April

May2019
2019

Win-Win
Leadership
lessons
from the
Paralympics
Who’s in
Charge? Lovely
4 Proven
Keystones to People
Take Back Power A Parkinson’s
Insider’s
take on the
Micro Kindness of
Agressions Strangers
Running Towards
Danger for
Improved Health

The Dreaded
Jetlag
Tips to get back to
Cameron
Normal FAST Daddo
What you didn’t know about this much loved personality
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 You can listen to the
interview here

APRIL 2019
down to having the courage
to speak up I think a ot
of us suck it and see and
I don t think that s very
hea thy There s a great
communica on too I
don t know if it was my
idea but I think it was I
ca it the beachba theory
The beachba theory
is that when I m ta king
to someone about an
issue et s ca the issue a
beachba Let s put it there
between us what co ours
are you ooking at
Emi: B ue and white
Cameron: We I m ooking
at red and green Now I
turn it around oh now I see
b ue and white now I see
what you re ta king about
We have such a need to be
right I m right and I defend
this posi on I fee ike in
a workp ace and I can ta k
in a mset or a rehearsa
room everyone is right
They re ooking at b ue and
white he s ooking at green
and ye ow I m ooking at
pink and brown But turn it
around and we re a ooking
at the same thing But you re
ge ng an idea of what each
person s perspec ve is
When you give up the need
to be right then I think were
in a much be er p ace as far
as menta hea th goes and
understanding what other
peop e are going through
Emi: I ove it
Cameron: You can use
it But you have to ca it
Cameron Daddo s beach
ba And when you get one
I sign it for you It say my
beachba
EG: one of the things that
comes up about men s
menta hea th speci ca y
a comment from sta we
get a ot is that us guys we
don t ta k about stu ike
that We re not comfortab e
doing that we ve never
done it before What s been
your experience of that in
Men s Team
Cameron: In Men s Team
that s a given But they re
right The guys who say that
to you the fact that they
say that I m not comfortab e
that s a start that s great But
Aussie men American men
too for the most part un ess
they re doing therapy and
they re used to that sort of
stu most are not used to
speaking their fee ings We
haven t been encouraged
There s an ana ogy that
from birth the Dad ho ds
the baby ho ding i e
daughter see wor d that s
my daughter and he s got
her c ose to heart The same
men with their son say
ook wor d that s my son
and he s he d away So from
that very young moment
that is an imprint on us
So you know encouraging
men to speak and nding
a p ace of safety which
is what Men s Team is a
about is having a b ueprint
that everyone acknow edges
it s the b ueprint It s a
con den a p ace ike I said
There s no advice we don t
drink during the mee ng
so there s no a coho fue ed
stu And it works rea y
we because everyone
checks in with what they re
going through And if it s
just a number between
and I fee ike shit I m
checking in at a that s
ne And if you want to
eave it at that that s where
you eave it That doesn t
usua y happen it doesn t
get e there usua y
But I think there are ots of
great p aces out there now
for men to go to and its
ge ng be er but were s
pre y crappy at ta king and
owning our stu and I want
to change that
Emi: Me too Thank you
Cameron
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2019
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 that is interpreted by a person as persona y
demeaning harmfu and or o ensive
And therein ies the cha enge whether
a communica on is considered to be a
microaggression or not depends upon the
interpreta on of the receiving party So
communica ons that might not be considered
prob ema c at a by some or wou d y under
the radar for others might be experienced
as a micro aggression that is the straw that
breaks the came s back for someone e se
who has a nega ve impact from it
Whi e a ot of peop e are these days focusing
on how to avoid micro aggressions very i e
has been wri en on how we can u ise the
inevitab e micro aggressions that wi be ung
at us on an a most dai y basis to empower us
to bui d inner strength resi ience and posi ve
menta hea th In psycho ogy one thing we
know for sure is that you can t contro other
peop e s words and ac ons but we do have
the power to manage our own responses
So how can we respond when we are on the
receiving end of what you might consider to
be a micro aggression
The Principle of Exposure
This princip e is borrowed from Exposure
Therapy Exposure Therapy is used to treat
phobias Many peop e consider phobias as
di cu t to treat But they are treatab e From
Exposure Therapy we know that in order for
peop e to get rid of a cripp ing phobia they
need to be exposed to the thing they are
afraid of and they have to experience the
fear There is a par cu ar way that this needs
to be done by professiona s on y and it on y
works when the su erer is not forced but
decised themse ves to ean towards the fear
as it were They need to wi ing y par cipate
in the gradua exposure to the fear When this
happens Exposure Therapy is very e ec ve
Likewise even though micro aggressions by
their own de ni on are nowhere near as
cripp ing or impac u as phobias we propose
that exposing yourse f to micro aggressions
can he p rid you of any nega ve e ects
A process of desensi sa on can occur as
the more you observe micro aggressions
8 WORKLIFE | MAY 2019
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occurring the more you can recognise
that it is not persona it s not about you
the receiver and that in the overwhe ming
majority of cases a microaggression needn t
impact your ife in any meaningfu way un ess
you et it
You may not want to ac ve y p ace yourse f
in a hos e environment but rest assured
if you par cipate in ife at any eve you
are going to nd yourse f in ess than idea
situa ons where you wi be exposed to what
you cou d interpret as microaggressions
P ease note we are on y speaking of micro
aggressions not macro aggressions which
wou d require a more concerted approach
Furthermore if you are nding yourse f
on the receiving end of a ot of this type
of communica on it can be very he pfu
to engage a professiona therapist or
coach who can he p provide an objec ve
perspec ve and guide your thinking towards
hea th and empowerment You don t need to
do it a one
The Principle of Refusing To Take
Offence
It s easy to be o ended There happens
to be a p ethora of issues and things to be
o ended at a the me Just ook at socia
media But actua y it s not so hard to have
the maturity not to be o ended and instead
to be tru y compassionate towards others
Even when they are being si y or immature
Or they just simp y don t see things as we do
Come to think of it refusing to take o ence
easi y is not just a mark of maturity and
wisdom but a so a sign of humi ity Taking
o ence is usua y a process that requires you
think of yourse f as be er than the other
person We don t usua y rea ise it but in
order to be o ended you have to put your
own mora code above that of someone
e se and be wi ing and ab e to judge them
It s actua y somewhat arrogant to appoint
yourse f as judge and jury of what you
consider to be o ensive and what is not
It s not very compassionate is it But more
important y it s not hea thy for you How do
you know that your taking o ence is not
just a tantrum Instead of showing wisdom
beyond your years maybe it s just showing
a deep seated immaturity That wou dn t
be hea thy for anyone and wou d eave you
at risk of experiencing micro aggressions
where none had been intended Or worse
eaving you open for anyone with bad
mo ves to rea y press your bu ons Either
way it wou d eave you exposed and fragi e
But instead imagine a person who is not
easi y o ended They don t take anything
persona y do they And they seem more
re axed and happier don t they So make
a conscious decision not to a ow yourse f
to fee o ended It makes for be er
re a onships too A er a there are other
be er ways to dea with things
The Principle of Personal Power
How much persona power do you have
In Superman movies you see Superman
impervious y withstanding a shower of
bu ets bombs and missi es He IS Superman
a er a Wou dn t it be nice to be ike
Superman We not in a itera sense but
in a psycho ogica sense Where it doesn t
ma er what was going on in the outside
wor d you are in charge of your interna one
Where microaggressions s ide o you ike
water o a duck s back as they say
That s the point of this princip e Deve op
the abi ity the inner power needed to
withstand and maybe not even fee
micro aggressions Wou dn t that be a
great super power to have Is it rea is c
Abso ute y And it doesn t mean you
to erate unacceptab e behaviour nor put
up a shie d to protect you nor does it mean
you try to contro your environment and
the other peop e in it Instead it s about
bui ding your own con dence that you
can hand e emo ona y whatever s ings
and arrows rea or perceived inten ona
or not come your way This a ows you to
go about your day your week your ife
fu y interac ng with the wor d and those
around you safe in the know edge that
you be OK regard ess of what anyone e se
says or does
And THAT wi do a wor d of good for your
hea th your career and your re a onships
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haven t yet found a go den thread among
wor d eading performers there are a set of
common traits One is that they are incredi
b y aware of their inner experience and have
a rich command of their cra We ve found
that they are aware of their thoughts their
emo ons their sensa ons and the unfo d
ing environment in a wor d c ass way They
have the abi ity to course correct when their
ac ons thoughts or even words are not
a igned with their mission This is equa y
re evant in the workp ace we being and
Responsibility
The decision to adopt persona
responsibi ity for the resu ts you get
in any area of ife Responsibi ity is
about refusing to use excuses that
p ace the b ame externa y and thus
imit your power and instead com
mi ng to focus on what you can do
to create the resu ts you want
Iden ty
Crea ng a powerfu story about
the se f Crea ng iden ty invo ves
an exp ora on of how we de ne
ourse ves who we wou d ike to be
and how we can enact that in our
everyday ife
In a future ar c e we break down each of these keystones and how they app y to making
your high performance possib e Stay tuned
menta hea th space
Whi e we par cipated in menta hea th
research with the University of Wo ongong
we discovered that there are four keystones
needed for recovery from menta i hea th
which necessitates a shi in performance
to occur which are Responsibi ity Hope
Iden ty and Meaning A four keystones
drive new performance regard ess of the
se ng That s why these four keystones
form the core basis of a our masterc asses
Hope
This keystone is about maintain
ing a posi ve perspec ve on what
is possib e for the future Hope is
comprised of three e ements having
something to be hopefu for set
ng a goa a vision or a mission
having some idea of a pathway and
ac ons needed to get there and
persona e cacy be ieving in your
own capabi ity to comp ete the steps
required
Meaning
Considered by some to be the most
powerfu of a the keystones mean
ing is about nding a purpose a rai
son d etre Meaning is not something
to be discovered but instead to be
created by fo owing your b iss in
the words of Joseph Campbe or
ge ng into ow state Csikszentmi
ha yi
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