What we have

I watched a programme recently where a man had made a contraption that captures methane from compost which he and his family then used for cooking. The contraption was made from all sorts of bits that he had salvaged and saved; the whole thing made for free from apparently nothing!

I’m not sure if I’d feel that resourceful. But the story did make me wonder if I may have more resources available to me than I think. Let me explain…

Taking stock

The last couple of years will have taken away resources from us, and given us some new ones. Taking stock of what we have is important; we might be trying to do too much with what we have or not be making the most of something we do have.

Noting our reality can be helpful in maximising our resources to the benefit of ourselves and others. It’s about doing a ‘stock check’ so we know what we have to ‘play’ with.

Taking a stock check

of the resources we have available to us may be a helpful task in knowing what we have to ‘play’ with.

Resources can take forms…

Financial: the money we have at our disposal

Assets: the items we have; our homes, our equipment, our belongings.

Time: we will all have time commitments that are non-negotiable and time available we have some choice over

Skills: the things we’ve learnt to do well through a mixture of innate ability and practise

Character traits: the way we naturally approach things

Experiences: the things we’ve been through, and the things we’ve learnt from them

Knowledge: those subjects we know ‘stuff’ about

Influence: the people who listen to our opinion, advice or direction

Relationships: the people who support, encourage and help us

Inner: the energy, wisdom and perspective we draw upon to keep us going

So, this week, we’re inviting you to note what you have, and in particular note any changes to these things that have occurred. Take some time to jot down some thoughts about each of the resources listed above.

  • I wonder what are you more resourced to do than you were pre-pandemic?

  • I wonder what you are less resourced to do than you were pre-pandemic?

  • I wonder if you have any underused resources?

  • I wonder if there are resources that are too stretched?

  • I wonder what further resources you can access? 

This article is written by Ben Harper. You can continue the conversation with him on Twitter @wellbeingteach