Challenges That Change Us

We’ve spoken before about what happens when High Performers push themselves so hard that they break down. But what happens when the physical break down symptoms occur, but you don’t realise it is because of your anxiety and mind?That’s the position Georgie Dent found herself in when her anxiety and stress sent her into a physical breakdown that took her over 4 months to recover from.Now she is the CEO at The Parenthood, ad writer and public speaker, but the journey to all of that was full of false starts and a lot of wrong answers that she had to overcome.In this episode she shares:Her life before her breakdownWhat happened at the moment of the breakdownWhat happened the day after the breakdownHow living with her health conditions showed up as anxiety and a constant negative scared mental loopWhy thinking the symptoms were in her head sent her into a spiralWhy she hated people being supportive and checking in with herWhat the 4 months after the breakdown were likeThe mental drain of continuously not finding a diagnosisThe appointment that was her turning pointHer experience going to a psychiatric hospitalWhat her life is like now and whether the anxiety remainsWhat happens when her health dips now and how she manages thatWhat it was like integrating back into society as she recovered Key Quotes “So much was making sense to me about how unforgiving I had been to myself for so long.” “I was living in a state of constant panic and anxiety that I didn’t realise.” “I had internalised this idea that because I had these medical issues I was deficient in some way.”More about GeorgieYou can find out more about Georgie and her projects here: https://georgiedent.com/Info on The Parent Hood is here: https://www.theparenthood.org.au/The two programs that make Georgie laugh are Schitts Creek and VEEP.You can get involved with the podcast online To try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au For her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au@trialtitudeperformance

Trigger warning: this episode discusses suicide and family violence. If you feel you need someone to talk to, call lifeline on 13 11 14.By now you know how I feel about Family Violence. This is something we need to eradicate completely.The effects of family violence on survivors can reach through decades of life and that was very much the case for this episodes guest, Coen Tan.Growing up as an emotionally sensitive child, Coen often “felt” emotions that people were not aware of feeling themselves. This is already a difficult path to navigate, but through in family violence, shaming and isolation and Coen had a cocktail of challenges that he only really began to confront in his adult life.Now, Coen is a professional speaker, Cultural Transformation and Values Assessment Consultant and Appreciative Inquiry Practitioner and he works with people to tap into their values and help their innate gifts to flourish.In this episode they share:How he was sensitive to others emotions as a childHow his own emotions were brushed off or disregarded as a childHis experience with domestic violence as a childHow his emotions turned to anger and that anger stayed with him through adulthoodThe fact he became his mums surrogate husband for emotions at the age of 10The bullying he experienced in school and how that made him ‘lose his voice’What the combination of these experiences did to his thoughts about himselfHow this impacted the types of relationships he sought out as an adult The point where he considered suicideHis experience being in the mental health instituteThe course he undertook that changed things for himHow an addiction to the emotional highs of seminars and workshops lost him his life savingsHow he came full circle and reclaimed his voiceKey Quotes“I was hiding away from the emotional challenges I had in school.”“Every experience that happens to us are there to teach us lessons and there to serve us in a certain way.”“I had to move back with my parents because I was broke. Because I was addicted to that spiritual escape.”More about CoenYou can find out more about Coen via his website: www.coentan.comYou can listen to his podcast here: https://www.coentan.com/podcast/You can get involved with the podcast onlineTo try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeus Or on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.com Or check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.comIf you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website: http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.auFor her other business you can find it through the websites: www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au

This week we are talking about a challenge that almost 50% of the population will experience. Menopause.But like everything, menopause can come on a sliding scale, and even if we think we are prepared it can hit, very hard.That is what happened to Susan Northey.Susan now works at my new business Soul Studio in Armidale as a breath work facilitator but also works in the nutrition space.She had previously been working as a personal trainer and was living and breathing fitness and nutrition. But that didn’t stop menopause from hitting so hard that she had to literally stop everything she was doing to avoid breaking down entirely.In this episode Susan shares:-      The body and mind changes she started to notice-      The emotional changes she experienced with menopause-      The moment she realised she had to stop work altogether-      How she figured out it was menopause-      What people do wrong when figuring out how to manage menopause-      The choice her doctors wanted her to do that she felt was wrong-      The meditation and mindfulness she started using-      How her partner supported her and helped her-      How she is going nowKey Quotes “I'm not loathing myself and feeling unworthy like I did 6 months ago.” “22 years of taking on peoples issues and forever helping everyone else and I realised, who is taking care of me?” “I'd go home and need to sleep at 2 in the afternoon which has never been me in my life. I could physically feel my body shutting down.”More about Susan’s businesses can be found on Instagram:@CustomisedNutrition22@breath_revival And you can find her working at Soul Studio: https://www.soulstudioarmidale.com/soul-studioYou can get involved with the podcast online To try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au For her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au@trialtitudeperformance

Firstly I want to thank everyone for their patience when we were unable to release an episode last week. It’s been a big few weeks in the Flynn household and sometimes you just have to admit you can’t do everything.If you were in our Facebook group you would have seen that my daughter Jess has been quite sick and I just didn’t have capacity.But I was talking to Jess and I said I didn’t think I’d be able to release an episode this week as well and with her blessing we came up with a plan. Why not interview her and share her story.She is my biggest inspiration when things get tough and one of the most inspirational and resilient people I know and I am so excited to have her join me on the podcast.In this episode Jess shares: -      Her back story and what’s been happening for the last 12 years for her with a Chronic Illness-      What it's like for her when she has a relapse-      Her greatest challenge with this disease-      What it would look like if she went to school for 45 minutes while relapsing-      What she's looking forward to for her future-      Her mantras or words she tells herself-      Her greatest fear at the moment-      What she would do differently as a parentKey Quotes “I always find that I talk a lot more when I'm sick cause it helps the pain.” “Next month looks completely different, because usually it does.” “Find something to focus on. When you find that thing to focus on it helps with the pain.”You can get involved with the podcast online To try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au For her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au@trialtitudeperformance

We’ve spoken about burn out on this podcast before, but this episode’s guest highlights possibly the most extreme case of burnout at the highest level.Stacey Luces was putting everyone and everything before her own needs and was still battling feelings of ‘not being enough.’She was forced to reassess her entire lifestyle when she found herself in the hospital fighting for her life.Now she is a best selling author, speaker and executive coach helping high-potential, Type A women break free from feelings of confinement and overwhelmIn this episode Stacey shares:·     Her career at prestigious companies and the joy and sacrifices of achieving success·     Her health crisis, septic shock and organ failure,·     The realisation of the need to live her purpose.·     How she realised we can’t have it all, at the same time.·     Turning regret into motivation for meaningful action.·     Decide to be positive and productive, do the work.·     How she developed an autoimmune condition·     The importance of applying strategy to well-being and personal lives·     What the 7 Levels of wealth areKey Quotes “While I was on the operating table I flat lined twice.”“In our generation, we really think that we can be superwoman and have it all. And we burn out.”“It was years of neglect in the sense of, You know, small things. Like not eating on time, not sleeping well, running on empty, doing everything for everybody else but myself.”More aboutFind out more about Stacey via her website: https://www.evolutionexecutivecoaching.com/You can also follow her on social mediaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvolutionExecutiveCoachLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceyluces/You can get involved with the podcast online To try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.com If you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website:http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au For her other business you can find it through the websites:www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au@trialtitudeperformance

Challenges That Change Us –Trigger warning: suicidal ideation and depressionThe path to suicidal ideation varies for so many people, but for some it can start from a place of not feeling like they belong.Masking and hiding their true self in a failed attempt to fit in and please everyone can set most up for failure and it can let to even further challenges.This was the case for Lachlan Cameron who many would have described as a carefree guy, always smiling and loving to make people laugh. Unfortunately, alongside that guy is another part of him that battles with anxiety and depression. Since the early days he has done a lot of hard work since then to manage that part and has made a huge transformation through the activity of running.So much so that he is currently aiming to break a world record to show people the power of believing in yourself and that we are all worthy of the love we sometimes deny ourselves.In this episode Lachlan shares:His mental health struggles and self worthThe ways he masked his true selfThe night he considered taking his own lifeHis struggles with drugs and alcoholHow he took up running for clarity and to help with his mental healthHow he varied and changed his runningThe big change he made with his running that changed everythingHis journey to start an Ultra run and attempt to break the recordKey Quotes               “If I was in a room with 10 different people, you'd get 10 different versions of me tailored to every single person's needs.”“I just didn't believe that what I was bringing to the table was enough.”“There was one night where I had to get someone. And I truly believe that if someone didn't take me, then I would have taken my own life.”More aboutYou can follow him on Instagram: @lachycam_runsTo support his run: https://fundraising.heartonmysleeve.org/t/1000-km-brisbane-to-sydney-run?fbclid=PAAabeqT6G3w3r-zDwR9C2VbLv_h8JJRUNITY_qIoXMx2JM1UQaEPT5iptb4c_aem_Adeom10uPgM4JNYG72JhhyOy-eV7yFMkLvSb6hwgXIJ6rqJkqrBtaqcR3i5hcw0tmpUYou can get involved with the podcast onlineTo try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.comIf you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website: http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.auFor her other business you can find it through the websites: www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au

Trigger warning: domestic violenceThis episode is a truly raw and personal look at the impact of not only domestic violence on children, but also the impact that unsecure parenting can have as well.Our guest is Emma Schaeffer, a mother of three fabulous humans, a wife of a genuine salt of the earth guy, a Creative, a Teacher, and more recently a Cycle Breaker.Emma grew up with a tumultuous childhood and a relationship with her mother that made trust and security a very scarce thing.She has worked hard through many set backs to achieve her education career and also to reach a place where she feels she is prepared to not repeat the past.This episode will give you a close up look of how this kind of parental relationship can leave a lasting impact, but also how some people can bravely choose to break the cycle.In this episode Emma shares:·     About her challenging childhood of choosing which Parent to live with at a young age.·     Her experience of living in different environments and dealing with DV from step parents·     How she developed a need to protect her mother that remained in her for a long time·     Feeling unsafe and alone while her Dad was out drinking and socialising.·     The shame that came with DV in the house when her mum wouldn’t speak up·     How she turned to alcohol to help her cope in her teenage years.·     What made her choose to no longer include alcohol in her life·     How DV returned to her life when she moved back with her mum in her late teens·     How she handled things differently to when she was younger·     How it’s hard to trust, when your parents keep creating different stories.·     The way she went about creating a toolbox so she can create a life for her kids that she didn’t have.·     How you can choose to “hop off the ride” if you’re in a space or situation you don’t want to be in anymore.Key Quotes“There was unfortunate domestic violence that appeared in that space”“My hardest days in those days were built of fear.” “Not even once during that part of my life did my mum come to visit.”You can get involved with the podcast online To try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.comIf you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website: http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.auFor her other business you can find it through the websites: www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au

We have talked about losing a loved one on the podcast before but often have focused on the grief that comes afterwards and not as much on the moment of when someone first learns of that loss. This week’s story covers this moment but with a twist.Jessica Ritchie has had several challenges in her life, but for her, the one that stands out is the moment a national news headline led her to genuinely believe her husband had died in a police shoot out. She had been making small changes up until that point, but the response she felt to that moment and the way that she reacted made her realise she had to make a change. It’s what led her to completely overhaul her business and life and it formed the basis of her book.In this episode she shares:The time her husband was caught in enormous shooting incident and she didn’t know if he was alive or notThe anxiety and stress that came from not being able to find out about her husbands safetyThe time she found her baby brother in a comatose state when she was a childThe days after her husband came home after the shootingHow traumatic experiences caused her to disconnect herself from her husband and loved ones so she wouldn’t feel the pain again.Her significant personal challenges of floods, cancer diagnoses in close friends, and personal health struggles and having children when doctors said it wasn’t possibleThe creation of a methodology based on mindset, authenticity, resilience, and kindness Key Quotes“I went through grief. I felt like every cell in my body changed because to me, my husband had died.”“When I was 5 I found my brother in a comatose state due to juvenile diabetes.”“So I turned it on, and there, straight up on national news was the headline, Helidon police officer, father of 2, shot and killed in the line of duty.”More about Jessicawww.transformationalbrandlab.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ritchiejessica/https://www.instagram.com/the.jessica.ritchie/ https://www.facebook.com/thejessicaritchie/You can get involved with the podcast onlineTo try out our resilience course: https://www.challengesthatchangeus.com/surviving-2-thriving-course1On facebook in our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/challengesthatchangeusOr on Instagram: @challengesthatchangeusIf you want to contact the podcast, email us here: support@challengesthatchangeus.comOr check out our website: www.Challengesthatchangeus.comIf you want to find out more about what Ali does, check out her business via the website: http://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.auFor her other business you can find it through the websites: www.altitudefitnessarmidale.com.au

I'm so excited to give you something a little extra for your week! This is the another of our 'Beyond The Summit' short bonus series where we discuss High Performance topics in the lead up to our High Performers Leadership Summit. Speaking of, you can find out more details about that here: https://www.trialtitudeperformance.com.au/registration1660014924140*********In this episode of "Beyond the Summit”, host Ali Flynn engages in a candid conversation with high-performance expert David Ballard, who’s the Head of Performance at the Brisbane Broncos. David provides insights into his journey from the Queensland Cup system to becoming the head of performance at the Brisbane Broncos. Ali delves into David's personal experience of pursuing high performance, as he reflects on his passion for sports, the influence of mentors, and the gradual evolution of his pursuit of excellence.He emphasises the delicate balance between fun and discipline in a high-performance environment. He discusses the importance of enjoying the process and creating a culture of improvement, especially in the challenging world of rugby league. The discussion explores the factors that differentiate elite performers with similar physical attributes. David highlights the blend of physical attributes, technical skills, and mindset that contribute to an athlete's success.The mini series will be continuing as it's own podcast on spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uAc9wp7F04YX3DM4UWiss