This week from Sunday 10 - Saturday 16 October it is Mental health awareness week in what is one of the most challenging years globally in our living memory. The WA mental health week slogan this week is Mental Health starts with our children.
So, the question arises why as financial advisers are we talking about mental health? Well, we are acutely aware of how important work-life balance and health (both mental and physical) are to enable us to all function to our optimum level - read our experience-based workplace update on Juggling glass balls. Mark Turner took the trouble of tracking down the origins of Bryan Dyson's original speech back in 1991 - it is still a great read and even more relevant today.
We see and hear anecdotes on a weekly basis of business owners and families that cannot function due to the serious illness of a family member and the majority of these relate to mental well-being. The facts are simple - our brains do our thinking, problem-solving, dreaming, creating, loving, and caring and if we not coping mentally then doing anything else meaningful may become difficult, if not impossible. We see some of the worst business and investment decisions made on the spur of the moment, based on emotion.
To us "Make today great" means the following: