7 LESSONS EVERY MAN MUST LEARN WANTS YOUR JOB HOW TO FUTUREPROOF YOURSELF
ANCIENT WISDOM FOR MODERN MEN
HOW HE TURNED HIS LIFE AROUND
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Welcome to the Winter 2025 issue.
Afriend of mine recently opened up about the fact he’s going through a tough time. Whilst it wasn’t nice to see him struggling, it was good to be able to offer support and feel like – if only in a small way – I’d helped lighten the load.
What I didn’t expect is how much lighter I felt afterwards. At first, I felt guilty about that – a mate’s struggles shouldn’t make me feel better about my own life – but then I realised that wasn’t what was happening.
I’ve always been someone who keeps things to myself. Partly because opening up can feel awkward. Partly pride. But largely because I’ve always assumed everyone has enough of their own problems without me tipping more onto their plate.
But in helping my mate, I felt trusted, not burdened. And by trusting me with what he was going through, he wasn’t just unloading, he was showing me that this is allowed. That the door swings both ways. That next time I’m struggling, I don’t have to handle it alone.
That connection is key for men, who so often try to tackle things on their own – and we’ve all seen the statistics that show that’s a big problem.
It’s something author Adam Farrer – who lost his brother to suicide – discusses brilliantly on page 36. And it’s a theme that runs through the entire issue. Whether it’s health, purpose, pressure, the endless noise of modern life, or what we do when AI takes over, the fact is we’re all figuring things out – and we don’t have to do it alone.
Rob Executive Editor
COVER CREDITS:
Cover Photographer: Jordan Peck/Getty Images
Executive Editor: Lee Gatland
Art Director: Richard Hejsak
Managing Editor: Rob McGarr rob@sevenstarmedia.co.uk
That “extra five minutes” is costing you more than you think.
YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE YOU SNOOZE YOU LOSE
If you set your alarm earlier than you need to – just so you can hit snooze and drift back off – it might be time to rethink your morning routine.
Researchers at Mass General Brigham analysed sleep data from more than 21,000 people. Out of three million sleep sessions, the snooze button was hit in 56% of them, with users averaging an 11 extra minutes in bed after their first alarm.
But that half-conscious limbo between alarms isn’t doing you any good.
“Unfortunately, the snooze alarm
disrupts some of the most important stages of sleep,” says lead author Dr Rebecca Robbins. “The hours just before waking are rich in REM sleep –critical for brain function, mood, and recovery. Hitting snooze interrupts these critical stages and only offers you light, poor-quality sleep in between alarms.”
The expert advice? “The best approach for optimizing your sleep and next day performance is to set your alarm for the latest possible time, then commit to getting out of bed when your first alarm goes off.”
THE TOWN THAT WAS ALL HEART B
THAT WAS ALL HEART
How one small community proved that connection really is good for your heart.
ack in the 1950s, researchers stumbled across a medical mystery that made zero sense.
The tiny town of Roseto, Pennsylvania, was practically immune to heart disease. No one was dropping dead of heart attacks, even though the men smoked, drank wine, and ate enough sausage and cheese to make an Italian nonna blush.
Here’s the weird part: Roseto sat just 1.2 miles from the next town, Bangor. Same doctors. Same hospital. Same water supply. Same Pennsylvania weather. But Bangor’s residents were dying at the normal American rate, while Rosetans seemed untouchable.
Researchers assumed genetics were the secret sauce. Nope. Other ItalianAmerican towns nearby didn’t have the same luck. Diet? Forget it. These people cooked with lard and loved their carbs. So what was it?
Turns out, the magic was the community itself. Roseto was built on old-school Italian values – multigenerational homes, huge Sunday dinners, neighbours who actually talked to each other. There were no showoffs, no keeping up with the Joneses, no one eating lunch alone. Everyone belonged. And that sense of connection, researchers realised, was protecting their hearts better than any gym membership ever could.
They called it “The Roseto Effect.”
When the town modernised – families split up, people worked longer hours, everyone got a bit more “American” –the effect vanished. Heart disease shot up to match the national average.
The lesson? Clean living is great, but the real key to a longer, healthier life might be connection. Eat with people you care about. Check in on your mates. Be part of something. Because no supplement beats belonging – and no Fitbit tracks friendship.
POWER POWDER
Once the preserve of bodybuilders, creatine is now backed by science as a safe supplement for everyone – proven to fuel muscles, sharpen minds, and speed up recovery.
For decades, creatine was seen as a niche gym supplement – the preserve of protein shake bottles and burly bodybuilders. But research now tells a different story. Creatine is one of the most studied supplements in sports nutrition, with over 1,000 peerreviewed studies confirming its safety and effectiveness.
And the benefits aren’t just physical. Studies show it can boost cognition, support mood, and even protect the brain. In short: it’s not just for lifting – it’s for everyone.
As Dr Darren Candow, professor of kinesiology at the University of Regina, puts it: “It works, it’s safe, and it has multiple applications beyond bodybuilding. It’s rare in nutrition science to find a supplement this well-supported by evidence.”
What is creatine?
Creatine is a compound your body makes naturally from the amino acids arginine, glycine, and methionine. Your liver, kidneys, and pancreas produce it and transport it to your muscles and brain, where it helps generate ATP (adenosine triphosphate) – the energy your cells rely on for short, explosive bursts of activity, whether that’s sprinting, lifting, or even rapid mental processing.
About 95% of your body’s creatine is stored in skeletal muscle, with the rest supporting brain function and other tissues. You also get it from foods
\\ IT’S RARE TO FIND A SUPPLEMENT THIS WELL-SUPPORTED BY EVIDENCE //
BE A BETTER YOU
like red meat and fish, but even a balanced diet won’t saturate your muscles like supplementation can.
Dr Richard Kreider, leading exercise scientist, explains: “Your body produces creatine naturally, but supplementing boosts your energy stores, allowing muscles and neurons to work harder and recover faster.”
Physical benefits
Strength & power: Meta-analyses show 8–14% improvements in maximal strength and 10–15% gains in repeated high-intensity performance.
Muscle growth: By allowing heavier, more frequent training, creatine indirectly supports hypertrophy.
Recovery: Studies show creatine can reduce postexercise muscle damage and inflammation, helping you bounce back faster.
Brain benefits you expectdidn’t
Cognition: A 2018 study in Psychopharmacology found 5g/day improved working memory and intelligence scores, especially in people under mental stress or sleep deprivation.
Neuroprotection: Early research suggests creatine supports brain energy metabolism, potentially protective in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
Mood & Fatigue: Trials show supplementation can reduce mental fatigue during demanding cognitive tasks.
“Creatine enhances energy availability in the brain, which is crucial for focus and mental performance,” says Dr Stephen McGregor, lecturer in exercise physiology at the University of Exeter. “It’s like giving your neurons a little extra fuel when they need it most.”
Who should take it?
Everyone. Athletes, office workers, students, dads, and older adults can benefit. Vegetarians and vegans often see the biggest gains, since their dietary intake is naturally lower.
People with kidney disease should consult with their doctor prior to taking it.
How to take it
Daily dose: 3–5g per day is sufficient for most people.
Timing: Any time of day works – consistency matters more than timing.
\\ 3–5G PER DAY IS SUFFICIENT FOR MOST PEOPLE //
THE WHITE STUFF
Creatine has evolved from a niche gym aid to a mainstream performance enhancer for body and brain. Forget the stereotypes –science fully backs it as one of the simplest, safest, and most effective ways to level up both physically and mentally. Think of it as insurance for your energy systems: stronger muscles, sharper brain, faster recovery.
THE MENTAL HEALTH
BENEFITS OF EXERCISE
At PureGym we’re passionate about the incredible benefits of spending time on your fitness and wellbeing. The positive physical effects of regular exercise are wide ranging and regularly discussed, from boosting your heart strength to reducing your risk of injury.
But there’s plenty more to fitness than boosting your strength or changing your physical healthexercise can have incredible positive effects on mental health as well. Regular exercise has been shown to have a positive impact on anxiety, depression, stress, ADHD and more. It’s mood-boosting effect can help to improve sleep, build confidence and help give you personal goals to work towards.
Want to know more about how going to the gym can have a benefit on your psychological well being? Read on…
EXERCISE RELEASES HAPPY HORMONES
As you work out, different chemicals get released into your body; one example of these is endorphins, which are produced by the central nervous system.
These work with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce the sensation of pain and provide a boost of positivity and pleasure. This can lead to a feeling of post-workout euphoria that’s a natural and healthy way to feel good.
As a result, working out regularly can aid as a treatment towards mild and moderate depression, as well as helping to battle anxiety and stress. Incorporating exercise into your weekly routine can help to keep the your mental health in check.
WORKING OUT CAN IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP
If we don’t get a good night’s sleep, chances are we’re more likely to feel sad, stressed, anxious or angry, with tiredness really taking its toll on our emotional health.
A series of recent studies have shown that regular exercise can help make sure your body and mind are well rested come morning.
Examples of ways this can occur are:
• Improving sleep quality
• Reducing sleep apnoea
• Shortening the time it takes to fall asleep
As a result of all of these, insomnia and sleepassociated anxiety are minimised, meaning it’s easier to nod off and wake up feeling refreshed.
GOING TO THE GYM CAN
HELP YOU BE A PART OF A COMMUNITY
As we know now more than ever, feeling isolated can have a negative effect on many aspects of our mental health, from loneliness to lack of motivation.
Regular gym sessions are not only a way to keep you active, but can also help in creating a routine and structure to your day, along with being with the presence of other gym goers.
SETTING GOALS IN THE GYM CAN GIVE YOU DIRECTION
There can be a catch-22 when it comes to mental health and motivation - losing your ‘get up and go’ and your drive to achieve can lead to all sorts of emotional unhappiness, which in turn can make it harder to get out of bed and push for fitness.
Recreating lost motivation isn’t easy, but there are ways to challenge yourself, including setting goals. Long term goals are great, but shorterterm, more achievable objectives can be an excellent way to get yourself back to the gym.
Not only can goal-setting help get you to the gym in the first place, but it gives you something to strive towards and, most importantly, achievements to celebrate - awesome reasons to feel genuinely proud of yourself.
FOR HELP & SUPPORT
Please know that it’s okay not to be okay. You are not alone. It is said that 1 in 4 people experience mental health issues each year.
If you are struggling with your mental health, please speak to someone you can trust like a friend or family member or a doctor. There are also a number of UK mental health charities, such as Mental Health UK and Mind UK, where you can get more information and support.
Adecade ago, telling your mates you were off the drink was social suicide. You’d be ribbed, labelled boring, or interrogated about whether you were pregnant or on antibiotics. Fast forward to now and the landscape has flipped: pubs are pouring alcohol-free IPAs, supermarkets stock spirit with zero proof, and sobriety has gone from taboo to mainstream.
In 2023, sales of no- and low-alcohol beer in the UK topped £200 million, and the sector is still growing. Gen Z drink around 20% less alcohol than millennials did at the same age, according to industry data. But it isn’t just the new generation of would-be drinkers driving the trend – it’s thirty- and forty-somethings who are realising that ditching booze comes with huge upsides for their health, relationships, wallets, and mental clarity.
The health factor
For years, men were told that a pint of beer or a glass of red wine was practically medicinal. Today, science has dismantled that myth. The latest research shows that no level of alcohol is risk-free. Even moderate drinking is linked to cancer, liver disease, and cardiovascular issues.
And then there’s sleep. Alcohol may knock you out quickly, but it wrecks your REM cycles, the restorative stage of sleep that impacts memory, focus, and testosterone. No surprise, then, that men who cut out alcohol often report better mornings, sharper thinking, and more consistent energy.
As performance coach Tony Riddle puts it: “We think alcohol relaxes us, but what it really does is tax the nervous system. Remove it, and you suddenly feel what real recovery is like.”
The mental edge
Beyond the physical toll, there’s the mental load. “Hangxiety” – the spike in anxiety and dread after drinking – is now a recognised phenomenon. For some men, it’s reason enough to quit.
“Every Sunday I’d spend half the day in a fog of guilt and stress,” says James, 36, who stopped drinking during the pandemic. “When I cut it out, I didn’t just lose hangovers – I lost that mental weight I was putting on myself every week.”
Science back this up: alcohol messes with serotonin and dopamine, the brain chemicals that regulate mood. Taking it out of the equation means fewer crashes, steadier confidence, and more emotional bandwidth for relationships and things you want to focus on.
\\ WHEN I CUT IT OUT, I DIDN’T JUST LOSE HANGOVERS – I LOST THAT MENTAL WEIGHT I WAS PUTTING ON MYSELF EVERY WEEK //
The wallet win
Like a lot of things these days, drinking has never been more expensive. With pints creeping towards £8 in some cities, a single night out can easily top £50. Multiply that across a month and it’s hundreds saved – money many men are now funnelling into fitness memberships, weekend trips, or simply easing financial stress.
“I put the money I saved on drinking towards a boxing class,” says Chris, 29. “Now I get the social buzz, but without the hangover.”
The social shift
The biggest barrier to sobriety used to be social pressure. But the culture has shifted.
Brewers are taking non-drinkers seriously, and brands like Lucky Saint, Seedlip, and Athletic Brewing are making genuinely good alcoholfree alternatives.
Crucially, not drinking is no longer synonymous with not socialising. Men can now hit the pub, still order something that looks like a pint, and still be part of the group. The difference? They feel fine in the morning.
Men have also found different places to hang out. Whether it’s the
gym, a golf course, or a padel court, the pub is no longer the only option.
The new generation
Gen Z are leading the charge. They’re not just drinking less, they’re swapping the pub crawl for activitybased socialising – from mountain climbs to fitness classes – and having fun without the hangover.
But older generations are catching on fast. Midlife men, particularly those juggling careers, families, and health concerns, are realising that alcohol simply doesn’t fit their goals anymore.
Professional athletes and celebrities are also openly talking about sobriety. “Since I’ve stopped drinking, I’ve just been feeling so much better, so much more clarity,” says F1 star Lewis Hamilton. “I sleep better and I can get up at 5am.”
\\ ALCOHOL MESSES WITH SEROTONIN AND DOPAMINE,
THE BRAIN CHEMICALS THAT REGULATE MOOD //
0% judgement
Going alcohol-free isn’t about moralising or saying anyone who drinks is doing something wrong. Plenty of men enjoy a pint responsibly and get plenty of benefits from moderation. This movement is simply about choice – recognising that life can be just as fun, social, and rewarding without alcohol, and that skipping it can come with lots of perks. For some, it’s a temporary experiment; for others, a permanent lifestyle change. Either way, it’s about making informed decisions that work for you, not feeling pressured to adhere to anyone else’s rules.
THE REAL PRICE OF HAPPINESS
They say money can’t buy you happiness – but the science tells a more complicated story. From easing stress to funding freedom, experts reveal how much you really need.
The question we all ask
We’ve all heard the phrase “money can’t buy happiness” – but is that really true? For most men, financial pressure is one of the biggest stressors in life – whether it’s the mortgage, the rising cost of living, or simply wanting more freedom. So how much money do you actually need to feel happy, secure, and satisfied? Science has some surprisingly clear answers.
The comfort threshold
Back in 2010, Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman and psychologist Angus Deaton published a famous study suggesting that happiness does indeed rise with income – but only up a point. The amount they landed on was around $75,000 a year (about £60,000). Adjusted for inflation, you’d be looking at around $96,000 (£71,000) per year by current figures. Beyond that, the link between money and day-to-day emotional well-being flattened out.
\\ MONEY ALLOWS PEOPLE TO LIVE A LIFE THAT BETTER MATCHES THEIR PREFERENCES //
Their conclusion? Once your basic needs and a little comfort are covered – housing, food, bills, occasional treats – extra money doesn’t dramatically boost happiness.
More money, more joy?
More recent research has challenged that idea. A 2021 study led by Matthew Killingsworth at the University of Pennsylvania, involving
over 30,000 people, found that happiness continues to rise even beyond $75k – though the gains are smaller.
“Money allows people to live a life that better matches their preferences,” says Killingsworth. “It gives you options, and options are strongly linked to well-being.”
It’s what you do with it that counts
Having enough money can relieve stress and provide security, but happiness comes from relationships, purpose, and experiences. Studies consistently show that spending money on experiences – travel, hobbies, social activities – creates more lasting happiness than spending it on possessions.
Dr Thomas Gilovich, psychologist at Cornell University, puts it bluntly: “We remember experiences long after we’ve forgotten the things we bought. Those memories become part of who we are.”
FIGURING IT OUT
So how much do you really need? It depends on what you value. The consensus is this:
Enough to cover essentials and avoid financial stress
A cushion for freedom and choice.
Beyond that, it’s less about the number and more about how you use it.
Happiness isn’t about a figure in your bank account – it’s about whether that money allows you to live the life you want.
1
BUY FREEDOM, NOT STUFF
Use money to outsource chores or tasks you hate. Freeing up time for family, fitness, or rest has a huge happiness payoff.
2
SPEND ON EXPERIENCES
Invest in trips, concerts, golf days, or even a cooking class. These create memories and social bonds that outlast any gadget.
3
PRIORITISE SECURITY
Build an emergency fund. Studies show financial stability reduces anxiety and improves sleep.
4
SPEND IN LINE WITH YOUR VALUE
Whether it’s donating to charity, funding a side project, or saving for something meaningful, how you spend defines you more than the size of your wallet.
THE MCILROY MINDSET
Rory McIlroy opens up about the mental side of golf, handling pressure, and why perspective and self-belief matter just as much off the course as on it.
What does it feel like to be one of just six players to complete the career Grand Slam?
It’s crazy. There are only three other people living that have done it. It still feels weird to be put in that category, but it was a dream come true. It was my 17th attempt at Augusta to win that Green Jacket, but sometimes the best things, you have to wait for them a little bit. I certainly had
to wait for that one, but it was an unbelievable feeling.
How do you manage the highs and lows of elite sport?
The thing is with highs and lows, you know that neither is going to last forever. There’s always going to be a comedown after a high and you’re always going to have to build yourself back up after a low.
I’ve won right around 10% of the tournaments I’ve played,
which is not a lot compared to other sports, so you really have to celebrate your wins. When I win any tournament, I make sure that I celebrate. I make sure that my focus doesn’t just turn to the next thing. When you perform at a high level, I feel like it’s always just go, go, go. But sometimes it’s just nice to sit back and appreciate what you’ve done and reflect. I think it’s okay to feel proud of yourself.
Is there a piece of advice from another sports star that has stuck with you?
With Novak Djokovic, he’s just got so much belief in himself. He had some hard times earlier in his
greatest player ever. He talks a lot about breathing and he practises his breathing a lot – I’ve tried to incorporate that into my routine as well. Especially in pressure situations, that can help so much.
Just how big is the mental aspect in golf?
Our mind is way more powerful than really anything else. If you can utilize that the right way, it’s inevitably going to help your game on the course.
Has the mental side of your game improved during your time on tour?
prided myself on being quite a resilient person. I think I was much more thin-skinned earlier in my career and I think I’ve learned to get a bit tougher in that way.
What are some of the biggest things you’ve learned along the way?
I think I needed to put golf in perspective a little more. Just because you hit a few bad golf shots and miss a few putts, it doesn’t change who you are as a person.
It’s always been the mental side for
My mental health was probably
Does being in the public eye make it more difficult to maintain that approach?
Once I removed myself from social media, the highs weren’t so manic, the lows didn’t feel bottomless. My identity stopped swinging with my scorecard – “If I shoot 65, I’m a good person. If I shoot 75, I’m a bad person.”
Once I removed myself from social media, it was the start of me feeling a lot better about who I was.
What piece of advice would you give to young golfers now?
\\ WHEN YOU PERFORM AT A HIGH LEVEL, I FEEL LIKE IT’S ALWAYS JUST GO, GO, GO //
I think you have to remember why you got into the thing you are doing. I got into golf because I love the game, and I never want it to feel like a job, even though sometimes it does. But I think the more fun you can make it, the better the outcome is going to be.
THE DOPAMINE DILEMMA
How to hack your brain for motivation, happiness, and success – and stop social media from hijacking it.
Every like, every ping, every scroll. Each time you pick up your phone, your brain gets a quick surge of dopamine – the neurotransmitter that fuels desire, motivation, and reward. But there’s a catch. The more you flood your system with easy hits from social media, junk food, or gaming, the harder it is to feel motivated by the slower, harder rewards of real life.
As Dr Anna Lembke, Stanford psychiatrist and author of Dopamine Nation, warns: “We’re now all vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle delivering dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation.”
The question is: how do you reclaim control of your brain’s most powerful motivational tool?
THE AVERAGE UK ADULT NOW SPENDS AROUND 5 HOURS A DAY ON THEIR PHONE
What dopamine really does
Dopamine isn’t about pleasure – it’s about pursuit. Cambridge Neuroscientist Dr Wolfram Schultz discovered that dopamine spikes not when we receive a reward, but in anticipation of it. That’s why gambling, video games, and social media are so addictive: the uncertainty keeps the dopamine flowing.
A 2019 study published in Nature Neuroscience showed that unpredictable and variable rewards cause the highest dopamine
release. That’s why slot machines can be so addictive – and it’s the same problem with the unpredictable feedback you get when posting on social media.
The social media hijack
Social platforms are explicitly designed to exploit this. Former Google design ethicist Tristan Harris calls it the “attention economy”, where companies profit by keeping your dopamine system hooked.
“Our brains evolved to find reward in effort and achievement,” says psychologist Dr Dean Burnett. “Social media short-circuits that, feeding us the illusion of success without the substance.”
HOW TO TAKE BACK CONTROL
1. DO A DOPAMINE RESET
Cut out “easy hits” for a short period –say 24-48 hours. No social feeds, no online shopping, no junk food. In a study published in JAMA Psychiatry (2021), even short breaks from digital stimulation improved mood and concentration.
MRI SCANS SHOW THAT SOCIAL MEDIA ‘LIKES’ ACTIVATE THE SAME BRAIN CIRCUITS AS ADDICTIVE DRUGS
BE
2. DELAY THE DOPAMINE
Avoid picking up your phone first thing when you wake up. Even delaying by 30 minutes helps train your brain to resist instant gratification.
3.
EFFORT OVER INSTANT GRATIFICATION
Your brain releases more dopamine for rewards that require effort. Exercise is a classic example: a 2020 study showed physical activity not only boosts dopamine but increases the number of dopamine receptors. Translation: the more you earn it, the more you feel it.
4. STRUCTURE YOUR REWARDS
Studies show checking messages at set times rather than reactively reduces stress and distraction (University of British Columbia, 2018). Don’t let pings or vibrations interrupt your day; put your phone on silent and check it occasionally, at moments where it suits you. By spacing out your dopamine hits, you keep your system responsive.
5. STACK REWARDS WITH HABITS
Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman suggests linking something effortful with something enjoyable. Example: only listen to your favourite podcast while running. This pairs dopamine with good habits you’re trying to ingrain.
6. CHASE FLOW, NOT SCROLLS
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s famous flow state research shows that deep immersion creates one of the most satisfying forms of dopamine release. Unlike likes or clicks, it builds self-esteem and longterm motivation.
HEAVY SOCIAL MEDIA USE HAS BEEN LINKED TO HIGHER RATES OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION, PARTICULARLY IN YOUNG MEN
BIG OPINIONS. NOW ON THE BIG SCREEN. BIG OPINIONS. NOW ON THE BIG SCREEN.
\\ A RECENT
POLL FOUND
THAT 22% OF MEN NOW WORRY “A LOT” ABOUT TECHNOLOGY
REPLACING THEIR JOB //
The robots are coming
You’ve probably been using ChatGPT for all sorts recently – drafting emails, dinner suggestions, even writing wedding vows. AI is already being used to detect cancer, optimise energy grids, and even predict natural disasters. But what happens when AI takes over and makes you redundant?
\\ “IN FIVE YEARS, 99% OF PEOPLE WILL BE UNEMPLOYED” //
A recent poll found that 22% of men now worry “a lot” about technology replacing their job. That fear is understandable. It’s not just factory workers at risk – whitecollar roles, from accountancy to copywriting, are in the firing line. Goldman Sachs predicts as many as 300 million full-time jobs worldwide could be automated in the coming years.
“By 2049, AI will be one billion times more intelligent than us,” says author and software engineer Mo Gawdat, former chief business officer
at Google X. “Your intelligence will be like that of a fly compared to AI.”
And this isn’t some far-off concept in this distant future – some experts predict enormous change within the next 18 months.
“In two years, AI will have the capability to replace most humans in most situations,” says Dr Roman Yampolskiy, a computer scientist at the University of Louisville, known for his work on AI safety and cybersecurity. “And then, in five years, we’re looking at a world where we’ll have levels of unemployment we’ve never seen before. I’m not talking about 10% [unemployment], but 99%.”
“Every technological revolution creates winners and losers,” says Dr
\\ “YOUR INTELLIGENCE WILL BE LIKE THAT OF A FLY COMPARED TO AI”
Carl Frey, co-director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Technology and Employment at Oxford University. “What’s different this time is the speed and scale of AI’s impact. We are talking years, not decades.”
Why men feel it most
While few jobs seem to be safe from the AI threat, polls show that 50% more men than women are worried about losing their role to AI.
The industries most exposed to automation – logistics, transport, construction, IT support, finance – are disproportionately male. The Office for National Statistics estimates that around 7.4% of UK jobs are at high risk of automation, and men are overrepresented in that group.
Layer on the cultural pressure of “being the breadwinner” and it’s no wonder AI anxiety has hit men hardest. “For many men, their job isn’t just a paycheque,” says clinical psychologist Dr Nihara Krause. “It’s their identity, their pride, their way of contributing. When that feels unstable, it can
BE A BETTER YOU
It’s already happening
AI’s influence on the working world isn’t just a future prediction, it’s happening now. Deloitte says that 35% of UK businesses are already using AI in some form, while McKinsey says 60% of jobs have at least one-third of their tasks that could be automated.
Jamie, 32, a freelance graphic designer in Manchester, has already seen his clients experiment with AI. “Some are sending me AI drafts and asking me to just polish it up – which means less money, less creative input, and more anxiety. I feel like the skills I spent years developing are quickly becoming less valued.”
Raj, 41, has been driving lorries for nearly two decades. “10 years ago, I couldn’t imagine driverless cars, but they’re here now and it feels like a matter of time for me. It’s not just about money; it’s about feeling useful. Where does it leave me when a machine is better at my job?”
\\ “THE MEN WHO FARE BEST ARE THOSE WHO FIND MEANING OUTSIDE OF WORK” //
Even in white-collar professions, cracks are showing. Accountancy, law, and journalism are already being reshaped. As one anonymous City analyst put it: “Half my day is Excel and PowerPoint. If AI takes that, what’s left for me – meetings and stress?”
The bright side
AI may take over millions of existing jobs, but it is also creating
plenty more. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2030, AI and related technologies will displace 92 million jobs but create 170 million new ones.
Of course, not every new job will be easy to get or well-paid, but the point is: adaptation, not extinction.
“People often underestimate what humans are uniquely good at,” says Dr Kate Darling, a research scientist at MIT, specialising in the ethics of robotics. “Empathy, creativity, social interaction, leadership – these are not easily automated. Those who lean into those skills will become more valuable, not less.”
Take the example of healthcare. AI may help analyse scans faster than a radiologist, but patients still want a human doctor to deliver the news, explain options, and show compassion. It’s not either/ or – it’s human + machine.
So what can men do to avoid being left behind?
Don’t panic, progress. Learn to use AI in your work rather than resist it. Graphic designers who master AI tools, for example, can offer clients more, not less.
Double down on human skills. Negotiation, persuasion, teamwork, and emotional intelligence are “futureproof” in a way repetitive technical tasks are not.
Build an identity beyond work. If your entire sense of worth comes from your job, you’re on shaky ground. Build self-esteem in fitness, friendships, family, and creative pursuits.
Talk about it. Men rarely admit work anxiety, but bottling it up only makes things worse. Sharing fears makes them less isolating.
As futurist and author of Rise of the Robots, Martin Ford puts it: “The jobs that survive won’t be the ones that machines can’t do at all – but the ones where humans add something extra that machines can’t replicate.”
You are not your job
The deeper question here isn’t just about jobs. It’s about identity. Who are we when our role changes?
“The men who fare best are those who find meaning outside of work,” says clinical psychologist Dr Nihara Krause. “Instead of asking, ‘What do I do if AI takes my job?’, men should ask, ‘What else makes me valuable?’ Connection, growth, and contribution are more protective to mental health than any job title.”
AI may be faster, cheaper, and more efficient. But it can’t laugh at your mate’s terrible pub quiz answer, kick a ball about on a Sunday morning, or hug your kid after school. That’s where your value lies in a way no machine can replace.
“ I’ve always trusted Wellman - my wellbeing is a top priority.”
Over 70%.
That’s how many registered suicides in 2023 were male.
Men aren’t seeking help until they get to crisis point. We need to be open to seeking help and talking. “ ”
Gavin is a scriptwriter and mental health advocate, and also a Trustee for Derbyshire Mind. He lives with borderline personality disorder and post traumatic stress disorder, and turned to Mind in some of his darkest times.
How to talk about mental health this Christmas It might not always be clear when someone’s unwell. But if you’re worried, there’s ways to start up that conversation.
Ask open questions
That’s a question that invites someone to say something more than ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It could be something like ‘How have you been feeling?’
Give them time
You might be anxious to hear their answer, but it helps if you let the other person take their time to talk.
Reach out
You can get support through Mind’s Infoline. It’s open 9am-6pm, Mon-Fri (except bank holidays) on 0300 123 3393 and info@mind.org.uk
In an emergency always call 999.
For more advice and support about managing mental health, scan this QR code.
Please consider donating to Mind this Christmas. With your help, we can be there for everyone who needs us, so everyone can find support for themselves or someone they love while there’s still time.
Photo by Matt Wellham Mind, 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ. Mind (The National Association for Mental Health) Limited by Guarantee Reg. Charity Number 219830 Registered in England and Wales Number 424348.
MY BEST FRIEND WOULDN’ T KNOW IF I DIED
Author Adam Farrer reflects on the quiet distance in male friendships, the tragedy of silence, and how learning from women might just save lives.
When my friend Alex and I first met at college, we were pretty much connected at the hip. Lost in our own bonded world, you could almost always find us together, just hanging out, most often giggling at something that struck us as unbearably funny. This habit, coupled with our wayward hair and scuzzy band t-shirts, led people to refer to us as Beavis and Butthead. It was a fair accusation, and we didn’t fight it.
After college, we became flatmates and took our dynamic from the refectory to a high-rise apartment in Salford, laughing together on the sofa while we watched TV, that Beavis and Butthead comparison showing no
indication that it would ever lose its relevance.
Then, at 21, I met a woman, and everything changed. I moved out, got married, had a daughter, and began working my way up the management structure in a series of jobs I didn’t much care for. Alex became a musician and toured the world in various bands before he eventually settled down too and started a family of his own.
Life gets in the way
For Alex and me, life got in the way. While we have remained each other’s closest and most enduring male friend over the last three decades, we only see each other sparingly and the time we spend together is always centred around an event. An activity. A good reason to see one another, which we add to our respective calendars months in advance.
BE A BETTER YOU
Lately, this reason is most often when a band we loved during our teens rolls into town.
The last time we spent quality time together was at a Pearl Jam concert in June of 2024, which at the time of writing was 15 months ago. That evening, we’d met up, hugged, grabbed a drink, then stood beside one another just as we always have, listening to the music, laughing and chatting between support bands (never during songs).
Because this is such a well-worn habit for us, I knew exactly what would come next. The gig would finish, we’d hug goodbye and head home, exchanging a few gig photos on WhatsApp during the days that followed and both agreeing that we’d had a brilliant time. Should do it again soon.
Outside of these events and the flurries of activity that surround them, we often won’t speak for weeks, sometimes months. If there’s something we need to discuss, we figure that we’ll deal with it in a year or so the next time Dinosaur Jr are in town. This behaviour is, for us, completely normal. In fact, it’s how all my male friendships work.
I see my friend Nick for a drink perhaps once every eighteen months. My friend Simon maybe once a year. Between these events, we exchange the odd text or a podcast recommendation, a happy birthday message when Facebook reminds us, but that’s it – and our friendships remain unaffected by this. Not diluted by time or absence.
I sanity-checked this with other men I know, and it seems that this is also how their friendships tend to work. There is the arrangement of an activity – a gig, a football match, paintballing – then that’s it until, several months in the unspecified future, it’ll happen
again. Another activity will be chosen. In between, the men I know retreat to their relationships, sit in front of Netflix original series with their partners until they get an alert on their phone. “Ooh, The Breeders are playing. I’m going to message Adam…”
\\ WE OFTEN WON’T SPEAK FOR WEEKS OR MONTHS //
Message each other weekly, sometimes daily. In the case of my friend Zoe, whom I’ve known since we were both toddlers, we message each other several times a day. Even if it’s just an Instagram compilation reel of people falling over, it’s contact. We reach out and recognise the importance of that. On those rare occasions when I don’t hear from her, I worry that something is wrong, and a message will be sent checking in. We’ll then discuss whatever taxing situation led to the brief but significant radio silence and get back to business as usual.
My friendships with women require maintenance and additional work and they are all the richer for it.
Support sisters
My female friendships are not like this. I do all the things with them that I do with my male friends, but we also just hang out with each other for the sake of hanging out, and the frequency is different. We regularly pop over for coffee and a catchup.
With Alex, though, he could have
BE A BETTER YOU
died and I’d be none the wiser because our relationship doesn’t work that way anymore. We’re not in each other’s lives as much as we used to be. We love each other, but we’d never go so far as to say it. With my female friends, we tell each other this sort of thing all the time. We always talk about our feelings. When I asked my female friends about why the standards and behaviours are generally so different to the friendships I enjoy with men, part of it seems to come from the level of expectation.
\\ WE LOVE EACH OTHER, BUT WE’D NEVER SAY IT //
There is a general understanding in female friendships that you need to be available and present for one another and when you’re not, the lack of presence is felt and, often to a degree, judged.
The women I know seem to believe that absence and a lack of frequent check-ins mean they’re letting down their friends, so maintaining meaningful contact becomes an emotional overhead.
When romantic relationships are entered into and a focus turns to a new partner, there is an unspoken obligation that women must not let themselves or each other
down by allowing relationships with friends to slip. Despite the effort this involves, it has a value.
The reward for that level of commitment is that you get very present friends who understand and know you deeply. Who will race to catch you when you fall or intervene before you do.
During those times when I’ve lost myself in relationships and allowed my friendships to suffer, my female friends have been the ones to chastise me for my vanishing acts and my sheepishly apologetic reappearances following the break-up of those relationships. My male friends have always just accepted it. “Hey” they say, “look who’s back?” And nothing more is said. It’s enough that a new activity buddy has reentered the chat.
“I feel sorry for men sometimes,” my wife tells me. “When they need help, who do they turn to?”
The impact on men
She says this during a discussion we were having about the male mental health crisis, which in part seems to result from isolation. A lack of the kinds of friendships she and her friends benefit from, where they get to talk freely about the problems that are eating them up and find solutions together. A huge number of men don’t feel that they have a space to open up and discuss their feelings of despair and desperation in this way, so are increasingly turning to suicide as a way out. In 2023 statistics provided by the Samaritans, 6834 men across England, Scotland, and Wales took their own lives, a statistical increase on previous years.
\\
MY FRIENDSHIPS WITH WOMEN REQUIRE MAINTENANCE AND
ADDITIONAL WORK AND THEY ARE ALL THE RICHER FOR IT //
This is something that has affected my own family. In 2008, my elder brother, Robert, left his home one evening, sat down on the promenade in our coastal hometown, and took a huge overdose of painkillers. His body was discovered in the early hours of the following morning. I was completely unaware that
he’d been experiencing suicidal thoughts until after his death, when I would learn that he had attempted to take his own life on two previous occasions. As far as any of us know, he had never spoken to anyone about the reasons behind these attempts or tried to get help. It was easier and, it seems, less awkward for him to take his own life.
While I was crushed by Robert’s death, a huge reconfiguring loss that will always affect our family, I was not surprised by the situation he found himself in. Robert was always a hypermasculine man. A hard drinking guy who got into fist fights recreationally, rode a motorbike, wore a black leather jacket everywhere he went, and was rarely seen without a woman on his arm.
Growing up, it was like living with a character from an eighties action movie. In practice what it meant was that he was not the kind of man who would easily discuss his feelings. By doing so
BE A BETTER YOU
\\ CRUCIALLY, MEN ARE LEARNING THAT OPENING UP IS PERMISSIBLE //
he could be seen as making himself vulnerable, exposing a status-reducing weakness. That talking about your feelings does not indicate weakness or fragility is beside the point, the end result was the same. He did not communicate his plight, and it cost him his life.
\\ “I FEEL SORRY FOR MEN SOMETIMES,” MY WIFE TELLS ME. “WHEN THEY NEED HELP, WHO DO THEY TURN TO?” //
If you can’t tell your best friend...
Robert’s situation is one I can relate to because, during the frequent periods when I’ve dealt with my own bouts of suicidal ideation, I struggled to open up too. While Alex is a sensitive guy whom I know I could open up to about my biggest problems, I never once spoke to him about what I was going through. It felt more important to me to keep our friendship as light and fun as it had always been. The first he knew of my struggles with my mental health was when he read about them in my first book, Cold Fish Soup
It was somehow easier to type this information into a manuscript and send it to a publisher than it was to sit down with one of my closest friends and admit to him what was going on.
The difference between Robert and I is that when I was struggling, I turned to my female friends. Women who had been primed for this sort of thing by a lifetime of openness and emotional candour within their friendship groups. Who knew what to do and how to handle me as if they’d been in training for it all their lives.
A support network
The last time I found myself in a desperate suicidal state, it was around Christmas of 2019. I was in the same hometown where my brother died, standing on a cliff edge and considering my next move. What I ended up doing was taking a step back from the edge and speaking to my friend, Kate. She invited me over to her house for Christmas dinner, where we sat with forks and ate a huge white chocolate dessert while I talked and frequently cried. Kate listened, handed me tissues to wipe my face with and offered me advice, comforted me. Explained that she was always going to be there for me. I then spoke to my friend Jenn, who invited me to her house for Boxing Day, made me another Christmas dinner, then took me to the coast near Morecambe, where we walked her dog, talked about my problems, and visited a set of Viking graves.
As a recipe for pulling someone out of the
BE A BETTER YOU
darkness you’d think it was the wrong move, but it was exactly what I needed. Food, company, the freedom to talk without judgement, and some fascinating graves. A reminder that we’re a long time dead, so we might as well make the most of living.
In turning to the women in my life, I was able to discuss my feelings with people who had spent their lives tackling such things.
\\
SILENCE IS DEADLY AND MEN NEED TO GET BETTER AT TALKING ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS //
What I wished for my brother was that he’d had a Kate or a Jenn or a Zoe. That he had friends of any gender that he could express his feelings to and give them air. Instead, he chose silence and oblivion.
Rather than rely on female friends to shoulder my emotional burdens, I think what I need to do from now on is learn from them. I have discovered to my cost that silence is deadly and it’s clear that men need to get better at talking about their feelings. A lot of work is being done in this area, through groups like Andy’s Man Club, Menfulness, and Mentell, where men can discuss their problems and get advice.
Crucially, men are learning that opening up is permissible. The apparently surface, activity-based nature of our friendships needs to evolve to include that. While the things I love about my friendship with Alex will remain, I know that there is more to us than laughter and having someone to stand next to and enjoy an eight-minute version of Even Flow. We will still do these things together. We will still hug goodbye and WhatsApp each other a week later to say that we’d each had the most amazing time together and that we should do it again soon. But if I need help, if I’m not coping and need someone to talk to, his number is going to be one that I dial.
Adam Farrer is the author of Broken Biscuits and other male failures, out now (HarperNorth, £16.99).
‘A splendid book, to be cherished by anyone with a funny bone. I loved it.’
DAILY MAIL
‘I love everything about these essays, from Adam’s willingness to be open about life, love, family and his nether regions, to his innate ability as a storyteller. Broken Biscuits made me laugh out loud and then properly cry.’
JENNIE GODFREY
Gladiator mindset
Forget
self-help fads. The ancient Stoics had practical answers for everyday challenges, and their playbook feels more relevant today than ever.
Modern life can feel like one endless juggling act: work deadlines piling up, group chats buzzing, a constant stream of news, and that nagging voice that you should be fitter, richer, more successful, and more interesting.
Whilst it might feel like things have never been tougher, these issues are as old as time. Sure, the details may change – traffic jams instead of horse carts, emails instead of town criers – but the core challenges of human existence remain the same: stress, disappointment, ambition, relationships, health, and the nagging uncertainty of the future.
That’s why a philosophy born more than 2,000 years ago still feels relevant today.
Born in ancient Greece and Rome, Stoicism was built for soldiers, emperors, and ordinary people facing chaos.
The Stoics – figures like Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca –wanted practical tools to deal with real life. And their wisdom has stood the test of time. Their advice, written millennia ago, could have been lifted straight from a modern self-help book – except theirs was battled-tested in the senate, the marketplace, and the battlefield.
Today, millions of people use Stoicism to navigate modern life. Here are five ways it can help you…
1CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES, DROP THE REST
The Stoics believed that most suffering comes from trying to control things that are, by nature, beyond us: what other people think, the twists of fortune, or the weather on the day of your big event. Instead, they taught that freedom comes from focusing on what we can control: our choices, our actions, our mindset.
BE A BETTER YOU
How does that work today? You can’t control whether your boss appreciates your work, but you can control how diligently and professionally you show up and the pride you take in that. You can’t control whether your train is late, but you can control whether you stew in anger and stress, or use the time to read, reflect, or breathe.
2
DISCOMFORT IS A SUPERPOWER
We live in a comfort-first world: next-day delivery, food at the tap of an app, entire weekends lost to Netflix. The Stoics warned against becoming enslaved by comfort and getting soft. They deliberately practiced discomfort – fasting, wearing simple clothes, sometimes sleeping on the floor – to remind themselves that comfort isn’t guaranteed, and that they could survive without it.
Cold showers, hard workouts, taking on tasks you’d rather avoid – these aren’t masochistic tricks; they’re small reminders that you’re tough enough to cope with challenges. Then, when real problems emerge – as they always will – you’re able to deal with them.
3
MEMENTO MORI
That’s Latin for “Remember that you have to die”. It sounds morbid, but it’s actually about perspective. The Stoics treated mortality as a motivator, not a depressant. Aurelius wrote: “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”
In an age where it’s easy to drift through life with countless distractions, this reminder is a powerful compass. You don’t have forever, so what will you do with today? Will you spend it worrying about someone else’s opinion, or building a life you actually want?
VIRTUE OVER VANITY
Modern life teaches us to measure success by salary, car, or Instagram followers. But the Stoics measured a man by character: were you fair, wise, disciplined, and courageous?
Say you’re scrolling LinkedIn, where everyone seems to be “crushing it”, and it leaves you feeling inferior. Stoicism gives you a much-needed reality check: your worth isn’t dependent on other people’s approval. Focus on being dependable at work, kind to your friends and family, and brave in your life choices.
It’s a radical mindset shift for a culture obsessed with external validation. But it’s also liberating. If success isn’t tied to your bank account or social media following, you can live the life you want and build success that lasts on your terms.
END EACH DAY THE RIGHT WAY
Journaling might seem like a recent fad pushed by influencers trying to flog you overpriced notebooks, but it’s an ancient practice the Stoics swore by. Every night, they’d look back on the day and ask themselves key questions: where did I fall short? What did I do well? How can I do better tomorrow?
It’s a five-minute habit that’s a powerful tool for self-awareness and growth.
HOW TO START LIVING STOICALLY TODAY
Stoicism isn’t about becoming some unfeeling statue. It’s about facing life – its challenges, joy, and chaos – with a stronger backbone and a calmer mind. You don’t need to shave your head, ditch your possessions, or learn Latin. Start small:
When something irritates you, pause and ask: Is this in my control? How do I want to react?
When you feel soft, try introducing some form of discomfort once a week.
When you feel you’re wasting time, remember that time is finite.
Judge your success on your terms, not external noise.
End your day with a short reflection that ensures you’re continually moving in the direction you want.
The modern world throws plenty at us – politics, technology, constant noise. But the Stoics remind us that while we can’t dictate the storm, we can learn how to sail through it with calm and courage. And that’s a philosophy worth stealing from the ancients.
“If I hadn’ t gone
to jail,
I’
d be dead”
After drunkenly stumbling into professional football, Troy Deeney spent 13 weeks in prison, but emerged to become a Watford legend. He still has ambitions for a successful managerial career, too – just don’t ask him about Dale Vince…
INTERVIEW CHRIS FLANAGAN
Troy Deeney had been out of prison for just nine months when he scored the goal he’s most remembered for.
The frontman would later find the net nearly 50 times in the Premier League, but he’ll forever be associated with Sky commentator Bill Leslie and his iconic cry of “DEEEEEENEY!”, as he slammed home a 97thminute play-off semi-final winner for Watford in 2013, 20 seconds after Anthony Knockaert had missed a penalty that would have clinched it for Leicester at the other end. It’s one of the great Football League moments.
“You can call it that, I can’t!” Deeney laughs, attempting to remain modest. “In the moment, I was so calm – it felt like everything slowed down, like you see in the movies. I thought, ‘Just kick it straight and I’ll score’. As soon as it hit the net, it felt like an
\\ I TURNED UP FOR THE FIRST AND LAST DAY OF THE TRIAL
– BUT THAT WAS IT //
eruption of noise. The celebration was wild.”
Seven goals while drunk
Plenty of other things had been wild about Deeney’s life until that point, too –in his younger days, he admits he was a very different person.
“God, you wouldn’t have been having this conversation with me, let’s put it that way!” he says.
A lifelong Birmingham fan, he was expelled from school but could have joined rivals Aston Villa, had he turned up for all of the four-day trial.
“At 15, yeah, I was trying to be the cool kid,” he explains. “My mates were down at the local park playing football, a few of them smoked. I knew all of the birds were there and it was summer holidays, so I didn’t want to go to Villa. I knew on the last day of the trial that there was a match, so I turned up on the first day and the last day, that was it. My brother was already at Villa so it wouldn’t have been that bad playing for them – I didn’t have a Blues tattoo at that point! I just wasn’t in the right headspace for it.”
Instead, Deeney was soon playing for non-league Chelmsley Town. “I played central midfield at first, I loved a tackle, had loads of energy and enjoyed passing the
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“I was 16, playing with lads who were 34, so I instantly knew how to look after myself and learned the dark arts – pulling the shirt, things like that.
“I loved my time at Chelmsley, it shaped who I am. If I’d gone straight from getting kicked out of school to joining Walsall, I would have struggled, but at Chelmsley Town there were so many different ethnicities and ages. Some had families, some were going out straight after games, some were turning up drunk to games…”
The latter group included Deeney himself – Walsall spotted him on a day when he reportedly scored seven goals in a game while intoxicated.
“I can’t tell you if I actually scored seven, but I was definitely
drunk!” he laughs. “I was 18 – my job on a construction site finished on the Friday, I got my last pay packet, paid my mum what she needed, then I went out, had a few too many with the lads, then played on the Saturday and Sunday. I went out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday – then I’d figure out getting another job on the Monday.”
What was it like playing while drunk? “It was normal, that was the problem, we were doing it quite a lot!” he says. “At 18, you don’t get hangovers, you go again. I grew up in a community where when you’re drunk, you have one more to level yourself. So I had a Jack Daniel’s before the game and was good to go.
“Walsall just happened to come to the game. Mick Halsall – a legend, I’ll always give him the credit – saw something in me that I didn’t think was possible. He gave me not only an opportunity, but a lifeline, and thought, ‘Do you know what? If I push this kid…’ I didn’t realise how much of a listener and a learner I was. He was just trying to punch things in all the time, ‘Do this, do
Deeney went from a raw youngster to a regular goal-scorer in League One before joining Watford, who were then a mid-table Championship outfit. The forward says he couldn’t have imagined the journey he’d go on while at Vicarage Road, scoring 140 goals across 11 years, including five full campaigns in the top flight.
“No, not at all,” he says. “The first 18 months were representative of where I was at – mentally all over the place, not turning up, not applying myself in the right way, and not realising what an opportunity I actually had.
\\
“I always had impostor syndrome – ‘This will end soon, they’ll kick me back out and I’ll go back and play with my mates’. I had this big fear of, ‘Oh God, it’s going to be over, it’s going to be over’. Unfortunately, it took
my dad getting sick and me getting arrested to make me realise I needed to liven up.”
During the first half of 2012, Deeney’s father battled throat cancer aged only 47, while the striker became embroiled in an early-hours brawl outside a club in Birmingham. Deeney, his brother and two other men were charged with affray, after an attack on a group of students left one with a broken jaw.
THERE WAS A FAMILY ON THE OTHER SIDE AND I NEVER EVER WANT TO GLORIFY WHAT I DID //
Aged 23, Deeney responded on the pitch with the best form of his Watford career so far over the remaining weeks of the 2011-12 campaign. “I’ll give him the credit every time, Sean Dyche was brilliant for me,” he says. “For his first six months as manager, I hardly played or played on the left wing, but he kept challenging me and telling me, ‘You’re going to quit’. He understood there was not a quitter in me, so he kept trying to go, ‘You’re going to quit, you’re going to go back to doing this or that’.
“Then he handed me an opportunity when Marvin Sordell moved on. I took it – we were playing Millwall away and I scored. I got 10 goals from January through to the end of that season, but then ended up going to jail.”
“In jail, all you have is time”
Three days after attending his father’s funeral that June, Deeney was given a 10-month prison sentence. He served just over three months of it, but admits that he wouldn’t have hit the heights he later reached as a footballer had it not been for that time in jail.
“No, I would have been dead. If I
didn’t go to jail, I would have been dead,” he emphasises, repeating his words to make clear that he really means it. “I was living too recklessly away from football, but all things happen for a reason.
“There was a family on the other side and I never ever want to glorify what I did, there was a victim so I don’t ever want it to come across as that. On the flip side, it was like a hard reset for me.
“I had to sit for 13 weeks in jail and figure out who I was – ‘My dad’s dead now, what’s going to happen?’
“I buried my dad on the Friday and went to jail on the Monday, so I had to figure out what was going on and why I was being like that. All while surviving, while not knowing how my career was. In jail, all you have is time. You’ve got nothing but time, you’re just sat there.
“I write a lot, I still do to this day. I’ll write and write, and I think. I remember writing down a list. What am I going to do when I get out of here? It was like, ‘I’m going to have a career, I’m going to buy a house, I’m going to buy a car’.
\\ PEOPLE WITH BETTER CAREERS HAVEN’T GOT A MOMENT LIKE THAT
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“I was making good money, sure, but I was also going out every week, and had a leased car and a rented house. Then when you get locked up and stop being paid, it’s like, ‘Oh shit, actually I haven’t got anything’. It was the hard reset that I needed and hopefully from that, I’ve made my dad and my grandad, the people who passed away, really proud of me. I certainly hope so.”
Watford were taken over by the Pozzo family that summer, with Gianfranco Zola appointed as manager. Deeney scored the winner on his first start after his release from prison, and went on to bag 20 goals for the first time that term. The last of those was his famous strike against Leicester in the play-offs.
“I didn’t appreciate that goal for a long time – we lost in the play-off final,” he says, remembering defeat to
\\ THE ARMBAND WAS ON MY SEAT.
NOBODY TOLD
ME I WOULD BE CAPTAIN, IT WAS JUST THERE //
Crystal Palace at Wembley. “But with TikTok, my five-year-old recreates it around the house and celebrates it. I went to the Club World Cup with Talksport and my wife said she’d been mobbed by people going, ‘Oh my god, that goal’. They can tell you where they were and what they were doing when it happened. I’m very fortunate – there are people who had much better careers than me, but they haven’t got a moment like that, while I managed to have one.” Leicester were so irritated by that play-off defeat that they responded by winning the Championship a year later, then the Premier League within three years. “I take all the credit for that!” Deeney laughs. “I tell big Wes Morgan all the time that he owes me a watch or something. My kids are at the age now where they like to watch YouTube, and my daughter managed to find the whole game, so we watched it when we were on holiday recently.
\\ I DON’T LIKE LOOKING BACK – I’M LIKE, ‘WHAT’S NEXT, WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?’ //
Harry Kane was on the bench for Leicester, Jamie Vardy was on the bench. It was two teams attacking, we both just went for it. My goal came from that.”
Given Kane’s penalty prowess since then, and the fact that he was on the pitch at the time, Deeney’s moment might never have happened at all if Knockaert had handed the ball over to Leicester’s teenage loanee.
A year later, Deeney was appointed Watford captain, at the beginning of their own promotion season. It was quite the turnaround for him, although asked how he ended up as skipper, he’s none the wiser. “F**k knows!” he smiles.
“For the first game of the season, the armband was on my seat, no-one had said, ‘You’re going to be captain’, it was just there. I thought, ‘Oh, OK’.
“I bluffed it for two years, remembering what Tommy Mooney, Michael Ricketts and Michael Dobson did for me when I was at Walsall, and John Eustace at Watford. I thought ‘OK, let’s try to blag it’. I knew the whole thing about ‘work hard, be in first’, but never really believed in that. I was like, ‘You get in when you get in, but you leave when the job’s done’. I’ve always outworked people.”
After winning top-flight promotion, Deeney would be rewarded with his first Premier League goal, even if it required 10 games to find the net.
“That meant everything to me,” he says. “It was at Stoke away – I’d been playing really well but hadn’t scored yet.
Thierry Henry was working as a pundit for Sky and against Newcastle, I’d brought the ball down on my chest, turned and played a pass for Odion Ighalo to score.
“Henry was saying, ‘If any of the big players did that, we’d be talking about it all the time – he’s a great player, but he has to start scoring in the Premier League for us to see that’. You listen when people say that, and I was like, ‘Fucking hell, can I do it?’
“Then we played Stoke, and there was the joke of, ‘But can
\\ I WOULD’VE THOUGHT, ‘WHO DID I HAVE TO KILL TO DO ALL THAT?’ //
you do it on a cold, wet night in Stoke?’ I remember thinking ‘Well, it’s actually a beautiful day, but we’re in Stoke, it’s cold and I’m going to do it today’. The ball came to me and the defender dived in to make a slide tackle, which gave me the time to take a touch and pass it into the far corner. As soon as I hit it, I was like, ‘Goal’. I got 13 in the Premier League that season.”
No love lost
Many more goals after that, Deeney departed Watford in 2021 as a club legend. He spent the next two years with
his boyhood team Birmingham before making a switch to League Two side Forest Green Rovers, initially as a playercoach. Just four months on, he was appointed as head coach of the West Country outfit at the age of 35.
Rovers were fighting to avoid a second successive relegation and Deeney won none of his first six games in charge – after a home loss to Harrogate, he told the media that were “too many babies” in his squad, claiming that he’d rather watch Antiques Roadshow than one of his own team’s matches. Deeney also described right-back Fankaty Dabo’s performance as “awful”.
Days later, he was given a four-game touchline ban for his conduct towards a match official during a previous game, and was sacked. Rovers owner Dale Vince recently claimed that he hadn’t necessarily wanted to appoint Deeney in the first place, but the club’s director of football had promised to give the frontman a shot at the manager’s job when it next became available, as part of enticing him into the playercoach role. Nobody at the club expected the opportunity would arise so soon.
“Lessons were learned,” is Deeney’s assessment of his time with the club. “Although he tries to give me stick any time he needs to, I appreciate Dale Vince giving me the opportunity.
He says he didn’t give me the opportunity, but he did. It’s about the environment there, because they’ve got the talent, they’ve got the ownership with the money, they’ve got all the grand plans, so it’s about having someone pull it all together. We tried to do that in the short time we were there, with Dave Horseman and Louis Carey.
“It’s a great place. Robbie Savage went in as manager recently and I’ve genuinely been wishing them all the best, I just wish Dale would stop talking about me. If Robbie gets them up, I’d like to say I played a tiny percentage in that, like half a per cent. There are lads there that we worked with – some that we brought in are still there.”
Did Deeney almost care too much, hence his emotional outbursts? “My rant was just immaturity,” he admits. “It wasn’t caring too much for myself – it was caring so much for those players who didn’t realise they were letting the opportunity slip through their hands. Not to stay in the League, forget that, because people get relegated, it happens. It was the opportunity to be a professional footballer.
“Some of those people don’t have jobs now, so ultimately I was right, but how I said it was wrong, you have to own that. The timing of saying it was wrong as well, but in hindsight I was dropped into a position where I was expected to fail. We were at the bottom of League Two, the director of football was in his first role, the CEO was in his first role, and I spoke to Dale once. Then you go, ‘By the way, get that all sorted as quick as you can’. I wasn’t allowed to bring in everybody I wanted, either. We tried to make the best of it and I made some mistakes along the way, but it hasn’t deterred me. If anything, it’s made me more focused to want to do it again.”
Indeed, Deeney is very open to making a return to management. “Absolutely,” he says. “But now with the hindsight of that experience, you’d ask so many more questions. The bit of satisfaction for me is that everything I said turned out to be true – like when I made the ‘cojones’ comment about Arsenal.”
On that occasion in 2017, Deeney implied that the Gunners had lost at Vicarage Road due to a lack of
mental fortitude. “It’s not a thing that a player normally says, even though it was right – it was right at that moment and it’s played out to be right for the years since,” he says. “But it’s not the done thing to say it, then people take offence to it. Paul Merson was hammering me, loads of the pundits were hammering me, but you fast forward and they’ve all been saying what I said, they just didn’t want Troy Deeney saying it.
\\ AT FOREST GREEN, I COULD HAVE DONE SO MUCH BETTER, BUT THAT HASN’T DETERRED ME, I’LL COME AGAIN //
“At Forest Green, I could have done so much better, but that hasn’t deterred me, I’ll come again. I’ve just done my LMA manager’s diploma so I’m not sitting here sulking, and when it’s that time,
we’ll do what we need to do.”
Deeney recently took part in filming for a celebrity version of the TV show SAS: Who Dares Wins, and became a television presenter for the first time, co-hosting BBC reality series Last Pundit Standing. Everything he’s achieved over the past decade and more would have blown the mind of the wild child who started out at Chelmsley Town.
“I would’ve thought, ‘Who did I have to kill to do all that?’” Deeney says now. “I played in the Premier League, I was Watford captain, I had the Leicester moment, I had so many moments that were iconic for me, and I’m really happy to have provided for my family. I don’t like looking back – I’m like, ‘What’s next, what else can I do?’ But I’m so grateful.”
Maybe missing half of that Aston Villa trial was the right decision after all.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
ISSUES FOR
ACES POCKET
With so much hype around wellness, it’s hard to know what’s worth your time. That’s why we’ve done the digging for you. Here you’ll find a carefully chosen mix of tools – from smart wearables and practical apps to game-changing books and thoughtprovoking podcasts – that are proven to boost resilience, sharpen focus, and help you feel more in control. No fluff, just the good stuff.
BE A BETTER YOU
BOOKS APPS
HEADSPACE
One of the most wellknown mindfulness apps, Headspace takes the intimidation out of meditation. With calming animations, guided sessions from just a few minutes long, and even bedtime soundscapes, it’s ideal for beginners who don’t want to sit in silence. The real win is consistency: by gamifying progress and offering bite-sized meditations, it helps you make meditation a daily practice.
STOIC
Part journaling tool, part therapist in your pocket, Stoic gives you daily prompts rooted in stoic philosophy and cognitive behavioural therapy. The app encourages reflection, gratitude, and planning, all while tracking your mood. Perfect for guys who want structure and practical selfreflection without diving into a full therapy session.
WORRY WATCH
Crafted for overthinkers and those battling anxiety, Worry Watch invites you to log your worries, note what you did about them, and then later check whether they actually came true. This reflection-based approach helps retrain your brain to see that most of your fears never materialize – generating a calmer, more grounded mindset over time. Simple, insightful, and ideal for guys who prefer evidence over abstraction.
ATOMIC HABITS – James Clear
This book has become a phenomenon for good reason: Clear breaks down behaviour change into tiny, achievable steps that compound into big results. His mantra – that you don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems – has helped millions break through barriers they’d been stuck with for years and make real, lasting change.
LOST CONNECTIONS –Johann Hari
Hari argues that depression and anxiety aren’t simply chemical imbalances, but often the result of disconnection: from community, meaningful work, or the natural world. It’s part memoir, part investigation, and challenges the idea that a pill is always the first answer. An important, eye-opening read if you’ve ever felt like something deeper is missing.
THE COMFORT CRISIS – Michael Easter
Easter argues that modern life has become too comfortable, and in the process we’ve lost resilience. He makes the case for deliberately seeking out discomfort – from outdoor challenges to cold showers – as a way to reset your body and mind. A book that blends science with adventure, perfect for men wanting more grit.
THE DIARY OF A CEO – Steven Bartlett
While he’s a marmite figure, Bartlett has an undeniable knack of pulling raw honesty out of his guests – whether they’re entrepreneurs, athletes, or actors. Conversations often swing from success and ambition to mental health and vulnerability, showing that even the people we idolise struggle. Great for men who want straight talk about growth, failure, and resilience.
HUBERMAN LAB – Dr. Andrew Huberman
A Stanford neuroscientist who somehow makes brain chemistry feel like easily digestible life hacks. Huberman’s longform episodes cover everything from sleep and focus to dopamine and resilience, and each one is packed with actionable advice. It’s heavy on science but delivered in a way that feels practical, not preachy.
MAN ENOUGH – Justin Baldoni
This podcast digs into masculinity, asking tough questions about what it really means to “be a man”. Baldoni and his guests unpack topics like vulnerability, empathy, and fatherhood with openness and humour. A refreshing listen for anyone looking to challenge outdated ideas of manhood.
PODCASTS GADGETS
OURA RING
This sleek, discreet ring is one of the most advanced sleep and recovery trackers on the market. Unlike chunky watches, it blends into your everyday style while giving you data on your sleep cycles, stress, and activity levels. For men who like a balance of minimal design and cutting-edge tracking, it’s hard to beat.
THERAGUN MINI
Stress doesn’t just live in your head – it builds up in your body, too. The Theragun Mini is a portable massage gun that delivers powerful percussion therapy to tight muscles. Whether it’s post-gym recovery or just easing out tension after a long day at the desk, this pocket-sized tool is like having a personal masseur.
BLUE LIGHT GLASSES
We all know too much screen time messes with sleep, but cutting it out completely isn’t realistic for most. Blue light blocking glasses are a simple, affordable fix – wearing them in the evening helps your brain wind down naturally by filtering the stimulating blue light from screens. The price tag is small, and it can lead to a big boost for your mental and physical recovery.
7 LESSONS EVERY MAN SHOULD LEARN
Psychotherapist and counsellor Gemma Pettit (gemmapettit.com) has helped hundreds of men find the best version of themselves. Here she reveals the seven lessons that change everything.
1
DROP THE “BUT”
Anything said before the word “but” doesn’t really count.
“I’m sorry but” usually means “I don’t think I should have to be sorry”.
If that’s your apology style, the other person will rarely feel cared about. Try “and” instead.
SCENARIO: You’re late home from football because the traffic was awful. Your girlfriend spent 90 minutes cooking your favourite meal, which is now ruined. She’s annoyed and assumes you didn’t bother to get back on time.
INSTEAD OF: “I’m sorry I’m late, but the traffic was really so it’s not my fault.”
TRY: “I’m sorry I’m late, I hate that the dinner you planned has gone to
waste, and I want you to know I got home as fast as I could – the traffic was awful and I had no way of letting you know.”
The apology lands, you advocate for yourself, and everyone feels cared about.
\\ WHEN SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT HAS A PROBLEM, IT’S NATURAL TO WANT TO FIX IT FOR THEM // EMPATHY BEFORE SOLUTIONS
2
When someone you care about has a problem, it’s natural to want to fix it for them.
“I’ve got a headache,” they say. “You’re probably dehydrated and need to drink more water,” you respond.
\\ MOST PEOPLE AREN’T ASKING FOR A SOLUTION –THEY’RE LOOKING FOR EMPATHY //
Seems logical, right? But most people aren’t asking for a solution –they’re looking for empathy.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share someone else’s feelings. It makes people feel closer, cared for, and understood. It’s one of the most powerful relationship tools we have.
Instead of leaping to a fix, ask yourself: How would I be feeling in the same situation? Would I want someone to offer a solution –or would that make me feel
Rather than trying to solve the problem, try: “I’d love to help you with this – what do you need?”
If you can see an obvious solution the other
person doesn’t seem to be aware of, ask if they’re open to hearing it: “Would you be open to hearing a possible solution for this?” If the answer is no, don’t push it!
It’s amazing how much smoother things go when empathy comes before advice.
BE NOTKIND,NICE
We Brits love being nice – but niceness is often a self-serving act. It’s about avoiding discomfort and usually comes from a desire to be liked.
SCENARIO: You order a beef burger, but the waitress brings chicken. You smile and say it’s fine, because you don’t want to embarrass her or make things awkward.
How nice of you. Except now your meal isn’t what you wanted and the waitress never learns to doublecheck orders – until someone less nice loses their temper with her.
Being kind is different. Kindness is honest, clear, and rooted in empathy for both sides.
\\ BEING KIND IS DIFFERENT. KINDNESS IS HONEST, CLEAR, AND ROOTED IN EMPATHY FOR BOTH SIDES //
“Ah, I actually ordered beef –please could you swap it for me?”
“Thanks for sorting it, I know it’s stressful when the restaurant is so busy.”
Everyone learns, everyone eats what they wanted, and no one stews in silent resentment.
Niceness keeps the peace shortterm. Kindness builds it long-term.
\\ BY IDENTIFYING HOW WE NATURALLY RESPOND TO STRESS, WE CAN START TO REGULATE OUR NERVOUS
SYSTEM //
LEARN YOUR STRESS RESPONSE
By identifying how we naturally respond to stress, we can start to regulate our nervous system and carry on our conversations from a calm, productive and healthy place.
Bonus points if you learn your partner’s stress response too – that awareness can save a lot of unnecessary conflict.
5
SAY “I”, NOT “YOU”
This one’s subtle, simple, but life-changing.
When you say “You made me feel…” you put the other person on the defensive. “You made me sad by being late for dinner,” for example.
That instantly sparks defensiveness – because in their mind, the traffic jam that made them late wasn’t their fault.
INSTEAD SAY: “I feel really sad that the dinner I made us was ruined.”
Now it’s about your feeling, not their guilt. And they’re much more likely to respond with care, not defence. By using “I” instead of “You”, we free the other person from having to defend themselves, which invites connection instead of conflict.
We all react to stress differently. The four main responses are:
Fight – arguing or shouting
Flight – needing space or leaving the situation
Freeze – going quiet or shutting down
Fawn – saying or doing anything to smooth things over
We all default to one of these, usually based on childhood experiences. There’s no right or wrong way to be stressed – but nothing good comes from speaking or acting based on your stress response. 4
6
DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY
A common theme I hear from men is: “Whenever my partner’s unhappy, I feel like I’ve failed.”
IT’S UNDERSTANDABLE:
in our culture, men are socialised to be the provider and protector. So when their partner expresses dissatisfaction, it triggers shame or inadequacy.
But most of the time, the dissatisfied partner isn’t trying to make you feel inadequate; she just wants some compassion for her feelings
\\ REAL MENTAL HEALTH ISN’T ABOUT BEING HAPPY ALL THE TIME
– AND IF WE CHASE THAT, WE’RE LIKELY TO END UP FEELING MUCH WORSE //
and for you to work towards a solution together. When you take it personally, you make it about your pain instead of hers and miss what the complaint was about in the first place.
Next time she’s upset, don’t jump to self-blame or bigger conclusions about your inadequacy. Go back to empathy and how you might feel if you were in her situation. It’ll transform your communication.
7
MENTAL HEALTH ISN’T THE SAME AS HAPPINESS
We live in a time when self-care is a buzzword and a brand. We’re told that buying the right gear, gadgets, or supplements will make us happy. But that’s not mental health – that’s marketing.
Real mental health isn’t about being happy all the time – and if we chase that, we’re likely to end up feeling much worse. It’s about being able to feel the full spectrum of human emotions – sadness, joy, anger, guilt, embarrassment, excitement, and the rest – and express all of those feelings.
Men are often taught to hide fear or sadness. Women are often taught to suppress anger. But feelings aren’t gendered. They pass through, just like the weather. Stormy, sunny, rainy, snowy – it doesn’t care who you are, it just is.
ASK YOURSELF: how many emotions do you actually let yourself feel? If the answer isn’t “all of them”, that’s where your work begins.
THE POWER OF DOING
NOTHING
In an age where being busy is a badge of honour, spending a little time doing nothing could change everything.
BE A BETTER YOU
When was the last time you did nothing?
Truly nothing. There’s a special kind of guilt that creeps in the second you flop on the sofa with no plans, no chores, and no emails. Within minutes, that voice in your head pipes up: Shouldn’t you be doing something? Maybe you should tidy the kitchen, maybe you should finish that report, maybe you should finally alphabetise your spice rack.
We live in a world where “busy” is a badge of honour. If your diary isn’t packed with meetings, gym sessions, language classes, or side hustles, you start to feel like you’re failing at life. Even in your moments of downtime, you scroll social media, see other people achieving all sorts of things, and the guilt cycle kicks in again.
The modern version of “doing nothing” usually means the sofa and your phone. Hours vanish in a haze of TikToks, Instagram reels, and articles you’ll never finish. Technically, you’ve been doing nothing – but your brain feels wired and oddly tired. Real rest never quite shows up.
But true idleness – no screens, no distractions, just rest – isn’t laziness. It’s medicine.
The Italian Job
The Italians have a phrase for it: il dolce far niente – the sweetness of doing nothing. Not slumping in front of the telly with a packet of crisps, but actually savouring unproductive moments. Sitting in the sun with an espresso. Watching clouds drift. Letting time pass without trying to wrestle it into a to-do list.
It’s so ingrained in the culture that it’s considered an art form. Italians famously linger over long lunches, stroll aimlessly through piazzas, or just sit on a bench people-watching – and nobody accuses them of slacking. Contrast that with the Anglo-Saxon urge to schedule every second of the day, and you start to see why they might be onto something.
Science says: Stop trying so hard
Psychologists talk about the “default mode network” – the bit of your brain that lights up when you’re daydreaming, zoning out, or staring out the window. “It’s when your brain consolidates
memories, processes emotions, and makes sense of your experiences,” says neuroscientist Dr. Mary Helen Immordino-Yang.
Creativity thrives in those quiet moments, too. Ever noticed how all your best ideas come to you when you’re in the shower, on a walk, or washing the dishes? It’s because those are the rare times when you’re not multi-tasking with a phone in one hand.
\\ IN THE
MODERN WORLD, TAKING TIME OUT
ISN’T EASY //
“Creativity is the residue of time wasted,” said Einstein. If one of the greatest minds in history could afford to waste time, you can probably spare an
and mental health dips, the case for unapologetic rest gets stronger. A study from the University of Tokyo found that people who deliberately scheduled unstructured downtime reported higher life satisfaction than those who tried to make use of every spare minute.
How to do nothing
Doing nothing doesn’t mean doomscrolling or half-watching Netflix while thinking about work. It’s about being intentionally unproductive. Go and sit in a café without a laptop or phone. Lie in a park without headphones. Let yourself get bored and see where your mind wanders.
It will probably feel uncomfortable at first. You’ll automatically reach for your phone or start making to-do lists in your mind. But stick with it and you’ll rediscover that lost, childlike sensation of simply existing.
So pour yourself a nice drink, find a comfy spot, and try a little dolce far niente. Life doesn’t always need filling –sometimes it just needs a pause.
\\ MINIMALISM IS THE INTENTIONAL PROMOTION OF THE THINGS WE MOST VALUE AND THE REMOVAL OF ANYTHING THAT DISTRACTS US FROM IT //
MINIMALISM FOR MEN HOW OWNING LESS CAN GIVE YOU MORE
Clearing the clutter isn’t just about your wardrobe or your bedroom – it’s about making space for focus, freedom, and purpose in every area of life.
Stuff weighs you down –physically, mentally, and financially. For years, men have been sold the idea that more is better: bigger car, bigger house, bigger wardrobe, bigger… well, everything. But a growing number of men are discovering the opposite is true. Minimalism isn’t about deprivation; it’s about choice. By cutting out the excess, you can reclaim time, money, and mental energy – and suddenly, life feels lighter, sharper, and more intentional.
What is minimalism?
Minimalism isn’t about living in a blank, joyless space or giving up everything you own. Simply put, it’s about removing what doesn’t add value so you can focus on the things that do – whether that’s time, relationships, experiences, or
mental energy. It’s about choice, not deprivation – keeping what matters and letting go of the rest.
\\ MINIMALISM ISN’T ABOUT LIVING IN A BLANK, JOYLESS SPACE //
Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus – authors, speakers, and the founders of the lifestyle brand The Minimalists – put it simply: “Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.”
They often stress that the goal isn’t to own as little as possible, but to make room for more of what makes life meaningful.
BENEFITS OF MINIMALISM
Clear space, clear mind
Research shows that clutter can increase stress levels and reduce focus. Each extra object in your home is a small demand on your attention, even subconsciously. By simplifying your environment, you create mental breathing room.
Dr. Laura Palomares, a
\\ RESEARCH SHOWS THAT CLUTTER CAN INCREASE STRESS LEVELS AND REDUCE FOCUS //
psychologist specialising in minimalism, states: “Minimalism isn’t about deprivation; it’s about creating space for what truly matters.”
Money matters
Minimalism isn’t just philosophical – it’s practical. Buying less means spending less, and focusing on quality over quantity means the things you do buy last longer. Men adopting minimalism often find they can redirect cash towards experiences –travel, hobbies, or investing in skills – instead of accumulating items that don’t bring lasting satisfaction.
\\ MINIMALISM ISN’T JUST PHILOSOPHICAL –IT’S PRACTICAL //
A study by Duke University found that minimalists report increased financial security and less stress, as they focus on meaningful purchases rather than material accumulation.
A uniform for an easy life
Dressing well doesn’t mean a bulging wardrobe. A simple set of versatile, quality pieces makes dressing easier and improves confidence. Less choice reduces decision fatigue, and a tidy wardrobe saves time every morning. The same applies to grooming: a straightforward routine keeps you looking sharp without
overcomplicating things.
Many high achievers adopt this strategy. Steve Jobs famously wore the same black turtleneck, blue jeans, and New Balance sneakers every day. He explained, “I’m already making a thousand decisions about Apple. I don’t want to waste energy deciding what to wear.”
\\ BUYING LESS MEANS SPENDING LESS, AND FOCUSING ON QUALITY OVER QUANTITY MEANS THE THINGS YOU DO BUY LAST LONGER //
Similarly, Mark Zuckerberg opts for a grey t-shirt and jeans daily, stating, “I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible.”
Digital minimalism
It’s not just physical items that drain energy – digital clutter matters too.
Endless notifications, app overload, and social media scrolling create constant low-level stress. Men practicing minimalism are deleting apps they don’t use, unsubscribing from newsletters, and scheduling tech-free time. The payoff? More focus, more presence, and less mental noise.
“Minimalism is not about removing things you love,” says Dr Shira Gill, an expert in organised living. “It’s about removing the things that distract from the things you love.”
Travel light
Minimalism makes movement easier. A backpack with only essentials feels freeing compared to a suitcase full of things you never unpack. Men embracing minimalism report enjoying travel and outdoor adventures more – less stuff, more flexibility, more spontaneous experiences.
Getting the balance right
Minimalism isn’t about giving up your beloved possessions. It’s simply about recognising what brings value to your life and what just gets in the way.
PUTTING MINIMALISM INTO ACTION
Minimalism isn’t about an overnight transformation –it’s about small, intentional steps that add up over time. Here’s how to start:
AUDIT YOUR STUFF
Go room by room and ask: “Do I use this? Do I love it?” Keep what adds value; donate, sell, or recycle the rest.
WARDROBE
DIGITAL DECLUTTER
Delete apps you never use, turn off notifications, and schedule tech-free periods. Your brain will thank you.
FINANCIAL STREAMLINE
Cancel subscriptions you don’t use, review recurring expenses, and prioritise purchases that truly matter.
ADOPT A ‘ONE IN, ONE OUT’ RULE
For every new item you bring in, let one go. It keeps clutter from creeping back in. 1 2 3 4 5
\\ START SMALL, STAY CONSISTENT, AND YOU’LL QUICKLY DISCOVER THAT OWNING LESS CAN MEAN LIVING MORE //
The bottom line
Minimalism isn’t about depriving yourself – it’s about making room for what truly matters. By taking small, intentional steps to declutter your home, wardrobe, digital life, and finances, you can reclaim time, mental energy, and freedom. The
STRONGER FOR LONGER
25 biohacks, backed by science and expert wisdom, to keep you sharper, stronger, and more energised for decades. No one is expecting you to do them all, but adding one or two into your routine could be a gamechanger.
1 Stand up every 30 minutes
Too much sitting is linked to higher risks of heart disease and early death. A Columbia University study found that breaking up sitting with five minutes of walking every half-hour significantly lowered blood sugar and blood pressure.
2 Give yourself a lift
Resistance training twice a week preserves muscle mass and reduces the risk of falls. The WHO says strength training is as vital as cardio for longevity.
3 Cold showers, hot payoffs
Short cold exposure activates brown fat, boosts metabolism, and reduces inflammation. Even 30–60 seconds under cold water can energise you.
4 Intermittent fasting
Limiting your eating window (say 10am–6pm) has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and protect against age-related disease.
5 Prioritise protein
You start losing muscle as early as your 30s. Studies suggest 1.2–1.6g of protein per kg of bodyweight per day help maintain muscle mass and strength.
SHORT COLD
6
Get sunlightmorning
Early exposure to natural light resets your circadian rhythm, boosting alertness and
7
Caffeine control
Coffee is rich in polyphenols and linked to lower risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Just keep it before midday so it doesn’t impact your sleep.
8
Walk fast
Walking pace predicts longevity better than walking volume, according to a UK Biobank study. Brisk walkers had up to 20 years’ greater life expectancy compared to slow walkers.
9
Don’t skimp on sleep
A lack of sleep impairs memory, immunity, and muscle recovery. Matthew Walker, author of Why We Sleep, calls sleep “the single most effective thing you can do to reset your brain and body”.
10 Heat things up
Regular sauna use is linked to reduced cardiovascular risk and dementia. Think of it as cardio without the jogging.
11 Stand on one leg
Standing on one leg while brushing your teeth improves balance and coordination – and poor balance is strongly linked to fall risk and mortality.
12 Breathe through your nose
Nasal breathing boosts nitric oxide, improving circulation and oxygen uptake. Research also shows it improves sleep quality compared to mouth breathing.
13
Stay social
Loneliness is as bad for health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a Harvard study. Friends keep your brain and heart healthier.
14 Meditate
Mindfulness meditation reduces cortisol and preserves the brain’s grey matter. A UCLA study found longterm meditators had “younger” brains than nonmeditators.
15 Eat the rainbow
No, not daily Skittles. Eating lots of different colour plants gives you a diverse gut microbiome, which helps regulate inflammation and boosts immunity.
16 Get out
Being in nature lowers stress hormones and blood pressure. Japanese researchers call it “forest bathing” – and it works even with a short stroll in the park.
17 Do micro workouts
No time for an hour in the gym? No problem. Short bursts of activity (like 20 squats or push-ups during a work break) improve insulin sensitivity and blood flow without needing a gym.
18 Sip it up
Even mild dehydration impairs mood, memory, and focus. Studies should that people who stay hydrated have healthier ageing markers.
19 Get tested
Catching deficiencies (like vitamin D, B12, iron) early by having regular blood tests helps optimise energy and prevent long-term decline.
20 Floss daily
Oral health is surprisingly linked to systemic inflammation and heart disease. A study in the Journal of Periodontology found that regular flossers had lower markers of cardiovascular risk.
21 Keep your core engaged
Core strength isn’t all about visible abs – it stabilises posture, protects your spine, and improves balance. Pilates or simple planks a few times a week make a real difference.
22 Turn out the lights
Blue light from screens disrupts melatonin and sleep. Harvard research shows that dimming lights and cutting screentime before bed improves sleep quality and recovery.
23 Laugh a lot
Studies show that laughter reduces stress hormones, improves circulation, and even boosts immunity.
24 Mix it up
Doing different types of exercise (cardio, strength, mobility) prevents overuse injuries, keeps the body adaptable, and maximises overall fitness. Functional movement expert Gray Cook calls this “movement variability,” which preserves longterm joint health.
25 Make a note
Journaling supports mental clarity, stress reduction, and goal-setting. A University of Texas study found expressive writing improves cognitive function in adults over time.
If you’re worried about how gambling makes you feel, we can help.
