From the bestselling author of The Resilience Project comes this deeply personal book about the importance of letting go.
If ever there was a time for us to be resilient, it was when a deadly virus emerged and engulfed the planet. As death rates soared and lockdowns radically altered our lives, The Resilience Project founder Hugh van Cuylenburg was one of the people Australia turned to for advice on how to cope. Under pressure to deliver good news during a historic crisis, it didn’t take long for the Melbourne-based educator to realise he wasn’t coping.
Like millions of others around the world, Hugh was forced to reassess life during the pandemic as COVID-19 undermined our sense of safety, strangled our personal connections and saw levels of happiness plunge. After taking the time to address his own feelings, Hugh recognised he was being hamstrung by the same powerful issues that affect the lives of many: shame, expectation, ego, fear of failure, the quest for perfection and control, and our addiction to social media.
In this follow-up to the bestselling The Resilience Project: Finding happiness through gratitude, empathy and mindfulness, Hugh combines powerful insight with research and his own disarming and candid storytelling to show how it is possible to create authentic connections, cope better during challenging times and rediscover joy.
About the Author
Hugh van Cuylenburg has been working in education for more than 17 years, teaching both primary and secondary in a range of educational settings. He has completed postgraduate studies looking at resilience and wellbeing, and has developed and facilitated programs for more than a thousand schools Australia-wide. In 2015, the National Rugby League asked Hugh to design and implement a series of comprehensive workshops at every single club in the competition. Since then, he has worked with the Australian cricket team, the Australian netball team, the Australian women’s soccer team, the Australian women's rugby league team, ten AFL teams, the Australian Olympic Committee and every soccer team in the A-League. Beyond the team environment, Hugh has worked one-on-one with individuals such as Steve Smith, Billy Slater and Dustin Martin.Outside of schools and elite sport, Hugh has presented to hundreds of corporate organisations as a keynote speaker, and for three years running his national speaking tour has sold out. He is also co-host of the popular podcast The Imperfects.