My experience of the 9 to 5 is like chalk & cheese vs my experience 5 years ago.

I can categorically feel the difference between the worry, anxiety and stress I used to feel during the working day, evenings & weekends and the calm & ease I feel now.

But what’s surprised me isn’t just how I can feel it, but how other people notice it too.

My old boss (who then became my new boss) mentioned I seemed a lot more relaxed when I re-joined her team. And a colleague I used to work with in v1 of my banking career and now work with again

every day in v2 told me she thought I had much more banter when I came back.

I think they’re right.

In v1 of my career, I’d do everything I could to avoid chit chat or watercooler small-talk. It felt like

wasting time I didn’t have.

But that’s all changed.

In fact, it’s not just the workplace where people have noticed a shift.

I was at a party a while ago when a friend I’ve known for years said “you seem so content nowadays”. And recently, over sushi, another friend told me “I think you’ve come out of your shell a lot more Tom”.

Perhaps this sounds like I’m tooting my own horn.

But I’m just relaying facts.

It’s something Mark Crossfield and I chewed the fat on too when he invited me on his podcast Your Bravo Career a while ago (still findable with a quick Google – the episode is called “The Inner Path to Career

Fulfilment”).

And if someone like me – someone who was wracked with overthinking, doubt & worry and who could quite literally feel a wave of gloom & doom wash over him every time I sidled into the office – can find a way to not just “be okay” with work, but actually have fun at work and have other people notice this too, then anyone can.

I mean that.

This is why I’m so excited to get going with my new group coaching program, The Inside Job. The whole point of the program is to find a way to not just survive your work but to actually enjoy it too (and maybe even

enjoy the watercooler chat…)

I’ve been prattling on about this program a lot over the last few days.

But there’s only 6 hours to go until this month’s inaugural call. So the prattling is about to end.

If you’d like to be on the inside when the call takes place, here’s where to go next:

The

Inside Job

I’ve also popped the details of the program just below.

To fulfilment,

Tom