Meet Suzy

A New Me.

From Heartbreak and a Pandemic to running Marathons & Performing Music live. Suzy Harvey sure has Fire, and Forte.

“I’m a different person now”

Moving countries is a rather big move. Away from family and friends it’s both daunting and exciting. Suzy made the move from New Zealand to Australia looking forward to a new city. A year later, her marriage broke down and two weeks after that, lockdown was announced. Could there be a worse time to be away from home?

“I remember thinking ‘This is not how I see my life going. Big fat No.’ I was in a bad head space.”

The big fat no led Suzy to decide to run a marathon “I didn’t care if I had to be carried over the finish line, I was going to do it”.

The other commitment she made was equally bold. “Music had become a small part of who I was in my relationship, it had been squished. But it was a big part of who I used to be. I decided that I would find a way to get out there. ‘I will perform, and I will perform at least one gig’.”

“I am going to do this” 

Suzy got a trainer for the marathon and stopped drinking “It was a lifestyle change”.

This was lockdown, so an exceptionally isolating time. “I was lucky to have a running crew who were in the same position, we’d meet at the park. Without that access to humans I’d have been on my own in a giant city completely alone. I couldn’t see family, I had to find a way through. Running became my new thing”.

However, Suzy had a serious amount of distance to cover. A race booked & goal to hit. Persisting meant overcoming some mental hurdles – making way for some real transformation bigger than just her fitness.

“The very first time I hit 30 km’s, I felt really bad after the run. The next day I felt really emotional, and I cried constantly…. for hours, over nothing. I was not sure why I was feeling so bad”.

“It was like feeling bereft, but I wasn’t sure what for, which made it worse”.

Suzy spoke to another girl doing the same training plan. There was almost some relief when she agreed ‘me too, I can’t stop crying’. Ok, this must be the running then.

“The next run was the hardest run, my legs wouldn’t work, I couldn’t breathe properly & suffered through it for 8 kms. I finished and was still crying. But it was an internal battle”

“As long as you continue, get back on and do your next run, you break through it. Now, it’s a crazy thing to have gone through as it got me through that barrier”.

Suzy ran the race and loved it “I look far too happy for someone who has just ran 42 kms. It was the best run of my life”

“Once you’ve done it, you’re UNSTOPPABLE”

Running a marathon however was only one of her self-set goals. Suzy needed to dig deep into that determination if she was going to perform a music gig.

In the same way that 42 kms ain’t no walk in the park, Suzy was faced with the fact that nobody had socialised for over a year, including herself.

“Jumping up and playing music to a group of people is one thing, but when you’ve not even been in a crowd for so long due to a pandemic, well it’s a different beast!”

However, training for a marathon had built a mental resilience. She had the proof now that she could face into something scary, and do it, and feel great about it. The mindset was primed and ready.

“Once you have ran 42 kms you think ‘of course I can just stand here and perform music’.”

And out she went, with her new partner, playing at first in a local market, and then onto her first gig.

“I don’t think I have the confidence to perform, but I do it anyway, performing music isn’t about you the performer, it’s about the audience and the impact you can have on them”.

And when she saw a 2-year-old stop and stare in awe, dropping his mum’s hand to listen and watch in pure joy at this sound, she was reminded of the great impact music can have, on herself and others.

“Music unlocked a whole new bigger and brighter part of me. Everything you can do can relate to this, the connections it helps create - especially coming out of a pandemic when you have felt so disconnected and isolated”.

“It fills your soul”

So how have these experiences shaped her world view now? What about stress at work, has the mental resilience translated into her work life too?

“It’s helped in every aspect, not taking shit from a real estate or landlord for example. You can get so tired with work and life you let people get away with things but now I don’t”.

And when working across two large businesses in a complex post-Covid environment? “They can keep coming at you, but as long as you keep yourself strong and healthy in the middle, the pressure doesn’t become overbearing”

To maintain this, keep a mindful eye on the people in your life advises Suzy.

“The people you choose to associate with - if they’re not building your light, if they’re trying to dim your light – for me it’s a really easy “no thank you”

And the other thing, is reducing alcohol to help hit these goals “I don’t drink much now. It doesn’t agree with me”.

“I can dance all night, but I can’t drink all night”

Wise words. To have achieved all of this, it seems there is a lot to be said for being at your lowest ebb, in order to get to your highest point. 

And that mental clarity can even help you write a song, if you’re Suzy. “I went for a run, and it just clicked, I thought ‘this is what we need to do’. We’ve recorded it since”.

I reckon that one will be a banger. Amazing Suzy, that is one impressive turnaround.