Thursday 3rd March is University Mental Health Day 2022 and it was only right I opened up about my experience with mental health at university. University definitely has its highs and lows and it's often framed as 'the best time of your life' so in this episode, I talk about the different challenges faced by students at different points of their degree and about the key areas that negatively impacts our mental health. Social media, for some, is also a trigger that can affect our perceptions of the typical university experience and make it feel like others have managed to get a grasp of this crazy 3/4 years and balance it all and make the most of it, when in reality I believe we're all much more similar than we expect. We go through the same emotions, like loneliness, and the same experiences and none of us really know what we're doing. I hope that by opening up the conversation around mental health as a student, it can reassure others that others relate and we're not alone in our low periods. If you've enjoyed this episode, rate and subscribe! And follow @themakingitpodcast on Instagram!  (Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

In this episode, I reflect on turning 21 and lessons I’ve learnt up until this point. Some of the key lessons I’ve learnt include learning to use comparison positively, learning to remain positive despite rejections and accepting the sole responsibility I have to prioritise myself and my goals. Growing up, I’ve realised how much experience has made a difference on my perspective and I wanted to share my reflections and lessons in this episode. Sometimes you just haven't lived long enough and experienced enough to stumble upon certain lessons and wisdom but one year into the podcast, and another year into my life mean I've learnt some nice lessons that I hope you all find helpful and interesting!  If you enjoy, rate the podcast on Apple or Spotify and follow @themakingitpodcast on instagram for latest updates! 

Welcome to this episode featuring Daniel to talk about men's mental health. November is the global men’s mental health month, with charities like Movember, working to spread awareness for the struggles that are often silently fought. Men are subject to cultural ideals and gender norms around masculinity and 'what it means to be a man' and Samaritans have found this contributes to rising mental health struggles and higher suicide rates.  In this episode we highlight some factors impacting men’s mental health and the societal influences that prevent conversations being had. Money, academic stress, uncertainty about the future, body image, and in particular, Daniel's journey with mental health, taking anti-depressants and his advice and outlook are discussed. We also discuss the importance of discipline over motivation, having compassion for yourself at every stage of your mental health journey and social media.  If you’re struggling with your mental health or want more information, take a look at this resource. @themakingitpodcast on Instagram @Danieloflaherty_ on Instagram

I recently went on a Vipassana 10 day meditation course that is one of India's most ancient meditation techniques. Taught by S.N. Goenka, Vipassana means seeing things as they really are and it is a method of self-purification by self-observation. Going on this course means you are silent for 10 days, away from all electronic devices, waking up at 4am, sleeping at 9pm, meditating for 10 hours a day and truly dedicating yourself to the technique. A fundamental lesson you learn is about impermanence - everything in life is impermanent and we have feelings (anger, sadness, passion) that cause sensations in our body. We are conditioned and used to reacting in certain ways to these feelings and sensations, but these reactions cause us misery, as do attachments to things. Either we're craving for an experience, and hurt when it doesn't happen, or we're avoiding an experience, and hurt when it happens. If we can become able to let go of craving and aversion, as well as attachments, we can understand the universal truth of impermanence in life and purify ourselves. This is quite a bit promise and for that reason, I had to see for myself if I could uncover the roots of problems in my unconscious to positively impact my life.  In this episode, I explain the purpose behind Vipassana, why someone would do it and recount days 1-4, with my hardest days being described. This was not an easy, or short, experience, but one that promises a life-changing and long-lasting impact so I was intrigued.  Come back next Wednesday for part 2 where I recount days 5-10, give my advice, tell some stories and explain the impact its had on my life.  Subscribe and review the podcast and follow the Instagram@TheMakingItPodcast (Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

University is a special time in someones life if they choose to go. It is 3/4 years where so much growing up and change happens - in so many facets of your life. It's often the first time you move away from family, live alone, have more independence, make new friends, choose what you want to do, how you want to spend your time, and money. In this episode I talk about some of the things I've realised from my first year of university and what I wish I knew. Like learning the importance of prioritising your mental health and understanding what triggers difficult emotions. How you can choose to let yourself feel your emotions and be present, but then resist sitting in those feelings once you have passed the peak. For example, sadness can come with intensity but once you pass the most intense moments of it, you can choose to move on, shift your environment and shake it off, rather than prolonging it with sad music and isolating yourself. Ultimately it's important to prioritise the relationship you have with yourself and look after yourself, in life and university especially. University also has the education and friendship aspects that can be amazing, but also challenging. You can use systems and routines that work for you to achieve your education goals and do well as well as meet your friends for life. University and this new independence also means taking the action to go towards things you're interested in is up to you and super important to do. So have a listen if you are heading to university and want to know what to expect and keep in mind, your timing is unique and there is a silver lining for every hardship and challenge at university as well as the amazing pros. Follow @TheMakingItPodcast on Instagram and follow the podcast on all podcast platforms!  (Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

Inspired by two entrepreneurs talking about the challenges of doing business, I noticed certain traits that are present in many of the most successful people. They're super curious, wanting to know every part of a business, they can be bad employees (because they're not fond of traditional, less efficient ways and want to innovate), and they can see a long term vision. This vision isn't often shared by other people until the peaks of success are reached but still, the ability to believe in a vision and look into the future of what legacy you and your business can create, is inspiring and fuels entrepreneurs.  Also, building on the benefits of visualisation, it can apply here to help anyone looking to start their careers - with a wealth of knowledge out there meaning you can familiarise yourself and therefore prime yourself to be able to handle challenges better and get a head-start. If every budding entrepreneur knew the typical pitfalls and challenges they're likely to come across, they could make the plans to get more comfortable taking risk, hire that employee earlier, put in systems to protect their mental health.  Listen to this episode if you want to know about some key traits present in successful people, and how to get a head-start so you can strengthen, or develop, those traits and give you an advantage on your journey.  (Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

Today I’m joined by Andreas Schellewald to talk about Tiktok. Andreas is a doctoral researcher looking into communicative forms on Tiktok and perspectives from digital ethnography, meaning he's taking a look into the categories of content created and how the memes, audios, trends, etc become a way for people to communicate.  Tiktok has the ability to connect a large amount of people and create social ties through a shared engagement with communicative forms and Andreas takes us through his method and main takeaways from his research. This academic insight into Tiktok was super interesting and also led us to discuss the algorithm. Tiktok's impressive algorithm is important for both users and creators. Users, mostly engaging with the 'for you page', can see their content page personalised based on their interactions and engagement with certain themes. And on the flip side, content creators who can understand what users enjoy and how to optimise the algorithm can build followings and careers on the popular app.  As apps, like Instagram, move to prioritise short form video content, becoming skilled at social media is becoming increasingly beneficial, if not essential, to groups like activists who need the awareness and public support for their campaigns and so this interview was an interesting look into Tiktok from an academic perspective.  If you enjoy this episode, make sure to follow @TheMakingItPodcast instagram and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Links to Andreas: https://andreasschellewald.com/ https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/30350/ (Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

Shoot your shot! I mean it... in every aspect of life, there'll be times where you want or need something and knowing when you go for it and ask the question will benefit you. You either get what you asked for or you don't - not asking in the first place guarantees your result but trying your luck is the only way to know. As well as asking and potentially achieving your ideal outcome, you build character, resilience and grit by knowing when to persist. In this episode, I give some tips to help you get what you want - know what the other person wants, how can you make their life easier and therefore make them more likely to help you out, know your reasons for wanting something and explain them, if necessary.  It's a respectable trait to be able to persist when it matters and whilst you may project thoughts and feelings that you're annoying or being an inconvenience, others likely don't care to that degree and so it's more important to push through your discomfort and ask for what you want. I recount recent incidents where it's helped me to ask for what I want and even if it's not always successful, the strength in your character is a win enough.  So shoot your shot, ask that question, be bold, be persistent and good luck!  Follow @TheMakingItPodcast on instagram and follow the podcast on all platforms!  (Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

Inspired by Andrew Kirby’s youtube video about instant vs delayed gratification and the domino effect, today I talk about these and link them to another effect - the compound effect. Instant gratification is short term superficial pleasure at the cost of long-term fulfilment; whilst, delayed gratification is short term sacrifice of superficial pleasures at the reward of long term fulfilment. The Marshmallow Test showed an interesting, scientific look at self control and the choices made around instant vs delayed gratification. And a later check in on participants found those who delayed gratification exhibited higher test scores, better social skills, better responses to stress, etc, showing the benefits of DG. I talk about the domino effect of our actions such as reading on your commute instead of going on social media. That one action can have a secondary effect on your creativity, knowledge, vocabulary and then perhaps you are able to have better discussions and therefore you feel more empowered to have more, similar conversations (because you have more confidence, knowing that you have something valuable to add to conversations). This domino effect in relation to the small actions we take towards our future goals can lead to positive spirals and paired with the compound effect, which highlights the impact of actions on future growth by either positively or negative compounding, means it’s important to focus on making better choices. Check out the episode and DM me your thoughts @TheMakingItPodcast on Instagram! Follow and review the podcast if you’ve enjoyed <3 Andrew Kirby's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgKhXzcS70w  (Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

Shadow work is one of my favourite forms of self development. It’s an introspective practice where you make the unconscious (shadow self) known to your conscious and I detail some key techniques to get you started. Firstly, the WHY technique: whether in a journal or in an internal dialogue, you can continually ask yourself ‘WHY’ to discover and explain why something is bothering you, what’s on your mind, etc. This can help you build a chain of levels, each going a bit deeper, to create a better explanation of the causes of your triggers. It can make you realise when you’re using surface level reasons to explain your feelings and can bring issues to the surface. For example, the impact of childhood on your subconscious beliefs around money, love, friendship can arise and shadow work can help you understand yourself. The benefits include greater self awareness, greater perception, more maturity and ultimately, being prepared can give you the insight and optimism to do better - feel better, understand yourself better, act better. You can also use prompts, such as “It’s okay to _____” or “I feel bothered by _____”, as templates to guide your shadow work and leave it open ended so you can dive into why that topic has come to mind and what you could express about it. From thinking about focus and discipline, I’m reminded of something I call ‘reinforced laziness’ whereby getting away with the bare minimum conditions yourself to lower the standards for yourself and this can build a resistance to deep focus and hard work and so shadow work is a tool to overcome these behaviours and attitudes you may have adopted unconsciously. @TheMakingItPodcast (Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)