FIVE years ago Garth Russell and his wife Susie found themselves reduced to a lesser version of themselves.
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"We have both been running our own businesses and we were fairly depleted energy wise and health wise ourselves because of the stress of doing that in the same house," says Garth, a former radio announcer and corporate speaker. "We drew a line in the sand to start finding ways to improve our health and wellbeing."
Susie, an educator with 25 years' experience in corporate training and relationship management, says the couple made simple, daily changes in mindset and nutrition.
"The biggest one for me was self-care: putting me at the top of the list. Because looking after children, family, husband and partners is taxing. Even our businesses were coming first," she says.
The realisation that they could be approaching their lives differently, alongside the knowledge they were not alone in feeling burnout and stress, was the impetus for the Russells to launch Well Beings & Co. It combines the couple's lengthy career experience to help people boost their wellbeing, happiness and prosperity.
Well Beings & Co works with individuals and companies to "turn human beings into well beings" via teambuilding workshops, motivational presentations and individual coaching programs.
The Russells say it is not difficult for both employers and employees to make small changes to create sustainable habits for greater wellbeing, leading to more productivity and satisfaction.
"The reason people don't start to do that is they are overwhelmed," Susie says.
The Russells offer perspective to help clients make better life decisions. "We have done so much work on ourselves in personal development, and we've found a way to package a message clearly," says Garth. "We are trying to unshackle the weight, people are dragging their way through and we are trying to lighten the load."
Adds Susie: "We get swept up with the distractions and that's where I come back to having control over your time. We all get the same 24 hours in a day. It's what we do with it that counts."
"Madly" in love after 15 years, the couple say communication remains their secret weapon.
"We don't hold back with how we feel so we have also learned to care about how the other person feels - you never assume your day has been hardest," says Garth.
"But the secret in the communication skill to all of this is listening to understand each other. Actually hearing each other," says Susie.
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