From Nerves to Inspiration: My Unexpected Journey Inside HMP Magilligan

Last week I did something that I never thought I’d do

I spend the day in a prison

HMP Magilligan to be precise

Was invited in by one of the governors to hopefully give the guys in there some inspiration on how to turn their lives around

BUT..

It didn’t go to plan

For a start… I felt a LOT of nerves just going in

I wasn’t sure what to expect… I’d never been in jail before

So it was VERY new

I felt all of the unpleasant emotions

Uncertainty
Unfamiliarity
Fear
Self Doubt
A crisis of confidence
Nerves

All of them…

Not just that…

But the projector didn’t work.. which meant I didn’t have any slides to show the lads what I meant

THEN, my laptop didn’t work.. .so I have no references for where I was at

Then the first 10 minutes?

HARDEST TALK I’VE DONE SINCE I STARTED

You see, the lads had NEVER seen anyone like me… a speaker, a presenter

I even asked them who knew what a life coach was and not a single hand went up

Just a load of big, scary looking dudes staring at me NOT impressed

Sheeeesssh

I’m feeling those emotions again just typing this (mad how that happens)

But I gotta tell you this

As I went on, I could see their heads start to lift, their postures change, their shoulders go back and their eyes light up

And of course, we get some smiles and laughs too (just took a while for us all to get warmed up to each other)

Shit, the energy in the room >>

DID A COMPLETE 180 degrees

It was AMAZING

There was even a queue of felllaz waiting to shake my hand and thank me when we got done

But to top it all off?

I got a tour of the jail and ending up spending half an hour in the yard with the lads offering advice and telling stories

And I’ve done a lot of talks all over the world… a lot of talks for mental health charities

But this one felt special

Like something had been activated inside of me

I felt fullfillled, grateful, appreciative, inspired and PROUD

Unreal man,

The lesson?

There’s NO CHANCE I’d have felt those incredible positive feelings and emotions

WITHOUT going through the ones at the start

I’ll repeat it

WITHOUT pushing through the self doubt, the nerves and the fear

I COULD NOT have felt the gratitude, the inspiration and the pride

Because the truth is…

ALL OF THE THINGS YOU’RE LOOKING for… are on the other side of those unpleasant emotions

The powerful emotions you seek are on the other side of. The emotions you’re avoiding

So stop ‘sitting on the fence’
Stop ‘waiting for the right time’
Stop ‘dipping your toe in’
Stop ‘doing your research’

And dive into the deep end

THATS HOW YOU LEARN TO SWIM