One man's stress is another man's motivation

The coronavirus crisis is reminding us of how closely animal, ecological and human health are linked. A vital component of our health is, of course, our mental health. 2015 Nuffield Farming scholar and Focussed Farmers co-founder Holly Beckett shines a positive light on lockdown in this audio blog, talking to us about the importance of recognising the signs of stress and describing some of the effects we can experience and ways in which we can help nip it in the bud and transition into a more positive state of mind. She explains how the Focussed Farmers programme can help with mindfulness and goal setting techniques.

Holly describes an example of a simple exercise that can help with mental training - and help you literally 'come to your senses.' She emphasises the importance of refocussing, allowing yourself to focus on what you truly want to focus on; to develop your farm, yourself, and increase your overall well-being and take on new challenges. Increasing your ability to pay attention to what is going on around you and see things in a different way may save time, be more effective, and help instigate a more holistic process. This in turn will allow you to widen your perspective and see the bigger picture and understand that crisis is a state of mind.

Focussed Farmers shares psychological tools and ways you can set goals - visit the website here.

Read the other blog Holly refers to here.

Holly Beckett writes of herself:

"As the fourth generation of a farming family in the West Midlands, with a long history of diversification including dairy, beef, sheep and egg production, the business now farms 1200 acres of arable land alongside running a farm shop, restaurant, cookery school and conference facilities, I took sabbatical and undertook a Nuffield Farming Scholarship in 2015 looking at practical applications that can be introduced for business growth through the development of people. With 120 employees in the company, great leadership and managing people was by far the greatest challenge. It became clear to me that, understanding others was a key driver in successful leadership and the foundation for that development should be laid from understanding the self. I gained sponsorship in 2016, from The Frank Parkinson Agricultural Trust, to pilot the introduction of mindfulness to agriculture. Through my studies, I found this training had been heavily undertaken within the corporate industry, with results which improved productivity, reduced accident rates, better managed stress and enhanced overall well-being within employees. Focussed Farmers was launched in 2017 to measure the effects on farmers and ag-sector workers completing a programme of mindfulness and meditation, coupled with goal setting…The on-going study is providing some remarkable results."