Grace Marshall is a real breath of fresh air; I met her not long after I returned from my final maternity in 2013 before The Balance Collective was even a grain of an idea! We connected at a local leadership group, and I was blown away by her approach to productivity. She was honest about how it doesn’t come naturally to her, but over the years she has developed insights, tools and techniques to become one of the leading coaches, trainers, speaker and writers on that very topic! So when I knew that her latest book was being published in 2021, it’s was a given that “Struggle”* would be added to the list!
As “Head Coach and Chief Encourager”, Grace “helps people adopt new ways of working and thinking about their work to replace stress, overwhelm and frustration with success, sanity and satisfaction!” Her previous, award-winning, books, have very much focused on practical actions to improve productivity. However, Struggle* is a change in the tone of the usual books you get on this topic. With a subtitle of “The surprising truth, beauty and opportunity are hidden life’s sh*tter moments”, you know it’s a book for the times!
“Struggling? You’re in the right place. In a world that is obsessed with fast hacks, quick wins, and Instagram-perfection (cue ‘Everything is Awesome’), struggling has become taboo. A sign that something’s gone horribly wrong. But what if we’ve got it all wrong about getting it wrong?
I found the book quite philosophical at times, very different to the instructive nature of her earlier work. I feel that this encourages self-reflection when it comes to understanding where we are in life right now, rather than immediately moving to “take more action”. It sits very comfortably alongside some of the other recent book club reads, including “Burnout”, “A Toolkit for Modern Life and “How to Fail”, We also can’t take away the life-changing impact of living and working through a global pandemic; Struggle encourages us to see what we have learned from every struggle and to not run away from the experience.
So, without further ado, here are the five things that I have taken away from Struggle:
- Productivity isn’t always activity
I LOVE this quote from page 108 “productivity is knowing when to work and when to let the work breathe.” We have all been primed to think we need to be in motion or always producing something tangible. Sometimes our best work or ideas are created when we step away from work and place our attention elsewhere. We have all been there, pushing through low energy, stress, or distraction; sometimes the best way to be productive is to STOP!
- Pay attention to fear but don’t let it control you
Marshall talks about the power of fear and using that emotion to highlight when we want something. Whilst fear can get in our way, understanding WHAT and WHY we are feeling fear can help motivate us to focus on what is important. As she quite sagely states “avoiding something doesn’t make it disappear”.
- Being messy isn’t a problem
Messiness is curiosity. Messiness is finding the solutions in alternatives. Messiness is fun! Whilst we all know that there is a point (and sometimes pleasure) in order, there are real moments of clarity and innovation when we start looking at things in a new way. Don’t believe me? Read Struggle then read “Messy” by Tim Harford and I know it will change your perspective!
- Streamlining takes the essence out of work and life!
I’ve been guilty of trying to become more efficient, getting things done quicker, and being driven to thinking multitasking is the key to EVERYTHING! However, we have to consider when we create these shortcuts, what are we removing? Is it attention, quality, creativity, time to think? Consider the mantra “efficiency or deficiency”? This works in your personal and professional life!
- Post-traumatic growth can come from struggle
I first came across this concept when researching my book, in the context of bereavement, but as researchers find out more about human resilience, it’s shown to be in all areas of our lives. Simply, we grow, develop and learn after each significant struggle in our lives. We review our priorities and consider the new skills we have from what we have gone through.
Hopefully, you have uncovered so much in just these five points. Image what else you will gain insight into once you have completed the book! It’s really one to add to the personal development shelf, as you can dip in and out as you see fit. Whilst I would love to be able to wave a magic wand and remove the chance of stumbles in your path of life, in reality you will come across your struggles. Grab this book to help you prepare, whilst learning from your past.
I was lucky enough to interview Grace recently. Watch it here!
If you like this review, then check out the previous book club titles on the blog.
The monthly book club chats happen in Creating Career to Enjoy; the rest of the time it’s a place to support you to create a career to enjoy not endure! We’d love it if you could join us!
*The book club links are affiliate links. Should you click and purchase, I may get a small commission, but it won’t cost you anything extra!
Clara Wilcox is a straight talking, practical and experienced coach helping clients navigate the tricky waters of returning to work, career changes and professional development. The Balance Collective is a social enterprise focused on improving the lives of parents, by working together to build inner confidence and promote a healthy work/life balance.
