Five Minutes After 5 Years (1 - Hobknobs and Happiness Series)
Welcome to a new series - Hobknobs and Happiness
Got a dusty piece of equipment lurking in your house, just waiting for the day you decide to give it a whirl? Well, you’re not alone! This week, we're diving into the hilarious and oh-so-relatable world of pandemic purchases that have turned into glorified furniture. Heather shares her own saga with a rebounder that sat in its box for five long years—yes, five years! But here’s the kicker: it’s not just about the rebounder! It’s all about the stories we tell ourselves, the guilt we carry, and the support we often forget to ask for. So grab a cuppa, kick back, and let’s uncover how a little help can turn a mountain of procrastination into a molehill of action!
The Details:
Picture this: Heather, our host and resident cheerleader, finally faces her nemesis—a rebounder that’s been languishing in its box since the pandemic began. I mean, who hasn’t bought something shiny and new in the hopes of transforming into a fitness guru during lockdown? Spoiler alert: most of us end up with a pile of ‘I’ll get to it later’ clutter! In this episode, we explore the hilarious yet poignant journey of finally getting that rebounder out of the box, with a little help from a friendly neighbour. What starts as a simple task morphs into a deep dive into the narratives we create about time and capability. Heather shares her lightbulb moment—realising that it wasn’t about finding more time, but rather about embracing support. It’s a reminder that sometimes, asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, but a brilliant strategy for moving forward. So, if you’re juggling the weight of unfulfilled aspirations and the guilt of procrastination, join us for a fun chat that’s sure to lift your spirits and maybe even inspire you to tackle your own ‘rebounder’!
Chapters:
- 00:31 - The Stories We Tell Ourselves
- 01:31 - The Struggle to Start: Overcoming Barriers to Action
- 03:30 - Letting Go of Guilt and Asking for Help
- 05:05 - Finding Control in a Noisy World
- 06:11 - Embracing Support and Imperfection
- 07:10 - Wrapping Up the Episode
Takeaways:
- Many of us have items lying around that represent our hopes from the pandemic, like that rebounder gathering dust in the corner. Isn't it funny how those purchases reflect who we thought we wanted to be?
- Heather's experience with her rebounder is a reminder that sometimes we just need a little help to get things done, because asking for support isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a brilliant strategy!
- We often mistake a lack of time for a lack of support. The truth is, it’s not about having more hours in the day, but about having the right people by your side to tackle life's little challenges.
- The anxiety of unfinished tasks can weigh more heavily on us than actually doing them, so let’s drop the guilt and tackle those tasks one small step at a time.
Podcast Details and Links
Heather Masters
Copyright 2026 Heather Masters
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Transcript
Have you got something in your house that's been waiting for you since the pandemic?
Speaker A:Maybe it's a piece of exercise equipment, maybe it's a gadget, a book, a course, a pile of paperwork or some hopeful purchase from three January's ago when it was meant to represent the new you and the new year.
Speaker A:What's the thing you bought with hope and never quite brought into your real life, into your every day?
Speaker A:Stay tuned.
Speaker A:I had one of those moments this week, and what happened next says a lot more about time, support and the stories we tell ourselves.
Speaker A:There's a rebounder standing in my living room today, as of yesterday, and it had spent five years in a box.
Speaker A:I bought it in the pandemic the way a lot of us bought things during the pandemic, as a small act of doing something to keep ourselves occupied.
Speaker A:I could absolutely see the version of me who was lightly bouncing her way through the day, keeping the energy up, staying positive, shifting my physiology, doing all the good, healthy things.
Speaker A:And then real life happened.
Speaker A:So the rebounder sat there in the box for five years.
Speaker A:Five years of I'll do it when I've got time.
Speaker A:Five years of I'll sort it at the weekend.
Speaker A:And if I'm honest, underneath all of that was the bit that I wasn't really admitting to myself.
Speaker A:I can't do this on my own.
Speaker A:So on Sunday, I vacuumed the floor, dragged the thing out of the box for the first time and felt really pleased with myself.
Speaker A:And then I looked at the poles and I looked at how it opened and I gave it a shove and it didn't work.
Speaker A:And I just thought, no, absolutely not.
Speaker A:I can't do it on my own.
Speaker A:So yesterday I borrowed a neighbour's husband five minutes after five years.
Speaker A:And it's standing there now on my crumb covered carpet because obviously the glamorous, soundtracked personal transformation in my house is dog biscuit debris.
Speaker A:And honestly, a weight lifted in my soul.
Speaker A:Not because putting up a rebounder is some great heroic act, but because it wasn't really about the rebounder, it was about the story wrapped around it.
Speaker A:Actually, two stories.
Speaker A:One, I don't have time, and the other, I can't do this on my own.
Speaker A:And this week I realized something really important.
Speaker A:I didn't need more time, I needed support.
Speaker A:And I think for a lot of us, what looks like a time problem is often also a permission problem, a support problem, an identity problem, a story about who we think we have to be the capable one, the strong one, the one who doesn't need help, who can do it on their own.
Speaker A:The one who should be able to work it all out before asking anyone anything.
Speaker A:But the real shift for me wasn't assembling a rebounder.
Speaker A:It was becoming the person who let the thing be simple, who stopped making it difficult, who asked for help, who stopped making it mean something about her, who stopped dragging five years of low level guilt behind one five minute task.
Speaker A:And honestly, I think that's true of so many things in life.
Speaker A:You know, the texts we haven't sent, the letters we never wrote, the email you keep dreading, the conversation you keep rehearsing, the boundary you know you need, the decision you've been circling for weeks or months.
Speaker A:The anxiety is often more exhausting than the thing because we keep holding onto it.
Speaker A:And the holding onto it can be heavier than the doing of it.
Speaker A:Not acting isn't neutral, though often we'd like to believe it is.
Speaker A:It's still energy.
Speaker A:It's just energy heading in the wrong direction.
Speaker A:And while life already feels full of noise, pressure, feeling overwhelming and overstimulating, that matters because then we start living in reaction mode.
Speaker A:We answer every text message like it's urgent.
Speaker A:We check every email like it's a slot machine.
Speaker A:We let texts, calls, notification and everyone else's pace set the rhythm of our day.
Speaker A:And that slowly erodes our own sense of power.
Speaker A:So maybe one of the kindest things we can do for ourselves is begin with what we can actually control.
Speaker A:Not everything, just the next thing, the next small thing.
Speaker A:Maybe that means checking your email three times a day instead of constantly.
Speaker A:Maybe it means telling people in your email signature when you going to reply so expectations are clear again.
Speaker A:You stop training everyone to expect instant access, instant response.
Speaker A:Maybe it means not treating every text like a fire.
Speaker A:Maybe it means taking five minutes before the phone in the morning and letting your day begin with a cup of coffee and peace.
Speaker A:That's my favourite time of the day.
Speaker A:And maybe it means asking for help sooner.
Speaker A:Because support isn't failure.
Speaker A:Support is a strategy.
Speaker A:Support is self respect.
Speaker A:Support is often the thing that gets all the stuck energy moving again.
Speaker A:Real life is messy and designed for imperfection.
Speaker A:How else would we grow?
Speaker A:And that's what this new Kitchen Table series is all about.
Speaker A:Ordinary moments that turn out to be about identity, agency, stress, and the small choices that change everything.
Speaker A:So if there's a question you want me to answer in a future episode or something in your life that feels like it's sitting in the box, send it my way.
Speaker A:And if you're a woman who's ready to step into who you already are ready for support with time, identity, overwhelm and clearer action.
Speaker A:I have two one to one coaching places open this month.
Speaker A:I'll see you at the kitchen table next time and it's your turn to bring the biscuits.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to this week's episode.
Speaker A:If you enjoyed it or think it would be valuable to others, please do share.
Speaker A:And if you really enjoyed it, please leave me a review.
Speaker A:It really helps the podcast.
Speaker A:All of the links are in the show notes and I look forward to seeing you next week on the Choosing Happy Podcast.
Speaker A:Sam.
