We have teamed up with J1 Coaching to talk about some of the things we can all do to make small changes and improve our well-being. Jim Constable is a friend of FiveWays and we are delighted he has agreed to share his knowledge and expertise with our clients:

The story goes that anthropologist Margaret Mead was once asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. Rather than talking about leaders, religious items or tools she spoke of a mended broken 15,000 year old femur that had been discovered at an archaeological site.

Given that such a break takes many weeks if not months to heal, then this person would have died before the wound had healed, were it not for others providing sufficient food and shelter.

These days we have the NHS and healthcare, yet support of others remains important to us and those we are supporting. This can be physical support with a helping hand or emotional support to comfort someone through a difficult period.

If you want an example of emotional support, then think about a players’ box at Wimbledon. Coach, family, physio, agent et al are there providing support and encouragement in the moment when it is needed.

Sometimes we are one of many supporters, sometimes we have a key role to play and sometimes we are the one being supported (when we allow ourselves to be. It’s a particularly male trait, especially young male, to refuse the help of others. This fosters independence but life has a way of throwing up things that knock us clean off our feet if we don’t have someone to lean on).

To illustrate these supporting and supported roles think of a human tower like those spectacular ones formed at festivals in Catalonia. Dozens and dozens of people at the base support an increasingly smaller level above towards the one balanced at the top.

So what? With support we can achieve more, cope with more and suffer less. As the phrase goes “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”. So support those you care about, and maybe those you don’t.

And as Mother Teresa said: “If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Be kind anyway”.