Hi. Nice to catch up with you once again. Sorry it’s taken a couple of weeks to do so, but I guess it’s just down to multiple plates spinning all at once. Something as they say has to give and being honest, for a minute back there I thought that something did.

Training unlike writing despite not being as frequent as I’d like has been consistent and is showing slow signs of improvement. Maybe I’ve got access to a bag from time to time maybe I haven’t. Either way the time I do put in every week as well as the running and shadow is absolutely paying off. Just like with everything else in my life, the more I put into something the more I get out.

And speaking of getting out I absolutely need to get out more when this lockdown thing finally blows over in the next couple of months. Other than overseas trips to see family and friends planned this year I also want to reclaim my social life. There may not be a return to out and out normal for a while yet but you know what? whilst the world keeps turning I keep on pressing forward. And while the word keeps burning I just keep training.

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The last year or may of been something that has caught most of us off guard but I refuse to let it be something that holds me back. Earlier on this evening (in fact about 45 minutes ago when I was working through the last of my university studies for the evening, something I’m behind on but know I can recover) I realised that although at the moment every element of my life is challenging, I only ever thrive in discomfort. In fact it’s where I grow.

I have a lot of creature comforts, like my super dope gaming PC, more channels on my Virgin subscription than sense, an endless bookshelf of politics, business reads and horror stories and lots of other nice stuff to keep me occupied. The problem is the comfort they create. Earlier on I mentally jotted down what I need to get on track this month.

Running a small IT company with a handful of customers is a lot of responsibility and is stressful at points but I enjoy the journey. Of late, I’ve not really been that great a director. My work life keeps running into my volunteer work life which I love with a passion. On top of that my work life also consists of me working as an IT contractor to keep the lights on.

The business and contracting has taken a massive hit due to COVID but the lights are still on and I’m determined to recover things this year. Although the prospect of getting these 3 elements of my working life flowing in complete harmony with each other is going to be challenging it is absolutely essential it happens. Is it frightening or daunting? Absolutely. But so is fighting. I know fear. Just writing down what I need to do is the first step to making it happen.

On top of this monumental hill of tasks and goals is the importance of passing my current university module. I’m on level 3 OU courses and in my final year or so of study, so if I think things are hard now I need to remind myself it’s going to get tougher. I should welcome tougher. I should pat it on the back and ask how it’s doing and buy it a drink when the pubs reopen again. Hell, maybe we should do lunch. After all. I owe it a thank you for all the growth. In fact I outright regret not taking it seriously of late.

To finalise the transition from hill to mountain I need to remember to keep on track with training work just as hard out the gym as I do in it, and really focus on improving. It’s probably the most natural of my biases other than writing as it never seems to go away, and it’s where I draw my energy from to channel into other elements of my life that need serious attention. On top of that, I’ve got PR skills to hone for the truly awesome community project and monitoring group Bristol Copwatch

This isn’t my only role in the team but it’s one I’ve taken a shine to and I’m quite good at and enjoy doing. Balancing interviews and upcoming TV appearances with everything else in between isn’t always easy but hey it’s for a good cause. My heart is in the support work we do and although it’s an emotional journey at points it is by far one of the most rewarding ways I could possibly spend my time other than training. Helping others may be something I’m biased towards too.

As the weeks roll by and we head closer and closer towards the end of lockdown there’s going to be a big requirement for a lot of resilience and a lot of perseverance. I’m pleased I train in a martial art that makes you mentally and physically stronger on the inside and the out. There’s a lot of people out there right now who aren’t doing so good so I’m thankful for always having been a survivor and a fighter. However daunting my mountain looks today it’ll be liberating when I reach the top. The air might only ever get thinner on the climb, but I’ll always be able to breathe. Have a great week, train hard because it’s how we fight easy. I’ll see you on that road.