The Rise of Remote Work and the Importance of Team Bonding Events Outdoors

Posted on by Martin Murphy

As remote work continues to become the norm, it’s essential to ensure that teams remain connected and engaged. That’s why I wanted to share with you all an excellent solution to this problem: Freshwalks!

Freshwalks is a unique team bonding experience that combines the benefits of walking outdoors with the opportunity to network and collaborate with like-minded professionals. With Freshwalks, your team can take a break from their desks and experience the beauty of nature while also building strong relationships with each other.

As more and more people work remotely, it’s crucial to invest in team bonding events that promote communication, collaboration, and overall wellbeing. By participating in Freshwalks, you’re not only improving team morale, but you’re also investing in your employees’ mental and physical health.

So if you’re looking for a way to bring your team together and create meaningful connections, I highly recommend giving Freshwalks a try. Your team will thank you for it!

#teamwork #remoteworking #Freshwalks #team #bonding #networking #collaboration #mentalhealth #physicalhealth #wellbeing

Fresh Ways of Working in The Great Outdoors

Posted on by Martin Murphy

A great day spent guiding a Down at the Social private Freshwalks.

I wondered about the recipe for a great day freshworking in the hills.

-Inspiring outdoor scenery ( They don’t call it the great indoors do they? 😉

-Interesting people (we’re all interesting but we just have to create the space and opportunity for us all to be discovered:)

-Insightful conversations (When you’re exercising and out in nature, you release a raft of positive neurotransmitters including Anandamide which boosts connections across the brain)

-Intriguing new ideas to discuss and mull over in the pub over lunch!

# #people # # #
# # # # #

The winners of this paradigm are not going to save the world.

Posted on by Martin Murphy

They’ve no interest in doing so. they’re okay.

There’s little point trying to persuade them either, but what is crucial, is to not be duped into thinking, that they’re going to save the planet’s biosphere OR create social justice.

They just want to appease you long enough until they reach retirement age.

If you’re stuck in a goldfish bowl swimming around in a system of inequality, hierarchy, capitalism, tax avoidance, corprotocracy, corrupt politicians, then how is swimming in a different direction going to help?

You’ve got to look at the systems and challenge the system by building new pathways to a brave new world.

You’ve got to get out of the Goldfish bowl and swim in the uncharted oceans of possibility.

Not easy I know!

#leadership #teamwork #community #systemsthinking #paradigmshifting

The Power of Community in Nature with Freshwalks & Michael Di Paola

Posted on by Martin Murphy

Rebels chatting….

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King

What is Freshwalks?

In its simplest form Freshwalks is a community of people, primarily business owners and freelancers, who meet on regular basis to tackle peaks and traverse dales around the UK and Europe.

They’re an enthusiastic, inclusive and supportive group and a great example of what the human spirit is capable given the opportunity. The power of community should not be underestimated when it comes to helping you find business connections, expertise and boosting your wellbeing.

Michael Di Paola has always been a keen advocate of communities. Moreover, he realises that for a community to be successful, it must enrich the lives of its members and that Freshwalkers feel a shared sense of trust, connection and compassion for one another.

Just some of the benefits of taking your networking with clients and also your team and leadership learning outdoors includes:

Confidence to push against your limits as you climb hills and so building greater self-belief

Collective Wisdom – New ideas are generated on walks due to the conversations and neurotransmitters flooding your system

Being with the crowd allows you to be infected with their motivation, even if you’ve had a tough week

Mutual accountability- if you say you’re going on the group’s WhatsApp, you’ll feel a sense of responsibility for your comrades.

With the craziness of the world at the moment, it pays to not walk alone.

Listen to Michael’s journey here: https://youtu.be/5MBOK9U7tVs

The Power of Gratitude and an Indomitable Spirit in Leadership

Posted on by Martin Murphy

In order to have the mental fortitude to take on big challenges, one has to be able to shift your mental and emotional state towards a more positive attitude, otherwise the task you face is perceived as overwhelming.

You’ll feel that the challenge is too big for what you can contribute. But although you’re one person, you’re part of a building tsunami of other stoic pilgrims awakening, realising that paradigms have to transform.

So, the next step is to be grateful for the moment you have, right now to make a positive difference. Be grateful that we still have a liveable planet, relationships and radical hope to maintain us.

When you feel truly grateful for what you have now, then you can go forward knowing that what you’re doing to create a brave new world…. Is worth the effort 😊

Quiet quitting? A misnomer for a Quiet Revolution?

Posted on by Martin Murphy

Quiet quitting has been in the news over the last couple of months. I wonder if it’s not to do with the fact that people have enjoyed a level of agency and autonomy, and this freedom has put into stark contrast what it’s like operating under a hierarchy that exists within most offices.

When people have been in the Special Forces, if for any reason they have to go back to a more ‘command and control’ structure that exists in their parent regiment, they often leave.

Once you’ve tasted freedom and been treated as an equal, it’s hard to give it up again.

Somebody who likes to dominate and believe that being rich gives them some sort of entitlement to demand more from others, well that’ll have a negative effect of increased stress on their ‘subordinates’.

There’s plenty of research that indicates that surviving under the influence of a hierarchy is bad for your health. Perhaps resistance to going back to the office has more to do with instinctively protecting their mental health than not wanting to work.

Anecdotally, among the businesses I’ve spoken to, it is mainly younger people who miss the social interaction of working in the office. People with families didn’t suffer from isolation so much.

Perhaps quiet quitting is really a quiet revolution that’s been triggered by feelings of returning helplessness and subordination.

Dominance hierarchy is a system in the brain which is triggered when somebody has achieved a position of status. The people who’re subjected to dominant behaviour get triggered into the opposite ‘involuntary defeat’ system. They’re both a throwback to our evolutionary primate states.

But although we’re 95.8% ape, we’re 99% hunter gatherers and they’re predominately egalitarian.

Perhaps instead of building a business, build a community of equals. People can manage themselves; they just need support from understanding leaders.

#buckhierarchy

#ecocoaching

#performance

#leadership

#decisionmaking

#superteamconcept

#smallteamsmakethedreamwork

The Hero’s Journey Through Trauma

Posted on by Martin Murphy

Acknowledge — The hero realises that a journey must be undertaken because they’ve arrived at a place referred to in hypnotherapy as the point of ‘No More, Never Again’. It’s the call to adventure because there is a mighty battle to face in search of a new reality. It means confronting all manner of dark foes such as overwhelm, fear, shame, guilt, cowardice, addictions, anger, sadness and anxiety. It’s no wonder the hero often ‘refuses the call’.

Apotheosis — The hero momentarily transcends their normal reality, becoming an outside observer with the help of a ‘supernatural aid’, a guide who can facilitate greater awareness. This point of realisation instils greater understanding of what life would look and feel like when lived authentically. Armed with this new knowledge and perception, the hero is ready to ‘cross the first threshold’ and the adventure begins.

Agency– The guide teaches the hero some useful techniques which can help the hero going forward. This gives the hero ability and responsibility for their own wellbeing and safety. The guide is only a catalyst for the transformation the hero must undertake, so it’s important the hero develops increasing agency and awareness throughout the journey.

Acceptance — The hero enters the ‘Belly of the Whale’ and commits fully to the journey. It is the final separation from the old world into the new. It is a challenging phase which shows a willingness by the hero to undergo a metamorphosis.

Assess- Removed from the turbulent but familiar world, the hero is aided by the guide or a community who can help them become whole. By assessing what has happened, what is working and what needs to change, the hero understands the ‘road of trials’ to be faced. Within the new relationship with the guide or guides, the hero experiences positive recognition, support and safety.

Alter- When their body feels safe to do so, the hero can begin to revisit, reframe and reimagine their past and future. This phase is a journey of curiosity and exploration as different modalities will have differing results. Each hero and their journey are unique.

Authenticity — As time passes the hero begins to live more authentically. Living in a way which is true to possibly newfound beliefs, values, integrity and courage. There may be some further changes required within their eco-system and environment. Reintegration into the familiar world of family, friends and everyday reality can be challenging on both sides for the hero has changed and others may not be aware of the hero’s undertaking or care for it.

Living authentically is a perpetual journey, living a balance between purpose and the material world. ‘Mastery of two worlds’ requires the hero to increasingly make their own choices and voice their opinions, with confidence and compassion, so that the hero can enjoy the ‘freedom to live’.

#stoicpilgrim

#resilience

#mindset

#mentalhealth

#survivalskillsforlife

#doingwhatsrightnotwhatseasy

#alwaysalittlefurther

#wellbeing