Like a personal trainer provides someone with a weights program, The Wellbeing Trainer provide a wellbeing program that trains your mind to get mentally fit. Luke Harlen’s passion for coaching lead him to discover you have to look after the person before the player, which was the beginning of The Wellbeing Trainer.
Tell us about yourself and The Wellbeing Trainer.
The Wellbeing Trainer helps educate people on what wellbeing is, why we need to train it, and what wellbeing tools are needed to have a thriving life. We deliver informative and proactive presentations highlighting the massive benefits available from training your wellbeing muscles.
The 8 wellbeing exercises we deliver and promote are all backed by research and can all be practiced straightaway. Exactly how a coach or trainer would guide you when you want to lose weight or add some muscle at the gym, The Wellbeing Trainer delivers practical skills so we can all take control of our mental health.
Like anything in life, the most effective way to improve something is to practice it, not just talk about it! Our wellbeing is no different, so instead of more talking and awareness, we provide people with all the latest research on what they need to be doing to get mentally fit and handle life’s ups and downs.
Together with our presentations we provide an 8-week wellbeing journal that walks people through the 8 exercises they can use to grow stronger wellbeing muscles. Essentially like a personal trainer that provides someone with a weights program, we provide a wellbeing program that trains your mind to get mentally fit.
What has been the most challenging aspect of starting/owning The Wellbeing Trainer.
Our main challenge is educating people and business owners on the massive benefits available if they invest in their employees and their wellbeing. The flow on effect from this can be huge. There is a lot of research and data showcasing that if businesses invest in their employees, they will see discretionary effort increase tenfold. Our challenge as The Wellbeing Trainer is to portray that message and give them options on what they should be doing. A lot of businesses know they should be doing more in the mental health space but it’s sometimes hard to know where to start. We provide a service that educates people on what they should be doing if they want to be proactive with their mental health and wellbeing instead of reactive. Why wait until someone has an issue, let’s get on the front foot and be proactive first.
What is a fun fact about yourself?
I really enjoy coaching and trying to get the best out of people. I have been involved in rugby league for over 30 years and love the challenge of coaching young men and seeing them succeed. I’m currently coaching an awesome bunch of guys with the Townsville Blackhawks Mal Meninga side. There is great synergy between the work I do during the day and also the coaching I do at night. First and foremost, you have to look after the person first before the player.
What is the best piece of career or business advice you have ever received?
Feed the hungry. Instead of wasting valuable time and resources with people who are not interested and who generally take up a lot of your time, invest your energy in people who are hungry to learn more. Also, the importance of small consistent habits done daily make a big difference down the track. Generally speaking, the stuff we are teaching and asking people to work on will not take up a lot of their time, but if they change a few things and do them consistently they will see massive benefits in the long run.
Going forward, what is next on the cards for The Wellbeing Trainer?
Our goal for 2024 is to impact 10,000 people with our wellbeing tools and resources. We want to continue spreading the word to whoever will listen and highlight the importance of everyone at least learning about what wellbeing is and the importance of actually practising it. We know we can’t help everyone; all we can do is provide the information and tools so people can help themselves.
Main image – Luke Harlen
Images Credits – All images supplied.
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