10th October - Morale Is Everything

For those of you who aren't into your football, I'll try to make this first analogy as painless as possible, but essentially, a few years ago, my team (Arsenal) had a squad filled with players who were undoubtedly talented, some of the finest in the world in their position, and yet, few could work out why the club was underachieving so consistently. The likes of Mesut Ozil or Pierre Emerick Aubameyang could walk into most teams in the Premier League, but both were left as outcasts by the new Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, who argued that if a player's attitude wasn't right, then talent was irrelevant.

Arteta shipped these 'bad apples' out of the club, claiming their attitudes were negatively impacting those around them, and the overall squad morale. Now, he has a side filled with young players, who arguably have less ability than the World Cup winners who came before them, but they'll fight for one another, their attitude is positive, and their body language indicates a real brotherhood, which is reflected in results. The team now sit top of the table, winning 16 of their last 17 matches, since a devastating defeat to Newcastle in May. 

The point I'm making, is that attitude beats ability every time, and that's a motto you can adopt into everyday life. Rid yourselves of the situations, the people, the jobs, the relationships, or the all round negativity which can impact your mood, and you'll see the change within yourself, and those around you. Energy and vibrations are the most powerful tools we possess as society. Even last night, I hopped on a Zoom call with two of my closest friends, and what followed was 3+ hours of chat, allowing both of them to explore topics that I didn't even know they were going through, or suffering with. I hope that such 'therapy' if you'll allow me to call it that, really helped sooth their respective situations.

Sometimes, people want to talk about their life. They need a sounding board to air their thoughts or opinions on personal moments to them which you may have otherwise been oblivious to. Everybody is experiencing their own struggle, so today, take a moment to think about someone you really care about and just give them a call to check in on them, chew the fat, and have a natter about nothing. But you'll soon find whatever is at the top of their brain will naturally flow into your conversational path regardless. Keeping the morale of those around you at a high level, is so important because you are who you surround yourself with. What I have learned in recent years, is that morale...

... Is everything.