NORTHERN PLANNER

Before I was old enough to do swim races, I was dragged along most weekends to watch my older sisters do it. Whole Saturdays sat by a pool, sometimes Sunday's too. 

I became professional at packing a bag to keep myself occupied. Books, Star Wars comics, pad and pencils for endless drawings. I was a quiet little boy, happy with his own company when forced. Sometimes I would just sit and daydream. 

Nevertheless, I still got bored. Not just on these endless weekends. 

The younger ones among you may not believe this, but once upon a time there was no internet, only 3 television channels, no mobile phones. 

Even with all the playing, the endless Star Wars role-plays, the books devoured, the cavalier risks taken on building sites on our BMX bikes, all the tennis, myself and my friends were bored.

I can remember impatiently waiting for the A-Team to come on every Friday. For the Sunday reveal of who was number one in the music charts.

Even in my twenties, we still got bored. Train journeys without mobiles or laptops meant lots of reading, it also entailed staring out the window. 

We don't get bored these days. We rarely have to deal with the discomfort of not being stimulated. 

When was the last time you were alone without your phone? 

I think this matters. Don't get me wrong, the past was not better. Shops closed on a Wednesday afternoon, popular culture was a bit racist and a lot sexist, the food was a lot worse, Margaret Thatcher ran the country. 

But being bored is a lost art, especially if you want to survive in an agency as a planning type. 

Because it's about confidence. 

Not the bollocks charisma and pretending to be someone you're not.

Having the foundations to withstand the knockbacks, the 'difficult characters', the stress, the uncertainty. 

Being able to put your best work in front of others and have it torn to shreds. 

It's also the secret to being good in meetings and presenting. 

Being yourself, not putting on a show, simply creating belief in others because you belief in yourself and what you're doing. 

The confidence to not be a dick, to be wrong sometimes, to listen to others. To not have to fucking win all the time.

Strategy people don't have to be right, they don't have to be the cleverest (don't forget, no one likes a smart-arse). 

They need to liberate the best in others. It takes self-confidence to sacrifice yourself to make others look good. 

The sure way to improve your confidence is to know who are and be happy with it. 

You need to be able to like yourself, your positives and your very real flaws. 

You need to spend time with yourself to get to this point. 

You have to get bored. 

So you can hear your mind, so you can truly know who you are. 

How you do it is up to you.

Running, gardening, knitting, baking or just sitting down for 20 minutes a day doing nothing. 

Spending time on your own, without distraction is the key.

I can also say that, in tough years like this (and mine has certainly be less than straightforward).

The more solid your foundations, the less likely the storm will blow you away.