Integration Isn’t Sexy, but It’s Where Real Change Happens
- Brainz Magazine
- 10 hours ago
- 6 min read
Charlotte Phelps, Founder of The Alchemy of Being, transformed her life from a terminal prognosis into a mission to empower others. She offers tools and insights, born from her own journey, for personal growth and holistic health, helping individuals curate their unique 'Toolbelt for Life'.
You’re hit with more advice in a single day than your grandparents received in a year. Everyone’s got a new hack, a miracle method, a silver bullet. But with all that input, why do we still feel so stuck? The truth? Most of us don’t have an information problem. We have an integration problem, and that’s where real transformation happens.
What do we mean by ‘integration’?
Integration is the moment a good idea becomes a lived habit.
It’s when the tool you discovered doesn’t just sit in a notebook, it shapes your choices, your reactions, your nervous system. It’s where advice becomes embodied.
But here’s the catch, integration is slow. It’s layered. It’s often invisible. And in a world obsessed with immediacy, that makes it deeply unsexy.
Yet from my own journey, and the thousands of people I’ve met and worked with, integration is where the actual shift happens. Not when you discover the advice. Not even when you try it. But when you live it, for long enough that it changes you.
Why we struggle to integrate what we learn
The wellness world is full of “aha moments.” But very few of them make it to “everyday life.” Here’s why:
1. We’re drowning in input
According to a recent estimate, we receive around 74GB of data per day, the equivalent of watching 16 movies and reading 200,000 words. No wonder we’re overwhelmed. The brain simply can’t process it all, let alone implement it.
2. We expect instant results
We’ve been conditioned to believe that if something works, it should work now. But healing isn’t instant. For me, some changes, like digestive or hormonal regulation, took 9 to 12 months. My sleep? That was a one-year relearning process after 20 years of insomnia. The only thing I did quickly at the beginning was give up.
3. We don’t give tools enough time
Sometimes a practice is discarded before it’s even had a chance to work. You try a new supplement or meditation, don’t feel radically better in a week, and move on. But like compound interest, the benefits of healing often come from time, consistency, and repetition.
4. We mistake novelty for progress
We get a dopamine hit from discovering something new, and it feels like momentum. But chasing newness rarely leads to depth. Integration, on the other hand, is repetitive. It’s quiet. It’s the discipline of returning to what works, even when it’s boring.
What integration actually looks like in real life
Let’s get honest. Integration isn’t just about routines or habit stacks. It’s also emotional. It’s about giving yourself permission to stay with something long enough to be changed by it.
Here’s what that looked like for me:
Relearning sleep after 20 years of insomnia meant treating it like a skill. I used a sleep machine that combined sound and light frequencies to help retrain my brain every night for 6 months. I paired that with binaural beats, subconscious reprogramming, and parasympathetic nervous system triggers, for month after month, before sleep became second nature. Even now, it’s a nightly ritual.
My digestive healing took around 9 to 12 months and was only possible by taking things slowly and incrementally. My bowel wasn’t working at all at the start, so I had to introduce foods one at a time, in very small amounts, to give my body a chance to adjust. It was about gradually rebuilding my microbiome and teaching my body how to process things again, not through restriction, but through gentle reintroduction and patience.
Belief-clearing tools like Psych-K created noticeable emotional shifts very quickly, but those shifts only held because I’d already created a foundation of safety and curiosity through daily nervous system and gratitude work that I’ve now done every single day for over a decade.
In other words, even my “quick wins” only worked because of the layers laid beforehand. That’s integration.
If you’re at the beginning of your journey or rebuilding your foundations, our free getting started guide is a practical first step to support your mind, body, and soul, so those “quick wins” actually land.
Why integration is the foundation for real change
Let’s reframe the conversation. Integration isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing wisely.
It’s the difference between:
Collecting tools vs living them.
Being inspired vs being transformed.
It’s also where we build self-trust, because consistency is how we prove to ourselves that change is possible. Each time you return to a practice, even imperfectly, you reinforce a new identity. “I am someone who supports myself.”
And it’s where we learn discernment. When you live a tool, instead of just trying it, you can feel if it’s genuinely working for you or not.
5 principles that make integration easier
If you’re feeling stuck in a sea of wellness advice, here are five ways to move from knowing to embodying:
1. Pick less and go deeper
Stop collecting. Choose one or two things that genuinely resonate and commit to them for 30-60 days. Let the magic be in the monotony.
2. Measure what matters
Track your experience, not just your behaviour. Ask, do I feel calmer? Clearer? More grounded? Instead of, “Did I do it right or perfectly?”
3. Build in anchors
Pair your tools with something you already do, e.g., journaling with morning tea, affirmations while brushing your teeth. This is how integration becomes seamless.
4. Accept inconsistency
You don’t have to do it every day to benefit. But consistency is better than perfection. Integration is about rhythm, not rigidity. Let’s say you commit to doing a 10-minute meditation daily. But then a busy day arrives, and the time disappears. Doing a 5-minute imperfect meditation on the train is better than doing nothing because you can’t do the full 10 minutes in your sacred space at home.
5. Stay curious, not critical
Don’t expect fireworks every time. Sometimes the most powerful work is subtle. A tiny shift in how you breathe, how you speak to yourself, or how you respond under pressure is actually a massive step forward.
If you want support figuring out what’s actually working for you, our 1:1 Toolbelt Assessment is designed to help you cut through the noise, reflect honestly, and build a path that fits.
Why this is the real work (and the real reward)
No modality, mentor, or miracle will save you from the truth, you have to live the work. And here’s the beauty of it, when you do, the transformation sneaks up on you.
One day, you realise:
You’ve stopped overreacting in situations that used to spiral you.
You’re sleeping through the night without even thinking about it.
You’ve swapped shame for self-compassion as your default.
You’re walking for an hour without getting twinges in your back.
Not because you discovered a new tool, but because you integrated one you already had.
If you're feeling overwhelmed by wellness advice, you're not alone. That's why we created the Wellness Wiki, to help you cut through the noise with clearly explained, research-backed summaries of 250+ therapies, approaches, and modalities. No fluff, no hype, just practical insight to help you make informed choices.
Final thought: Choose your tools, then use them
If you’ve read this far, chances are you already know enough. The invitation now is to live what you’ve learned. Choose one tool. Give it time. Let it change you. Because every tool you add to your toolbelt is only as powerful as your willingness to use it.
Don’t find yourself. Curate yourself. And then give your curation time to breathe. You don’t have to do it alone. At The Alchemy of Being™, everything we create is designed to help you live what you’ve learned, with clarity, confidence, and soul.
Want more grounded, honest, and practical insights like this in your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter for articles, tools, and soulful encouragement twice a month. No fluff, no spam.
Integration might not be sexy, but it’s sacred. It’s where you become the version of you you’ve been trying to find.
Read more from Charlotte Phelps
Charlotte Phelps, Founder of The Alchemy of Being
Charlotte Phelps's life took a pivotal turn at 33 when she was given just six weeks to live due to a likely bowel perforation. This diagnosis came after a decade of being told she was fine by the medical world, making it both validating and shocking. Forced to explore unconventional options to survive, Charlotte not only regained her health but underwent a transformative journey of soul, mind, and body. She also developed a profound need to understand how she had lived, which sparked a decade-long exploration of holistic practices and alternative approaches. This journey ignited a deep passion to share what she’d discovered with others, leading to the creation of The Alchemy of Being.
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