Feeling Stuck? Get Outside

Even if it is freezing and p*ssing with rain...

This week, some Sunday evening musing on the power of being outside in nature to always put things right (or at least to rarely make things worse). Which observation was the bizarre combination of a weekend away in Cornwall, a fascinating conversation with my Exec Coaching cohort, and a six mile marathon training run in the fog and the pissing rain.

Away for a child-free weekend in Cornwall (thank you Granny 🙏) at the stunning Scarlet Hotel in Mawgan Porth, as well as eating my own body weight in food and wine, I spent time each day swimming in the outdoor freshwater pool. No wetsuits, bobble hats, or fancy swimming shoes and gloves for me. Just my knackered old body in my equally tired and ancient Boden cozzie.

The water is five degrees. If you’re not sure what that feels like, it literally takes your breath away when you step into it, makes your skin sting as if someone is rubbing chili oil and salt into open wounds, and makes you (well, me anyway) swear like f*ck. When you get out, the freezing cold January air actually feels warm by comparison, and you thank GOD for whoever invented the DryRobe. Which the woman in the shop on Fistral Beach told me in no uncertain terms was only for cold water swimming, and not for dog walking or wearing as a coat like the people do who come from “up there” (London”). 🤣

Completely life affirming and invigorating though, cold-water swimming shocks you back to the simplicity of what really matters in life…breathing, staying alive, not freezing to death, needing tea, the power of a beautiful view, the feeling of water on your skin, health, happiness and looking at the beautiful newts that you are sharing the pool with. Note - I did also very much enjoy the sauna, hot tub and the warm indoor swimming pool. If you’ve never been, the Scarlet is ace and you can book here (they’re not paying me! Yet) Scarlet Hotel, Mawgan Porth, Cornwall

Earlier in the week, the spirit of the outdoors was also very much present as one of my colleagues on my coaching qualification talked about his experience of outdoor coaching, and his passion and vision for combining coaching with outdoor pursuits in a possible business venture. If it was Dragons Den, I would have given him ALL my money, for the TINIEST share in his future adventure, because I know it will be awesome.

He recommended a book that I’ve just started reading, and it highlights four key beneficial aspects to the combination of coaching and outdoors - openness to experience, awareness of mind and body, love of the outdoors, and the experience of being “side by side”. The last one resonated very deeply with me, and maybe will with you if you’re also the parent of a teen…in which capacity I have learned that having a deep of difficult conversation face to face is nigh on impossible. But take it “side by side” - in the car, or out on a dog walk, the dynamic shifts and the soul opens a little. When I think back through my life, some of the most challenging conversations I have ever had have been “side by side”. I sat once with my younger brother, next to each other on the beach looking out to sea, talking about his terminal cancer and how I could support him to manage his remaining life and die the way that he wanted to (of course, not that anyone who is in their thirties with a wife and two young kids ever wants to die rn, but in the absence of a miracle, they do often want to control the controllable).

Anyway, this is the book and it’s well worth a read. Or if you can’t be arsed, just try taking some of your meetings or 121s outside this week for a walk - fresh air, movement, and some side by side time.