Sacha:

This idea that if we pause and rest and come back from the intensity of what we're doing, in order that we can come back to being the person we want to be. Implicit in that statement is a suggestion that if you are not on all the time, you are not being your best self. And I think that's a fallacy. I think that part of being our best self, is recognizing that it's completely okay to take time to recharge and reset. And that it's not a weakness to stop. If anything, it's a strength to recognize all of the warning signs that you're heading for danger.

Will:  

Hey, I'm Will Brereton, founder of SH1FT Fitness and this is group fitness real talk, a show about how to survive and even thrive in group fitness in 2021 and beyond. The past year has been a real struggle, and many of us have spent the time just trying to make it through. But today, we're not going to focus on how you feel right now, or how tough the last year has been. I want us to look forward, as I believe there's so much overhead. But to do this, you're going to have to commit to taking some time out to focus on you. And are you ready to do that? Today on the podcast, we're tackling the million dollar question of how to rediscover your passion and happiness in the things that you enjoy. And to help me answer this, I'm excited to welcome back Sacha Coburn to the show. Sasha first appeared in episode seven of the podcast, Mindset 101, but she is such a wealth of knowledge that I just had to get her back. Sacha is a businesswoman, a motivational speaker, a leadership consultant, and she'll be known to a lot of people on the podcast already through her work with Les Mills. And in this episode, Sacha is going to help you to understand the four key areas of your life that can contribute to achieving flow. Many of us neglect one or more of these areas. And by doing that we are depriving ourselves of achieving that brilliant purpose. And believe me, you don't want to miss out on this as nothing feels better. But if this all sounds a little too hard basket, don't worry, as Sacha is going to give you some brilliant but simple tactics to help you get there. I strongly believe that right now is the perfect time to focus on you. So I urge you to keep an open mind during this episode, and take the time to really reflect on where you are right now. And what changes you could make to reignite your passion. Also, make sure you listen right to the end of this podcast as I have a really exciting opportunity that I can't wait to share with you. Trust me, you don't want to miss it. Now onto my chat with Sacha. 

Will:  

So welcome, Sasha, back to the podcast. As expected, you're returning guests, and you are my first person to do a return appearance. So I'm very happy to talk to you today.

Sacha  

Thank you, I didn't know that. I feel really honored to be the first guest to come back twice. I'm the Beyonce of your podcast.

Will:  

Absolutely, friend of the show. I'm sure you'll have more appearances in the future, too. How are you today?

Sacha  

I'm going really well. But I also want to be really honest with you. I'm very tired. I didn't sleep well last night. And so right before my meeting with you the reason I was a little bit late is I snuck off to my car, and just had a little wee nap. I just closed my eyes for a few moments, just to recharge my batteries. And I think that might tie in nicely with what we're going to talk about today. 

Will:  

Absolutely. I think it will do you find that having those little mini naps is helpful like it does it, does it recharge you?

Sacha  

100%. It doesn't work for everybody. But for me it does. I just my eyes are tired and I needed to close them.

Will:  

Yeah, I can't do it anymore. But I remember when I was at university, sometimes in lectures, I would find myself drifting off for like five minutes, but then I would wake up and then I'd be back on. But when that feeling hits you that feeling hits you, right?

Sacha  

Yeah, I'm here in Christchurch and my team are like, you're not really going to the car, right? Yeah, I'm really going to the car. I'll be back in 20 minutes.

Will:  

Right. So that's actually a perfect segue into what I wanted to talk to you about, which is a follow up on one of the podcasts that I did earlier in the year, which was about pandemic burnout. And it was probably one of the the most talked about podcasts that we've done. We got hundreds of messages from instructors and listeners who really felt like it resonated with them. And it's something that I wanted to talk to you about because you're one of my go to people on strategies to move past and forward and grow. So to give our listeners context, we described pandemic burnout or hitting the hitting the pandemic wall as just getting to that point where everything just felt like it was a little bit harder. And we heard from a lot of instructors that classes were smaller and that it was harder to motivate their classes to turn up and also harder to motivate themselves. And these are instructors who had gone to digital really fast, they pivoted, that stayed working with their communities, they've made sure that they were there for their members. And they had, you know, good numbers that they were happy with, sort of prior to Christmas. But as the pandemic dragged on, and lockdowns continued and bad news abounded, they found that their classes were dropping off, and there was just really no strategy that they could employ to get people back. And the thrust of that podcast and the discussions that we had subsequently was, sometimes it's okay, just to take your foot off the gas, when things are really hard, you don't always have to push through the wall, sometimes, it's the right choice to just accept that things are really tough, know that there will be change coming and amend your approach accordingly. And so what I wanted to talk to you today about Sacha was why, at these times, it's really important to take a little moment and a pause and reflection and think about what you can do to fill yourself back up before you jump back into the challenge of being the person that you want to be. Big question

Sacha  

Yeah, there's a couple of things that immediately springs to mind. For me, the first one, just what you said, right at the end of the fascinates me, this idea that if we pause and rest and pull back from the intensity of what we're doing, in order that we can come back to be the person we want to be. Implicit in that statement is a suggestion that if you are not on all the time, you are not being your best self. And I think that's a fallacy. I think that part of being our best self, is recognizing that it's completely okay to take time to recharge and reset. And then it's not a weakness to stop. If anything, it's a strength to recognize all of the warning signs that you're heading for danger. There's nothing heroic about driving fast. And when the sign says, danger ahead, you go, but I'm a great driver. I just like going fast, because that's who I am. That makes you an idiot. Let's challenge ourselves to not fall into this trap of saying my best self is the self that on our best self as the self that can consistently deliver value. And part of that necessarily means taking time to recharge. So that's the first point I want to make. The second point is when when we spoke last year, we talked about this thing called the Stockdale paradox. And if you remember, one of the keys to that is to be brutally honest about how things are in the present. And so if you are someone who was by disposition, optimistic and cheerful, and you're a fighter, and you're determined, there's a danger that we're afraid to acknowledge when we feel flat and defeated. And we know from the Stockdale paradox as it's absolutely vital that we check in with ourselves. And we're real about when our batteries are flat, and anxious or little illustration going around the internet. And it was a picture of a phone battery, that was depleted, that was about 7%. And then right next to that was the person who owned the phone, and their battery was down at 7%. And I thought, wow, when our phones get down low, we freak the fuck out, right? Gotta plug it in! 

Will:  

I'm gonna stop using it for anything but the essentials.

Sacha  

But ourselves, when our own batteries get low, we go, well, we're gonna ignore all those signs. We're just got to keep going. And yet if we are involved in physical education, physical exercise, physical, physical prescription, we know the physicality, we know the science, that you just cannot keep going when you're depleted. Right. So I think we just need to change our mindset around, it's get real about how we're feeling, be okay with not being on all the time, but absolutely get a plan to say how do we get back to equallibrium? How do we make sure we build an appropriate risk in recharge periods so that we can consistently perform and I love this whole thing about HIIT training right? High intensity interval training. What a lot of programs miss is they do high intensity and they missed the interval bit and the interval but means on and off, work and rest, and so it's the same as in our lives that if you are always hit high intensity without building in some appropriate rest periods, then you're setting yourself up for a hard road.

Will:  

Absolutely. So if you so let's take our listeners who have reached the realization that the pandemic and ongoing lockdown has really, really drained their battery. And they're kind of sitting down at the 5 to 7%. But they also know that you know, optimistically around the corner, things are going to be opening up again. So I know that UK dates because the UK is one of the one of the few places to have kind of set some benchmark dates in place. So for our listeners in the UK, they'll know that gyms open on the 12th. And grip fitness is supposed to go back on the 17th. Outdoor classes can also start during April. Various places throughout the state, some states are open, some states are closed, but we think we're on an inexorable path to openness. Fingers crossed, let's hope that there's hope that nothing jumps in the way of that. And so as gyms start to reopen, and live classes start to take place again, what are some strategies that you can suggest to our listeners to employ to build themselves back up again, before they take that massive step out into getting back to normalcy?

Sacha  

Okay, so I think a really useful thing to do is a little bit of a life audit. And when I say a life audit I mean to check in how you are using your time. And the very best way to approach the madness of what's coming, is to prepare for it. And to say, within the increased busyness that's coming, I need to be deliberate about planning time for the things that matter. And in order to be ready for that, I also need to plan to be in top physical condition. I don't know about you, but one of the things that I'm jealous of, or Hollywood actors is when they are preparing for a role and often they have to either lose weight or gain weight. And so everything in their life is geared towards that, so, I've often thought it would be super easy for me to lose seven kilos if a Hollywood studio was paying everything that I need an all I had to do was what I hear experts told me for a period of eight weeks, and wouldn't that be amazing...It's the clarity that makes it easy and the expertise. So I think getting ready for something like gyms reopening is to say, let's have clarity and make the focus of my next few weeks, getting myself until our peak performance state. And the paradoxes or the irony is, in order to be ready to be at peak state, the very thing we need to deal with less and we need to make sure we've got enough stop and play. So I thought it might be useful just to when you do this life audit, think about four quadrants. So if you draw a circle on a page, and then just drew two intersecting lines thrown up with four equal portions. And I to pose optimizing your fundamentals, but you know, ask yourself questions about each of these areas. Because I believe that to be really high performing, you need to have nailed each of these four areas on a consistent basis. And there will be periods in your life where you go, it's okay to be out of whack, but only for a small amount of time. It's not okay to be out of balance for a long period of time, something blows up. And that's what we try to avoid. Real quickly, I'll just talk you through what they are. The first one is your body. So this is your physical being. And we expect that people in fitness are really good at this. But in actual fact, they're often not. Because the emphasis goes too far one way. So under body, there's three things that are asked, Are you eating well? Are you exercising appropriately? And are you sleeping well? And most people can answer two out of three. So they go I exercise, and I sleep, but I ate badly. Or I eat and I exercise, but I can't calm my brain down. So if you identify give yourself a mark out of 10 for each of those, and then just make a commitment to improve the one that you know needs improving. Sleep is a huge one. Be real with yourself if you are addicted to over exercising, because you can't possibly get out of that burnout and adrenal fatigue if you are not prepared to let your body rest. 

Will:  

And I've seen that and a lot of instructors that that do their own training and teach a lot of classes that they they run at a constant state of fatigue meaning that they can never really push as hard as they want and what they really need is a break to rest and reset but they continue to push themselves harder and harder to a point where they just know pouring from an empty cup.

Sacha  

Doesn't work. It's not, it's not sustainable. We know this. And I think, you know, I'm always talking about self awareness. People need to just get real with your interior monologue, the voice in your head, because I know that some of you are listening to this. And you are saying, yeah, but not me. I can keep going. I know that other people can't. But I'm a bit tougher than that. I'm a warrior. I'm like, you're a dick. Gotta be real about that. Just notice when you're when your thoughts help you. So that's your body, the second quadrant that you want to think about is your mind. And you say, how often are you doing things to keep your mind balanced? And there's a couple of aspects to that. One is something like meditation. So we know that meditation is like a software update for your brain. Oh, it just helps you unpack all the cultural ADHD we have, we were crushing candies, and getting lights and trade of inputs. So if meditation is too woowoo, for you, find a way that you can your mind, whatever that looks like. And you can put these many pauses through your day. The second aspect of mind is to be deliberate about your learning. We know that from your finances and the neural pathways that if you are not continually learning something, then those brain cells just die for wanting something better to do. So do you have a hobby outside of fitness? Do you want to learn a new language that you want to master? A skill that you haven't already mastered? And that's a challenge, but people can do it if you commit the time. And one of the things you've got to do when you optimize your fundamentals, is notice how much time you spend doing shit that doesn't serve you.

Yeah, doom scrolling. I mean, I catch myself doing it, but it doesn't mean I stopped doing.

Oh, I'm doing it. I play Candy Crush until I run out of lives. But I'm quite good at Candy Crush. I'm sure every Candy Crush player tells themselves. I can go 35 minutes before I run out of lives. And then I go, oh I just haven't read those books that I've bought. I'm talking to myself more than anyone else. I think part of the reason we struggle to rest is because we've got so much we want to achieve. And what I love about when I get into a high performing state, I actually have so much more rest time that I can relax and go, you know, I'm gonna spend the next two hours doing nothing, because I've actually done all the things I had set out to do.

Will:  

Yeah totally, I totally, totally agree with that. It resonates so highly with me, I'm, I'm in a phase of my life where I'm doing a lot of different stuff. I'm obviously working on Sh1ft, I have this podcast, I do a lot of consulting for digital fitness businesses, I'm still doing lawyer stuff, and I'm enjoying all of it. But I do think that, like if I could, like cut that down and just do a little bit less that I think my mind might be might be a little bit quieter because I find myself distract, even though I've got loads of work to do distracting myself anyway, and then getting caught in that doom scroll. And I wonder if maybe I haven't just bitten off a little bit more than I can chew at this current point in time. And that that's maybe something that for the rest of the year, I need to reflect and focus on how do I how do I streamline the work that I'm doing in a way that allows me to take more downtime?

Sacha  

Absolutely, because part of this optimizing your fundamentals is having the discipline to equate rest and recharge, with the same importance as you apply to the pursuit of your goals.

Will:  

Very true. And I know that as someone that used to work in a desk bound job, there will be days where I would sit at my desk, not achieving anything for eight hours, because that's just what you had to do when you work into this job. And it would have been so much better for me to have just taken the day off. Because I achieved negative things because all I did was tire myself out by being present but not actually achieve anything. And I've definitely learned from that. The fortunate thing is, the more senior you get, the more you can kind of just choose to be like right I need an afternoon off, I'm going to go to the movies or do something you know when things are actually open. But recognizing when you need recognizing when taking a break from the work that you do is more important than continuing to chip away at something that just ain't happening.

Sacha  

That's exactly it. And you're so right about that privilege of choosing what to do with your time as you move through echalons of Society and organization. So I imagine if one of my team had come to me and said, oh, if you don't mind, I'm just walking out to my car now for a little bit for a nap. Old me would have said, no, be productive. Go back to your desk. New me understands fully, that perhaps the right answer is to say, don't go to your car. Go to your car, drive home and don't come back to work.?

Will:  

Yeah. And they'll be a much, much more productive team member once you've had the opportunity to recharge.

Sacha  

Yes, yes, indeed. So the third quadrant I want to talk about is spirit. And some people of faith find this one really easy to relate to. If you don't have a faith, I like to link it to passion and purpose. So what is your purpose for being here, and if all of your activities in your working life and your family life feel like they are purposeless so without purpose? We can't feel fulfilled. So for a lot of people, their sense of dissatisfaction comes from a feeling of there must be more to life than this, there must be more for me, that's really worth exploring. If you want to be in a peak performance state, then what you do has to better the earth. So I would really encourage people, business leaders, clubs reopening, and getting back in, check in with yourself and say, am I doing this because I love it and am purposeful and am I committed to it, the passion is there? Or have I got stuck just doing this thing that's not bringing me the joy that it used to? And would you be brave enough to consider doing something else, because we know when we are in the right place, sometimes when I speak and you're at a conference or in front of the big crowd, there'll be a moment where four or 500 people 1000 people write in the palm of my hand. And I feel like I've got them on a string. And it's not an ego thing where I go, oh, I've got you now. It's a thing where you're almost having communion with the them, there is  this power, 

Will:  

It's that feeling of flow, right? It's what athletes get when they're at peak performance. And I actually had this when I've been presenting it, you know, big conventions to 1000 people. And I know my stuff really well. And I'm totally in the moment because I'm prepared. And then it's almost like you go on to a form of autopilot where you get to enjoy what you're doing as in like outside of your own body. Because you're just so in the moment and feeling it, it's probably the best feeling ever. The funny thing is, is that it's it's such an of the moment feeling but you only get it when you are rested, and prepared and completely comfortable. So it's like it's this weird sort of paradox of in order to be fully in the moment, you have to have fully taken time out and prepared 

Sacha  

Absolutely. And it's Mihai who wrote "flow". So he's the psychologist who kind of came to this as a concept and explained for us. How it shows up in my life, as in those moments, I get goose bumps, and I get completely overwhelmed with almost relief and joy. Because I know that in that moment, I am doing that one thing I am on this planet to do. So I feel so deeply connected to my purpose. And so when I talk about optimizing my fundamentals, partly I've got to make sure that in any three month period, I put myself in positions to be of service that has led to my purpose. In my day job, I love running coffee culture, I love the things that I do with my leadership development and building the company you keep. I love the stuff that I do, what is the truest essence of what I'm hear to do? It's that other thing. And if I if I go too long without doing it, I get that sort of gets purposeless. So I tell people, what has it been for you and make sure you build enough of it in?

Will:  

Yeah. And I think I can speak for a lot of the people that have been listening who because because they have said this to me in sort of private conversations is that a lot of people got into teaching because they love live classes and they love being able to get to that feeling where, you know, it might be a yoga class and you get to the meditation you feel like you've created a really welcoming experience, or it could be a high intensity class and you are pushing really hard, the music's blaring in the background, everyone's sweating and you get that kind of momentary high and that feeling of flow and you know that you're doing the thing you love, you're contributing to everyone else feeling good and that's kind of why people get into fitness. And as much as people might have enjoyed going digital, may have enjoyed the convenience of being able to you know, log on from home and not go into the gym. A lot of instructors got into instructing because they found that feeling in fitness and in being leading fitness and having been divorced from that feeling for so long, it's probably a really good thing just to remind them that you know, you need to, you need to find that space again. Because having that experience is what keeps your purpose and keeps your passion and that it's normal because it's been denied to you for not for a lot longer than you can probably deal with. It's like a year since lockdowns first started. So if you haven't taught a proper big class in a gym without without masks and social distancing for a year, then it's, you're probably feeling quite disconnected from your purpose and teaching. And that is completely normal and completely understandable.

Sacha  

I think the other thing to prepare for is the overwhelm that you might experience get to it. Because sometimes the wonder of humans is that we're so adaptable. So even while we're feeling the sense of disconnectedness, we're getting on with it. An example, an example of that yesterday for me, my stepson Jordan as in managed isolation quarantine, which is what you went through Will to come to New Zealand, so he's flown home from Texas. So he's staying in a crestridge Airport hotel, and so I went to visit him last night. So he's outside and this paged area, with double caged in fences, and I'm on the other side of the fence, and there's no way I can touch him that we're talking on the phone while we look at each other. We both remarked on the ease to which we had accepted and adapted to that, right. 

Will:  

It's such a such a false kind of fake experience compared to what it would have been before the pandemic, right. Yet, I'm sure that it was really comforting.

Sacha  

Yeah, and we all would have, if two years ago, someone had said, He will voluntarily allow himself to be locked up, we would have said, piss off! No way! 

Will:  

It's dystopian fiction, right.

Sacha  

And, and I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm firmly in the camp of the science tells us this is a good thing, and was supportive of it. But it was more the way we've just adapted. So what how I think this relates to group fit, is you while, you might be missing live classes, we've all adjusted and adapted. So be prepared when we go back to live classes, to be really emotional about that in a way that you might not expect. You might be at the end of your class doing the cooldown and tears might come because you hadn't realized how much you've missed us.

Will:  

Yeah. 

Sacha  

And to just allow that and, and be okay with it.

Will:  

Absolutely.

Sacha  

But that third one, that's, that's your purpose, getting reconnected to what it's all about for you won't necessarily be in your job. So be okay about that, too. For me it's not group fitness...it's when I'm with my children, or it's when I'm with my mom or it's when I'm with my little singing group. Whatever that thing is, just make sure you're plugging into that often. And the last thing in that quadrant, we've done body, mind, your spirit or your soul. And the last one is your heart. Now, obviously, your heart is part of your body. But I'm not talking about the physical heart, I'm talking about your emotional life here. And this is about the quality of your relationships. Now, it's your relationship with yourself in terms of how much you're able to love and be accepting of who you are. But also your relationship with your family, your siblings, your parents, your aunt's your uncle's, and then it's about your friend relationships. Then you go, it's about your love relationships, intimate relationships. And I think for each of us to really be high functioning and high performing, we've got to have some kind of peace across those things. And I know that for many people, if you have a fight with your spouse in the morning, and then you go off to teach a group fitness class, it feels like is this many of us we feel this disconnect, because we don't like being out of relationship with people feel good to be out of whack. And so often when I run people through this optimizing their fundamentals, and they think about it, like oh, I could be a better son or daughter, to my parents. It Wouldn't kill me to run my dad more often. And that actually, by deepening that relationship, they find that a bunch of other things happen, right? So I just really encourage people to think about the quality of your relationships with people who are who matter most to you. And of course, if you've been in lockdown, when you don't want to see more of the people you love, you want to see less of them! It's amazing that people have survived being in the same space. This will mean different things in diferent contexts, depending on people's reality. I think think about are you being a good friend? And do you have friends who are good to you? Are there relationships that you go, you know what, when I'm at my peak, this relationship doesn't suit me, this bitch never rings me up. I'm always doing work here, I'm always listening to her complain, you know, just just challenge yourself to not always be looking for what's in it for me, but to make sure there's some kind of quality in all of your relationships. And I think once those four areas are kind of neatly sorted in some respect, that creates a platform for peak performance.

Will:  

Yeah, for sure. I like I love what you're saying, particularly around the purpose point. So full disclosure, one of the one of the projects that I've been working on, and this is something that kind of came in after the pandemic burnout podcast that we did is I've been working on a course for group fitness instructors about kind of taking on the challenges of what we've learned from the pandemic and teaching in the phygital age. And now that you have to be a different type of instructor, and what how you go about improving your skills and taking a little bit of time to invest in you. And part of the part of the thrust of the course, we'll be talking more about this in future podcasts. But it's about redefining your purpose and finding your purpose again, because I think that what I'm getting from a lot of instructors is that that's the bit that that's the quadrant that they are struggling with right now. Because the thing that they used to love, they are finding a bit of a drain. And they're at that pinch point when they're like, well, this like I want I'm so looking forward to going back, but I'm also completely drained and empty. I want to keep teaching digitally and virtually, and I want to go back to teaching live, what do I do to to maximize my effort and make sure that I'm sort of developing myself in both those thrusts. And so that's been sort of a big part of what I've been doing recently is trying to put together a sort of set of modules of learning that really focuses on getting people to understand why they're why they're there, why they're a fitness instructor in the first place, how to rediscover their connection with it. And then give them some tools around the edges of what teaching is now, the realities of teaching group fitness in a phygital sense, so you know, you've got some online, you've got some in person, how do you improve your teaching skills in a way that you can cross across both mediums, media, both mediums, and teach and teach effectively and create connection? And like, um, it's it's been a really interesting task, and something I'm super excited about. What I'd love to know from you is how do you go about, what do you do to rediscover your purpose or to recharge your batteries? Like, what are the strategies that you use?

Sacha  

Okay, so first thing, I'm going to come back always to that inside out idea, and it's about self awareness. So it's about noticing, when you feel inspired, noticing, when you feel recharged, notice what fills your cap, and notice what depletes you. So if you come out of an interaction, you go, I'm exhausted. That person or that situation as an energy vampire that has sapped the will to live from me. Then maybe even just make a note of that, start to see if there's patterns. But also have the self awareness to say, You know what? I'm exhausted. But I also didn't have any lunch today, because I got so busy. So sometimes we can overthink things and go, Oh, you know, this job isn't serving me or my relationships not great here. But actually, if you come back to the fundamentals: Are you eating, exercising and sleeping well? Because if you're not, then it's sort of like, I don't know, imagine you've spilled coffee on your computer. And you're using it like you normally do. But you're getting, it's glitching. Sometimes our emotions glitch, because we haven't fed them appropriately. Yep. So yeah, we can, we can actually just be hangry because we need a chocolate bun or a piece of fruit. So we've got to be careful that we don't -- kind of start at the basics, not the other way around. For me, it is about that self awareness.

Will:  

I was gonna say I've learned over the course of my adulthood that three days before I get sick, I get extremely ratty. And I'm the worst person to be around and everybody annoys me. And it's obviously my immune system connected to my mindset. And it's like, my body's going down. And it's sort of flailing around and my brain is taking the brunt of it. And then I will always get sort of two days later, and I'll like cough or I'll have a sniffle. And I'm like, Ah, that explains why I was so terrible two days ago. And I've I've started to think more, maybe I'm getting sick, maybe be a little bit nicer on myself. Why am I so mean to everybody, and they haven't done anything wrong? Ah, maybe I'm getting sick. I should take some vitamin C. But that took like two decades of it happening for me to really be self aware enough of seeing the seeing the signs and going with them.

Well, I think every person with ovaries can completely relate.

Will:  

Hahah. I can't relate to that, but I'm sure.

Sacha  

Because how that used to manifest for me was, I would, you know, my husband would say, and I'll be really pissed off by it, like I had what felt like an overreaction to it, and I'd go to bed really angry. And, you know, maybe the next day or the day after I get my period, and I'd got, that's what that was about. I grew up in the days before tracking apps that would tell me what was happening. So it was always like, in hindsight. Now is that being in a body that has ovaries, but I've gone through menopause. Now that, now I'm just angry. And there's nothing to blame it on!

Will:  

Not not quite as not quite as cyclical, you can't quite predict.

Sacha  

This, like, five years of being on fire internally. So it starts with self awareness. The second thing that I do to keep myself on track is to be deliberate in my planning. So one of the reasons we know that for people who don't love exercise, the reason that personal training is so effective, and personal trainers always get really upset when I tell them this truth. Yeah, it's not that the programming is outstanding. It's not even that they're particularly motivating. It's that people like me make an appointment on our calendars. And because we're paying, we turn up.

Will:  

yep, feel bad about it cancelling.

Sacha  

The hardest thing is to get us to turn up, right? So I treat my wellbeing in the same way. So I look at my week and I put in the big blocks, that when as my exercise is going to hit them, if you're someone who struggles to not crutches in the afternoon, and so you find yourself craving a candy bar, then that's about having discipline and planning what you're going to eat. If you have trouble sleeping, then you be deliberate about doing things that will help you sleep. So for me a lot in the planning. And that's what really keeps me on track. I have regular phone calls with my parents. And for me, I just call my parents when I get in the car. So that helps take care of that relationship, I just use those as, as small examples of things that I do. What we're always looking to do, because we are time poor, is to look across the quadrants and go, how can I cheat and do two at once. So, how can I get more than one of these things, pick them. And so here's a couple of really simple but smart things you can do. If you say well, being in nature is something that feeds my soul, and spirit, I also need to catch up with a girlfriend more, and I'm not getting enough exercise, you just go for a walk outside with your girlfriend, then three quadrants down, and that's your body, that's your soul, you're out in nature, and that's your heart relationships. And arguably, you're also doing something for your mind, as well in terms of processing, because we want that particular process through talking. So it's something that can happen all at once. When I when my parents, I ring them from the car, because it's on my commute. Yeah, I'm not taking half an hour where I'm just sitting on the couch at home. So really useful to go how do I double team this and so in the learning space, you know, with your course that's coming up, I'm not sure how it's gonna work. But it might be a couple of instructors do it together. So even if they're doing it singly online, they can pop in and talk to each other about it and so you're catching up with a friend and you're learning.

Will:  

Oh, we're gonna be in one big group, there's, there's a whole social community side to it. So everyone's gonna be in it together. It'll be it'll be a whole network effect!

Sacha  

And so that does mean that you're ticking off more than one quadrant.

Will:  

Mm hmm. So what I'm hearing from you is that the you've got these four quadrants, and that the key thing is understanding that sometimes you need to take proactive steps in order to fix them because they don't necessarily just fixed themselves, right.

Sacha  

That's exactly, that's exactly it. You've got to be out. I love the expression that what you focus on gets fixed. Yep. So you can kind of do a mental audit and go, no, heart's good. Purpose is really good. But I'm not getting enough rest. Or actually, I'm a bit stale in my thinking. So I need to spend some more time updating my thinking. I'm going to read a couple of books. I'm going to watch some more documentaries. I'm going to access this new instructor course, something that gets your brain going, just recognize where the gaps are, and look to plug those gaps.

Will:  

Right, but make them make a plan, like you said before. Actually think about, what is it? Where am I lacking? What things am I lacking? And what am I going to do to plug those holes in a thoughtful and direct way?

Sacha  

Absolutely. And that is largely, we talk about time management. I think that's a dumb, a dumb description, because we all have the same amount of time. We can't make, we can't expand or contract time. I prefer to just talk about self leadership. So how do you lead yourself within the constraints of 24 hours a day, right? Then within the same amount of time that everybody has? Where are you directing your energy and effort?

Will:  

And there are certain places you can go to, to make that work? And sometimes that involves like taking an extra step in your learning, right?

Sacha  

Absolutely.

Will:  

Yeah, that actually brings me to something else that I wanted to talk about, because I know we're running a little bit low on time. You have a podcast. So since we previously did our podcast, you have copied me, no just kidding, you have launched a podcast, which I think will be relevant to a lot of our listeners, because actually, I'm not gonna put words in your mouth. You tell me what your podcast is about and what people can what people can gain from tuning in.

Sacha  

It's a funny story. I asked Shane, who was the head of fitness for Les Mills in New Zealand, invited me to do a podcast with him. It's his baby. And we call it the Not So Breakfast Show. So you can find us on all the usual places. 

Will:  

Yeah, and we will link to it in the show notes.

Sacha  

Thank you. What should I find it, we're both 46, 47. And we find that there's a bunch of people who are kind of in a floating space in their careers. They go, I've got more years left in me, but I'm not sure what's next, what are the skills, I need to stop being a middle manager and go to the next phase, or if I'm going to stay in middle management? How can I be more fulfilled? So, it's a mixture of leadership, skill acquisition, we talk about families with teenage kids, little bit of life hacks and tips. And we and we share stories of all the mistakes that we've made and disasters that we've survived, in the hope that people can get some skill. The irony of it, we are largely pitching at people kind of, in their 40s. We get feedback from right across the age range, we've got teenagers that are listening, and they can't wait for another episode to drop. So it's kind of a, it's a appealing across the spectrum of people who just want to have quick things that they could implement, that would make a difference.

Will:  

And the thing I like about it, so for anyone that's listening is that if you if you subscribe, or go and check out the Not So Breakfast Show, all of the topics are listed in the title of that podcast. So much like friends, it's the one about and then the thing. So you don't have to worry about needing to sort through every previous episode, you can go through, take a look at the various titles. And if there's something there that jumps out at you as, this is a topic that I have thought that I need to learn some stuff about, you can just you know, pick and choose those ones as you please.

Sacha  

Yeah, and we are huge children of the 80s annd 90s. So yes, there's plenty of references, to those bad old days. 

Will:  

Perfect. Right, Sacha, before I go, I'm going to ask you one thing, which is what is the what is the biggest learning that you're planning to make for the rest of 2021? So we are in March, I think this podcast will be going out just into April. And like you've had time to kind of figure out the lay of the land in 2021, I suspect. What's the biggest, what's the biggest thing that you feel that you're going to focus on learning in the rest of the rest of this year?

Sacha  

Okay, so two things for me. One is some specific skill acquisition.So, you'll know that I've been to Harvard Business School, and I have some pretty ambitious goals for our business. And I have some specific skill gaps. There are things I'm not very good at and that I don't know much about. And one of those specifically is around kind of accounting and finance.

Will:  

I thought you were gonna say, we've talked about this before.

Sacha  

Yeah I can look at the balance sheet and the p&l and kind of roughly work out what what happens. And I'm going to always rely on outside expertise, but I want to get better at it. So that means I'm going to find and what I'm actually going to do is I'm going to get a coach, because I want something that's specific to my needs. And I encourage you to think about getting one on one attention for anything when you need it. Yep, 3 lots of a one on one session can be so much more valuable than three months of a generic course that you know only some of the contents are going to be useful to you. That's kind of a skill acquisition thing and the second thing that i'm learning and this is i'm learning and an experiential thing is i'm learning about the ways that i get in other people's way. So I'm trying to be really deliberate about that. So with every leadership style it can be really empowering and freeing for people and there's always a flip side. So there's always a flip side that sees the way that you operate can create barriers for others. I want to understand more clearly what some of the downsides are of the way that i lead and either employ around them or get better in those areas so that i'm less of a pain in the ass for the people who i work with.

Will:  

Absolutely it and that relates to everything right like communication styles, leadership styles because they can, flip sides of a coin, so if your strengths are that you are super direct and clear and honest the flip side of that is for people that don't necessarily have that have that sort of normal characteristic they can find you to be abrupt or aggressive or this is not you in particular this is probably me

Sacha  

But it is me too, you know. Rude...

Will:  

Yeah, but but and and understanding how you can harness your strengths while also softening it for the people that don't necessarily, don't necessarily relate to those strengths quite as quite as much is a massively important skill to have particularly as a leader and as a fitness instructor right because you need to be connecting with everyone in your class so you need to understand your style and how to make the most of it but also understand how to connect with everybody in your class which is something we'll be covering on the course. That was not really pre-prepared, but yeah one of one of our modules is all about discovering your strengths,, figuring out how to harness them, and then and then understanding how to connect to people that don't necessarily share those same propensities.

Sacha  

Yeah great

Will:  

Perfect well thank you very much sacha i'm gonna put links to your podcast in the show notes and I'm sure that we will be having you back at some stage in the future. Good luck with your two primary learning tasks for the rest of 2021.

Sacha  

Thank you so much! One and one is two and that feels like a good start.

Will:  

It does. Cheer, see ya!

Will:  

So that was my chat with Sacha. I could really speak with her forever as i'm sure you can tell and i really hope that you found that useful. I urge you to go away and think about those four quadrants of body, mind, soul and heart. Reflect on where you sit right now within each one and take some time to think about the changes you can make to improve in the areas that you are lacking. Small changes can really deliver massive results when it comes to this key stuff.

Will:  

Before I go, I want to tell you a little bit more about the group fitness course that i mentioned in my chat with Sacha. So, to give you a bit of background I've been contemplating creating an industry wide advanced instructor training course separate to what we do with Sh1ft for a while. Something that covers all the different formats and programs that instructors teach that isn't tied to any one thing, that isn't just about pre-choreography, or freestyle or pre-programmed, but that really just captures the key things that instructors need to know and understand in order to be a success in 2021 with the way the industry has changed. And the latest feedback on instructors from how they're feeling post pandemic and as we start to open up has convinced me that now is the right time to do it. This is because you guys, instructors, have been giving everything during the pandemic and i know that you are starting to feel a little bit empty so now's the time to fill yourself up i strongly believe that now is the time to invest in yourself your future and to help you reignite that passion for teaching we have created this course specifically for you. as i said your,, tank is empty, let us fill you up. So I've been working with a team of experts within the industry, people that i've worked with in the past and people that i'm excited to work with for the first time and we've been pulling together this course. Now it was super important to us that we didn't create any old advanced instructor training that you may have seen before. Not that any of the trainings that are out there aren't great because i know of many that are, but i don't think that they quite capture what is specific about the challenges that instructors face right now, moving into a space where you need to be understanding and getting to grips with not just in-person teaching, but also teaching online and where you can cross over the things to do well that will really make you succeed and where you need to know the variances and individual things that you need to focus on in each type of delivery. We wanted it to be super relevant to teaching in today's world, so this is the first day of a group fitness course that will cover both in person and online teaching in a single course. And as I said before, it's not just about a specific format. This is a course this is a solution that is relevant for all instructors across every format that you might teach from hiit, to dance, to yoga to spin. And of course, in true shift style, it's going to be fun, motivational, and it's going to be immediately actionable. That means that you will have takeaways from this course that you can implement ASAP to make your classes better straightaway. This course is designed to help instructors focus on the mind and soul quadrants that Sasha mentioned. A big part of the course will be about discovering your true passion and what drives you, i.e. the soul quadrant. But there will also be loads of great tips, education and support that will feed the mind quadrant. We are going to be doing this as a group. One of the most exciting things about the changes that have happened to the industry, as we all now know, that doing stuff digitally can have impact. And you're going to be put into a big community with the other instructors that are going through the course at the same time as you, they are going to be your peers, and you are going to be able to use me and them to help you get better. We're gonna be having live conversations where you'll be given opportunities to really ask questions about what goes on in the course. And you'll be encouraged to converse with your other students that are going through the course at the same time as you. I am super excited not just about the opportunity to connect with you guys, but also for you to connect with each other and to get some real genuine community peer support from people that are facing the same challenges as you are. So you're going to have the support of an incredible online community. And it will give you the opportunity to connect with and support other instructors and really feed that heart quadrant. Now, what many of you might be thinking is that you don't have the time to focus on a course right now. But let me ask you, how much time did you spend doom scrolling through social media this week? I can almost guarantee you that it will be longer than the time you need to commit to your learning. So are you ready to invest in yourself and join me on the course? You can find all the information at www.gxadvanced.com. But we'll obviously link to this in the show notes. Now even if this course isn't for you, I still highly recommend that you commit some time this week to reflect on this episode with Sacha and your own personal journey. Get out a piece of paper and write those four quadrants out and see what you put down. Trust me, it will be worth it. One last note. So I'm going to be taking a break from the podcast to really focus all my attention on the course and the students that I'm going to be working with. So this will be your last weekly episode for a while. But don't worry, we will definitely, definitely be back after a short break to bring you more Group Fitness Real Talk. Thank you for listening. If you're enjoying the show, don't forget to subscribe for all the latest episodes wherever you get your podcasts. And while you're there, please drop us a review. You can also get in touch with me at will@sh1ftfitness.com. I'm Will Brereton and you've been listening to Group Fitness Real Talk.