Challenging times

​For over a month now the United Kingdom has been in lockdown due to the hard hitting Corona virus pandemic. It has affected many people all over the world. Economies of many countries are being affected. People's livelihoods are now more limited. We are having to think about what we spend our money on and what is important for our families right now.

​We have seen a rise in tensions across the world as the crisis continues. Many people have lost their jobs and have nowhere to turn to. Governments are trying to solve these problems on a day to day basis but can not keep up with expectations and the needs of their people. Not only is there a rise in unemployment and uncertainly, there is a rise in anxiety and stress amongst everyone.

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The mental health of many people will be tested. Families will suffer and children will miss their friends. Industries will be strained as people try to continue to work at the same rate they did before to keep up the businesses. These are trying times. We will all be confronted with varying issues which we will have to find solutions to.

The last few years of my life, I have had some very challenging times. I have experienced situations that have tested my resolve and exposed my brittleness. We all have challenging times but we have to find a way of overcoming them and trying to stay strong. I have been very lucky in my life. I have had very good friends around me and a supportive family. In these times and many others like this it is important to remember who has been there for you and who still is.

​As a physical education teacher, I believe it is my purpose to expose and educate those around me about health and physical activity. As a PE department, during these times, we have been challenging each other with various activities to complete. This started with creating workout videos for our students to exercise challenges like the 'spell your name' challenge.

​I am a big advocate of mental health, especially men's mental health which is often overlooked. One charity I am actively involved with on an annual basis is Movember. Six days ago I was made aware of a challenge my cousin's husband, Duncan Bawler, put on facebook. It was to do 25 push-ups a day for 25 days. The intention was to raise awareness for those suffering with post traumatic stress disorder. A disorder which can drive people to having severe anxiety and depression.

​I began the challenge after being nominated by my brother but I decided that I would add one push-up each day. The increase was put there to motivate me to do that extra push-up. The challenge is about determination and perseverance as it has been prescribed over a certain period of time. We post a video of our push-ups each day on Facebook and twitter. Posting these videos and putting this challenge out there to others has made me even more determined to continue.

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I have decided to add my videos here in the blog. I will add all 25 videos as a record of this achievement but also as a challenge to anyone who reads this blog. Can you show determination and perseverance in these hard times ?