Happiful February 2020

Dan raised more than
£15,000 for CALM with
his Rome to Home project
Whatever you may be going
through right now, just
remember this – that when
suffering finds meaning, it
ceases to be suffering
counsellors who guided
me through the rocky
waters, I stripped it all
back and started again.
I mean I really stripped
it all back! We’re talking
ridding myself of physical
possessions and clutter,
the apps on my phone,
email subscriptions,
unimportant
responsibilities, negative
relationships… anything
that was getting in the
way of the five things that
truly mattered most: my
health (both mental and
physical), relationships,
passions, growth, and
being in service to other
people.
See, this is the part where
I was forced to ask myself
the biggest questions in
life, namely what truly
matters most. And it really
started working.
Clearing away life’s
excess, so I could
concentrate as much of my
time, energy, and focus on
these five light bulb areas,
really started to work
for me. So much so that,
by 2013, I was going out
in public again, back in
employment, socialising,
and being open about my
experiences to others, and
I was being asked to share
my story.
And three incredible
things started to happen.
I felt lighter every time I
shared my story. I started
building an even greater
support network around
me. And on pretty much
every occasion, sharing
my story gave permission
for others to share theirs.
This was truly gamechanging.
And I knew I
had to do something more
with this.
So, what better way
to give permission to
hundreds of others to
speak up about their
experiences with their
mental health than by
creating a huge project
and platform to do so?
What if – five years on
from the motorway
incident – I were to take
on a big running challenge
to share my story on a
national scale? What if I
returned to Italy, but this
time, instead of losing
my sh*t, I were to run –
solo and self-supported
– 1,250 miles from the
Colosseum in Rome back
to the London Eye? In that
58 • happiful.com • February 2020