So people think the government's work placement scheme is unfair and consequently businesses are pulling out. Am I alone as a youth worker in thinking that there is lots of merit in it? At the xpand Life College, we see placements as being an integral part of young people learning what it is like to be at work, even when that work is not what they ultimately want to spend their whole career doing. They learn the essence of professionalism, workplace etiquette, social competence and they get practice of getting up every morning and showing up. They don't get paid for it but recognise that there is merit in it for them and so they carry on going. Some of them enjoy it too but they all learn from it.
Now I'll admit I haven't delved deep into the detail of the scheme and am merely shooting my mouth off based on what I have heard on the radio today, and Radio 1 at that but my thoughts are:
1) It sounds like some of the people who are receiving money from the government because they are seeking a job, are complaining that they have to do work while they wait for their job to appear. Surely if they just want to sit around and do nothing then they technically aren't seeking very hard and merely sponging.
2) Can people not see that in the current climate a job of any description, voluntary, placement, low-paid or whatever is a better stepping stone to the next job than doing nothing? A hole on your CV never looks impressive.
3) There seems to be a complaint that if they choose to leave their placement then they get their benefit cut off. Is that not good practice for the way it is in proper work? I'm guessing the rules are the same as when I last signed on that if you leave a job voluntarily you can't claim benefit immediately. Making the rules similar for these placements would provide another source of learning from experience that if you can't stand the heat and decide to get out of the kitchen then you shouldn't expect Nanny State to come and bail you out immediately.
It seems many employers are crying out for workers with more resilience, who are willing to work hard and possibly even get their hands dirty but who above all are able to conform to the ways of working that our society requires. They want people who are willing to be part of a team who all pull together rather than individuals who are merely out for personal gain; rights without responsibilities. Surely these are things that people will gain from work placements.
I certainly wouldn't condone employers taking advantage of these job seekers, which I can imagine does happen occasionally, but I also don't want to see society lapsing into a state where everyone is happy to shirk any responsibility that might come their way in the hope that someone else will provide financially for them.
I will end now and prepare for teaching the Life College students about resilience - it'll be hard but I expect them to thank me for it later.

Have you ever made a hard decision to do something, only for the opportunity to be wrested away from you by incidents or accidents outwith your control? It happened to me this week and it made me realise that how we respond to happenings like this is important to how well we get on in life.

Winter is coming and for me, as an Outdoor Life Coach working in Scotland, that means a few more days choosing to work inside and fewer out in the cold and wet. It is also a time when I re-examine my fitness levels and see what work needs to be done there. Consequently, early on Monday morning I was down at the Riverside to get some much-needed exercise. It was not an easy decision to make because I knew that after months of unhealthy-eating and exercise avoidance, the first few sessions would be hard. It wasn't even an easy first step to make; 6:30am is looking dark and cold these days and my bed is definitely comfy. Despite the odds though, I made it to the gym.

Some of you will know what's coming and others can guess; the gym was closed due to a lack of water. I was a little deflated and gently frustrated.

I had a choice in my reaction. It would have been easy to say 'its not to be', taken a fatalistic attitude, never visiting the gym again! It sounds daft in this instance but its incredible how often people allow themselves to be deflected when the first obstacle appears. How easily dreams can slip away into the dark of the morning and be lost forever.

Despite the prospect of early pain, I was still determined and my reaction instead was to turn up on Wednesday morning with renewed determination. I have built a motivating picture of being better and fitter and that enticed me onwards, making me want to try again.

It seems our society is becoming increasingly less resilient - when the chips are down it just seems easier to give in and walk away than it is to persevere and win the prize that we have set our hearts on. As prelims approach at the Grammar and studying has to be done, its easy to cast aside dreams of a good future for an easy now. Likewise as adults we can see the effort that it takes today and decide that its too much. Alternatively, we can look further ahead, to the dream we have always wanted to realise and stick with our decision to go for it. This summer I have heard many people say, "Oh, just man up" and I suspect we need to take their advice to get back on track and achieve our success.

"Hard and happy are not contradictory"- Judith Buelz

This was a quote from earlier in the day when we were talking about challenging tasks in the Life College and I Iiked it so much I felt I had to share it.

For me it sums up a positive attitude to tackling challenges that we probably would all benefit from acquiring a little more of, but maybe we can only do that with hindsight. If we more easily accepted that some things are worth doing despite being hard or hurting a little, we might not back away so often. Particularly with the younger generation, but with adults as well, I notice people trying something once and if they are not instantly successful then they give up and walk away. Admittedly some of the blame for that lies with the culture of instant gratification that enveloped us but a lot of it is a lack of resilience and an inability to suffer for our longer term good. Just look at footballers writhing around after a bit of a kicking if you need an example.

So how do we cultivate this attitude some more?

Stop and reflect on all the successful things you have done in your life, the things you are most proud of, maybe things that other people recognised or rewarded you for. How many of those were easy and painless? My guess is, very few of them. Most of the memories that evoke pride in us are related to moments when we had to strive to achieve, when times were hard and we were made to work for our success. If you have  photos of some of these moments, it would be worth retrieving them now. They are the evidence that hard work does pay off, that a little suffering is not always wasted. Granted, suffering for your art, or whatever, does not guarantee success. But giving up does guarantee failure.

Lance Armstrong, the multiple Tour de France winner writes that pain is temporary but quitting is forever. I have taken this on as something of mantra when things have been physically tough. But I think I might replace it now with

"Hard and happy are not contradictory!"

Following a wet trip to Dubrovnik, I found myself pondering resilience once more. The video poses the question, "Can we become more resilient?" - if you want some pointers on that, then leave me a message.