Struggling with balancing your family and business life? Imagine juggling childcare arrangements as a young mother while managing a squadron of helicopter pilots over the deserts of Afghanistan.
If this sounds too far-fetched, this is exactly the situation which faced Sarah Furness during her tour in the war-torn state.
After 20 years in the RAF, including two years of intensive pre-deployment training, flying missions in Afghanistan was the high point of her career — but it also turned out to be a turning point in her life.
“My whole life has been a challenge. I always wanted to be a pilot, but when I achieved my goal of joining the RAF, I was one of the few females and at times I felt like I did not belong. It was a lot of pressure at a young age,” says Sarah.
“There were different challenges in the final few years of my career when I was flying missions in Afghanistan as a young mother”
Sarah Furness
“I was a Squadron Leader and was training with my team for two years to deploy to Afghanistan, but I underestimated how much emotionally it would take out of me,” explains Sarah.
“My husband was in the army and was also on deployment at the same time, so my young child was with grandparents while both his parents were in Afghanistan. I felt this was too high a price.”
Sarah, who officially left the military in January 2021, started her business, Well Be It, in February 2020 to help business leaders improve the performance of themselves and their staff.
If you think that mindfulness and the military would not be compatible, Sarah’s own experience is what led her to help others.
“I firmly believe we can train our minds — my passion went from flying to preparing people for life,” adds Sarah.
“I’m not here to fix people, it’s about getting them to a place where they can get as much out of life as they can. I really fine tune what they do.”
What is Mindfulness?
Being overwhelmed with work has a negative impact on mental performance, including:
- Confusion
- Sluggishness
- Forgetfulness
- Lack of concentration
“In truth, the strain of modern life, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, has left many people feeling like they are in over their heads,” explains Sarah.
“Mindfulness is about learning to use your brain to respond skilfully to whatever life throws at you.”
“A common response to pressure is to work harder and to do longer hours, but to really solve the issue requires people to look at the bigger picture and to find a new way.”
New mental techniques can help you achieve the following:
- Gain time during the day
- Double performance whilst finding time for the things/people you love
- Sharpen your focus while boosting creativity
“We can feel like islands, particularly when we are under lockdown and remote working,” adds Sarah. “It is natural to want a happier life, but what does that look like and how do we get there?”
“Let’s face it, we all talk a good game about investing in ourselves, but when do we actually do that?”
Sarah Furness, Well Be It
“Ultimately, I help people to discover who they really are, ditch their baggage and unlock their true awesomeness,” Sarah concludes.
To discover how Sarah can help you, and strengthen your personal performance:
