8 Days Left in the Big Brain Walk Challenge and we've officially made it from London to Birmingham! Next Stops: Liverpool [221 Miles] Glasgow [412 Miles] Berlin [678 Miles] There's been some huge shake ups on the leader board including some new entrants! 1st Place: @Joseph Isosaki - 28.8 mi 2nd Place: @Joshua Soltys - 24.88 mi 3rd Place: @Clarissa Lesky - 20.86 mi In the Hunt: 4th Place: @Riley ghiles Ikni - 20.475 mi 5th Place: @Nick McCashin - 7.41 mi 6th Place: @Jonathan Mahon - 7 mi Please post the date and distance -> HERE so I don't miss anyone's distance. Walking. Steps. Swimming. & Cycling are all acceptable submissions. Let me know in the comments if you think we'll make it to Liverpool, Glasglow, or Berlin.. and its not too late to join if you've been thinking about it: Don't forget to post your numbers: @Dani Rosenblad James , @Alex Blake @Barnabas Lawson @Jason Pockrandt @Sarah Hankins ... keep walking

Hey all you Big Brains!!! Feel free to chatter with one another about anything on this thread ... It's the community group chat [Walkie Talkie] Comments, looms, and GIFs all good! It's experimental so feel free to make it your own!!!

ORIGIN Mom of 2 beautiful children, wife of 21 years, happily married, happily professionally engaged in my dream career. Clinical Psychologist since 2009, 6 years in public health service in South Africa, working in private practice Dubai since 2014. I love what I do and I know that I'm good at it. I have achieved all the goals I set in my 20's. I'm so grateful to be working in a fascinating, exciting, meaningful field of work that also allows me to be flexible - I work online, from home. I am professionally and personally fulfilled, with a sense of purpose that is deeply meaningful. The bottleneck is... there is nowhere to go. There are no promotions or natural career progression. I already study every year to keep my skills sharp and stay mentally engaged. I could do a PhD, but it wouldn’t increase my income. I could open a clinic, but the bureaucratic burden and responsibility of managing other psychologists in the UAE is unappealing and feels draining. DESIRED FUTURE STATE I’m looking for clarity about what comes next. I love the work I do and would happily continue if it allowed me to earn significantly more. Right now, my vision is overly broad - to use my skills as a mature, experienced clinician in a way that has similar meaning, impact, and flexibility, but with much higher income. My ideal life would look the same, but with more freedom. I would travel more, surf more, spend more time with my husband and kids, socialise more, and cook occasionally instead of working every spare moment. WHY My husband is a teacher and not ambitious. We spent our early years together having incredible experiences and travelling. Now we have two children and no retirement plan or savings. We live modestly. We’re proud to be debt-free and own a small apartment near the beach in Cape Town. Our children attend private school, which is important to us, but it adds pressure. We can’t afford to travel nearly as much as we’d like, and the idea of working indefinitely is not sustainable.

Origin: My husband and I married in 2010 and lived in Northern California. We worked with at-risk youth in the mental health field where we were trained in Nonviolent Crisis Intervention. We moved to Ohio in 2013 and I worked with individuals with developmental disabilities before landing in the nonprofit world working with children and families in Cincinnati, Oh. During that time I obtained my Bachelor's of Science from Cincinnati Christian University. I had aspirations to get my MSW to continue helping my community. I was a creative - an aspiring writer - with an intense love for helping people. We became parents in 2016 and I left my place of employment to stay home with my daughter. From 2016 on, I have been a stay at home parent for my own children, and for a few years - foster children too. We now have 4 beautiful daughters that I homeschool, ranging from 3 to 9 years of age. I became trained in Trust-Based Relationship Intervention, and did a deep dive into various parenting books and communities to help better understand the brains of my children and how to best support their growth through childhood. Over the years I have done some content creating both personally and for local businesses. I now clean airbnbs - though the dream is to own a few really cool ones one day. My husband is a Fire Lt. and owns a pressure washing business. We are tired of the rat race. A year ago we moved an hour away from the amazing community we’d spent over a decade building. The last year has been very difficult - from navigating financial difficulty to physical and mental health struggles. My home feels like it has fallen apart - clutter everywhere, inconsistent homeschooling routines - just mess and chaos. Desired Future State: A stable home I desire to live in with systems in place to help me live the life I want to live. Financial freedom - Debt free, travel, and plenty of quality time together as a family. Opportunities to help struggling families walk through times of crisis while providing hope and clarity for their futures. Obtain my MSW without going into crippling debt. Write as a creative outlet.