EPISODE NOTES In this episode, Claire talks with Paul McGee, founder of the SUMO principles about what the SUMO approach is and how anyone can use it as a tool to achieve better results in life. Paul talks about how his background in behavioural and social psychology led him to running training seminars and coaching courses. It was an audience heckle during one of these sessions that introduced him to the acronym SUMO which he has since adapted and developed into a way of helping to get the best out of ourselves, the best from others and the best from life. Paul shares and discusses some great ideas linked to the SUMO principles including ‘checking your chatter’, being aware of avoiding ‘passive moaning’ to improve your mental diet, and always looking to invest in yourself.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Look after yourself to be able to help others. While we do need be resilient with facing challenges – an inevitable aspect of life – it can be very easy to unintentionally dismiss or side-line the negative and debilitating effects of stress. You are your number one priority. It is also easy to overlook that wellbeing leads to welldoing and, if we are not ‘right’, we won’t be inspiring and anywhere near as effective as we should be with those we teach. Invest in yourself. As teachers, we can all too easily focus our attention on the development of others without thinking about developing ourselves. Being inspired by others is a great way to motivate us to be inspiring. As a part of self-development, consider time to reflect. It is great to have a degree of distraction built into our days - such as audio books or exercise - but it is also good to have reflection time to focus on yourself.   BEST MOMENTS “In 2007 we banned smoking in public places because of the effects of passive smoking. Well I think we need to be mindful of the effects of passive moaning.” “This phrase I use, 'to be at your best, you need to rest'; that doesn't mean work yourself crazy until the next half-term. It's building in a little bit of rest time even during the day or in the evenings. Rest is not the opposite of work; it's work's partner.” “A metaphor I use in life is, 'sometimes life is like a game of snakes and ladders'. If you want to win the game, the likelihood is you might land on a snake. But that's not a time to quit. It's a time to roll the dice, go again and keep looking for the ladders.” “Who's the most important person you can talk to? It's actually yourself.” “Sumo is a word in Latin. So, not as an acronym, but as a word, means 'to choose'. Drew Povey, a leadership speaker and former headteacher, says 'every day is a choose-day'.” “That phrase 'manage your mental diet'. We think about the word 'diet' and we think about food, but I just think it's really important what we feed our minds with.” “If you want to help the kids, you've got to help yourself. “Teachers are obviously in the world of education; in the world of learning. But I think it's really important that we don't just think, 'well we're trying to teach kids'. We're also trying to teach ourselves.” “For me, the number one priority is actually about investing in yourself.”   VALUABLE RESOURCES Website: https://www.thesumoguy.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheSumoGuy YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUn8r9hCk8ewTXHapv1-Ngg Books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-McGee/e/B001JOWPYU/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesumoguy Classroom Secrets Kids: https://kids.classroomsecrets.co.uk The Teachers’ Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTeachersPodcast/ Classroom Secrets Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClassroomSecretsLimited/ Classroom Secrets website: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/ LIFE/work balance campaign: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/lifeworkbalance-and-wellbeing-in-education-campai