i am enjoying parkinsons – my new everest – five beads on the abacus

i am enjoying having parkinsons.

what?

yes you read that right.

now before i turn my blog into a weekly discussion about parkinsons, which i’m very aware of it becoming a boring pity party, which totally ain’t fun to read, and would probably see you hunt that unsubscribe button down, but i have to be totally honest right?

so please indulge me, and hopefully i’ll make some sense.

i am enjoying having parkinsons for what it’s enabling me to do, not what it’s stopping me from doing.

what is it allowing me to do?

it’s allowing me to have a gargantuan challenge.

and if you know me, or read the blog regularly, you’ll know i do rather like a challenge.

the physical and psychological affects of the disease are pretty rubbish, but the way i’m playing the game so far is to approach it as a series of mini challenges, and to push myself out my comfort zone.

hence setting myself the target of doing 12 talks this year, which i have as of this week booked 3, one of which is on the 21st of february, so me and charlotte my public speaking guru are hastily crafting a theme and direction of how to design an engaging talk, incorporating the highs and lows, as all good stories go, nothing like a deadline to focus the mind.

but this shizzle excites me.

it probably floods my neo cortex with dopamine, which is what parkies reduces, so it kinda makes sense really.

i’m also trying to not say no to social occasions and networking opportunities.

mainly because i know how beneficial they can be, so when blog reader and mahoosive bigmoose supporter abi carter, take a bow abs, invited me to a networking lunch at steak restaurant gaucho’ last week, non meat eating, network event hating jeff, was poised to decline her kind invite.

but this my new everest.

“say yes you joey, you know it makes sense, think of the opportunities that might await, think of the potential great connections” said my sensible brain.

“say no, you don’t eat meat, you’re socially awkward, you visibly shake when in these bloody situations, just say no” said my monkey brain.

they arm wrestled for what seemed like forever until sensible brain shouted ‘look over there’ and as monkey brains attention was diverted, sensible brain slammed monkey brains hand to the table, sending abi confirmation of my attendance at the same time.

now an hour before the lunch i really didn’t want to go, but i decided to gamify the experience, and set myself a challenge, and as i write this i realise that i’m a challenge addict.

“right girls” i announced to the office,” i need be able to measure how successful this networking lunch is.

i need to try to engage with someone, and try to book a meeting where we can share what we do, and hopefully get them to want to join us on our journey.”

the girls looked at me with those ‘he’s off again’ looks they often give me.

“shall i try for one meeting?”

i then answered myself, pushing the envelope “no, let’s go big, let’s try for 3 meetings.”

and the motivation was there.

as i walked to the restaurant, my leather soles on my shoes slipped on the recently rained on pavements, and i had a flashback to when i was kid. going to school with holes in my shoes, and when it rained, putting cardboard in my shoes to stop my feet from getting wet.

highs and lows eh?

as i climbed the stairs to the private dining area, i risk assessed.

do not slip, ffs do not slip.

the gauchos extremely courteous host led me the coliseum, i mean dining room.

i spied abi.

“i hate this, take us home”, monkey brain screeched.

“hi abi” sensible brain took control of my mouth.

she then introduced me to chris, and the effervescent danni who worked in law and wealth management respectively.

monkey brain started to cry.

“pull yourself together” sensible brain said in a rather startlingly harsh tone, and the conversations started to flow.

the host of the event asked us to be seated, and then asked us to go around the table introducing ourselves.

i spotted monkey brain sitting in the corner, rocking back and forth.

“i’m jeff smith from bigmoose mental health charity” i started, extolling the virtues of what we do, and the speed and efficiency of our services.

as i presented my wares, a lady at the table. asked if she could interrupt me.

inside i gasped.

this wasn’t in my risk assessment.

she then emotionally told the story of someone close to her who had accessed our services, confirming the speed and efficiency, and then carried on, fighting back the tears, to say that we had saved their life.

wow.

it was a powerful moment.

i felt my emotions swirling around my head and heart, and whilst i am not spiritual, i felt something big was at work here, i need to check back in with abs to see if it was just me that felt it.

i thanked vanessa, and pushed through to finish.

as the others started to eat, the warmth of the fragrant red malbec i had ordered instead of solids hit my senses, and i had some lovely conversations, and concluded i was really pleased i had pushed myself to go.

i moved five beads along my mental abacus to represent the meetings i had arranged, and as i slid back to the office, i thought about the value of human connections, and how nobody at that table really gave two hoots about my parkinsons, and it’s more about how you make people feel that’s important, so i sat monkey brain down, talked rationally about his fears, and told him with confidence, “we’ve got this.”

onwards and upwards dear blog reader, and for now,

blue skies,

jeff

p.s. if you want to connect on linkedin or instagram here are my details.