This is all you need to know!

It fascinates me sometimes how much we learn on a day-to- day basis without even meaning to! Every conversation, experience, thing we see, hear, read... it all teaches us something, doesn’t it? Another lightbulb learning came for me this week, it might be just what you need to hear.

Just yesterday, I had a conversation with someone at the gym. We’ve chatted briefly a few times, you know, when you just get a vibe from someone, you connect in a way... but never enough to know what each other does outside of the gym.

Yesterday’s conversation started on the gym floor. I was doing a movement I wouldn’t normally do, holding a plate in a cuddle position for a hamstring exercise. We exchanged a few words, and she commented on my fitness in a supportive way, which was nice! We talked about her recent fitness journey, and I explained I couldn’t grip a dumbbell as usual because I felt a twinge in my inner forearm on my left arm (stay with me—it gets more interesting!). We then went about our business...

Thanks to my background in health and fitness, I know this discomfort is the start of what could turn into tennis elbow, hence swapping the weight from finger grip to a cuddle (sounds lovely, doesn’t it? It wasn’t!). What I also know is that I haven’t injured that part of my arm. Here’s where it gets interesting...

A bit later, we found ourselves accidentally back together at the water bottle filling station, both on our way out, and started to chat again. She asked how I’d hurt my arm. I explained that I actually hadn’t, and that the discomfort was more likely a residual symptom of some nervous system dysregulation, from a rather ‘stressful’ lead-up to my talk at Ideas Fest, plus a massive launch I have on the go.

(N.B. If you’d asked me if I was stressed at the time, I’d have said, “No, not at all! Excited, a little nervous, and busy doing what I love," but not stressed. And this is exactly how my clients feel; they’re passionate, so they keep going without feeling ‘stressed’ at all. But just because you don’t feel it, doesn’t mean your body isn’t under stress, that’s exactly what my left elbow is telling me).

Right, back to the story...

“Oh, that’s what I do - nervous system work,” she said!

“Me too!” I replied. And there it was, a connection, and we were off!

We do very different things, it turns out, but in the same realm, and I actually hadn’t heard of what she does. She explained she uses a mat with electrical waves involving touch, which fascinated me, so we chatted more. It turned out she’s doing a course on Kundalini, different from the usual yoga or meditation, something involving touch.

As the conversation went deeper, she told me she had to write an essay for the course. She really wasn’t enjoying having to write this essay, having never done one before. She was feeling nervous, and every time she sat down to type, she went blank.

As we were on the subject of the nervous system, I asked if I could suggest something.

Here’s one of those moments where you realise that even the simplest thing you know can make a world of difference. And this is what prompted this email.

If you’ve read my emails for a long time, you know this tip pops up a lot in my life; in fact, I’m using it right now as I “write” this.

I asked her if she’d recognised what was happening. She was doing something unfamiliar that felt scary to her, so her system was immediately going into alert, fight-or-flight when she opened her laptop. She laughed, of course, she knows about the nervous system!

“Can I give you something I use and find really helpful?” I offered.

She said yes, and I asked, “You’re passionate about what you do, aren’t you? It comes from your heart? I can tell.” She agreed, so I continued,

“Is that what you’re trying to get across in your essay?”

She said, “Exactly, yes. People have already advised me to use ChatGPT, but it just doesn’t feel like me.” I agreed.

So, I gave her the tip, the one I’m using right now.

“When I speak from the heart, I need to speak it, so I open the Notes app, click the microphone in the bottom right-hand corner, and just start talking.” Her mind was blown (just as mine was when somebody taught me—thank you, Emma!).

I said, “Now, you can just talk into that and write your essay. Don’t get me wrong; there’ll be too much content, some bits to cut, and you’ll need to refine it. You might need to go and back up your ideas with research, Google or ChatGPT, but what you’ll have is you, from the heart, on your page.”

She couldn’t believe it, saying I’d just changed the game for her.

It just makes you realise, doesn’t it? Conversation and connection is so powerful. Just a brief five minutes chatting at the gym had a massive impact. What seems so basic or obvious to us, can change someone else’s life in the most profound ways. It can get someone over a block that has been stopping them from getting where they want to be. In turn, it changes everything for us too. When we connect, it gives us all a kind of warm glow, an inner fire, the confidence and energy to push ourselves forward. Lovely.

So it might seem like a small ‘tip’, but the brevity of it can be massive when you think of the ripple effect.

And that’s why I’m sharing this story, to remind you (and me) that what you know and what you're passionate about is enough to make a real difference, and that you already have everything you need to start creating those connections and changing lives.

It really made me think actually… sometimes, it's not about knowing all the science or going as deep as I do, just taking the simple things we’ve learned and sharing them in a way that can make a difference, is the thing. And that's what I aim to do with you.

All this time, I’m getting right into the science of the nervous system and why looking after it is the real baseline to build everything else upon, to make sure I can make a massive impact, helping you get to that next level in business and life, with the mental, physical, and emotional health to enjoy it all. You don’t have to bother yourself with all of that though, because that's my job!

When your work is born out of passion, you just never want to stop learning about it! That’s definitely my default, to go deep into whatever I’m passionate about, live it (literally!), breathe it, practice it, read more, learn more and more, and then teach it with confidence, having experienced the benefits myself and through working with my clients.

For me, it’s absolutely not about overloading you with the complexities, in fact my thing is about simplifying what I know as much as possible, so that you can understand it, use it, and start feeling the benefits of it as quickly as possible.

Hence why I provide so much free, instantly actionable stuff on the socials and in here!

My passion for helping humans become the best versions of themselves, in all ways, was definitely born from my own need to get myself well and thrive. (Years ago, I struggled with low self, esteem and panic attacks, and it was a journey to overcome those.) So I am completely dedicated to teaching in a way that can be tangibly understood and practically applied to real life. Not some Insta, created snippet of unrealistic reality and definitely not something you learn once then tuck away in a file never to see the light of day again...

That’s why I’m going so deep, because I want to make sure that what I bring to you is powerful, impactful, and easy to implement. So, as you might have noticed, I’m pretty laser focussed on the nervous system at the moment. There’s a reason…

I’ve worked with it for nearly 14 years now, but this last year has shown me so much more and made me recognise its significant and far-reaching impact on the whole experience of life itself. Hence, I’m integrating it into my work as the absolutely vital foundation. As such, I want to understand the science, the connections, and the theories, and I just can’t stop! I need to get behind all the information I provide to/for you.

And that’s exactly why I’ve developed what I have been beavering away with in the background, to make something that is really simple for you to action in your life as it is right now, just like that Notes app tip! Keep your eye out; it’ll be landing next week (don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know)!

All this made me realise, we often get stuck thinking that to make a difference, we need all the answers or more learning before we’re "ready” but it’s not the case is it?

Connection, real connection, being able to share and absorb each others insights and knowledge, is what creates real change, for us all. So let’s do it. Let’s commit to trusting what we already know and sharing it from the heart.