What if positive thinking isn’t always the answer?

In this episode of Future Fit Leadership, Sadhana Smiles sits down with speaker and author Chris Helder for a wide-ranging conversation about the beliefs we carry, the stories we tell ourselves and how both shape the way we live and lead.

Chris shares his concept of Useful Belief, a practical alternative to forced positivity. When circumstances are difficult or outside our control, the question becomes: what is the most useful belief I can choose right now?

They explore Chris’s GOGI philosophy - guilt out, gratitude in, controlling the controllables, authenticity, influence and why leaders need to become more comfortable saying, “I don’t know.” They also discuss designing a life for excellence across work, family, health, friendships and self, rather than allowing success in one area to come at the expense of everything else.

Chris also opens up about how his understanding of resilience has changed, his own struggle with feeling “enough”, and why reaching the top of one ladder led him to choose a new one centred on helping people.

A thoughtful, funny and deeply human conversation about mindset, uncertainty, resilience and one deceptively simple idea: we may not control what happens next, but we can be intentional about the story we tell ourselves about it.