Secrets From a Coach - Debbie Green & Laura Thomson's Podcast

272. Getting Into High Performance Mode

• Season 22 • Episode 272

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How do we motivate ourselves in a healthy, sustainable way: and is pushing harder really the answer?

In this final episode of our Fresh Starts mini-series, we’re joined by sports scientist Danielle Peters, who shares insights from working with amateur and professional athletes, people in rehabilitation, and those seeking better all-round health through understanding their bodies.

Danielle challenges the myth that high performance means pushing through at all costs. Instead, she reminds us that true high performance is about listening, adjusting, and choosing what supports us for the long run.

Together, we explore the powerful parallels between sport and everyday performance at work - from the role of rest and recovery, to managing stress, setting boundaries, and understanding the difference between intentions and goals. We also unpack why all-or-nothing thinking can quietly derail performance and lead to burnout.

As always, take what’s useful and leave what isn’t; and remember, there’s no perfect time for a fresh start. Just the one that feels right for you.

A reassuring and practical listen for anyone who’s flagging, or leading a team that’s dragging  - and looking for a healthier, more humane alternative to cracking the whip.

SPEAKER_00:

Coming up on this week's Secrets from a Coach.

SPEAKER_03:

The biggest thing that I have to really hammer in with a lot of them is the importance of rest and recovery. They a lot of the time will try and over-train, but then they've got three kids under five and a full-time job in London that you have to commute to on top of that. Yeah. And a lot of the time it is all about teaching people how to just work with their time and allocate appropriate time because rest is as important as the exercise itself.

SPEAKER_00:

Secrets from a coach. Thrive and maximise your potential in the evolving workplace. Your weekly podcast with Debbie Green of Wishfish and Laura Thompson Stavely of Phenomenal Training. Deb. Yeah, I'm doing good. Where's your week been? Yeah, it's been really interesting, actually. Lots of variety. Tell me more. Well interesting people to chat with. I always think it's a fascinating time in the start of a new year to be running sessions because there is a renewed sense of energy. Although I do think there's it's easy to get into a sense of overwhelm of, you know, there's so much to do and things that were sort of hanging over from the year before, sort of potentially building in on that, which is why we thought it'd be really useful to look at our four-part focus fresh start. So we've explored the benefit of having intentions rather than goals, and intentions rather than resolutions.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Creating space for what matters and uh kind of shifting from chaos to calm. And last week's one was all about that kind of the give and the get, creating a life work balance that works for you. And it's so excited on this one, Deb, because we are being joined by a guest of someone that you know really well.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, I do, Danielle.

SPEAKER_00:

And Danielle was in conversation with you, talking about from her perspective and her professional um uh viewpoint, getting into high performance mode.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it was it was such a good conversation. I do know her well, and I think we mentioned that I saw a clip of her with her gran, and she's helping her gran with her knees and stuff, and I went, that's what I need. You know, so she was just so that's how I met her, and um, she's been really helping. And I think she's just you know, really connects the world of work with the world of sport beautifully in her professional state as well as a sport science background as well. So, should we have a listen in and see what she had to say? Yes, let's welcome everyone. As you can see, I am delighted that we have a guest on our series that we've been covering this month, which has been all about fresh starts, um, not dramatic reinventions or anything like that, but intentional resets. Um, and today we're going to explore high performance, not just in elite sport with our guest, but in real life. So, what does that mean for us with our work, our health, our energy, and our well-being? And I'm delighted to have Danielle Peters with us today. Hi Dan! Um, she works with bodies every single day. Um, and what we're fascinated by is how the mind and the body and the intention work together. Um, but first tell us a little bit about your background and how you've arrived at your own business, which is Body Health Gatwick.

SPEAKER_03:

Hi Debs, thanks for having me. Um so I'm Danielle Peters, and um I actually started out in 2015. Um I do a lot of martial arts and I was training at my gym, and where I was training at my gym, they had an osteopath who rented a room there and he left. And my coach basically said to me, Dan, do you want the room? You kind of do all this stuff. And um at the time I was working in car accidents, the medical staff and also in football. And I was kind of like, Yeah, sure, why not? Um, I was 26, I just felt like I was quite employable. So if it didn't work, why not? Um, and that's kind of my personality is just to throw myself at it and hope it hope it works. Yeah. Um and then yeah, I just built myself up. I started off in a tiny little treatment room that had no windows. It was literally a cupboard next to the boys' changing room with a massage table and a desk, and off we went, and then upgraded to a room with a window, which was lovely. Um, and then about three years ago I expanded again. I've taken on a unit in um Manoral in Crawley and uh which is uh multidisciplinary, multiple treatment rooms, um, and a gym space downstairs. So yeah, I went from basically a treatment room, a cupboard to a big old unit. So that's that's kind of how I've got here in a very short, short span.

SPEAKER_02:

Brilliant. I love that. And for those listening in, the reason I know about Dan is because I saw a video that you'd put up about your gran, wasn't it? About her doing her exercises and strength and keeping fit. And I just happened to come across it and I went, that's what I need. And obviously, what attracted me was it didn't matter what age you were, and I think that was what was really important for me. So um, hence we wanted to get you on to talk about how it links with our fresh start, and because it was a bit of a fresh start as well for me. So, one thing I'd love to know though is from your world, when we talk about high performance, what does it actually mean beyond the stereotype of pushing harder?

SPEAKER_03:

Depends on the person and the scenario, really, doesn't it? But uh in the sporting world, I think we assume like an elite athlete. So someone who gets paid to do their sport, they do it full-time, they don't have a job on top of it. Um, so that would be a high performance athlete, I guess. But then I would say equally, I work with what I like to call intermediate athletes who are people who are still competitive, but they have to go to work and they have a family to support. Um, but they are still in a very competitive category, so you know, results do matter. And equally you could argue they are high performance as well, and they're the ones who don't get the sponsorships from the big brands, and um, you know, they actually have to do other stuff. They can't just go train in the morning, have a snap, uh, have someone prep their food and then a massage and then go back and train again. They actually have stuff to do. So, I mean, high performance could equally mean one of those guys, as well as you know, your elite athlete who has it a little bit more given to them. Um yeah, anyone.

SPEAKER_02:

And anyone, and I think that's what is so cool. And I think one of the things that people always think about is especially in the world of work, if we're performing at a high level, um, and we sort of there's a risk of burnout potentially. Um, and also if we think about if we're performing well, it is also about the capacity, as you said, not everyone is at the same level, um, is recovery and it's also awareness of ourselves and listening versus overriding the body. Because how often do I suppose elite athletes, your intermediate athletes, how yeah, I'm gonna call them that because they are, um, how do they understand about their bodies that most of us, and I'm calling us as the general population, me included, forget intermediate athletes are the hardest people to work with because they are so desperate to be the best, um, but they have limitations that they can't control.

SPEAKER_03:

And the biggest thing that I have to really hammer in with a lot of them is the importance of rest and recovery. Right. Um they a lot of the time will try and over-train and say, train six, seven days a week, but then they've got three kids under five and a full-time job in London that they have to commute to on top of that. Yeah. And a lot of the time it is all about teaching people how to um just work with their time and allocate appropriate time because rest is as important as the exercise itself. Sure. Um, if you have an hour of intensive exercise, you need to equally allocate at least 10 hours of recovery. Right. Um, which is a good way of thinking of it. And if you ask yourself, are you doing that? There are quite a few people who are very sporty, for example, who don't do that. And I think that's the same as well in the working world. Um, it's it's not just limited to sports. Uh, you know, like if you do something really intense or you have an intense period at work, yeah, you do also need to have a recovery period because you're you're burnt out, like um no one can be a hundred percent all the time, and um, it's really important to have quiet time and reflective time as well.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I love that actually. And I know um our first series on this pod series, we talked about intention versus resolutions. Um, because I hate making New Year's resolutions, I prefer intentions. How do the people that you work with reset or set intentions differently from goals?

SPEAKER_03:

I think goals are important in the sports world, as you probably know, because I've made it.

SPEAKER_02:

I know, you made me set a goal.

SPEAKER_03:

But I think goals so a lot of the time I get people who go, Oh, I just want to lose some pounds and stuff like that, which is great, you know, join the club. But I think having a physical goal is a really nice thing as well, because it doesn't rely on a number on a scale, it doesn't make you feel rubbish on a weigh in day, it's just something you're working towards, and goals will give you a motivation that you wouldn't have had had you not set it. So, um, for example, like I said earlier, I do I do martial arts, and um, if I've got a competition coming up, it's it's amazing how suddenly a switch goes on in my head, okay, and that I when I go training, I'm not messing around, I'm there with intention and purpose, and I make the most of that session, I do my extra runs, I do all the extra add-ons.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Um for me personally, because it's one-on-one, I always think, well, my opponent's doing this this all this stuff. So if they're doing it and I'm not, I've already given them an advantage. So I want to give myself no excuses um for if I lose. So you know, at least if I lose, I've lost because they're a better person on the day, not because I didn't do enough.

SPEAKER_04:

Okay.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, and this is where I think the importance of having a goal is is important because it gives you that kind of rocket up bottom. Yeah. Um it also makes when you do the sessions, you have more intensity in in those sessions as well.

SPEAKER_02:

And I think that's um that's really interesting, is it? Does the intention come before the goal, or does the goal come before the intention?

SPEAKER_03:

I I think it's definitely always intention. Yeah. We always think about a diet before we start one, don't we? Um we always think we should do more exercise. We should do more. Yeah, and um, but I do think there is an importance of really thinking through what you're gonna do first. Right. Um, yeah, and and that, you know, some people might say that's procrastinating, and but I do think you should always like think, how am I gonna make this work? And and like have a moment just to reflect on it. Um, you know, we we all wanna do certain things all the time, but it is really important to think it through first and the intention has to be there. And it's amazing how the second you have the intention, the goal will follow very, very quickly.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I love that. And I suppose that leads on to that, you know, what when you're working with people, um, what have you seen or what's the cost of that all or nothing thinking on the body? So if it's like I'm gonna go all out and lose 24 stone or I'm gonna run a marathon I've never run before, what is the cost of that on the body?

SPEAKER_03:

Big one sustainability, like right. Uh I mean, I've done horrendous weight cuts for competitions, uh but the second it's done, I have cake for breakfast, you know what I mean? So you know, everything is in moderation. I think as I get older, I kind of really appreciate that humbleness a bit more. Um, yeah, and then then with uh with uh people who are sporty or want to be more active, sometimes because you do get a buzz out of doing sport, like you get a nice dopamine hit afterwards. Um, and sometimes people can get quite addicted to that and then want to do more and more more, and then this is where you end up going from doing a a little bit of a workout to like training six, seven days a week. And um uh I see it a lot more with my younger lot, uh, especially my um adolescents, um, because they'll play sport competitively, and then the school will be like, um you need to play for our team because you're good at that sport. Right. So then they start doing school sports, and then that then the county finds them, and then you know, next thing they're they're they're doing like six, seven days a week and their kids, do you know what you mean? Um and then they know they need to do some strength and conditioning, so then they go contact me, and we I always sit down with them and their parents, and like, when are you gonna fit this in? Because quite frankly, if you're gonna come here and be tired, there is no point you being here. I'd rather you be at home and rest like you're so young. Um so yeah, I think it is the younger ones are probably a little bit worse um for overreaching. I think that's like I think that's useful anyway.

SPEAKER_02:

Enthusiasm, isn't it? Is that what it's called? Yeah, we do as well.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

I think that's so important. But I think also when we're thinking about um the impact that has on us, and I think when you're talking there, actually everything you're saying can actually play out in the world of work as well, right? So if you're driving your team super hard, or if you're expecting perfection every single time, or you're working all the hours that you can in order to get a result, the impact is huge, all right, as you said, on our bodies and our nervous system and everything else that goes with it. And I suppose it have you seen that if that happens, do you see performance dip um around it as you know, because of that intensity?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, definitely. I've always said um an elite elite athlete and a CEO are probably exactly the same personality. Um like they are top of the game, they're very good at it as well, probably, and they probably put a lot of time and commitment to whatever it is. There is that personality is probably very, very similar. Um yeah, I think the importance is just like knowing how to allocate time, and time is is a very precious thing. Um in my my business, I run a company and um being self-employed and running a business, and I've got you know staff who rely on me as well to help them out, it's sometimes you can you could work yourself into the ground and I could easily, easily work seven days a week. Um I could work long hours. Uh I I've got the capacity to do that, but I don't because my quality of work is better when I do a little bit less. And um I've always said um, especially when I was doing a lot more sports massage like throughout the day, yeah before I really branch into the the PT stuff, um my 9am should be exactly the same as my 5pm. Um because it's not the 5 pm's fault that they come in at 5 pm, but they expect exactly the same service as when I'm fresh. So, you know, for example, when I was doing a lot more like hands-on uh work, um, my rule was two, three hours and then I must have a half hour break. Um what I do in that half an hour is who cares? But um half an hour's hands off, uh, let my hands rest, let my brain rest, because it's intense being with someone for an hour and keeping that conversation.

SPEAKER_02:

On our second episode, we were talking about calm over chaos, and I suppose it plays out into what you were saying around you know, how do I create that calmness in order to help me be better than I was, rather than keep going, keep going, keep going. So when you said about you gives you that thinking time. So obviously it's not just about calming the mind, but it's actually what does calm in inverted commas look like actually in the body?

SPEAKER_03:

So, stress levels. I mean, uh recently we went over, you and I went through um HRV. Heart rate variability. If we were to imagine we had a resting heart rate of 60 beats per minute, we would expect every second on the second we would have a beat, a beat, like a metronome. And actually, that's not what happens. The heart, when it's nice and relaxed, it will be as and when it needs to. So it might be 0.2 of a second, 1.4 of a second. It won't be bang on. And the more um relaxed and casual it is, the more variable it is, and the higher that variability number is, um the more relaxed our heart is, and the more relaxed our body is and nervous system and our stress. Um the more rigid um that our heartbeat is and it's staying to its lane, the the lower heart rate variability and the more stressed the body is. And what that means is that if you then had to I don't know, run for a bus suddenly and your heart needs to beat a little bit faster and get into gear, it's gonna struggle because it's so stuck within its constraints. Whereas if it was relaxed, it could slide into the neck going, okay, right, let's let's get on with it and and push a little bit harder. Um, and the importance of that in in the sports world, so if if your heart rate variability is low, that's probably not a good day to go for a PB and something because your body's quite stressed. Uh you're probably a little bit more likely to get injured as well because you know, your lack of control. Um, but then equally, if your heart rate variability is nice and high that day, then you know, like that's probably a good day to go push it and and go get your zone fives and things like that. Um I love that. The things that affect it are the big one is sleep.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, okay.

SPEAKER_03:

Um bad food because it's hard for your body to break down. Um exercise. If you have a heavy exercise, you know, the next day you feel a bit rubbish because you've done heavy exercise, um, that will affect it as well. And then just general stress like mind stress, work stress on the body will affect your your heart, essentially. And um, you know, uh we've only got one and they're quite important. We kind of need them. So, you know, it's really important to have periods of stress but also periods of calm to counteract that. Um, and that's that's really important as a human being, I think.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, definitely. And I think that's what you know we wanted to talk to you about because you're seeing it from that other side, if you like, people athletes, intermediate athletes, people like me that are just doing it because um, as opposed to then how that translates into the world of work, because you could say you it's the same uh process that people go through. And you know, people uh need to look after themselves well in order to perform better. Um, so what simple what simple tips could you give somebody to help them recognise when they're putting their body under stress or their mind or they're overthinking things or they're pushing themselves too hard? What would you suggest that they consider doing to help them not burn out, as we talked about earlier?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I think everyone's individual, so really important to like highlight that. I think the the two big things that we could all do to help ourselves before we get to anyone to help with intervention is are you getting your sleep and are you eating well? Are you fueling your body? Because if you're not doing those, then not being funny, any sports massage you have or gym session you have or whatever magic stones. It's not gonna help. And um the reason is you haven't addressed yourself first. Right. Um, if you haven't had enough sleep, how are you expected to concentrate for the next day and take on difficult tasks? Um if you are tired, your brain is gonna be tired. And I don't know, uh, we've all been there where you've been tired the next day. You feel hung over, and you're just like, give me some crisps.

unknown:

Yes.

SPEAKER_03:

Now and you need sugar because your brain runs mostly of sugar, um, your brain's like struggling, so it's gonna make you reach for like naughty foods because you want that for energy, and then the brain needs to focus. So I think if you feel well, so you eat well, you know, eat good food, um, try and stay away from too much processed stuff that's for your body to break down, I think is a good starting point. Um and then and then like really address your sleep. I think that's probably the biggest things you can do to stop yourself burning out. And then like I appreciate if you've got kids and stuff like that, that's always gonna be you're gonna have to just play the ball, uh, you know, play the game that you you have to um it can't speak for those people because I'm not in their situation. Um, but everyone has their own life stresses and you need to adapt to what you have. Um for me personally, it's really important that I have a minimum of one day off a week that I'm not in this building. Um and now I'm lucky enough that I can have two, um, because I've got some staff that have helped me out, and and that was me like uh giving over a little bit of responsibility to someone else so that I could have some more time off. And what it allows me to do is have my time at home to do all the the fun things like the washing, um shop, but I'm not making my day longer because I've got a day allocated to do that, and if I want to be sociable, I can, but I I also can have a quiet day. Um for me, it's it's a Thursday, which is delightful because my half's at work, so I actually have a quiet day at home where it's just yeah, just me and I can gather my thoughts and things, and that and that's how I personally stay sane is I um I work my hours, but I um I make sure I have a full day off every week um as a non-negotiable.

SPEAKER_02:

So I suppose it's not about high performance, I suppose it isn't about doing more really, it's more about doing what matters with an awareness of that. Um, and I suppose if if there was one small thing you could give our listeners that are listening into this or watching, um, a takeaway for this week, as in body-wise or mind-wise, what would you suggest?

SPEAKER_03:

Um quality over quantity. Okay, love that. It's a big one. And um yeah, it depends on the person and and their agenda. Move more, sit less is another big one. Oh, I like that. Yeah. Um you know, a lot of the the injury side of stuff that comes into my unit could be resolved by probably doing a little bit more exercise, um, and and allowing your body to work harder. But from uh more elite level, having a good quality session will always trump doing a double session that day because, quite frankly, what are you going to achieve by having two rubbish sessions? Um I always remember um when I uh was part of a a martial arts club, like uh there was a couple people who would do double classes, so they would do like the kitboxing, then the boxing straight after or whatever order it was in. And they'd be flagging in the second class, and you'd be like, Well, what's the point of you being here? And equally, if they weren't flagging, I was like, Well, you haven't worked hard enough in the first class because you're hoping to you know maintain out through to the second. Yeah, and obviously everyone has a different reason for doing double cast, maybe they just enjoy it. Um from an adaptation point of view, what are you trying to achieve? And quite frankly, if you want to get better at something, you need to be, you know, like smart with your goals, firstly, but um, which I'm sure you you guys have spoken about many times. Yes, in the world, and um you need to have quality training and good training, but with adequate rest as well. Um, there is no point pushing your body to the max, it will break, and when it breaks, you can't do anything. So uh yeah, like be a little bit humble with it.

SPEAKER_02:

So when you think about your work and what you do, what you know, you you I have just turned my life around so I didn't have to have a knee replacement, which is what I was avoiding. So my intention was about my health when I first turned up to you to go, I don't want that. So I knew what I didn't want, but actually it's evolved over that with understanding more about how it's helping my mind health and my body and everything else. So I think it's invaluable to do it. But if people were to reach out to you, how first of all, how would they find you? But if there was anything that you would think, come along and talk to you about, what what sort of things do you offer? I mean, I know what you offer because I come to you at Body Health Gatwick, but what are the things that people could tap into you for and go, help Danielle, I need you?

SPEAKER_03:

Um, so uh Body Health Gatwick website, Instagram, social media, all the same. Yeah, dot co.uk if you go on the website. Um so we offer sports injuries, uh or general injuries, soft tissue injuries, uh, sports massage, stretch therapy. We also have compression legs, which are very nice, relaxing, um like a blood pressure cuff, but for your legs they feel very nice and massagey. Uh downstairs, uh we do strength and conditioning. We also do performance testing. Um, so we have VO2-max testing, which is seeing how cardiovascular sick you are, where you run on treadmill with uh a mask on, and then I also do uh with that something called resting metabolic rate, which is how many calories you burn just by existing. Um, which again you sit in the mask for about 20 minutes. It's that one's pretty chill. Um yeah, that was chilled. I did that, so thank you. That was pretty easy, yeah. It's not hard, you just have to sit in a chair for 20 minutes. Yeah. Um it's quite nice actually, because you can just switch off for 20 minutes and just have some quiet time. Um, and then we also have uh some valved force plates and force frames, and they test how strong individual muscles are and how powerful you are. So for the more athletic lot, especially, that's really helpful. But actually, that's really helpful for injuries. So we often use that for injuries to give you an actual number. Um and then we can do an intervention, which is your rehab usually, and then you come back and we retest, so then you can see if you've improved or not, um, which I think is really important in today's society because we're so tech driven. Um, we need to we all like numbers. If you've got a smartwatch or a smartphone, you probably like numbers and knowing. Yeah. So um I'm just trying to introduce like the bit of a modern world and sports science approach to injuries as well as like performance.

SPEAKER_02:

Love it. I love that. And obviously that's your what you trained in, right? Was to look at that whole world, um, the science behind it and the body, which I think is incredible because I probably hadn't appreciated how much it over, you know, it matches what happens in the world of work as well, and that's what we love. And I think actually, I suppose setting the intentions um without pressure, I suppose, so you can create that direction that you want to go in without the pressure to have to be at the top of your game and do it. Um, I love the fact you were talking about actually high performance lives in alignment, so making sure that you've got your, you know, sleep, yeah, it what you eat, all of that basic stuff that we do know, but we very rarely do properly, um, rather than just run on adrenaline all the time. Um, and I think the one thing that's popped up for me is actually, I suppose it's the body isn't the problem, right? It's the messenger, it's what are we giving it or what are we saying to it to push hard, do this, do that. Um, and I think it's really important that we do consider if we were to do a fresh start, is there any right time to do a fresh start, or does it not matter?

SPEAKER_03:

Uh it doesn't matter, and I do think the pressure will always be what you put on yourself. Um you're gonna be always your your worst critic, aren't you? Um I know that from myself as well, you know. Like some competitions I've had where I maybe not won, the people who matter around you the most generally don't care if you win or lose, they just think you're called. Yeah, exactly. Um yeah, it which is funny because the people who don't matter are usually the people who make the noise, and um, I think that's the same in life. Um the people who don't matter are the ones putting nonsense on you that you you don't need to know. So yeah, the pressure will always be your own. Um and then I just think it again, it's just important to stay humble, do the small things um and look after yourself first. At the end of the day, you have a choice. Um you might feel like you're in a bit of a a box and you know you're stuck, but there is always a choice, it's not necessarily an easy one. Um yeah, like when I got a unit and I I suddenly took, you know, the carpet from under my own feet of comfort, um, and then I now have to pay like quadruple the amount of bills. Um, you know, that's really terrifying. Yeah, and there is no right time to do it. Um I I think I wanted to take on a unit, I think it was 2019-2020. Luckily I didn't because of COVID. Um, of course. Perfect timing to not do it. Yeah. Um, but then you know, I I needed to rebuild my company after COVID because it went down a little bit as expected, because I literally am in the world of touching people, which wasn't allowed. And and then uh yeah, and then I took on the unit when I was ready, but um, there is no correct time. You will know, and and the VO2 and the resting metabolic rate stuff, that was a two-year process really for me from seeing the equipment, doing my research, and then trying to work out how I was going to pay for it, and then and then get to go, you know, and do it and and train everyone up. It was all it was all very time constrained, but um it it when it was felt right, that was the right time. So there you know, and I launched it actually in December, which a lot of people would be like, Oh, that's terrible, but actually that's a perfect time because then it kept everyone for January and the marathon runners for February. So, you know, there is no right time. Um New Year's rel resolutions is you do what you want. Like Yeah, I don't um but I'm always setting goals myself, I'm always yeah wanting to push forward and do better. Um, I'm always reflecting, questioning, am I doing the right thing? Um, you know, even with my PT clients, like I went through a phase of of not not I felt like in myself, no one mentioned anything for this is all in myself. I was like, or am I, you know, making things a bit generic and I want to make things a bit more specialized for people because that's the service that I want to offer, you know. So I was like, okay, well, how can I do note taking that's easy for me, and you know, and I've got app and then it works, and I can handwrite, I like handwriting because I like typey, but um yeah, it's just all those little things that there's no right time, just do it when it's right for you, and um you'll know. But at the same time, you say you're gonna do something, do it.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, commit to doing it. Yeah, I love that and the consistency around it. Oh my god, I could talk forever about how the they lo they link together. And I just thought to hear your perspective of it when you're working with people, uh I just think is really amazing to be able to connect it and that fundamentally we have to look after our whole selves in order to still perform, whether it's in the world of sport or if it's in the world of work, um, or even just showing up for our families. It's it's all so important to be able to look at who are we, what do we want, and how we're going to achieve that um with those small, consistent changes that are going to make the biggest difference. So I just want to say massive thank you, Danielle, for spending the time talking us through that from a different angle, which has been super valuable as we look at this whole season, um, our series of fresh starts and looking at intentions. And I love the fact it is about the intent that starts with it, and to say just massive thank you for that. And um, yeah, I can highly recommend if you just want to learn more about yourself, even more from a physical and a mental, because it plays out with that. Definitely recommend you reach out to Danielle as well. So thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_03:

Thanks for having me. It's been great. See you later. Bye.

SPEAKER_01:

What did you think?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my god, I love her.

SPEAKER_01:

She's so cool, isn't she?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, how inspiring to listen to. And do you know I just love the parallels that you can take from one industry or profession and transfer that across to us because I've never done a job like hers. She's got a whole wealth of experience and wisdom that I just don't know. Um, and to be able to take those lessons from the sporting world into um the sort of office or factory or um, you know, customer service position, the working world, I think it's just so interesting because it illuminates new ways of looking at things, but also there are some fundamental essentials that are the same.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, it was mad, wasn't it? When you sort of start to look at them in parallel, you know, like you know, athletes will work themselves hard, but they will always take a rest because that's what they do to keep performing, even intermediate athletes, as she was talking about, but you know, and she en liked it to being a CEO, and you know, top-level athlete is the same as a CNO, but the difference is they rest, whereas a CEO may not. So it's like how how they avoid burnout, I suppose, as athletes to some extent, because they know when to rest their body, and I think that's the bit that we sometimes miss in the world of work. We keep going, keep going, keep going, and we're super resilient at that, right, Laura. And we just go, no, I want, get up, let's go again, let's go again. But at what cost to our bodies? And and I thought that was really interesting just to see to keep performing well, you have to look after your basics, which was fascinating.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and really fascinating. And of course, you don't have to be a CEO at the top of an organizational pile to take that because as we often talk about, we're all our own CEOs, chief energy officer.

SPEAKER_02:

Energy officer, yes, that's true.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and actually the CEOs I do know, yes, you might have some support teams that are able to take away some of the doing, but there's evening networking, there's travelling here, there, and everywhere, sort of generating new relationships. So every kind of role has its, you know, its toll as well as its kind of good stuff. So um, what would be your call to action, Debs? Building on the conversation you had with um Danielle, because it was such a good one.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Um, she's so down to earth as well. Um, I think it was something we actually spoke about was around um intentions create direction without pressure. So, my call to action is to create where you want to be going moving forward, and then step back. Don't put the pressure on to complete it in a week or a month or a year. Um, you know, if you need longer, take longer. So the call to actually is be very mindful of whether you're putting the pressure on yourself, does it need to be there?

SPEAKER_00:

Love it, Debs. Um, what I really enjoyed from it was a reminder was high performance isn't about pushing through at all costs. It's about listening, adjusting, and choosing what supports you in the long run. Um and uh my share the secret would be if you've got a friend or a colleague for whom you think that would be a really timely message to remind them of, because you can maybe see that they're push, push, pushing and potentially going to break. Get them to listen to this, to remove the guilt, to put themselves front and centre, and um to uh yeah, be reminded of how how to uh how to get into that high performance mode without it being at personal sacrifice.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, brilliant. It's been such a great series, Laura. I've loved it because we've just done so much, haven't we, about you're trying to get it moving and things like that. I just love it, the fresh start, and it feels like that. Yes, and you can feel the energy around because we know people that have listened to this series so far have just gone, actually, it's really helped. It's given me that boost, it's getting me seeing it differently, it's just sort of set a different intent in their mind, and you know, yeah, it's that's what we do, what we do, right, Laura.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and of course, the benefit because we're foot loose, fancy-free working with all sorts of different people in all sorts of different industries and professions. You you tend to get quite an interesting read, almost like where's the world of work at at the moment. Um, and I know when I was in a role myself, it's it's very easy to get tunnel visioned because you're only surrounded by your own immediate kind of colleagues. And I think it can be quite reassuring sometimes just benchmark yourself against what's the general vibe out there and being able to sort of bring that all together, and of course, having guests every now and then just sort of refreshes stuff.

SPEAKER_02:

Love it, and that freshes it up. So, Laura, this obviously means we are coming to the end of this series, yeah, which means what?

SPEAKER_01:

New toys!

SPEAKER_00:

Um we'll be having a new four-part focus, and this one, Debs. Oh my goodness, hold on to your seat because we are gonna mix things up a little bit. So we're very excited to say that next month we're slightly changing the format of the podcast, with the first show of the month being the first of our pep talks. So I don't want to give too much away, but we're hoping it's gonna add a new dynamic to our podcast and the way we relay and guide you with our monthly topics, always working as cheerleaders to cheer you on in this ever-evolving world of work that we find ourselves in. And we're gonna be having a real deep dive on the a hot topic of our time, high performance teamwork. What does it mean to create, maintain, sustain, and level up great levels of team performance?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, can't wait, Lord. So excited. Oh no, can't wait. See you in the studio.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I know. Yes, I've got 24 hours to lose a stone from my face. Yes, can't wait. Can you teach me how to contour? Contour, we've yeah, we'll bring our contour kits with us. No, Debs, in fact, no, we've got to embrace it's us. It's the real us.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, we're not fake us.

SPEAKER_00:

Not fake, we're filter-free, well, to some extent. Um no bots, it's fully human. It is fully human. Yeah, can't wait to tell you.

SPEAKER_01:

And away we go.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. So have a brilliant week, and I'll see you next week.

SPEAKER_01:

See you next week. Lovely.

SPEAKER_00:

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