Finding your Ikigai

What are women's rights? Why are we still talking about women's rights? Why are we still fighting for women's rights? We've come long way in the fight for gender equality but we still have a long way to go in ending discrimination and oppression. In this episode, our guest is mother of three, a successful career lady and one of Tanwir’s closest friends, Maria “mini” Sgambelluri. Mini provides an insight into what it meant to live through and thrive in an era of ingrained gender inequality of 80s and 90s.

Our emotions are difficult to understand at the best of times. It takes an incredible amount of introspection, self-awareness, and active learning to understand, let alone master your emotions and reactions. So when the society and everything around you tells you that money/status/assets/security is the be-all and end-all, what do you do? In this episode we explore how the chase and the getting to the "destination" messes with our emotions in a way we can seldom understand. 

Motivation is often fleeting and cannot be relied upon to make real changes in life. It comes and it goes. To build positive habits, we need to have the discipline to change and make a commitment. In this episode, we discuss the fickle nature of motivation and challenges of being human. 

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means "a reason for being". You may have seen the 4 overlapping circles, "What you love", "What you're good at", "What you can get paid for", "What the world needs.  The word refers to having a direction or purpose in life, that which makes one's life worthwhile, and towards which an individual takes spontaneous and willing actions giving them satisfaction and a sense of meaning to life.  Life is not only about having a purpose however, but to continue living your purpose throughout your life. In Japan, the concept of retirement very much differs to that of the West, and if you want to enjoy a long life, we would really recommend exploring further how they live in Okinawa, Japan and some of the other Blue Zones of the World. In this episode, we discuss all aspects of our Ikigai and flow. If you haven't read the book, I would really recommend you check it out.

The phrase "humans are social creatures" has never rung more true. In the modern digital age, human interactions are migrating to the virtual world more and more. COVID has shifted the balance in the favour of video/phone chats even further. Are we losing our ability to interact with people? Is it creating a new wave of anxiety for the next generation? In this episode we discuss the changing world of communication in the modern, post-COVID world. 

There is a well-known saying that you are a reflection of the five closest people around you. Look at those individuals that you are closest to and recognise how similarities between you and them lie. Is it a coincidence that you may have the same beliefs values work ethic etc? As important as it is to recognise who the five closest people are to you and how that may affect you it is just as important to choose your tribe wisely. I am not saying that you should disconnect from your current tribe but perhaps if you have a desire to change your life you may need to surround yourself with different individuals. Building habits alone is a very difficult thing however when your environment is also making it difficult for you to build such habits it is almost impossible. For example if you decide that you wish to stop smoking and your closest five friends all smoke it doesn’t matter how hard you try your environment continues to bring your old habit back towards you. This can be applied across pretty much any habits. In this episode we dive into how best to build new habits and just how important it is to surround yourself with individuals you want to be like.

How many times have you thought about creating a new habit and it just doesn't follow through. Science tells us that a habit typically forms anywhere between 18 and 264 days, and we may sit anywhere on this line.  Making the first step is the most important in the process, the acknowledgement of the habit you are trying to change. No matter how big or small, the habit you are trying to change has been changed by someone else already. Whether it's making your bed in the morning or whether its quitting smoking, someone else in the World has already overcome this challenge and been where you are.  We discuss everything from things we struggle with, to the science behind making a change, to the never ending battle of creating a better routine. Tune in for more... (and thank you for joining us on Season 2 of the We're All Idiots Podcast)

2020 has been a challenging year in many respects, but in a lot of ways, it has also taught a lot of us to discover who we really are. Whether its working from home, re-connect with family & friends, go on a health journey, or start being more spiritual - every single event has been a lesson for growth. One of the biggest lessons for some of us has been the power of vulnerability. In this final episode for 2020, we discuss the buzzword that is vulnerability.  This is also our final episode for Season 1. We never imagined that we would record 20 episodes, but your support and personal feedback has kept us going. In 2021 we hope to be back with more chats about life, relationships, friendship, work, phoilosophy, and just continue being idiots. Thanks for tuning in; happy and safe holidays! 

The world is constantly sharing the ideals of life; the way we should look, the jobs we should take, the way we should be and who is considered the "best" version.  Who says that the best version for one person is the best version of another. The best thing about humanity is our individuality and us being us. Let's be honest, from School days all the way to early adulthood, there has always been the 'cool kid' and perhaps that was you. That child was often the marker of what every other child aimed for and tried to replicate; they were usually the ones bringing in the next trends into the school playground and that's fine. As we grow, it becomes increasingly important to detach away from tags and attempts to be like anyone else.  As a population it is important that we let everyone be and let them express themselves however they please. It may be different to what you are used to and it may be against how you wish to live your life. But it is what they want and they are living THEIR life. Likewise, YOU are living yours. You live with your decisions, nobody else. An attempt to please someone else, at the expense of yourself will often leave you feeling down and beaten up in the long-run, so ask yourself why you're doing it? Is it the people around you that aren't letting you be you, or is it your own barriers that you've created in your mind that are inhibiting you being your authentic self? It definitely isn't easy. It's a journey. Embrace it and move forward. Peace and blessings and thank you for listening!

The symptoms of addictions to drugs and alcohol are well known and very recognisable. We truly believe that the same level of addiction is now being seen in with Technology.
 We often see that we all have at least one device in our hands at all times from the moment we wake up to the point we go to sleep. In this episode we unravel how bad things really are for us both, while diving into why things are the way they are and what we can do to avoid falling into this endless pit going forward