 Lucy
Kind of finding crazy.
00:06:40 Lucy
Challenges for myself.
00:06:42 Alison
Well, and I think you've inspired, you know, as I know, Mel and I've talked about, you've inspired us to think, well, what's next? You know, I I sort of thought that would be a one off for me, but actually it has triggered something in me to think that pushing yourself is is it's quite addictive and and I can. I'm not saying I'm going to.
00:06:59 Alison
Do what you've.
00:07:00 Alison
Done, Lucy. ever.
00:07:02 Alison
But I think just wondering what might be next.
00:07:04 Alison
For us, 2024.
00:07:05 Alison
But what I think would be really.
00:07:08 Alison
Nice for us to talk about as.
00:07:09 Alison
We've got you here is that.
00:07:12 Alison
Challenge that people find themselves in when physically they've got something they're trying to deal with.
00:07:18 Alison
Which we all know can be very consuming.
00:07:22 Alison
And and actually kind of thinking about how we can help ourselves. So obviously I'm always focused on the mind. But for me, movement is part of that and I'm just interested in kind of you know what kind of things do you often talk about or hear people saying that makes the difference between them doing maybe better.
00:07:42 Alison
Then if they had the opposite.
00:07:45 Lucy
Did you mean professionally like in in terms of people that I see at work?
00:07:50 Alison
Yeah, just I suppose I'm just interested in the what the difference is sometimes about how well somebody could do with their symptoms or their condition. I mean, I'm.
00:08:00 Alison
Not saying that we.
00:08:01 Alison
Can only think ourselves healthy again, but there's definitely a lot of proof out there isn't.
00:08:06 Alison
There that your mindset and.
00:08:08 Alison
How you approach?
00:08:09 Alison
Something makes us such a difference.
00:08:13 Lucy
Yeah, I think.
00:08:16 Lucy
It's quite a tricky one to answer so so I'm gonna divert a little tactic a little bit to direct tack. You know what I mean? I one of the reasons I love oncology is because we see humans at their best. So I see the tenacity of people every single day.
00:08:36 Lucy
And I'm blown away. It's why I love.
00:08:39 Lucy
By the way, people deal with situations that I personally don't think I'd be able.
00:08:44 Lucy
To deal with.
00:08:45 Lucy
And actually, everyone, nearly everybody would say they didn't. They didn't think they'd be able to deal with what they do, but they do. And. And actually, I often reflect back on that with people.
00:08:59 Lucy
And so I saw a young guy yesterday.
00:09:02 Lucy
He's about 25/26 and he was walking down the road. He broke his leg. Just a, you know, walking down the road to to the pub. It turned out he had cancer. He then had to spend 10 weeks on tractions. He stuck on his bed with his leg pinned in traction whilst he was having chemo kind of infused into his veins.
00:09:22 Lucy
Then he had his leg chopped off, so he had a full amputation. Then he had another five months of chemotherapy.
00:09:28 Lucy
And he got through it and he, you know, he would say like I don't know how I'm doing this and and that's and and I can't imagine going through that I can't imagine anyone missing this can think there's no way I could deal with that but actually what I realise that human is is is when they when.
00:09:48 Lucy
When the **** does hit the fan.
00:09:50 Lucy
We do always cope and I've probably only seen two people ever who who genuinely haven't cope.
00:09:57 Lucy
And and I and I guess that's the most, yeah. Life affirming part of oncology. I think talking about so psychology is really helpful and we we have increasingly psychology support in the NHS and I'm really lucky I have really good psychologists that I can refer my patients to and actually I would always encourage.
00:10:17 Lucy
Encouraged them to take that up. I kind of dismissed psychology until I invested in it myself as a as an athlete and realised how helpful it is.
00:10:28 Lucy
I think telling someone to think positively is actually not helpful because that can be very destructive cause you can't change how you can feel. You can change how you react to how you feel, that you feel, what you feel and and telling yourself coming. You should be dealing with this better is not.
00:10:47 Lucy
Helpful at all.
00:10:48 Lucy
I think that's perhaps something that.
00:10:51 Lucy
That that the loved ones of people with cancer or people going there, any traumatic kind of situation, the natural instinct is, you know, think positively you think. But actually they're they're often. You often can't think positively and in that moment you think you feel what you feel but you can learn strategies just to to deal with how you feel.
00:11:09 Alison
Yeah. And I would totally agree with that I often.
00:11:12 Alison
And you'll often hear me saying it's not just about flip the switch and think right. I'll feel good about whatever it is that you're dealing with or it's a broken relationship or a whatever it is that you're dealing with. It is about being present to whatever it is that you're feeling and not fighting with yourself because you know, permission to feel whatever it is. As you say you're feeling. If you feel sad.
00:11:32 Alison
About this situation, or feel angry, whatever it is, but what I'm interested in is they're not staying with that because that's where it becomes quite problematic.
00:11:42 Lucy
Yeah, and.
00:11:45 Lucy
So there are. So I think this is where for me exercise is a is a really powerful tool and and I guess that's why kind of founded 5k your way and believe so much in in what moves can do because exercise.
00:11:58 Lucy
Is so so something?
00:11:59 Lucy
People with cancer would often say to me, is what? What can I do? Like how can I and you can't tell someone to think positively cause actually.
00:12:06 Lucy
There may not be a positive thought. You can, you know, you can. You can help them to to do things that make them happy. But but.
00:12:12 Lucy
But that's not really helpful. But they would say what can I do to actually help myself? And exercise is something that's got lots of physical benefits. We know it makes people feel better. We know it reduces side effects, and it probably also improves kind of outcomes. So there's evidence behind that. And I guess personally, I have have that lived experience of of.
00:12:32 Lucy
Of what an amazing tool it can be as a stress, not as an athlete actually, but just as a stress release. So my you know, after a bad day at work for me that cycle or run home is the time that I have to to find my head space to clear my head, to ruminate, to process, and then I get home and put it to bed.
00:12:49 Lucy
So yeah, I guess, I guess that's something that I believe really passionately can can be a tool for people with cancer and it's not something the NHS professionals necessarily talk to. People talk to to people about. It doesn't have to be running by any means, it can just be, you know it can be movement or dancing or you know.
00:13:09 Lucy
Any kind of community kind of physical. So is there anything that combines community with that peer support being around people who get what it's like to have cancer with being active can be a really positive tool.
00:13:21 Alison
Definitely. And I think that's what.
00:13:23 Alison
The essence of your... Well that is the essence of your whole.
00:13:29 Alison
Get people moving regardless of your age, your capability, because that's what I understand. Your 5K my way is very much around you.
00:13:38 Alison
Know it's it's.
00:13:39 Alison
It's different to say the.
00:13:42 Alison
Ohh, I've lost the words the.
00:13:44 Alison
How you piggybacked on what's the one on this. That's the one. Thank you.
00:13:47 Lucy
Parkrun.
00:13:49 Alison
Yeah, it it's.
00:13:50 Alison
That obviously has a slightly stronger you've got.
00:13:53 Alison
A. It should be able to run.
00:13:55 Alison
Although lots of people walk whereas.
00:13:56 Alison
This is very much all ages, isn't it? It's all sizes, all shapes, all everything.
00:14:02 Lucy
And it's, yeah, it's about doing something, doing whatever you can do. You know, you do as much with little as you want, but it's it's something that a lot of people say it's something positive that they can focus on, that they can work towards. It's a date in the diary. That's not a hospital appoint.
00:14:17 Lucy
And I had this amazing lady called Sue who who's died now, but she took it, took her running in her 70s because of 5K your way when she'd been diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer and she couldn't run at all. She just saw the flyer she built up to it really gradually. But she said for her it was it.
00:14:34 Lucy
Was just this this.
00:14:36 Lucy
Thing that she could focus on.
00:14:38 Lucy
And she said I'll never forget it. She said when people ask me how I.
00:14:41 Lucy
Am I don't talk.
00:14:42 Lucy
About the bad stuff, I tell them I've started.
00:14:44 Lucy
Running so you know that's one end of the spectrum. And then I think, listening to Mel is listening to her words about the online programme and it's building that confidence back after you've been through cancer treatment. You've had, you know, your body has changed, you're you've lost that sense of identity, which so many people say life's moved on without you while you've been going through treatment.
00:15:05 Lucy
And all that exercise or there's not really exercise, but movement can be such a big, powerful confidence builder.
00:15:14 Alison
Yeah, I think, yeah.
00:15:15 Alison
I was listening to something she recorded just recently. Actually, Mel, she'd been to a sounded like sort of an out and boundy place. And and again, she was just talking about the connections that she was making and the the shared experience, which she's just ultimately the the goal really isn't it?
00:15:33 Lucy
Yeah. And I think that's what you know, a lot of the the the charity does is it brings people together. So I guess going back to your original question, which I've sidestepped very well because I I I'm, I'm not gonna tell people with cancer.
00:15:46 Lucy
How to think? I just I I don't. I don't feel like that's helpful or certainly don't have the qualifications or the expertise to do so. But what what 5K your way does and what that three peaks day does is bring together a group of people who yes, they've had cancer, they've got cancer.
00:16:06 Lucy
You know they they've been through or are going through stuff that unless you've had cancer, you probably can't imagine.
00:16:12 Lucy
But they're still getting on with life, and they're still putting themselves at the comfort zone, and they're still finding things that scare them and excite them and facing up to that impossible. And I guess for me, as an athlete, one of my biggest mantras is.
00:16:31 Lucy
When things get tough, I remind myself that being able to choose to suffer is such a privilege because so many people don't have that. And I think what I saw on the the three peaks was.
00:16:42 Lucy
A lot of people who have had to suffer without any choice, like Mel going through her brain tumour treatment, but there she was choosing to suffer and that's so different and that that can give such a positive confidence boost. And I I guess that's yeah, I find that really helpful as a motivator when I'm doing something crazy and I'm in a bit of a hole.
00:17:03 Alison
Yeah, and I, me too and I.
00:17:05 Alison
Think that's what I was.
00:17:05 Alison
Talking about earlier, is that experience for me?
00:17:08 Alison
Has shown me something else.
00:17:10 Alison
Personally, within resilience within that peace around how do you keep going?
00:17:17 Alison
And for me, I was the same on that walk. I was looking at Mel and and Renee and a couple of the others on our.
00:17:24 Alison
In our group.
00:17:25 Alison
Who've been through and I had to say, well, you even get get on with it, Alison. You know, get get your get yourself moving because.
00:17:32 Alison
You haven't had that. You know I'm.
00:17:34 Alison
I was choosing to put myself through that and I.
00:17:36 Alison
Think the resilience.
00:17:38 Alison
You, you said before, Lucy, about, you know, we are way more. There's always way more for us as humans and and the demonstration of how we cope. When something does happen is phenomenal, isn't it? With how different people.
00:17:53 Alison
Cope, but how well?
00:17:54 Alison
We usually do.
00:17:56 Lucy
Absolutely. But I think no matter what, you know, I'm, I'm doing this crazy race in a few weeks time.
00:18:02 Lucy
It's unlike anything I've ever done before. It absolutely terrifies me and and I, you know, I know people have done it before, but I still, and I'm like, how how on Earth am I going to be able to do it? How? Yeah, I guess I'm where where you were before that or where Mel was before that.
00:18:17 Lucy
Three peaks like.
00:18:18 Lucy
How I I've never done that distance before. I've never done even.
00:18:21 Lucy
Half that distance.
00:18:22 Lucy
Well, I don't think any of that, you know and that's that's normal and and and I guess.
00:18:28 Lucy
Yeah, I think in in life it's it's good to do something that scares you every now and then. You wanna do stuff that doesn't scare you as well. But it's good to have, you know, every now and then something that seems impossible just to see if it can cause you never know.
00:18:44 Alison
That's the resilient. That's the piece, isn't it? That's the resilient piece that I think if people stay in their comfort zones, they don't really know whether they will or they what will happen. I mean, again, you know, we we're talking about about the three peaks. But for me, yeah. Did I think about two nights in I did think.
00:19:01 Alison
Gosh, what we're going to do if we.
00:19:03 Alison
Can't do it, but actually that is.
00:19:06 Alison
Normal because I've never walk that far. I've done anything like that before, so my brain doesn't have a reference. My body doesn't have a reference, but actually just the whole thing of there's always more.
00:19:18 Alison
Digging deep, you know there was times where I was being pulled along by all the people. There's times where I was doing the pulling along and there.
00:19:24 Alison
Was times.
00:19:24 Alison
Where I was literally.
00:19:25 Alison
On my own, doing a little mantra, you are strong. You are, you know, my legs. Come on, legs. Come on, legs. You know. And but whatever it is, whether it's a physical stretch or whether it's in a mental stretch or an emotional stretch, there is.
00:19:39 Alison
always one.
00:19:41 Lucy
Yeah. And actually, you know, we're talking about physical challenges, but there, there are lots of things that that I do that are kind of psychological challenges as well. So I I guess when you started this podcast, you're probably quite nervous. I know we started run through the the charity and we were, you know, I was, if anyone gonna listen, what if it's awful? What if I asked the wrong questions?
00:20:02 Lucy
And if I must to do a talk, I.
00:20:04 Lucy
I always get really, really nervous, you know, and I have all this self doubt and I I guess I've learned through sports psychologies and some self talk techniques that I can use to, to remind myself and and give me that confidence to to kind of build up that confidence. But yeah, putting yourself out of your comfort zone certainly doesn't have to be physical.
00:20:24 Lucy
You could be taking on a new roller or pushing yourself forward to a new role at work or going.
00:20:28 Lucy
On a date.
00:20:29 Lucy
Like I met my partner on a date and I was way out of my comfort zone going, you know, going to meet someone that I never met.
00:20:36 Lucy
Before I, but I yeah, I definitely have the motto. It's always better to try and fail than to sit at home and wonder what if and as I say, I learned that through triathlon before triathlon, I never did anything I wouldn't. I didn't know I'd succeed at and and sport took me all of that, taught me all of that and I think that's such a helpful, helpful life lesson.
00:20:56 Alison
I think something that.
00:20:58 Alison
I want to just highlight Lucy.
00:20:59 Alison
Is that for a lot of people hearing.
00:21:02 Alison
You say that you.
00:21:03 Alison
Know if you how many triathlon did you do? You know it's a lot, isn't it? What's your? What's your current number?
00:21:11 Lucy
I've got. I've got no idea.
00:21:13 Alison
There's a lot, isn't it?
00:21:16 Lucy
Yeah, I know. I won 49 runs. So yeah, I've I've done loads of triathlons, but everyone I would have doubts and and and they might not be. You know, I I did lot quite.
00:21:16
00:21:27 Lucy
A lot of them.
00:21:28 Lucy
With injuries, I did one like a few days after a boyfriend and and I had broken up no one.
00:21:34 Lucy
Ever knew about that?
00:21:35 Lucy
It was just. I was just on the start line with my smiley face, you know, trying to put on this well, generally I did. I loved it. I did have this confidence, kind of this you.
00:21:45 Lucy
Know this, I'm.
00:21:46 Lucy
Just doing it for fun, but there was there was so often there was something.
00:21:48 Lucy
In the background and.
00:21:51 Lucy
Yeah, I think everyone has doubts. It's normal. It almost. I think it's a good.
00:21:57 Lucy
Thing because it.
00:21:57 Lucy
Shows you care and it it makes you.
00:22:01 Lucy
Prepared and and yeah, the biggest biggest successes I always think of where you do have doubts and then you put yourself out there.
00:22:07 Lucy
You give it.
00:22:08 Lucy
A go and.
00:22:09 Lucy
You know you do succeed. Whether that is just getting the finish line.
00:22:13 Lucy
Or, you know, giving the talk or.
00:22:16 Lucy
Going on that first date or whatever it is.
00:22:19 Alison
I think it, but I.
00:22:20 Alison
You know, again I do want.
00:22:21 Alison
To just come back and say it is.
00:22:24 Alison
So good when?
00:22:26 Alison
Other people can hear Someone Like You who has done some incredible things and and made some amazing achievements to have won that many ironman. You know it's it.
00:22:36 Alison
To not just compete to actually have won it, to be the champion and to still say, yeah, I still feel unsure sometimes and I still wobble because I think that's the problem is.
00:22:45 Alison
A lot of people get.
00:22:46 Alison
So stuck in their.
00:22:47 Alison
Heads. They think they're the only.
00:22:48 Alison
One who's thinking that they look at people like you and think.
00:22:52 Alison
Well, I could never.
00:22:53 Alison
Do that and they just rule everything.
00:22:56 Alison
And one of the things I'm you know, often talking to people about is how are you gonna make those small steps? You know, we don't need to compare. We're all different, however, how can we see each other as inspirational rather than a stop sign? And I think that's the big, you know, that is interesting.
00:23:14 Lucy
Yeah. And I you know, this race I'm doing in, in a few weeks so.
00:23:18 Lucy
The New Year's Eve I sprained my ankle really badly and we were doing a run overnight and that is, you know, that's that's where I was at the start of the the year and then a week later I put in.
00:23:30 Lucy
This entry for this you know, really.
00:23:33 Lucy
Long, ridiculous race, that is.
00:23:35 Lucy
Just utterly bonkers, and there were there were.
00:23:37 Lucy
So many reasons.
00:23:38 Lucy
I I wouldn't be able to finish it and I might not finish it, but actually I've just really embraced kind of I I I've looked at it like a big jigsaw and there all these pieces that I've needed to find to to not necessarily get me to the finish line but to get me to the start line knowing I've done what I can do to get to give myself the best chance of getting to the finish line.
00:23:59 Lucy
I really enjoyed that process of, you know, my ankles. One of my biggest - I spent a lot of time trying to strengthen them. I've done all the things that scared me. I've I've gone for runs in the night I.
00:24:11 Lucy
Found ways of coping with mud. I found ways of you know, but that's it's all little jigsaw puzzles, but I've I've been trying to put together and I feel like I've always got this jigsaw and actually for me the race now it's it it genuinely, I genuinely I feel success if I can just get to two weeks time with no injuries.
00:24:30 Lucy
I feel that is a success cause I've had such an amazing year collecting all those jigsaw pieces.
00:24:36 Lucy
Is and the race is just the bonus and and I think that's it. I I guess that's maybe a a way that you can you can kind of chunk stuff and and I've just found that really yeah really helpful on it. It's quite positive you.
00:24:49 Lucy
Know like, yeah.
00:24:51 Lucy
I've got the last, the ice jigsaw piece earlier in the week and.
00:24:53 Lucy
I was like, well, that's what I was missing.
00:24:56 Alison
I love that I mean a bit. I'm a big fan of chunking things down for people, myself included, but I think something that I think was really.
00:25:03 Alison
Pulling in that you said.
00:25:04 Alison
Lucy, was that actually to focus on getting to the start of something.
00:25:08 Alison
Rather than actually focused on the end of something, whatever that thing is, as we said, whether that's.
00:25:14 Alison
A new job or a or?
00:25:16 Alison
A some sort of physical achievement, but actually just spending time focusing.
00:25:22 Alison
On everything that you.
00:25:23 Alison
Need to get you started because usually once you're there.
00:25:28 Alison
Most people do then say don't they? It was never as bad as I thought. Blah blah blah. So actually.
00:25:32 Alison
If we do focus on getting.
00:25:33 Alison
To the start of something.
00:25:35 Alison
And not worry about the.
00:25:36 Alison
End. I mean I have.
00:25:37 Alison
I've just realised that that's what I did.
00:25:40 Alison
For the three peaks.
00:25:41 Alison
Is I just got myself there.
00:25:42 Alison
And then the rest was gonna be the rest. And you know that was.
00:25:46 Alison
That but I love.
00:25:47 Alison
That and thought, and it's something that I've not particularly focused on before is to just let's get to the start of whatever it is that you want to do and.
00:25:56 Alison
Then the rest.
00:25:56 Lucy
Also, yeah, I think if you if you get to so if I get to this race and I can't finish whatever reason, I'll be gutted, I will.
00:26:04 Lucy
I will be really gutted.
00:26:05 Lucy
That it. But I know I I will know that I've done everything I could do. There's nothing I could have done differently. Like I I did try. And if I sprained my ankle, yes, I will be fuming and I would be devastated, but I couldn't have done any more to stop that and and I think that that knowledge is really, really powerful and and it's also I guess there's so many positives that I've.
00:26:27 Lucy
Yeah, I've had all these incredible experiences. I've developed so many skills I've done and stuff I never thought I'd be able to do. So I I genuinely, 100% hand on heart.
00:26:37 Lucy
Getting to that start line is all I ever really wanted to do, and that the finish is a bonus and it sounds such a cliche, but I've never I've never said anything that I believe more than than I have actually with this race and I I think that's, I guess something that I learned from triathlon as well.
00:26:52 Alison
I think that's a I think that's a.
00:26:56 Alison
Anchor for us all. To be honest, I think it's something that a lot of.
00:26:59 Alison
People need to.
00:27:01 Alison
Maybe shift their thinking on is focused on getting to the start of something.
00:27:07 Alison
And chunking the getting there down and then obviously yes, there's some thought in the planning, but the rest is the rest, isn't it? And you know, so many people don't do things for fear of the failure, but actually let's focus on getting there in the 1st place, whatever that might look like. And I think then people.
00:27:27 Alison
Maybe we'll get.
00:27:30 Alison
Chugged along a little bit easier.
00:27:32 Lucy
Yeah, and their success in getting to the start line because that alone is is success.
00:27:37 Alison
Yeah, I mean that's where for me, you know, signing up to something, you've already set your intention. It's kind of, you know, you've already started to do something and I think then the rest kind of follows. And I think if we can all do that, I hear so many people all the time saying, Oh well, you know, I don't want to.
00:27:56 Alison
Right. Just failing that I.
00:27:57 Alison
Don't. I'm not gonna go forward.
00:27:58 Alison
I don't think I'm.
00:27:59 Alison
Good enough. I do all the chitchat that goes on.
00:28:01 Alison
In the mind. But actually, if we just did.
00:28:04 Alison
Your strategy, which is let's focus on.
00:28:06 Alison
Getting to the thing, whatever The thing is.
00:28:10 Alison
Let's let's do that.
00:28:11 Alison
I feel like that is a quite a.
00:28:13 Alison
Big anchor, as I've said before.
00:28:16
00:28:17 Lucy
Yeah, I actually often I mean I guess it's it's very different but not that dissimilar with with patients like often I meet them and they might have.
00:28:25 Lucy
Lots of questions and and one of the big questions is you know, what are the expectations? How long have I got to live?
00:28:32 Lucy
What's gonna happen? What happens if this doesn't work? What happens if this? If this is this and I I I don't think that is necessarily that helpful and and the analogy I I never know whether people do find it helpful, but I in my head I always think of it that you're you're a tree and the trees branching. We made the decision we're going going.
00:28:53 Lucy
Down this route.
00:28:53 Lucy
Left our route, but we.
00:28:55 Lucy
We have no idea where.
00:28:58 Lucy
Things are going to go whether the first treatments going to work, what the next scan will look about look like. So I I think it's more helpful kind of thinking. OK, let's take it step by step and we know the first step is gonna be this and then we'll make the next time we'll have a better idea of where the where the final step might be at that point. But that's. Yeah, that's kind of how I encourage people to think a bit at the start.
00:29:20 Lucy
Rather than trying to have all the questions and and.
00:29:22 Lucy
Let the end point.
00:29:24 Lucy
Right at the first consultation, cause no one. No one knows.
00:29:28 Alison
No, and I think if that's a good strategy just for anything in life, isn't it is to not trying them too far in advance because there's so many options or different branches as you said along the way with whatever it is that you're trying to do. I mean, again, I'm often talking to people about.
00:29:44 Alison
You know when you have got.
00:29:46 Alison
Too far when your brain is trying to focus too far ahead in, it doesn't know.
00:29:51 Alison
So automatically you literally flip the action switch because it doesn't have. I mean, we don't like the human brain is a certainty making machine. So that's why people have lots of questions for you probably Lucy.
00:30:03 Lucy
Yeah. And it's good to have dreams like it's like, you know, when I had that sprained ankle. Still have that dream of finishing this race.
00:30:10 Lucy
But if I thought about it.
00:30:12 Lucy
There's no way you.
00:30:13 Lucy
Can do it, but actually step by step you get. Just get it each little.
00:30:16 Lucy
Bit I don't.
00:30:17 Lucy
Know. So you you still wanna be able to dream? But yeah, then you need to break it down.
00:30:23 Alison
I think so.
00:30:23 Alison
I I I'm liking the idea of having the big training and then putting your attention on getting to the.
00:30:30 Alison
Start of it.
00:30:31 Alison
I think that's a new something that we've come up with today that I haven't focused on and I often talk about chunking things down often talk about, you know, how are you going to get to the end of your goal, but actually just getting to the start of the end of your goal, that makes sense, whatever that might be. I think that's something to definitely.
00:30:47 Alison
Think about and.
00:30:48 Alison
I know now that's exactly what I did.
00:30:50 Alison
They didn't worry too much about.
00:30:53 Alison
The end I just did each step and you know, and the feeling that you get from that achievement that you said when you know you've pushed yourself hard, that feeling is.
00:31:03 Alison
It's addictive. Actually. It's. I can remember being on that top of that. It was all foggy, wasn't it? And it was just unbelievable. Believable. Yeah. Something brilliant. Ohh, really. Oh, thank you so much for coming. I know how busy you.
00:31:18 Alison
Are and I?
00:31:18 Alison
Really appreciate you giving up your time for us today.
00:31:22 Lucy
Well, I love that we have no idea where we'd end up, but we ended up with something that's quite.
00:31:25 Lucy
Quite, quite cool. So there we go.
00:31:28 Alison
It was really cool. I'm loving it. Really good. Thank you so much and obviously good luck in your next venture.
00:31:36 Lucy
Thank you. Yeah, lovely to see you again. And I'm definitely, I mean it downloads all these backlogs because they're quite nice 2530 minute chunks, but yeah.
00:31:44 Lucy
So I'll have.
00:31:45 Lucy
I'll add them to my library for for for days in.
00:31:48 Lucy
The hills, so yeah.
00:31:49 Alison
Brilliant. Well, you know.
00:31:51 Alison
One of the other ones was Caroline Bramwell. She was in our.
00:31:53 Lucy
OK. Yeah.
00:31:55 Alison
Group on the.
00:31:56 Lucy
Yeah, yeah, I know Caroline.
00:31:58 Alison
Yeah. So she check hers out. Hers is good too. But thank you, Lucy.
00:32:03 Lucy
No, really lovely. Lovely to see you again and yeah, hopefully we'll think we're doing another another move. Charity thing next year. We're gonna do it. I think we're gonna have cause. I think the one.
00:32:13 Lucy
Thing that I didn't that was missing.
00:32:15 Lucy
Was everyone finishing at similar time? So I think what we're going to do is have like the the basic distance, but then have some shorter, a shorter one and a longer one. So they one starts together and the quick people just do an extra 15 miles or whatever and everyone vaguely finishes around the same time. So there's a bit more of.
00:32:33 Lucy
A community finish I quite.
00:32:36 Alison
Ohh, nice. And is it so something similar as in mountains and?
00:32:39 Lucy
Yeah, but not the three peaks, but similar kind of challenge, I guess.
00:32:44 Alison
I'm laughing.
00:32:44 Lucy
But we'll hopefully see you there.
00:32:46 Alison
I would be interested in that what?
00:32:48 Alison
Will it will I get? I probably get something about?
00:32:49 Alison
It will. I will leave.
00:32:50 Lucy
Yeah, I really.
00:32:51 Lucy
Love everyone that was that. Turned out last time.
00:32:53 Alison
Yeah. Brilliant. Brilliant. Ohh. Thank you, Lucy. Great to see you again.
00:32:57 Lucy
Alright, love. Yeah.
00:32:58 Lucy
Lovely to see you, Allison. Take care. Bye bye.
00:33:04 Alison
Thank you for listening and sharing in this episode of Mental Wealth, Remember.
00:33:09 Alison
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00:33:22 Alison
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00:33:25 Alison
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00:33:26 Alison
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00:33:28 Alison
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