If you could change one thing about your life today…..What would it be ?

What’s one thing that you found that you would brush to one side so that you didn’t look weak to your kids? How did burnout show its horrible little face for you?

Imagine we were sitting around a fire for a minute. No pressure, no pretending… just a bit of honesty. Here’s a question I’ve been thinking about lately. Would you be proud of the example you’re currently setting for your kids? Not the version you plan to be one day. Not the version you talk about becoming. The man you are right now. - The way you handle pressure - The way you treat people - The habits you show them every day - The way you deal with setbacks - The way you look after yourself Because the truth is… kids rarely listen to what we say. They copy what we do. So here’s the fire pit question today: If your kids grew up to live exactly the way you live now… would you be proud of that example? No judgement here. Just a moment to think about it. If you’re open to sharing, drop your thoughts below.

Right… I’m gonna be straight with you. Recently I had to face something from my past. The sort of situation that years ago would’ve sent me straight back into anger, defensiveness, and survival mode before it had even started. Old me would’ve walked in looking for a fight. Not always physically… but mentally, emotionally… ready to bite back, ready to protect myself, ready for it to go wrong. But this time… I walked in calm. No chest tightening.No scanning the room.No planning exit routes in my head like I used to. Just walked in, listened, had the conversation, and walked out knowing one thing… I’m not that bloke anymore. And that hit me hard on the drive home. Because there was a time in my life where anger felt like armour. It felt like protection. It got me through some dark shit… and if I’m honest, it probably kept me standing when I didn’t have much else. But it also controlled me.It made decisions for me.It made everything look like a threat. And facing this situation showed me something massive… You don’t delete the man you used to be.You don’t pretend he never existed. You respect him… because he got you through the storms. But he doesn’t get to drive anymore. These days that version of me is still there… still strong… still capable… He’s just the bodyguard now. Not the boss. I’m grateful to the man I was…But I’m fully committed to the man I’m becoming. And lads… that version isn’t perfect. He’s not finished. But he’s calmer, stronger, and doesn’t quit on himself when life gets heavy. If you’re battling stuff from your past right now, hear this… You are NOT stuck with who you were. You’re allowed to outgrow it.You’re allowed to rebuild.You’re allowed to become dangerous in the right ways… disciplined… controlled… steady. And the day you realise you handled something differently than the old you would’ve… That’s a powerful moment. Keep doing the work. It’s worth it.

Afternoon all and thanks for listening. I'm having a difficult time at the moment, and it's down to guilt. My wife and I have been together for 19 years, married for 9. Before I go any further, I haven't cheated on her or anything like that. My wife has always had some social anxiety as long as I have known her, but she was able to have a active social life by convincing herself to get over it. However like many people during lockdown she had a lot of time on her own as I was still working and we weren't allowed to go out. It was during this time she started to realise that it wasn't just social anxiety, it was something more. After three years of waiting and lots of crying she finally got some help, it turns out she has ADHD and autism, actually it's called AUDHD. If you know anything about this subject you'll know that once someone has unmasked and realised that their are reasons to why she feels the way she does, it impossible for some to pretend that they don't have issues and to be honest why should they pretend to be someone they aren't. I've given a very oversimplified version of what has happened to her. As a result of my wife's realisation of her problems she stopped going out or at least didn't take it up again after lockdown. My wife's so called friends didn't much care for the fact that she no longer wanted to be going out and getting drunk with them, so they all stopped talking to her, their was a group of six of them that were all meant to be close, but they just dumped her. This obviously devastated her and she still cries about it many years on. I am still friends with many of the girls partners, but I can't talk to them about the situation because they are obviously to close to it. I did try to patch things up with my wife and the girls, but it didn't work and to be honest they don't deserve my wife as a friend if they are so willing to dump her the way they did. The fact that I still see the lads is one reason I feel guilty but not the only one.