TURIA PITT’S KEY TO HAPPINESS
THE AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR, ATHLETE, MINDSET COACH AND NOW MUM-OF-TWO HAS OVERCOME MORE OBSTACLES THAN MOST – HERE, SHE SHARES HER KEY TO HAPPINESS …
“Practising gratitude lead to a big mental shift for me”
By anyone’s standards, Turia Pitt has had an exceptional year. She entered 2020 fearing her home on New South Wales’ South Coast would be engulfed by the catastrophic bushfires. Pitt, 33, was heavily pregnant with her second child at the time, and she was also due to deliver the manuscript for her fifth book. “It was pretty crazy,” she understates during a phone interview with WHO. “I look back now and that time feels like a dream.”
Thankfully, the home Pitt shares with her fiancé, Michael Hoskin, and sons Hakavai, who’ll turn 3 on December 7, and Rahiti, seven months, survived the flames – and her book Happy and other ridiculous aspirations is out now, too.
“I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved this year,” she says. Here, she talks us through her non-negotiables when it comes to happiness – even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles – and dishes on life as a new mum with two children under three. “In a nutshell? It’s chaos,” she laughs.
Are you actually Superwoman? How did you meet your book deadline and juggle a new baby and a toddler?
With help, to be fair. Michael is a super hands-on dad and we have family nearby, too. But it was pretty crazy. I submitted the book’s manuscript, then my home town almost burned down.
So then I rewrote the book to reflect that experience with the bushfires – and then a global pandemic broke out. So I sat down and wrote about that, too. I pretty much crystal-balled to release a book on how to get happy just after a major natural disaster and a pandemic.
Has your new baby boy settled in?
He’s great – he’s very sweet but he’s my little late bloomer. He’s not crawling yet and he doesn’t have any teeth, so he still looks like a cute little baby. He’s had to fit right in with us because when you have two kids, the chaos certainly ramps up. For me, the chaos and mess that comes with having two kids was a little hard to handle at first, but I’ve kind of given up on worrying about that now otherwise you’re fighting a losing battle. I’ve accepted it and learned not to be so stressed about the state of the house or what we’re eating, and I just try to be present in the moment with the kids. Michael and I learned early on that with a toddler also, it’s best to get him outside to burn off the energy, otherwise by 8am we’re all bouncing off the walls.
Did you take advice from your book when it comes to managing life with two kids?
I actually talk a lot in the book about having hard days. You can’t have good days without having hard days to compare them to, right? I think it can be really refreshing to just sit and own it, and say, “Today’s a s--t day but tomorrow will be better,” and that’s OK.
What are your go-tos if you’re having a rough day?
I’ll find time for a workout if I can, or I’ll eat ice cream – anything Ben and Jerry’s works for me. I also try to watch as much Netflix as I can when the kids are in bed. And I need to remember that even the queen (aka Beyoncé) has days when she has self-doubts and doesn’t love herself. It’s surprising how helpful that can be to remember. How would you describe your new book and what do you want readers to take from it? I think when you’re writing in the self-help space, there can be a tendency for it all to be very serious. My book’s about happiness so I wanted to inject a bit of humour and lightheartedness into it. Taking the p--s is good! I think feeling that way can make us happy, too. More seriously though, I talk about how practising gratitude and really reflecting on things that I’m grateful for lead to a big mental shift for me. We’re wired to think about things that aren’t going well in our lives. So when you consciously shift that focus and look for things that you can be grateful for and appreciate the people in your life who you know will show up for you, then that can help you get into a positive mindset.
What things do you do daily to keep a positive attitude?
I make my bed every day! Michael sent me a YouTube clip that reveals making your bed every morning can lead to a more productive and happier day so I do that every morning now. I think it sets the tone for your day. If you can do that, maybe you can also drink those two litres of water and go for that 20-minute walk and maybe even have that difficult conversation with your boss. It’s like a keystone habit from which other good habits can grow and develop.
You’ve got a busy schedule with work and two kids. How important is it for you and your partner to make time for each other?
I think it’s so important, but it doesn’t have to involve big, grand gestures. Michael and I haven’t had a lot of date nights yet since Rahiti’s still small. But when we do get time on our own, we’re finding that we always talk about the kids. I’ve heard that it’s bad to do that but I don’t see it that way. The kids are our shared project, like a house renovation. Not that I’m comparing our boys to a house reno, but they’re our passion project who we both really love so I’m fine with talking about the boys with Michael anytime. Would you like to have more kids?
Not right now. We’re kind of in the thick of things at the moment and just getting through each day. It’s full on with two young boys. Michael and I will, if we have the actual energy, do a high five together when they’re both in bed at night. If we’re too exhausted, then we just look at each other and know we’re sharing a mental high five.
How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted your work and life?
I’m lucky because when I’m writing I can do that anywhere. I’m also happy that I’m not travelling as much at the moment. I love it but it’s been good to have a break as well. It’s actually been a really good time to have another baby. I did have big plans to run a marathon in Tahiti later this year, but that’s not happening now. It’s OK though. I feel really lucky to be here with my healthy boys at home on the beautiful south coast of New South
Wales – I’m very happy.
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“I just try to be present in the moment with the kids” – PITT