Itās been a minuteā¦ howzit?
Unfortunately, the previous platform that we used to facilitate our relatively informal and infrequent rendezvous was closed down by its parent company, Twitter, earlier this year. And to be honest, it was a blessing in disguise as 2022 has been one of those years(!) for sure.
Thereās also something to be said about the impact that impending doom weāre all now collectively facing, on top of the impending doom we all navigated through for two years prior, has had on our abilities to perform well as human beings.
Everything seems to be tougher these days.
Or have we just gotten weaker?
What used to come naturally, no longer feels that way, in particular:
My energy levels are lower
My creative output struggles
My people tolerance has reduced
And Iām hearing similar stories from those close to me, too. If like me, you canāt even think about the festive break yet but it also couldnāt come any sooner, then youāre likely to be experiencing the same sort of slow burn down that weāre all going through. Acknowledgement is the first step to a healthy recovery in the New Year ā the mind can only take so much.
No exceptions to the rule.
Iām interested to see how youāve faredā¦ šš»
As inherently social mammals, we work better together as a collective force, but the best course of action we can take to manage better is to put our own metaphorical oxygen masks on first. Prioritise going for long walks, running warm baths, reading more books, cooking up a storm, start running, playing sport etc. Whatever it takes, whoever needs to be let down and whichever news bulletin can (certainly) wait.
How can one keep pouring from an empty glass?
More on mechanisms and interventions soon.
A new addition š§”
In brighter newsā¦ earlier this year, we welcomed our first next-generation (Taylor) Penwarden into the world and we all couldnāt be prouder of Katie & Joe for bringing beautiful baby Nell into the world. Theyāve blessed our families with a glorious gift and she is already so very loved. Iāve never known a love quite like it.
As a writer, itās not often that I find myself speechless as such but when they announced their pregnancy in the summer of last year, it really did flaw me.
Especially when they delivered a hand-written card that wrote:
As Josh is not here in person, we hope youāre up to covering his role as well as yours <3
Cue the floodgates. And a promise that Nell will know all about her Uncle Josh.
Which makes it a bittersweet year for us, too, as August signified the 10th anniversary of Joshās passing and November would have been his 31st birthday. We also returned from a trip to Cape Town, South Africa, in October which was one of ā if not ā the last place he visited on holiday.
I often see fleeting moments of his influence in my life and take solace in those as they come and go. But by far the greatest influence has been my dogged determination to deliver better mental health care to the masses.
A new investor š¤š»
Over the past 12 months, as you will have seen in previous editions of this, Iāve been working on creating a new mental health education and management platform.
A system that works for all, individuals.
Thatās why Iām super excited to announce that weāve just signed our first financial partner, albeit a silent one, to help accelerate our growth strategy for the next 12 months.
The key problems Iāve observed in over a decade of research analysis are two-fold:
People are generally still uneducated on mental health
People are generally still unable to manage theirs effectively
Itās a chicken-and-egg situation at play but itās one that Iāve been designing a system for; which works more like a Trojan Horse concept than the current digital solutions that are as exclusive as they are inclusive due to the homogenisation by design.
The solutions Iām currently working on are:
An educational online platform
An integrative community
A personal operating system
If youāre willing and able to, Iāll soon be calling out for early-stage testers to put the prototypes through their paces and give feedback to rapidly develop the first iteration. And for those fans of Notion, thereās a mega template about to launch too!
Thanks for sticking with me through the void.
A normal(ish) service will resume here on out.
Charlie
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