The Self Help Book Group No 2 with Nik Kendrew

Do you sometimes sacrifice your health and happiness for work? Are you unsure of why you do it, or what you can do?It’s a surprisingly common trait amongst doctors and other busy professionals to believe that you’re indispensable. In truth, we know that whilst what we do is important, if we don’t look after ourselves and take time out when we’re unwell, we’ll be out of action for much longer.This week Rachel is joined by You Are Not A Frog regular, Nik Kendrew. Last time Nik joined us, we discussed a book that has helped him in his professional life as a GP, trainer and partner as well as his personal life. Nik’s back this week to talk about another brilliant book and to share what insights and learnings he’s gained from it.Between this and Nik’s previous guest appearance on YANAF, he’s had some personal battles to deal with, including an emergency trip to hospital just as he was due to start a shift as duty doctor (yes, the ambulance took him away in front of the waiting patients!).This was a serious moment for Nik, yet whilst he was in Resus, he found himself texting his future appointments, offering reassurance that he’d definitely be there. Fortunately, the health professionals got tough with Nick and instructed a 2 week rest period.Nik’s condition is now well managed and he’s even back to some of the physical activities he enjoyed previously, but there has been a big paradigm shift for him along the way.Rachel and Nik explore why we, particularly as professionals, deny our health concerns and what advice we’d offer a friend who found themselves in a similar situation to Nik.The book Jog On, by Bella Mackie transformed Nik’s personal and professional outlook along his recovery journey. Bella’s story takes us from her marital breakdown and peak of sustained anxiety to a place of personal happiness by discovering exercise.Nik had to return to some uncomfortable memories with this book, but also some great successes as well as making a big mental shift - that exercise is something to be enjoyed, not doggedly pursued for ‘personal bests’! In finding what you enjoy, you’re more likely to gain huge mental health rewards and stick at this as part of your regular self care routine. It’s really important to be aware that the image of the ‘super-fit’ doesn’t always mean happiness. Happiness comes from doing what you enjoy, and if you can find a regular (and even mindful) form of exercise you’ll gain an improved state of mind.Don’t forget that our BRAND NEW membership for busy leaders who want to get productive and thriving teams in the new ways of working is only open for a short time longer. If you’re interested, then check out the Resilient Team Academy.  Useful Tools and Resources:Sign up here to receive a link to the CPD form downloads for each podcast which you can use for reflection and to submit for your appraisal. Looking for resilience training for your team, your organisation or your CCG or GP Training Hub? Find out more about her online and face to face courses for doctors and other professionals on surviving and thriving at work.   For more episodes of You are not a frog, check out our website https://youarenotafrog.com/Sign up to our mailing list here for loads of useful resources about thriving at work You can also join the

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The podcast for GPs, hospital doctors and other professionals in high-stakes, high-stress jobs who want to thrive rather than just survive. You studied for years, you’re really good at what you do but you’ve noticed that you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, overworked and under-resourced. You may be comparing yourself to a frog in boiling water - the heat has built up so slowly that you haven’t noticed the extra-long days becoming the norm. You may feel on the edge and trapped in the very job that you’ve spent years working towards. Here’s the problem, frogs only have two choices; stay and be boiled alive, or jump out of the pan. The good news is that you are not a frog. You have many more choices than you think you do. You don’t have to quit, and nor should stress and burnout be inevitable. It is possible to be master of your own destiny, to craft your work life and career so that you can thrive even in the most difficult of situations. There are simple changes you can make which will make a huge difference to your stress levels and help you enjoy life again. Your host is Dr Rachel Morris, GP turned Executive Coach and Specialist in Resilience at Work who knows what it’s like to feel like an exhausted frog. In the podcast, she’ll be talking to friends, colleagues and experts all who have an interesting take on resilience for clever people in high-stakes, high-stress jobs so that together you can take back control to beat stress and burnout, survive and thrive.