Having studied marketing, I am fascinated by what makes people tick. I have always had an interest in buyer behaviour and why people make the choices that they do. (A great read on this by the way is, Yes! The Power of Persuasion.) There are many things that make me tick and this pandemic has closely acquainted me with them. I have discovered that one way for me to keep well both mentally and physically well is keeping active. 

Just before lockdown last year, I was furloughed. As someone who is very career driven, in an industry where weekend and evening work was the norm, I feared that if I stopped, I would go stir crazy. A lot of negative thoughts were beginning to take over, so I focused on my hobbies; horse-riding, yoga, working out and sea swimming. Being based in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland, it was easy to keep these hobbies up within the restrictions, fortunately surrounded by green fields and the Atlantic.

I am very grateful that I have grown up with an equestrian background and it was not until Covid-19 struck that I realised how much I had taken this for granted. During my furlough, it gave me a reason to get up and get out every day. I took up some new hobbies too! It is funny, when you have nothing prescribed to do (such as regular work), you quickly learn how to fill your day if you put your mind to it. I am a ‘busy body’ and would have every day of my week planned out and loved the ‘go’ of it all. Now, I have learned that what you do does not define you.

As we all know, it takes 21 days to form a new habit. I now run 4 days a week and hike at least once a month. These newly formed habits have allowed me to forgo some bad habits such as ‘social’ smoking. I reconnected with horses once again. I ran over 200km in 10 weeks. On reflection, this pause was so beneficial to me. For those who are feeling like they are in a little funk, lace up those trainers and get some fresh air, your mind will thank you for it!

Written by Sandra Fahy, Meet in Ireland

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