Staring at a black line for a month certainly gives you time to ponder things! Yes, that's right - every day for the month of March, my 9 year old son and I have been hitting the local pool to tackle a swim challenge called Laps for Life and raise awareness and funding for an incredible charity called ReachOut. This organisation provides much needed support for young people facing challenges with anxiety, depression and suicide. There are some frightening statistics about youth mental health and I wanted to help.

Did you know that nearly 50% of young adolescents have had a mental health disorder at some point in their lives, and according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare deaths by suicide represented 34% of all deaths in young people aged 15–17 which is just devastating.

I wanted to share this story not only to shine a light on the need for organisations such as ReachOut but also because I was reminded of so many valuable lessons during this challenge that I can take back to the office and to other areas of my life in general.

1. Purpose

So, for the pursuit of every good challenge, I've come to understand that the purpose for doing something that you genuinely want to throw your all into has to resonate with you. In order to really achieve something to be proud of, you have to be intrinsically motivated, in other words, you can't be doing this for someone else's approval. You have to want it for yourself, and you need a purpose that aligns with your own values and beliefs and that you are passionate about.

Following a pretty intense 2022, a suspected heart attack, and ups and downs in my own mental health, I started to think about things differently coming into 2023. Exercise for me is a tremendous way to deal with mental well-being, and of course, the opportunity to spend some more time with my son was the reason to look for something we could tackle together. We wanted something that would be physically demanding and require substantial effort over a period of time.

2. Goals

Goal setting was another extremely critical component of achieving this challenge. We initially set the target of 60km between the two of us, we wanted to raise $1,000 and create 4 videos to promote the work that ReachOut does. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-specific - these were indeed SMART goals that we lay down. However, on day 20 we hit these targets so it was important to re-set and go even further. Goals shouldn't always be set in stone, things happen both in favour and against a task that may lead you to reassess from time to time. The main takeaway here is that no matter what your objective is, keep striving for it and when you reach it, consider how much more you can accomplish.

3. Consistency

Most mornings we were up and at it at 5.30am. Some mornings we just didn't feel like it and yes, the easier option would have been to roll over and say we'd do it later. It was dark, not always warm, and quite frankly motivation definitely waned along the way. But, there is something to be said for relentless consistency and simply showing up that leads to success. This, combined with discipline, focus and attention on why we were doing it, usually meant the feelings of reluctance were pretty short lived and we cheerfully donned the budgys and got to it.

4. Teamwork

Even though we were a small team of two, our commitment kept us both driven and on target. I felt it was essential to keep communicating our 'why', and also talk candidly with my son about mental health even at his young age. We need to abolish the negative stigma attached to those who suffer from poor mental health; by promoting the 'it ain't weak to speak' philosophy across all ages is how we can make a change. Without each other's help, accomplishing our goals would not have been possible and if I could bottle the seemingly infinite energy of my son I would!

5. Accountability

Success was all down to the two of us. It really helped to communicate our goals publicly to ensure we were held accountable. We announced our challenge to friends, family and colleagues and promoted it through social media. This was very powerful in a positive way as we received some tremendous support from all areas which helped us stay on track.

6. Reflection

Finally, I think it's important to reflect on what you have achieved and understand that success is a journey, not a destination. This challenge has been an amazing experience for both of us and the most interesting thing is how this approach has been transferable not only to future challenges but also to other areas of our lives. Another take away was that sometimes the best ideas came to me whilst in the pool. It’s important to harness creativity where and when the ideas strike, and safe to say it’s not always at your desk or around a board room table.

To conclude, it is clear that any major challenge you set yourself whether professionally or personally will require a lot of dedication and hard work. However, the takeaways from this particular experience are invaluable and I highly recommend taking on something like this to test your own capabilities, broaden your horizons and push yourself out of any comfort zones. You never know what you can achieve until you try!

I'm proud as punch to say Hugo and I have officially now completed the Laps for Life challenge swimming 131km or 2620 laps of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. We raised $7081 for ReachOut and created 8 videos to raise awareness and support their work. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us in this challenge. I'm looking forward to another one soon, but first, we will celebrate this one, have a sleep-in, and take a break from chlorine for a little while!

I'd love to hear about other challenges you have taken on and what learnings you had - please share your own experiences below!