The world of being a truck driver is a very demanding and stressful way of life and if you are an owner-driver or small fleet operator you can take this stress and anxiety to another dimension.
I previously contributed articles for Big Rigs with a focus the business aspect with a particular focus on owner drivers and small fleet operators.
I have written and published a book, Don’t Suck the Pencils, on business management. Lack of business understanding is the most significant reason for the number of owner operators and small fleets failing in this critical industry sector.
Sadly with business failure come all of the financial, relationship, stress and anxiety that leads to far too many blokes taking their own lives.
After 50 years in the world of business, including managing a medium transport fleet and a tyre business, I know first-hand the pressures and demands on drivers, owner-drivers and small fleet operators.
When I made the decision to retire I was intending to be a business coach. Realising that I had my fill of cash flow and business plans, I came to the realisation that the most important aspect of business and life generally is where your head is.
This realisation has seen me become a certified hypnotherapist, rapid transformational therapist, life coach, mindfulness facilitator and a radical remission teacher/coach.
Out there in left field but an amazing journey and one that I would like to share with you and hopefully help you find the mental and emotional wellness you deserve.
I have rolled all of these credential under one banner and refer to myself as a ‘Shits Creek Tour Guide. Spent a lot of my 60-plus years up good old Shits Creek, so well versed on the majority of Shits Creek’s tributaries.
We all need to step back and look at where we are with our individual mental and emotional wellness. It is becoming more and more proven to be the fact that the way we think has a direct bearing on our physical and mental/emotional wellness.
The vast majority of us live in a constant state of anxiety and this causes serious health issues such as cancer and other chronic disabilities as well as depression.
When this anxiety becomes a state of depression there is a very real possibility this depression will lead to suicide.
I can speak from first-hand experience, when in my mid-50s I was 200 metres from taking my own life. I have shared my story on YouTube under the banner of Graham Cotter The Augathella Fella. Ya Wouldn’t Be Dead for Quids Podcast – Episode 1 – YouTube.
In the first instance it is critical we understand how the mind works and these are very basis rules which impact directly on every aspect of our daily lives.
The does what it thinks you want it to do:
- It responds to the words say and the pictures you make in your mind
- It drives you towards what is familiar and away from what is unfamiliar
- It does all it can to keep you alive on the planet and away from pain
This is not new knowledge as the rules have been documented in writing dating back thousands of years including the Bible: “As you think, so shall you be”.
The world we live in today makes it critically important we spend time exploring ways to live our lives in a less stressful way and give genuine consideration to our mental and emotional wellness.
As a Shits Creek Tour Guide I would like to share with some of the knowledge I have gathered together in the past 60-plus years as well as the share with you the simple and practical ways to help you enjoy the rest of your life’s journey.
- Graham Cotter is a certified hypnotherapist, rapid transformational therapist, life coach, mindfulness facilitator and a radical remission teacher/coach and can be reached via his website, kissbusiness.com.au.
If you, or someone you know needs help, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.