014 Matt Rudd: Reframing Success

Award-winning Sunday Times columnist and author of Man Down: Why Men are Unhappy and What We Can do About It “Whether or not I will be a more ‘successful person’ is up for debate - but who cares, quite frankly.” It’s fantastic to have Matt Rudd on the podcast today. Matt’s book, Man Down looks at reframing toxic masculinity and how it doesn't serve any anyone - a really urgent subject, given the rising cases of male suicide and depression. In our discussion, we talk about what success looks like - the misconception of what that is and the damage we are doing by striving for the wrong things. At its heart, his message is for all of us to get out of autopilot. He talks about readdressing our values, and we discuss how what we're told at school about being a success creates a generation of ‘completer finishers’. As if there is no reward in the journey, only the outcome. I love the way that Matt is truly open and vulnerable about his struggles. He’s just trying to work everything out too. And in writing his book, I think he's found some important lessons that we can apply to our lives right away. And, if you are a female listener, then this episode is definitely for you too. We're all interlinked - mothers have sons, wives have husbands, sisters have brothers and so on. The pressures of the modern family unit are very real for a lot of us. It's refreshing to be given permission to be kinder to yourself and to move the goalposts in on what success looks like. I really enjoyed our conversation, and I hope you do too.