Time To Thrive Weekend

Focusing and prioritizing our Mind + Body

This week’s newsletter is a special release.

This is the Time To Thrive weekend! Two days; one focused on the mind and another focused on the body.

Which is why this Super Sunday is released later than its usual time - I wanted to write after completing the race 💪

🏃‍♂️The Race

If you’ve missed the previous communication, this weekend is a mind+body getaway with Saturday focused on the mind through a full day workshop while Sunday is focused on the body through the Super Spartan Race. (Do I hear Super Sunday? 😅)

For whoever isn’t familiar with Spartan race; it is an obstacle race that started 2010, and consists of running a race while completing obstacles along the way. Failure to complete the obstacle means you have to instead do 10 to 30 burpees before you can go back to continue the race. Fun!

To be frank I was never intrigued to run an obstacle race that involves getting running, crawling, jumping, and dipping in muddy water 🤦‍♂️. However, as I completed my 12-month well-being coach program I had to partake in a fitness challenge to earn my certification.

While my preferred option was the Standard Chartered 10KM Race (to collect my fourth medal 🤓), the race was canceled for years 2021 and 2022 due to covid restrictions.

I decided to try the 5KM (+ 20 obstacles) Spartan Sprint race in November 2021, and although skeptical about what I will experience, I was pleasantly surprised.

I really enjoyed the spirit of the challenge, and decided that this will be an annual challenge to keep my fitness journey alive through this goal.

I later learned that the philosophy behind Spartan Race is something very similar to what I value - that we all have potential that is unknown to us and we can have a chance at experiencing that if we push through challenges. The name was inspired by ancient courage and discipline of the Ancient Spartiates.

As their motto says; “You’ll know at the finish line!”

As we talked previously, a future goal gives purpose to your present, and this is essential for your level of life satisfaction and fulfillment.

In last week’s post I also covered the three dimensions that we need to drive equally to achieve sustained and long term happiness; your self (psychological + physiological health), your relationships, and your passion.

We need goals in each of those, a future goal that gives purpose to the work we do in the present and that will help us show up at our best, to each of them, consistently.

This year, my friends and I are back and this time for the 12KM (+ 25 obstacles) Spartan Super Race 💪 - this was the second most challenging activity, with the Kilimanjaro Mountain Summit being the toughest.

Most of the challenge this time was due to the scorching sun heat, while the terrain (being in the sand dunes of the desert) was an added challenge.

Needless to say; successfully finishing the race feels very accomplishing. 🙌

If you haven’t tried an obstacle race before, maybe you can consider joining us in our 2023 fun.

🌟 The Masterclass

I chose to write this after having completed the workshop and the race so I can reflect on some points.

The workshop was an absolute pleasure, and thanks to the friends who showed up all the way in Abu Dhabi (and actively engaged throughout the workshop), we all learned so much.

I was both the teacher and the student - the collective wisdom in the room was humbling, and by listening to everyone’s story and thoughts, we all had something valuable to take back home.

We talked about a lot of things but here’s a quick summary:

• The big question of “what is happiness?”

• Covered different mindsets and how they impact the way we see the world (being a creator vs a victim, or having a growth vs fixed mindset)

• Had fun exploring the power of our human mind the stories it creates - some stories that are helpful like visions of the future, while other stories are limiting like those about fears and failures.

• Through telling our story we realize that we’ve already been through a growth journey, and that it never was an easy ride.

• Our challenges and discomforts can carry gifts with them - our potential lies right outside our comfort zone. This is why I love the concept of paying money to run an obstacle race, if I’m able to build a healthy relationships with the challenges in my life then I can grow further.

• Setting strategies for achieving your Wildly Important Goals (WIG) by focusing on What’s Important Now (WIN).

• Building a protocol for our days moving forward which will shape the rest of our lives.

While the training program I am planning to offer cannot be summed up in a few hours workshop, I wanted to share big pieces of the puzzle to help get momentum.

This is the first time I conduct a workshop outside the corporate sphere where I generally have given many similar workshops.

I’m grateful for the opportunity and support to share my learnings and talk about topics I’m passionate about. 🙏

I look forward to hosting more of these online and face-to-face.

---

Community Questions

• What are your thoughts about attending external workshops?

• Would you consider sharing your knowledge and expertise for others that may need it via workshops?

---

Till next week.

Have a Super Sunday! 💪

Hashim