I did not nail it this week whatsoever!

Once again, I say I’m writing this. I’m not. I’m talking this into my Notes app (as per) whilst driving home from Bedfordshire, where I’m en route back from a really gorgeous VIP dinner I was invited to by my most excellent and very lovely mentor Lisa Johnson. What a joy and a great pleasure to sit along with Lisa and 8 other inspiring heart-led women, all making an impact through their passions in the online and offline business world. Sharing our real-life stories, how we got where we are and all working to help each other get our messages and impacts out into the world. Little me having created all these opportunities and genuine connections. Still blows my mind.

It’s funny when you meet people in the online business world. Often you already follow each other, due to mutual connections, so you kind of know each other in some way, but you also don’t at all!

It’s massively heart-warming to hear what people take from the work you do. Hilariously to me, the overriding comment I keep hearing is, “You’re an actual real person.” “I read this, that or the other in your email, or I saw you did XYZ on your Insta story, and I thought, oh, she’s just a real person like me.” Well, yes, yes I am a real person—just like you. What else would I be? I’m here doing this because this work has saved my life!

And that’s what prompted this email today. To show you just how much alike your life and my everyday life is too… And how much more neccessary nervous system regulation work is WHEN you are busy, not to be saved for when you might find the time one day…

My week of imperfect perfection.

There is nothing more valuable than between seven and nine hours of sleep. Fact. I really try to prioritise it, but as with all things we try to commit to, sometimes (often) life also happens and flexibility is required. This has definitely been one of those weeks.

I’ve not nailed the sleep thing at all. Not through lack of trying, but through the virtue of living.

I’ve had a really, really magnificent, experiential week. Things I wouldn’t change or cancel for the world.

But I want you to hear how, when life happens, and we can’t hit those perfect markers (perfect sleep, perfect steps, perfect workouts, perfect food… rah, rah, rah), it’s absolutely fine. Life is not about trying to reach perfection; it is most definitely, however, about presence.

So, here’s my very real (and rather knackering despite being massively soul-filling) week.

Your version will look totally different, and that’s fine too.

Wednesday: A very special dinner.

So yes, I’m usually a stickler for making sure I get seven hours of solid sleep.

Coming from a history of anxiety and panic attacks, I know how valuable sleep is in that process. The fear of ever feeling that way again keeps me pretty dedicated to the sleep cause. But this week, it just wasn’t possible; and not once, not twice, but three nights (get me - rock and roll)!

The compounded impact of this sleep deficit is a terrifying thought (I have tonight to go yet), but life has to be lived sometimes, and so it’s necessary to make sure we implement as many nervous system regulating practices as possible to somewhat lessen the blow.

This Wednesday night, Rich and I went out for dinner at a very special restaurant in Manchester, one we’d been waiting over two months to get into. SKOF. Food-wise, it’s fine dining; vibe-wise, it’s so chilled. It was such a special evening for the two of us. Experience. Memories. Lovely.

I don’t really drink so much these days, especially if I want to sleep, but this evening called for paired wine. While I didn’t have the matched wine, I tasted Rich’s and had a couple of cocktails myself.

We had the most gorgeous evening, one I wouldn’t trade for the world, but I probably had about three hours of sleep by the time I had to get up the next morning. I just couldn’t sleep after all that rich food and sugary alcohol. Urgh to no sleep.

Thursday: Recovery mode.

On Thursday, I took it easy. I didn’t do any resistance training, I didn’t worry about my steps. I had a very productive workday, got outside for a walk, and took an Epsom salt bath at 6 pm. I was in bed, ready to go to sleep, by 9:15 pm, and I got a great night’s sleep.

Friday: Lisa’s dinner and ideas buzzing round my excited little head.

Friday was the dinner I mentioned earlier. The dinner ended around 10:45 pm, but my mind was on one (in a good way), excitement for everything that’s still to come and having shared some properly soul-level time connecting with excellent humans - my fave. I couldn’t stop thinking about the new ways I can now get the power of nervous system work out into the world, and the positive life changes it will bring along with its never-ending ripple effect… Eek!! See… how could I sleep?

We didn’t get back to the hotel until 11 pm. I was sharing with Natasha, my business best mate (!) and we ended up chatting for ages. She’s about to go off traveling for 10 weeks with her husband and four-year-old daughter, leaving today. How exciting is that?

By the time we turned the lights off it was later than late. I did a Yoga Nidra guided meditation as I fell asleep but still, I had to set my alarm for 5:20 am to drive back to Manchester, ready to take my kids skateboarding at 10 am. You do the maths; it was never going to be seven hours of sleep, was it?

Saturday: Prioritising presence.

Even with little sleep, I still started my day with a 10-minute meditation to regulate myself as much as I could. I’d packed my lemon (already halved because, let’s face it, there’s never a sharp knife in a hotel room!), my apple cider vinegar, and took a pint glass up to my room for my usual morning routine. No Himalayan pink salt today, but hey, I did what I could.

I washed my face and spent time in the mirror doing my face creams, connecting to me and being present in my own body.

I also spent the first hour of my drive home in silence. Really lovely.

Later, I spent the day with my beautiful son. So lucky. He gets to choose what to do for Mum and Bob’s time, so the order of the afternoon was the arcades and Five Guys. Now, I’m not a gaming type whatsoever, and being indoors in a flashy noisy place when the sun was shining outside wasn’t ideal, but I was with him, seeing his joy and being fully present with him made it just perfect (not a word I use often, but he is to me!)

And Saturday night (tonight) I’m off to a Gig with the 14-year-old and her friend!

So yes, another late night is pending. But also another night where I get to be totally present with my precious daughter, seeing her joy experiencing something she LOVES and being totally present.

So I’m already planning a very chilled Sunday. A lie-in (no usual alarm clock shall be set). Yes, the routine will stay the same, just later, and a big load of outdoors and walking will restore my nervous system beautifully. Heart full. Soul nourished. Nervous system regulated. Sweet!

The big takeaway:

Life isn’t linear, looking after yourself doesn’t need to fit into perfect boxes, and presence with people and places you love is everything.

What I hope you take from this is that even when life gets out of routine, or feels unusually full, it can still feel fulfilling, and you can still take pockets of time to regulate. A tonne of the practices I’ve integrated these last couple of days I’ve done whilst doing ‘all the things’. My life is far from perfect, my nervous system is far from always regulated (nor should be, or we’d likely die!), but it’s a life where I experience inner peace, happiness, and a tonne of connection on the regular.

I’ve learned to work with my nervous system to create this calm, more ease, and more joy, and it’s transformed every area of my life.

My relationships are thriving in different and bigger ways than I ever imagined, my business is thriving in different ways than I ever imagined, beyond my wildest dreams actually, and I see and get to share the experience of people’s lives changing for the better as they connect with their nervous systems. People are feeling inner peace and success in a way that really means something to them. Beautiful.

My life feels like my own, and I’ve never felt so much peace and love for myself as I do today, and I can only imagine this will get better and better.

You up for some of that?

Good, because I want the same for you. And the only way I can make you understand the power of this work is for you to experience it.

That’s why I created REGULATE: Nervous System Circle

I hugely encourage you to give it a try. It’s only £5 per MONTH. Less than you spend on your lunch every DAY, but this has the power to change your life! (Join here)

You’ll get one nervous system practice prompt delivered to you every day. Each one will take less than 3 minutes and will fit seamlessly into your life as it is right now; you don’t need any ‘extra time.’ No decisions to make on what to do, no more things to put on your ‘to-do list,’ and certainly no social media—it’s a dedicated app, especially for us. (Join here)

You will feel better and better incrementally every single day, and that can start right now.

Choose to make this the start of the next phase of your life: feeling better, with inner peace, consistent energy, and a life that truly feels like yours. (Join here)

And the best bit? We’re all in this together—what a treat.

Big love,

Georgie