The Wellbeing 5 Project
Dave Cottrell
Mindset by Dave
The Mental Wellbeing 5
5 Simple Questions to help with mental wellbeing with answers from Experts, Thought Leaders, Campaigners & Advocates
Dave Cottrell
Dave is an award winning mental health educator, mindset coach, twitch streamer, podcast host and the creator of, “Mindset by Dave”
Mindset by Dave incorporates Dave’s website, Twitch stream and Youtube channel. He hosts mental health marathons, interviews and podcasts to support mental health. He is on a mission to positively impact the world of mental health.
Dave is a qualified personal trainer and has additional qualifications in nutrition and mindset. He helps people to find their purpose, their passion, their why.
Find out more about Dave here
The Mental Wellbeing 5 with Dave Cottrell
1. What is your favourite quote, anecdote, proverb or experience that helps with mental wellbeing?
Dave: This Too Shall Pass. I know this one is a bit of a cliche, but as someone who lives with bipolar disorder it can be very easy to get stuck in the “this is forver” mindset around depression. I didn’t learn this quote to my early 30s and it changed my relationship with my condition drastically.
2. What is your top piece of advice for mental wellbeing?
Dave: I encourage people to write what I call a “take out menu” this is a list of things that YOU know help with your mental wellbeing because the best piece of advice is the one that we accept, we are more likely to commit to something WE have decided for ourselves. I call it the take out menu because I want there to be many items on this list and if you look at it like a to-do list then it becomes another source of stress; when we look at a take out menu we don’t feel the need to do the entire menu, we just pick something and enjoy a meal.
3. What is the one change in the world that you would like to see? (in your area of wellbeing or in the world in general or both)
Dave: I would like to see more people understanding their value for what it really is. Daily we are confronted by either mean people who have an over-inflated sense of their place in this world OR more commonly we meet wonderful people who are unable to see their own amazing-ness. Imagine a world with people who were able to be as kind to themselves as they were to others!
4. Which resources (books / websites / videos etc) for wellbeing would you recommend?
Dave: The most valuable books to me have been Johan Hari’s Lost Connections and Grtchen Rubin’s The 4 Tendencies. There’s also a somewhat contraversionally named “You Are Not Depressed – Stop It” video by Prince EA. There’s no one size fits all in these things but this video really helps me.
5. What’s the one thing that always makes you smile?
Dave: Hugging my kids, especially now as they grow into young men and are a little more self conscious about physical affection. On the rare occassion I get a hug from both of them it is truly amazing!
Bonus Question! Is there anything else pertinent you would like to add to the conversation?
Dave: We don’t guilt ourselves into greatness. We think that by beating ourselves up about our short comings it will make us do better next time. But it doesn’t (for 99/100 of us) it just makes us feel worse and then leaves us unmotivated to do the things we are already struggling with. We instinctively know how to encourage others, turn some of that back on yourself!
Further Exploration - Dave Cottrell
Website: Mindset by Dave
Dave's website providing information about him, his story, what he does, the mindset coaching he offers and podcast highlights
Twitch: Mindset by Dave
Dave's Twitch Stream where he is on a mission to positively impact the world of mental health. In Dave's words, "I'm not here to TELL you how good I am, I'm here to SHOW you how good YOU are!"
YouTube: Mindset by Dave
Dave's Youtube channel containing his "You Are Enough - A Motivational Poem" along with "Quick Fire Mindset & Mental Health", "Mental Health", "Metal Health Family Hour", "Animations", "Month of Mindset" and "Popular Uploads" videos
Social Media - Follow Dave & Mindset by Dave
More Mental Wellbeing 5 Interviews Below
More Mental Wellbeing 5 Interviews
With answers from experts, thought leaders, advocates and campaigners to help with mental wellbeing