This page is about why Actfullness was created, the brand values and use of AI.
Act with full awareness
The name Actfullness represents the core idea of the brand:
Act with full awareness.
What Actfullness is now
Actfullness is a developing body of work about reacting less, responding more deliberately and living in closer alignment with what matters to you.
It exists for people who want to understand why they think, feel and behave the way they do, and who care about self-mastery, honesty and deliberate action.
The ideas on this site came from lived experience, but they are intended to be useful beyond my own story. If they help you understand yourself more clearly and choose your behaviour more consciously, they are doing their job.
Why Actfullness was created
Actfullness began as a place for me to write and understand how my mind worked. There was no real context or specific goal, it was just a blog of short thoughts.
In that process, I recognised that I used a protocol of one direction and two behaviours. I followed it as a dad, runner, partner and colleague, so I decided to document what is now called The Direction Protocol.
I then realised that I used the protocol, but not consistently. I was still reacting more in life than responding. Then during my separation and work redundancy, The Decision Maker emerged, but I didn’t realise it had already started to form when I was a child.
Where The Decision Maker came from
The Willing was always my prominent force and if I feel safe, it still is to this day.
The Warrior developed fiercely from age 7 to 25. It came from a traumatic childhood where I needed to grow up quickly, and create a force to make sure I built a stable environment for myself and my loved ones. Over the years my Warrior was more dominant as I developed relentless drive and focus. But its fuel was anger, pain of abandonment and a mission to prove others wrong. It got me pretty far, but it also created space between me and others as a protection mechanism.
My Wise was always developing, but I didn’t recognise it until my early 40s when my marriage came to an end, followed by losing my jobs and time with my kids.
The circumstances shone a light on my two sides as I struggled to stay upright and swung between my Warrior and Willing. But my Wise stood up and took control. It took time for it to be my consistent force, but it created balance in the moment and helped me make clear decisions, rooted in my values, under huge pressure. That pressure continued for over 2 years, which gave me the chance to establish and embed it.
What keeps Actfullness steady
- Honesty in thoughts and perspectives. Even if it’s a difficult subject.
- Low ego in what Actfullness is and what is shared. Opinion, even when based on fact, is largely a matter of how you see things. There is huge value in seeing things differently and not always getting things right the first time.
- Iteration of what is created. The more we learn, the deeper we get. That means our views evolve, and therefore so does what we share.
- Simplicity and depth. Some articles are quite in-depth, and that’s because our audience are thinkers. They value time well spent, and content that strengthens us is worth the time. Simplicity within that depth helps make ideas and thoughts land.
- Deliberate work. There have been times when speed has taken hold at the cost of the action that’s been most purposeful.
The use of AI
The content on Actfullness is all created by a human. AI is used to help challenge ideas, source helpful reference points, shape structure and proofread.