Written by Emma Abalogun, Self-Leadership Coach | Speaker Emma Abalogun is a Self-Leadership Coach, Speaker and creator of the RAM-R™ Method, empowering women to rise out of survival and into sovereignty through emotional responsibility and embodied leadership. Leadership is often discussed as a function of skills such as communication, decision-making, strategy, and influence. Yet in my years working with high-performing leaders and executive teams, I’ve seen the same pattern repeat itself across industries, cultures, and seniority levels. Most leadership failures are not skill failures. They are emotional authority failures. What looks like poor leadership is often subtler and far more human, leaders unconsciously managing their own insecurity rather than leading people, systems, and outcomes. Leadership has a hidden job description Every leadership role comes with two parallel responsibilities. The visible responsibilities are clear, set direction, make decisions, drive performance, and manage and develop people. The invisible duty is rarely acknowledged, regulate internal emotions under pressure without letting them leak into the system. When this second responsibility is unmet, leaders don’t stop leading altogether. They lead from insecurity instead. That insecurity can manifest in familiar ways: Micromanagement disguised as high standards Avoidance framed as empathy or patience Over-control masked as responsibility Excessive consensus-seeking is sold as collaboration Niceness replacing honesty None of this comes from malice. Leaders do their best with the emotional capacity they have. But intent doesn’t cancel impact. When insecurity becomes the operating system Insecure leadership doesn’t always look dramatic. In fact, it’s often most damaging when it looks reasonable. A leader delays decisions because they don’t want to upset anyone. Another over-explains to justify authority rather than stand in it. Another avoids accountability conversations because they equate conflict with failure. Another keeps control tight because trust feels too risky. Over time, teams adapt, not to the mission, but to the leader’s emotional comfort zone. Innovation slows, accountability weakens, and candor disappears. Not because people don’t care, but because they begin to manage around the leaders emotional capacity. This is how leaders quietly become their organization’s emotional bottleneck. Why performance culture makes this worse Modern performance culture doesn’t help. Many leaders are promoted for competence, execution, or technical excellence, capable of doing the job, but not necessarily promoted for their emotional maturity or the ability to inspire others. Insecurity doesn’t disappear, it simply goes underground. Rather than being processed, it’s regulated through behavior such as: Control instead of clarity Busyness instead of presence Strategy instead of self-reflection This is why traditional leadership training often fails. It adds tools without addressing the internal instability they create. Emotional intelligence can help leaders name their feelings. But emotional intelligence isn't enough as naming isn’t the same as owning. A leader can be highly self-aware and still lack emotional authority. They know what they feel, but they don’t know how to lead from a place that isn’t dictated by those feelings. Emotional authority is the capacity to: Experience pressure without projecting it Receive feedback without defensiveness. Hold power without overcompensating. Make decisions without outsourcing validation. Emotional authority isn’t a personality trait. It’s internal self-leadership. Without it, no EQ, communication training, or values statements will stabilize the system. What real leadership actually requires Leadership isn’t the absence of insecurity, it’s the ability to not lead from it. The most successful leaders aren’t always the most confident-looking, but the most internally regulated. They don’t confuse authority with control. They don’t confuse empathy with avoidance, and they certainly don’t confuse professionalism with emotional suppression. Why? Because they have done the internal work to distinguish between what belongs to them, what belongs to the role, and what belongs to the system. That distinction changes everything. The cost of insecure leadership that organizations pay for can look like slow execution, high emotional labor among teams, passive resistance, burnout masked as engagement, and leaders who are respected but not trusted. Most of these costs never appear on a balance sheet. But they show up in culture, retention, and momentum, and eventually in results. When leaders are given the opportunity to develop emotional authority, something fundamental shifts: Decisions get cleaner Conversations get braver Trust increases without performance dropping. Accountability becomes possible without fear. Not because the leader became nicer or tougher, but because they became self-led. You can’t lead anyone effectively if you can’t lead yourself first. Organizations quietly crave this leadership evolution, whether they have the language for it or not. Most don’t have a leadership development problem, they have an emotional authority gap. No strategy compensates for leaders who haven’t learned to lead themselves under pressure. If you’re a leader or organization ready to move beyond surface-level leadership training and build real emotional authority, the kind that transforms culture, decision-making, and trust, this is exactly the work I do. I work with leaders and teams through immersive workshops and speaking experiences designed to strengthen emotional self-leadership where it actually counts, under pressure. Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more at Emma Abalogun Emma Abalogun, Self-Leadership Coach | Speaker Emma Abalogun is a Self-Leadership Coach, Speaker, and creator of the RAM-R™ Method–a four-step framework designed to help women break free from survival patterns, projection cycles, and self-abandonment. Her work empowers individuals to lead with radical self-worth, emotional responsibility, and authentic power. Drawing from years of coaching experience and a deep understanding of identity, leadership, and legacy, Emma helps women reclaim their inner authority and become the kind of leader their life and work requires.

Written by Eva M. Gordon, LCSW, Psychotherapist and Mental Health Consultant Eva Gordon works with individuals, families, and organizations to promote safety, well-being, and self-care. Eva is the founder and director of Life Guide LCSW, P.C., a mental health practice providing psychotherapy and community mental health education. As the new year starts to unfold, it is time to take inventory of your life. Whether or not you set resolutions for the new year, it is always a clever idea to survey your life holistically. The goal is to identify what works, what does not, and what to add to establish healthy habits that improve your quality of life. What is a habit? Habits are formed when behaviors become automatic. This makes an unhealthy habit hard to break, as repeated actions reinforce it. As creatures of habit, we must be kind to ourselves and realize that the longer a habit persists, the harder it is to change. When setting goals like New Year’s resolutions, reflect on your daily routines and recognize which actions occur automatically. Many people set goals each year but struggle to accomplish them because of missing concrete steps. To build healthy habits, start with a clear goal, set a deadline, and define one or two specific actions. Incorporating small steps consistently is what forms a healthy habit. 1. Keep What are one or more healthy habits in your life? What are your current healthy habits? Before you decide to add or drop habits, which habits are going well? Do you wake up on time every day, eat dinner at the same time, or take one day for the gym or spiritual or religious practices? It is important to observe what is going right in your life, reflect on your strengths, and consider your current overall quality of life. 2. Add Is there a habit that you need to start doing that you have been thinking about? One common habit to add could be losing weight. To make this a habit, think about what types of food you need to reduce or add. This might include eating one snack a day, drinking one glass of wine or one can of beer once or twice a week, or only on weekends. You could also add a healthy food. As the old saying goes, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Adding two fruits a day could help with healthy weight management and make healthy eating a habit. Other habits to add include reading a book weekly or daily, going for a ten-minute walk each day, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or going outside for lunch if you work from home. Adding a healthy habit can help reduce health risk factors such as obesity, social isolation, or excessive screen time. Related article: 3 Simple Hacks for Building Healthy Habits 3. Drop What habit do you want to stop doing or do less of? How many times have you said, “I need to stop doing ______.” This likely happens frequently, and in some cases, you find it hard to stop because you are comfortable with the habit. With the new year here, identify one habit that needs to end or lessen to improve your life. This could include complaining less, reducing social media scrolling by timing it, or limiting soda to weekends. One perspective on dropping unhealthy habits starts with what you value. If you value learning, attend in-person educational events rather than relying on the internet. If you value gratitude, you can replace complaining with writing down one thing you are thankful for. If endurance is something you cherish, substituting the elevator with taking the stairs helps build strength. Take time to decide which habits you need to keep, add, or drop to improve your quality of life. If you experience challenges in exploring your habits, psychotherapy sessions can help you examine obstacles and gain clarity about your life. If you need more strategies or skills to create healthy habits, contact me for a consultation. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Eva M. Gordon, LCSW Eva M. Gordon, LCSW, Psychotherapist and Mental Health Consultant Eva M. Gordon, LCSW, is the founder and director of Life Guide LCSW, P.C., a mental health practice providing psychotherapy and community mental health education in the New York City area. Her focus is on providing mental health treatment to the Black community as a source of healing and hope. She mainly works with Black professional women ages 30 and up who struggle with unhealthy relationships. The goal is to help these women recognize that self-care is their birthright and not a privilege. Eva uses several strategies, including exploring behavioral patterns, emotional management, and understanding how multiple factors contribute to a person’s mental health during their lifespan.

Written by Dr. Chris Bachtsetzis, BSc, MD, PhD, PGCert, Lifestyle Medicine & Longevity Physician Dr. Chris Bachtsetzis, a renowned biomedical scientist and Lifestyle Medicine Physician, is internationally recognized for his commitment to preventive care and longevity medicine. Testosterone is often portrayed narrowly as “the male hormone.” Yet its influence extends far beyond libido or muscle mass. It is a cornerstone of male physiology, affecting physical health, emotional wellbeing, and quality of life more broadly. For men with chronically low testosterone levels, especially those with clinically confirmed low blood testosterone and secondary hypogonadism, testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) can be transformative. But understanding when and how to use it, and how to protect fertility at the same time, is essential. What is testosterone deficiency and secondary hypogonadism? Male hypogonadism is a clinical condition defined by persistently low serum testosterone accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue, low libido, mood changes, reduced muscle mass and bone density, and erectile dysfunction. In secondary hypogonadism, the problem originates in the hypothalamus or pituitary gland, suppressing signals, LH and FSH, that tell the testes to produce testosterone. This differs from primary hypogonadism, where the testes themselves are dysfunctional. Secondary hypogonadism can be caused by pituitary tumours, inflammation, obesity, chronic illness, medications, and ageing-related changes in hormone signalling. The case for TRT: Evidence and everyday health TRT aims to restore testosterone to the physiological range to relieve symptoms and support normal body functions. Several peer-reviewed studies and systematic reviews have shown measurable benefits across multiple domains. 1. Improved sexual function and libido Low testosterone is strongly correlated with reduced sexual desire and performance. TRT has been shown to significantly improve sexual function, libido, and erectile performance in men with hypogonadism. This improvement is not merely about sex, it influences self-confidence, intimate relationships, and overall life satisfaction. 2. Enhanced energy, mood, and cognitive wellbeing Testosterone interacts with brain chemistry. Men with low testosterone often report fatigue, depression, irritability, and brain fog. Many clinical studies report mood improvements, better motivation, sharper concentration, and reduced depressive symptoms after TRT. 3. Muscle mass, bone health, and metabolism Testosterone supports protein synthesis, muscle growth, and bone mineral density. Low levels are associated with sarcopenia, fractures, and unfavourable metabolic markers. TRT has been shown to increase lean body mass and improve metabolic variables. 4. Cardiovascular considerations For men with secondary hypogonadism, TRT remains a standard of care. Although cardiovascular outcomes have been debated, recent cohort data suggest that when testosterone is restored within normal physiological levels, it does not increase the risk of heart attack or stroke in most men and may support vascular health. Key point: TRT should be carefully individualised. Levels above the normal range are not the goal and can be harmful. TRT and fertility: A crucial trade-off One of the most important considerations in TRT is its impact on fertility. How TRT affects spermatogenesis By providing exogenous testosterone, the hypothalamus and pituitary reduce production of gonadotropins, LH, and FSH, via negative feedback. These pituitary hormones are essential for stimulating intratesticular testosterone production, which is 50 to 100 times higher than systemic levels and critical for sperm production. As a result, traditional TRT can significantly suppress sperm production, often leading to oligozoospermia or azoospermia, meaning very low or zero sperm count. For men of reproductive age, or those wishing to father children, this suppression presents a difficult trade-off. Hormonal strategies to preserve fertility Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hCG acts as an LH analog, stimulating the Leydig cells in the testes to produce natural testosterone and helping maintain intratesticular testosterone levels necessary for spermatogenesis. Clinical research indicates that: hCG monotherapy can increase testosterone and improve subjective symptoms, including libido, energy, and erectile function, in men with hypogonadal symptoms. hCG can restore sperm production in a significant proportion of men whose spermatogenesis has been suppressed by external testosterone or other hormonal disruption. In men specifically wishing to preserve or restore fertility, hCG is widely considered the most reliable alternative or adjunct to TRT and may be used on its own or in combination with testosterone in carefully supervised protocols. FSH and hMG, human menopausal gonadotropin FSH, or hMG, which contains FSH activity, stimulates the Sertoli cells in the testes, which nurture developing sperm. In some men with significant spermatogenic impairment, combining hCG with FSH preparations can further enhance sperm counts and quality. Protocols often start with hCG to support testosterone and Leydig cell function, then add FSH or hMG to directly stimulate the sperm producing apparatus. Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) Agents such as clomiphene citrate can increase endogenous LH and FSH secretion by blocking estrogen feedback in the hypothalamus. These agents can be alternatives or adjuncts to hCG in fertility-preserving approaches. Shared decision making, TRT & proper monitoring increased the quality of life Because hormone therapy directly influences multiple physiological systems, careful monitoring is essential. Typical monitoring includes: Regular blood tests for testosterone, LH, FSH, estradiol, hematocrit, and PSA. Semen analyses before and during therapy for men concerned about fertility. Assessment of symptoms, mood, libido, and quality of life. Cardiovascular and prostate health evaluations in appropriate age groups. A nuanced, individualised approach, ideally with a hormonal therapy specialist medical doctor, ensures that treatment goals align first with patient safety standards, followed by health priorities, reproductive plans, and long-term wellbeing. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram, LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dr. Chris Bachtsetzis, BSc, MD, PhD, PGCert Dr. Chris Bachtsetzis, BSc, MD, PhD, PGCert, Lifestyle Medicine & Longevity Physician Dr. Chris Bachtsetzis is a certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician with a strong international presence. He holds dual qualifications in Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, having also a pre-medical background in Healthcare Business, Economics, and Management, combining clinical expertise with a deep understanding of human biology and healthcare management. Dr. Chris has contributed to numerous research initiatives and clinical programmes aiming at combating chronic disease through sustainable lifestyle changes. He is a sought-after speaker at global conferences and has collaborated with leading institutions in the field of preventive medicine. References: Corona, G., Isidori, A. M., Aversa, A., Burnett, A. L., Maggi, M., and Endocrinology of Male Sexual Dysfunction Study Group. (2018). Efficacy and adverse events of testosterone replacement therapy in hypogonadal men: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled trials . Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 103(5), 1745–1754. Hsieh, T. C., Pastuszak, A. W., Hwang, K., Lipshultz, L. I., and Khera, M. (2018). Concomitant intramuscular human chorionic gonadotropin preserves spermatogenesis in men undergoing testosterone replacement therapy . Journal of Urology, 199(1), 257–263. Rashid, M. I., Ibrahim, M. I., and Ghazali, A. M. (2016). Treatment of the hypogonadal infertile male: A review . Arab Journal of Urology, 14(2), 112–119. Schlegel, P. N., Hardy, M. P., Goldstein, M., and Smith, K. D. (2006). Management of male infertility due to congenital or acquired hypogonadotropic hypogonadism . Endocrine Reviews, 27(7), 702–723. O’Shaughnessy, P. J., Mitchell, R. T., and Anderson, R. A. (2025). Effect of pubertal induction with combined gonadotropin therapy on testicular development and spermatogenesis in males with gonadotropin deficiency . Human Reproduction Open, 2025(2), hoaf026. Layton, T. M., Brannigan, R. E., and Schlegel, P. N. (2025). Efficacy of gonadotropin therapy to induce spermatogenesis and fertility in men with pathologic gonadotropin deficiency . Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Advance online publication. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2024). Testosterone replacement therapy: Evidence synthesis and economic evaluation . NCBI Bookshelf. Corona, G., Rastrelli, G., Monami, M., Melani, C., Balzi, D., Sforza, A., Forti, G., and Maggi, M. (2014). Factors affecting spermatogenesis upon gonadotropin-replacement therapy: A meta-analytic study . Andrology, 2(6), 794–808. Dwyer, A. A., Sykiotis, G. P., Hayes, F. J., Boepple, P. A., Lee, H., Loughlin, K. R., and Pitteloud, N. (2020). Prior androgen therapy impacts spermatogenic response to combined gonadotropin therapy in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism . Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 105(4), e1581–e1592. Chan, Y., Boehm, U., and Dwyer, A. A. (2025). Fertility outcomes in adult males with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism treated with recombinant FSH and hCG . Human Reproduction. Advance online publication.

Written by Marina Krauth, Online Business Mentor & Entrepreneur Marina Krauth is an online business mentor & entrepreneur who helps individuals create more freedom and purpose through an online business focused on health and personal growth. She guides others on how to leverage a powerful business model as a vehicle to achieve meaningful life changes. The idea of starting an online business often appears at a crossroads. You feel the pull toward more freedom, more meaning, more control over your time, yet something keeps you hesitating. Not because you’re incapable, but because you don’t want to make the wrong move. “What’s the risk? Am I made for this? What’s the guarantee it will work?...” Those doubts don’t come from a lack of desire. They come from conditioning. Years and years of following clear structures, external validation, and predefined paths make it so difficult to trust your own judgment. Before taking any step forward, clarity matters more than motivation. An online business is not for everyone, and it shouldn’t be. Asking yourself the right questions can help you understand whether this path truly aligns with your values, your lifestyle, and the kind of life you want to build. These six questions are here to help you reflect honestly, without pressure or expectations. Why feeling “not ready” is completely normal First let’s acknowledge that feeling “not ready” is often misunderstood as a sign to stop. In reality, it’s usually a sign that you’re stepping outside what’s familiar. When you’ve spent years in structured environments with clear expectations, defined roles, and external validation, uncertainty can feel uncomfortable, sometimes even unsafe. Traditional careers teach us to wait. Wait until you’re qualified. Wait until someone gives you permission. Wait until you’ve checked every box. Entrepreneurship doesn’t work that way. There is no moment where everything suddenly feels obvious, aligned, and risk-free. If you wait for that moment, you may end up waiting forever. What many people hide behind “I’m not ready” is often a disguised fear, fear of making the wrong choice, fear of judgment, or fear of failing publicly. It’s not a lack of ability or intelligence. It’s the discomfort of trusting yourself, instead of a system that tells you what to do. The shift begins when you stop asking whether you’re ready and start asking whether staying where you are still makes sense. Clarity doesn’t come before action. It comes from taking small, intentional steps and allowing yourself to learn along the way. Feeling unsure doesn’t disqualify you. It simply means you’re considering something that matters. It’s not about skills One of the biggest reasons people doubt themselves when it comes to starting an online business is because they focus on what they think they lack, skills, experience, confidence, a background in business… But those are rarely the deciding factors. What matters far more is alignment. An online business built for the long term doesn’t require you to be an expert on day one. It requires that what you’re building actually fits who you are. Your values. Your interests. The way you want to live. When there is alignment, learning feels natural rather than forced, and consistency becomes possible rather than exhausting. This is why people with impressive résumés sometimes struggle, while others with no prior experience thrive. It’s not about being the most qualified. It’s about being connected to what you’re doing. When the business reflects your values, showing up no longer feels like a performance. It feels like an extension of you. Alignment also determines sustainability. You can learn skills over time. You can grow confidence through action. However, if the business model itself doesn’t align with your energy, priorities, or vision of life, no amount of skill will prevent burnout. Before asking yourself how to start, it’s worth asking why and from where . When those answers are clear, the rest becomes much easier to figure out. 6 signs an online business may (or may not) be for you These reflections aren’t meant to push you toward a decision. They’re meant to help you listen to yourself honestly. Take your time with them. The clarity you’re looking for often lives in answers you already know, but haven’t paused long enough to hear. I am seeking sustainable freedom, not a quick escape. Wanting more flexibility, time, or autonomy is valid. The key difference is whether you’re running away from discomfort or moving toward a life you genuinely want to build. A successful online business is built intentionally, not as a reaction or a quick fix. I want to build something long-term, even if results aren’t instant. Sustainable businesses aren’t created overnight. They grow through consistency, learning, and patience. We all know that “make 10k per month and quit your job in 30 days" is an attractive pitch. If you’re open to progress over perfection, this path may suit you far more than quick-win models. Personal growth feels meaningful to me, even when it could be uncomfortable at first. Building an online business is as much an inner journey as it is a practical one. You’ll learn about communication, time management, confidence, and self-trust. Growth isn’t always easy, but it’s often what makes the journey meaningful. I’ve reached a point in my life where alignment with my values matters more than titles or external validation. This path isn’t about fitting into someone else’s definition of success. It’s about building something that aligns with your own values, lifestyle, and priorities. If alignment matters more to you than appearances, that’s an important signal. I am willing to learn new things and develop my skills. You don’t need to figure everything out by yourself. You don’t need to know it all before you start. The most important thing is to be coachable, curious, and willing to learn from people who’ve already walked the path. That’s what makes the journey lighter and far more sustainable. I am committed to changing my current situation. People who are comfortable where they are usually don’t want to put in the time and effort to build something else, even if the idea sounds attractive at first. The real question is whether you truly want to change your current situation, or whether you’re okay staying where you are. What your answers mean Mostly yes, it looks like a right fit. This suggests that your expectations and mindset are aligned with what building an online business generally requires. You’re looking for long-term change rather than quick results, you’re open to learning, and you understand that freedom is built through consistency and commitment. A mix of yes and no, you’re in a transition phase. This is more common than you might think. You feel the pull toward change, but part of you is still attached to what feels familiar. That doesn’t mean you’re confused or indecisive. It often means you’re becoming more aware of what you want, while learning to let go of old patterns. This phase is about reflection, exploration, and giving yourself permission to consider new possibilities. Mostly no, you’re grounded where you are (for now). This doesn’t mean you’re lacking ambition or drive. It likely means your current situation still feels aligned enough for you. An online business requires intention and commitment, and not everyone is in a season where that makes sense. There’s no right outcome here. No label is better than another. The goal isn’t to push yourself into action, but to understand where you stand and choose consciously. So what’s next? With so many opportunities available today and the world shifting rapidly toward the online space, it can feel like you need to jump on the train before it’s too late. But starting an online business isn’t about following a trend or escaping your current life overnight. It’s about understanding yourself well enough to know whether this path truly aligns with what you want right now and where you’re headed next. These reflections aren’t meant to rush you into a decision. They’re here to help you pause, check in with yourself, and recognize what feels true. Whether you’re ready to explore building something online, still in a phase of reflection, or perfectly content where you are, clarity is always a valuable outcome. If this article helped you see your situation more clearly, and if you’re feeling curious about what building an online business could look like for you, you’re welcome to reach out to me through my socials or by email. Sometimes, the next step isn’t a big leap, but simply opening a dialogue. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Marina Krauth Marina Krauth, Online Business Mentor & Entrepreneur Marina Krauth is an online business mentor and entrepreneur who helps individuals build freedom-based online businesses focused on health, personal growth, and authentic living. After experiencing burnout, she chose a different path, creating a business that aligns with her own values and offers true flexibility. Today, Marina guides others to embark on this transformative journey, using a proven business model as a vehicle to achieve freedom, fulfillment, and meaningful life changes. Through her mentorship and coaching, she empowers a growing community of freedom-seekers to live purposefully and create lasting impact.

Written by Eljin Keeling-Johnson, Personal Development Coach Eljin is a transformative personal development coach from the Midlands, England, and the visionary behind the Alignment Method programme. For over 16 years, Eljin has guided people to release what’s holding them back, rediscover their purpose, and create life-changing transformation. How emotional reactions reveal unconscious patterns, and how nervous system regulation helps you reconnect with clarity, safety, and purpose. The word “triggered” is everywhere today. It’s often used casually, sometimes defensively, and frequently misunderstood. Yet being triggered is not weakness, emotional instability, or oversensitivity. It is your nervous system communicating through sensation and emotion, revealing subconscious and unconscious material that is ready to be brought back into conscious awareness. When understood correctly, a trigger is not something to avoid. It is an invitation back into alignment. What being triggered really means Being triggered occurs when something external, someone’s words, tone, behaviour, or even presence, activates an uncomfortable emotional or bodily response. Often, the reaction is disproportionate to the moment. The body feels overwhelmed, and the nervous system may trigger a fight, flight, or freeze response. Importantly, the “threat” you feel is rarely happening in the present. What is activated is an unresolved memory or emotional imprint stored in the subconscious or unconscious mind. There is no sense of time in these deeper layers. Whether the original experience occurred five or thirty years ago, your body experiences it as happening now. This is why triggers so often originate in childhood. The way we learned to cope or survive emotionally then is exactly what replays in adulthood. When this happens, people often turn against themselves, creating identity from their reaction: Why am I like this? I’m a stupid woman. I’m broken. I'm a bad man. In truth, nothing is wrong with you. Your nervous system is doing exactly what it learned to do to keep you safe. Why we get stuck Most people respond to being triggered by looking outward: You made me feel this way. If you stopped doing that, I wouldn’t feel like this. This creates blame, control, and victimhood around the emotion. We attempt to regulate our inner world by controlling the external one. Everyone wants to feel safe. Yet instead of learning to regulate internally, we often try to change other people’s behaviour first. Example: Pete feels anxious when his wife does not reply to his messages quickly. His insecurity builds into anger, and he tells her she must respond faster and send several texts throughout the day. If his wife complies, she may appear supportive, but she is actually rescuing him. This unintentionally reinforces his dependency and keeps him disconnected from the real issue. While empathy from Pete’s wife is important, healing does not come from her changing. The work lies with Pete, learning to experience the insecurity, understand where it originates, and build internal safety. The emotion belongs to Pete. Therefore, so does the responsibility to heal it. The hidden opportunity inside every trigger When we are triggered, something suppressed, implicit, or unresolved rises to the surface. This is not a problem. It is an invitation. The nervous system is revealing material that is ready to be seen, understood, and integrated. Healing begins when we shift from blame to ownership: Instead of "When you did this, you made me feel…" We move to "When this happened, something came up in me." A curious, compassionate enquiry is needed, not a judgmental inquest. This subtle shift changes everything. Triggers become gateways for growth rather than cycles of reaction. However, this work is challenging to do alone: Many triggering memories are unconscious or repressed. Defensive mechanisms arise quickly, often in the form of blame or denial. The body must feel safe to fully experience and release stored emotion. When we are inside a trigger, perspective narrows. We cannot empathise or easily see beliefs, stories, or identity patterns attached to the emotion. Safe relational support, whether with a practitioner or trusted guide, is often essential. Practical ways to begin regulating While deeper work may require professional guidance, there are foundational practices anyone can begin: Develop mindfulness and body awareness. Pause before reacting to the first thought or emotion. Meet yourself with compassion rather than judgement. When activated: Notice your posture and body tension. Breathe through the nose. Inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 6, filling the belly first, then the chest. Add a gentle hum (“ng”) on the exhale to calm the nervous system. Break the state physically. Shake your body, clap, jump, or use cold water. If and only if you feel safe: Gently bring attention to one sensation or emotion at a time. Notice any memories, words, beliefs, or images that arise. Ask: What does this remind me of? When have I felt this before? Begin reframing the associated belief or narrative. Moving from reactivity to alignment Being triggered is not a failure. It is feedback from your nervous system, and an opportunity for healing. When we take responsibility for our emotional states, we move out of blame, control, and victimhood. When we avoid feeling, we avoid healing. And when we refuse ownership, we repeat the same cycles indefinitely. This is the essence of the work I do with my clients. I support high-level individuals and a diverse range of people to move from emotional reactivity into regulation by integrating conscious awareness with subconscious and unconscious healing. Through this alignment-based approach, they learn to experience emotions safely, take responsibility for their internal states, and reconnect with clarity, resilience, and purpose, so they can grow not only in business but also in their relationships and life. Because when you learn to feel safe, you learn to heal. Follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn  for more info! Read more from Eljin Keeling-Johnson Eljin Keeling-Johnson, Personal Development Coach In 2005, Eljin walked into therapy battling anxiety, depression, and drug addiction. What began as a search for healing became a profound journey of self-discovery. Emerging with a renewed sense of purpose, he dedicated his life to helping others find their true selves and step into their full potential. Over the past 16 years, Eljin has delivered more than 16,000 hours of transformative coaching, blending conscious, subconscious, and unconscious work to create deep, lasting change. As the visionary behind the Alignment Method programme, his mission is simple yet powerful, to help people connect, grow, and thrive.

Written by Ilke Atasel, Agile and Integral Coach Ilke Atasel is an Agile Coach, Team Facilitator, Project Manager, and Integral Professional Coach with over a decade of experience in the gaming industry. Certified by ICAgile and Integral Coaching Canada, she blends Agile practices with Integral Coaching to inspire growth, collaboration, and lasting change in teams and individuals. In today’s world, perfectionism is basically the sport we all secretly compete in. We set perfect goals, craft perfect plans, and take “perfect” steps like it’s actually something humans can achieve. We overthink. We get stuck in preparation mode. We scroll through endless “how-to” content, read one more article, watch one more video, and suddenly, we’re still not ready to even take a baby step. We crave certainty and control, but here’s the kicker, they don’t exist. Life doesn’t run on perfect plans. Life runs on its own timeline, its own logic, and sometimes its own chaos. Now, let’s imagine for a second that perfectionism is achievable You have the perfect plan, the perfect vision, and the perfect goal. In this scenario, there are only two options. You either fail, or you succeed. If you fail, motivation dips, self-judgment shows up like an uninvited guest, and your energy feels like it’s leaking through a thousand tiny holes. Suddenly, you can’t see possibilities, you can’t enjoy the process, and even small wins feel invisible. If, by some miracle, you succeed, then well, that’s it. Mission accomplished. And now what? Because when perfection is the target, the next step is unclear, the creativity tank is empty, and adaptation doesn’t even have a seat at the table. It’s binary. One or zero. Nothing in between. No room for experimentation, no space for growth, no playful detours. This is why perfectionism is exhausting. It’s a trap. It keeps us focused on outcomes rather than experiences, on results rather than the journey. It turns life into a rigid checklist instead of a playground of possibilities. Replacing perfectionism with curiosity Curiosity is the antidote. It’s the spark that opens a space for exploration, for dreaming, and for noticing possibilities even when there’s no clear plan. When curiosity leads, uncertainty stops being scary and starts being interesting. Without the chains of “perfect steps,” suddenly there are dozens of paths, countless doors, and outcomes you couldn’t have imagined in your wildest spreadsheets. Don’t get me wrong, having a vision, planning, and thinking ahead isn’t a bad thing at all. But curiosity adds flexibility to the map, creates detours we didn’t see coming, and reminds us that not knowing can actually be thrilling. Yes, life is uncertain at its core. Yes, I know, it’s uncomfortable, and it can feel messy. But curiosity about “what happens next” changes the game. It sparks excitement, invites adaptation, and helps us roll with life instead of pushing against it. Life flows in its own way, and everything happens at the right time, even when it doesn’t match our schedules or checklists. Perfect plans often just create resistance. They make us push too hard until we can’t anymore, leaving frustration and disappointment in their wake. Curiosity, on the other hand, turns uncertainty into an adventure. It makes surprises fun instead of stressful, and it helps us notice the magic in moments we would otherwise miss. So how do we move from perfectionism to curiosity? Start by shifting your focus. Move from overthinking and endless “What if…” loops to small, playful “What happens if…” steps. Take baby steps and let curiosity guide you. Notice, observe, try things, and allow life to surprise you instead of forcing it to fit your perfect plan. Even small experiments can teach you something new, open doors you didn’t know existed, and make the process itself rewarding. If this resonates with you, I’d love to connect, through a comment, a message, following along on Instagram , or simply sending me an email. Let curiosity lead your steps, not the perfectionism you’ll never fully reach. Thanks for reading this far. Follow me on LinkedIn and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Ilke Atasel Ilke Atasel, Agile and Integral Coach Ilke Atasel is an experienced Agile and Integral Professional Coach who helps teams build healthy dynamics, overcome blockers, and effective processes in both cross-functional and matrix organizations. She also works with individuals to overcome self-limiting beliefs, turn ideas into action, make conscious decisions, and cultivate resilience, confidence, and compassion. Drawing on somatic and neuroscientific tools, her coaching supports lasting transformation and the integration of new mindsets and behaviors.

Written by Jenna Nye, Founder of Jentle | Resolution Specialist Jenna Nye is the founder of Jentle and a nervous system resolution specialist. Her work focuses on resolving emotional and physiological activation at the source, particularly where insight and understanding alone have not created change. Anxiety is often approached as something to manage, soothe, or live around. For many people, this leads to years of coping strategies without resolving what activates it. What is rarely explained is the difference between regulating and resolving anxiety, and why understanding how the nervous system learns threat is becoming essential for the future of mental and emotional wellbeing. What anxiety actually is from a nervous system perspective Anxiety is commonly framed as a mental or emotional issue, but at its core, it is a nervous system response. It emerges when the body has learned, through past experience, to associate certain sensations, situations, or internal states with threat. This learning does not require conscious reasoning or narrative memory. The nervous system encodes threat through data from our senses, bodily states, thoughts, repetition, intensity, and context. Once stored as a threat response, anxiety can be triggered automatically, even when no present-day danger exists, simply because similar data is detected again. Understanding anxiety in this way shifts the question from “What’s wrong with me?” to “What did my system learn? Is there anything new to learn now, and do I still want this stored as a threat?” Why anxiety often returns despite doing all the right things Many people engage earnestly in therapy, self-help, mindfulness, and lifestyle changes, yet still experience anxiety resurfacing. This is not because those approaches are ineffective. They are often valuable and necessary for functioning well. However, they are frequently aimed at managing anxiety rather than resolving the original threat response. Regulation helps calm the nervous system in the moment. Resolution involves changing how the threat is stored so that anxiety no longer activates in the same way, even when there is no specific memory attached. Without addressing how threat responses are encoded and reinforced, anxiety may quiet temporarily but remain ready to re-activate under similar conditions, stress, change, or uncertainty. This is where several common myths about anxiety and triggers quietly keep people stuck. 5 common myths about anxiety and triggers Myth 1: If you don’t know the cause of your anxiety, you can’t resolve it The reality: Anxiety does not require conscious memory to exist. The nervous system learns through sensation, emotional intensity, context, and repetition. A threat response can be encoded without a clear story, timeline, or explanation. What this looks like in real life: You feel anxious for no reason. Nothing obvious is wrong, yet your body reacts anyway. You may search your past, analyse yourself endlessly, or assume something must be broken. In reality, your nervous system is responding to a learned threat pattern, not a missing insight. One person noticed strong resistance to a simple household task. When attention was placed on the activation itself, it became clear that feelings of injustice, betrayal, and powerlessness had been encoded early in life in similar contexts. There was no single starting memory, only sensations and emotions. Working with what was activating, rather than searching for a story, allowed the anxiety response to change. Myth 2: Triggers mean something is still wrong with you The reality: Triggers are not signs of failure or fragility. They are signals that the nervous system has linked certain stimuli with threat and is responding protectively. While it can feel as though anxiety is sabotaging your life, these responses were often meaningful and necessary at the time they were learned. Regulation alone cannot release a stored threat. When the original danger has passed, the nervous system still needs a way to update the learning itself. What this looks like in real life: A tone of voice, a bodily sensation, or a familiar situation sparks anxiety that feels out of proportion to the present moment. You may feel embarrassed, frustrated, or confused by your reaction, even though it follows a consistent internal logic. Someone who had experienced loss later found themselves unable to drive, despite having done so confidently before. The panic felt irrational and unrelated to their current circumstances. What eventually brought relief was understanding that the nervous system had encoded danger through imagined proximity, not direct experience. Once that stored threat was resolved, anxiety no longer dominated behaviour. Myth 3: Talking about anxiety enough times will make it go away The reality: Repeatedly revisiting anxiety without changing how the nervous system processes threat can unintentionally reinforce the response. When activation is repeatedly re-felt or re-experienced without resolution, it may be reaffirmed as something dangerous. Attention alone does not guarantee change. Even learning to regulate into a window of tolerance does not necessarily mean the original anxiety trigger has been unencoded. What this looks like in real life: You can explain your anxiety clearly. You may understand where it came from and why it no longer makes sense. Yet your body still reacts as if nothing has changed. Insight is present, but when sensations rise, thoughts spiral, or emotions surge, that insight can feel inaccessible. One individual described having done years of reflective work and self-regulation practices. Despite feeling secure and grounded intellectually, their nervous system remained hypervigilant in certain relational situations. What ultimately shifted was not more understanding, but resolving the original encoding the system was still running. Myth 4: Calm equals resolution The reality: Feeling calm does not necessarily mean a threat response has been updated. Regulation can settle anxiety temporarily without changing the underlying pattern. When data similar to the original encoding enters the nervous system, the anxiety response can reappear as a warning. What this looks like in real life: You feel fine after rest, exercise, breathing practices, or time away, but anxiety returns under pressure or specific conditions. It can feel as though you are constantly resetting rather than moving forward. One person noticed they were calm at home and outside of work, yet consistently activated in professional environments. While external stress played a role, the aim was not to eliminate all activation, but to prevent the system from reacting as though danger was imminent. Over time, their baseline anxiety response shifted, allowing appropriate engagement without overwhelm. Myth 5: Anxiety and threats are only about real danger The reality: While humans are biologically prepared to respond to physical threats, we also encode danger around experiences such as rejection, loss of status, financial insecurity, vulnerability, pain, or being unsupported. Once something is perceived as threatening, it can be biologically encoded, regardless of whether it makes sense consciously. What is encoded biologically can also be resolved biologically. What this looks like in real life: You push yourself to be stronger because there appears to be nothing real to fear. Yet the harder you fight the anxiety response you believe you should not have, the more entrenched it can become. This is because the nervous system is responding to stored threat data, not conscious reasoning. One parent experienced intense anxiety and guilt despite understanding intellectually that they were doing their best. Beneath the surface were unresolved patterns from earlier life experiences and a deeply encoded fear of causing harm. When those layers were resolved, anxiety no longer dominated their parenting, without changing their care, effort, or values. When triggers are running your life Triggers become limiting when they dictate behaviour, choices, and self-perception. This often shows up as avoidance, hypervigilance, or a persistent sense of bracing for what might go wrong. Importantly, this is not a character flaw. It is a sign that the nervous system is operating from information that was once valid, but is now outdated. When anxiety responses are learned, they can also be updated. What resolution actually means Resolution is not about suppressing anxiety or learning to tolerate or manage it indefinitely. It involves changing how the nervous system responds to previously encoded threat. At a biological level, this means reducing the emotional charge attached to certain memories, sensations, thoughts, or patterns so they no longer trigger automatic anxiety activation. When this happens, the system no longer needs to protect in the same way. This is different from coping. Coping helps you manage anxiety. Resolution alters what activates in the first place. As our understanding of the nervous system continues to evolve, this distinction is becoming increasingly important. Rather than asking people to adapt endlessly to their symptoms, emerging approaches focus on how the human system learns, stores, updates, and restores balance. This is not about chasing a future cure. It is about becoming more literate in how we already work. Start your journey today If anxiety keeps returning despite your best efforts, it may not be because you have not tried hard enough. It may be because you have been taught to manage something that could instead be resolved. Learning how the nervous system encodes and responds to threat can change how you relate to anxiety and what you believe is possible. Seeking support that works with the nervous system itself, not just the symptoms, can be an important step. Understanding the system is often the first step toward resolution. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jenna Nye Jenna Nye, Founder of Jentle | Resolution Specialist Jenna Nye is a nervous system resolution specialist and the founder of Jentle. She works at the intersection of neuroscience-informed practice, somatic resolution, belief change, and trauma-aware human technology. Her work supports individuals and practitioners to resolve emotional and physiological activation rather than manage symptoms through insight alone. Jenna is known for precise, contained approaches that restore clarity, capacity, and choice. Her writing explores nervous system patterns, perception, belief, and embodied change.

Mark Proctor is a success advisor, leadership coach, and strategic advisor with over 30 years of elite leadership experience gained across high-pressure, multinational environments. Having served in senior military roles around the world, Mark built a reputation for developing high-performing teams, guiding leaders through complexity, and instilling the principles of courage, clarity, and character at every level of an organisation. Mark Proctor, Leadership and Success Advisor Who is Mark Proctor? I am a husband, a father, and a British Army veteran. I was born in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia at the time), lived in Botswana, and was educated in South Africa before leaving home to join the Army. Those early experiences gave me perspective early on and taught me that leadership matters most when conditions are uncertain and the consequences are real. Outside of my work, I value time outdoors. Walking, thinking, and being in nature. I also share my life with a retired military explosives detection dog who served in Afghanistan. She is a daily reminder of loyalty, calm under pressure, and the quiet professionalism that real service demands. At my core, I am driven by helping people believe in themselves. I care deeply about building confidence, strengthening courage, and helping individuals and leaders become the kind of people others trust when it matters most. What inspired you to simplify leadership and help businesses succeed? Experience and failure. I had several difficult leadership experiences during my career. Rather than move on quickly, I chose to examine what went wrong: my own decisions, the systems I was operating in, and where leadership failed in practice rather than theory. What struck me was a clear contradiction. Organisations invest heavily in leadership development, yet dissatisfaction with leadership remains widespread. Despite the models, frameworks, and training programmes, people were still experiencing poor judgement, avoidance of difficult conversations, and inconsistency under pressure. That insight led me to simplify leadership. Not to make it easy, but to make it usable. When leaders take the time to think clearly, reflect honestly, and adjust their behaviour deliberately, leadership stops being abstract. It becomes practical, human, and effective. My work exists to help leaders avoid repeating costly mistakes and to show that leadership done well is demanding, but not complicated. How do you define leadership, and why is it so important for success? I define leadership as setting the conditions for success. Every decision and action should be judged against a simple question, "Am I improving or degrading the conditions for this person, this team, or this outcome to succeed?" Leadership lives in those daily moments; how you show up, the clarity you provide, the standards you uphold, and the environment you create. It includes providing direction, enabling initiative, listening properly, noticing when someone is struggling, and doing something about it. Leadership is not what you say. It is what people experience consistently over time. I also align strongly with the British Army’s definition of leadership: a combination of character, knowledge, and action that inspires others to succeed. Inspiration comes from behaviour anchored in integrity and consistency, which is why leadership is so central to sustained success. Why do you believe leadership is often misunderstood and overcomplicated? First, leadership is often confused with position. Authority may come with rank or grade, but leadership comes from action. Anyone can lead through the choices they make, particularly under pressure. Second, many organisations lose sight of why leadership exists at all. When leaders don’t understand that their role is to set conditions for success, they default to control, performance theatre, or popularity instead of judgement and responsibility. Third, leadership is treated like a science rather than an art. In reality, it is a series of simple actions carried out consistently at the right moments. Complexity often becomes a way of avoiding accountability. Finally, people look externally for answers while neglecting the internal work. You cannot lead others well if you do not understand yourself. Your values, your reactions, and where you default to comfort. Leadership becomes clearer and stronger when it starts with honest self-awareness. Can you share the core principles of your approach to leadership? My approach rests on five interlocking facets developed through experience and reflection. First, a set of ten leadership principles that create strong habits over time. These include authenticity, consistency, creating safe and exciting environments, and demonstrating through action that people matter. Second, followership. Leadership and followership are inseparable. Every leader is also a follower, and organisations perform best when followership is active, responsible, and respected. Third, three guiding tenets that anchor decision-making under pressure: All of one company Think to the finish Do as you ought, not as you want These provide clarity when choices are difficult or uncomfortable. Fourth, active listening. Listening to understand rather than respond builds trust, sharpens judgement, and reveals what is often left unsaid. Finally, reflection. Not for comfort, but for improvement. The discipline of honestly examining decisions and adjusting behaviour is how leaders grow credibility and judgement over time. How does Green and Scarlet Leadership and Advisory help businesses define leadership for themselves? We do not begin with abstract definitions. We begin by helping organisations clarify what success looks like and what conditions must exist for that success to be sustained. That starts with purpose. Clearly articulated, emotionally understood, and widely owned. From there, we examine whether behaviours, routines, structures, and incentives genuinely support that purpose. Where misalignment exists, we help leaders remove blockers, strengthen what works, and embed leadership into daily practice. The goal is straightforward: leaders and teams operating at their best, consistently and humanely, with clarity and intent. What are the first steps businesses should take to simplify leadership? First, be clear on purpose and intent. If people do not know what good looks like, leadership becomes guesswork. Second, define what leadership looks like behaviourally within the organisation and hold people accountable to it through daily routines. Third, support those who want to lead well but lack confidence or clarity. Development should be practical, focused on judgement, habits, and decision-making rather than theory. Simplification is not about lowering standards, it is about making leadership visible and repeatable. How do you help individuals become inspiring leaders in their own organisations? I start by helping individuals clarify what leadership means to them personally. What they stand for and how they want to be experienced by others. We then align that with the organisation they operate in, identifying where values reinforce one another and where tension exists. Finally, we focus on people. When leaders truly understand those they lead and act deliberately to improve conditions for success, inspiration becomes a natural outcome of consistency and trust. What challenges do businesses face when trying to simplify leadership? Three challenges appear repeatedly: unclear purpose, lack of leadership presence, and poor communication. Purpose must be clear and shared. Leadership presence requires time and attention, which are leadership choices. Communication must be personal, relevant, and owned by leaders themselves, especially during uncertainty. Leadership cannot be subcontracted. You must combine these three things as default: clarity, presence and communication. How does leadership drive success for individuals and businesses? Leadership shapes the environment in which people think, decide, and act. That environment determines behaviour, performance, and resilience. When leadership is done well, individuals gain confidence and clarity, and organisations gain alignment and execution under pressure. Success becomes the natural by-product of how people work every day. Can you describe a success story where your leadership approach made a significant impact? During COVID, my team had to maintain a critical strategic capability while simultaneously undergoing organisational reform. Pressure was high and uncertainty constant. We focused on clarity, inclusion, and trust. People contributed to the plan, decision-making was empowered, challenge was encouraged, and standards were maintained. The result was sustained operational delivery alongside meaningful reform, creating more agile and resilient ways of working. It reinforced the simple understanding that when conditions are right, people rise and give of their best. What advice would you give to businesses creating a clear and actionable leadership plan? Slow down enough to get it right. Be clear on what good looks like. Consult widely and listen honestly. Build leadership into daily routines rather than treating it as an initiative. Learn continuously, reflect deliberately, and adjust as you go. Stay visible and available. Make leadership demanding, human, and meaningful. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Mark Proctor

Written by Wendy Ann Marquenie, Inner Genius Global/Author and Creator Wendy Marquenie is a published author, creator of Genius & His Friends, and passionate advocate for inspiring young minds to develop creativity, resilience, and self-belief. With a background in personal development and education, Wendy empowers families and educators to nurture the next generation of leaders. Reading plays a powerful role in developing a child’s imagination, creativity, and emotional intelligence. This article explores why imagination is an essential skill for learning and future success, and how reading uniquely activates the brain in ways that screens cannot. Through research-backed insights and practical perspectives, it highlights how books help children visualise, empathise, think independently, and explore new possibilities, making reading one of the most valuable tools for nurturing imaginative, capable thinkers in today’s distracted world. Why imagination is a critical skill for the future Imagination is not just about creativity or make-believe, it is a foundational skill for problem-solving, innovation, empathy, and emotional intelligence. In a rapidly changing world, children will need to imagine new possibilities, adapt to uncertainty, and think beyond what already exists. Imagination allows children to visualise outcomes, explore ideas safely, and develop flexible thinking. Without it, learning becomes mechanical and limited to memorisation rather than meaning. The unique power of reading to spark imagination Reading is one of the most powerful tools for developing imagination. Unlike screens, books require children to actively create images, characters, settings, and emotions in their own minds. Each story becomes a personal experience shaped by the reader’s thoughts, feelings, and perspective. Through reading, children learn to see the world not only as it is, but as it could be. What happens when imagination is underused When imagination is not exercised, children may struggle with creativity, independent thinking, and emotional expression. Over-reliance on passive entertainment can limit a child’s ability to visualise, reflect, and engage deeply. This can lead to reduced attention, difficulty generating ideas, and a reluctance to explore new perspectives. Imagination, like a muscle, needs regular use to grow stronger. How reading develops the imaginative brain Neuroscience shows that reading activates multiple areas of the brain simultaneously. As children read, they visualise scenes, predict outcomes, empathise with characters, and connect ideas. This mental engagement strengthens neural pathways associated with creativity, comprehension, and emotional awareness. Reading also enhances vocabulary, which gives children the language they need to express imaginative ideas. The role of adults in encouraging reading and imagination Parents and educators play a vital role in shaping a child’s relationship with reading. When adults model reading, share stories, and treat books as sources of wonder rather than obligation, children are more likely to engage willingly. Creating a reading-friendly environment where curiosity is encouraged and imagination is celebrated helps children associate books with enjoyment and discovery. 7 benefits of reading for imagination and development Enhanced creativity and original thinking Stronger emotional intelligence and empathy Improved concentration and focus Greater vocabulary and expressive ability Increased confidence in communication Better problem-solving skills A lifelong love of learning The 10 essential ways reading nurtures imagination 1. Stories create inner worlds Books invite children to build worlds in their minds, strengthening visualisation and creative thought. 2. Characters teach perspective Reading allows children to experience life through different viewpoints, expanding empathy and understanding. 3. Plot encourages prediction As children anticipate what might happen next, they practise imaginative forecasting and reasoning. 4. Language expands possibility A rich vocabulary gives children more tools to imagine, describe, and invent. 5. Reading slows the mind Unlike fast-paced media, books allow time for reflection, imagination, and deeper engagement. 6. Stories inspire creative play Books often spark drawing, storytelling, role-play, and creative expression beyond the page. 7. Imagination builds emotional safety Through stories, children explore fears, challenges, and emotions in a safe and supported way. 8. Reading strengthens independent Thinking Children form their own interpretations and meanings rather than being shown what to think. 9. Books encourage curiosity Stories naturally prompt questions, wonder, and exploration of new ideas. 10. Reading creates lifelong learners A strong reading habit nurtures imagination well into adulthood, supporting creativity and adaptability. Choosing the right books matters Not all books have the same impact on imagination. Stories that are rich in imagery, emotion, and open-ended ideas encourage deeper engagement. Books that invite reflection, exploration, and discussion are particularly powerful in nurturing imaginative thinking. Start building imagination through reading today Encouraging reading doesn’t require rigid rules or pressure. A shared story, a quiet reading corner, or a thoughtful conversation about a book can spark imagination in lasting ways. When children are given access to meaningful stories and the freedom to imagine, they develop skills that support learning, emotional growth, and future success. In a world full of distractions, reading remains one of the most powerful gateways to imagination. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Wendy Ann Marquenie Wendy Ann Marquenie, Inner Genius Global/Author and Creator Wendy Marquenie is a passionate advocate for personal development and empowering young minds. After years of teaching dance and discovering her own potential through Bob Proctor's teachings, Marquenie created The Genius Books, a series designed to help children understand their thoughts, build confidence, and unlock their inner genius. As a published author and creator of educational resources, Wendy is dedicated to inspiring the next generation to imagine, dream, and succeed. Her mission: Cultivating the mindset for success from a young age.

Written by Tara Swann, Emotional Empowerment Coach & Author Tara Swann is an Emotional Empowerment & Embodiment Coach and three-time Author who guides women to alchemise emotional patterns, reclaim their inner power, and manifest a life that reflects their deepest truth. Feeling your emotions is what gives you the power to manifest the life of your dreams. Do you believe in manifestation? I didn’t. When I first heard the term “manifestation,” I thought it was absolute nonsense, and that we just had to work with the cards we’d been dealt, and that there was no way we could create our reality. But the truth is, without embodied manifestation practices, I wouldn’t be writing this article, nor would I have stood on stages to inspire others, written three books, or called in the love of my life. For seventeen years of my life, I struggled with chronic anxiety, and speaking was one of my biggest fears, so much so that some days I wouldn’t leave my house in fear of running into someone and having to talk to them. When I first started my business, I avoided using my voice in every possible way. It took me six months to send a voice message. It took me another six months to post a video of myself, and even after twenty takes, I still judged myself harshly, believing people would think I was stupid. The moment everything shifted About eighteen months into my business, I started working with a business coach. She suggested that I hold a free online masterclass. I agreed and announced it on my socials. Immediately after announcing it, I started pacing my house thinking, “What have I just done? I can’t do this, I cannot speak live to people online.” I wanted to pull the pin. Thankfully, I could reach out to my coach, and she said these words that will forever stay with me: “Your thoughts are attached to feelings. When you release the feelings, the thoughts will disappear as a byproduct.” Releasing emotion changed everything So, for the first time in my life, I went and sat with what I was feeling. I could feel the tightness in my chest, and I breathed into it. I could feel it move up into my throat and out of me. As it did, I cried. I released the emotion that had been blocking me for years, and then clarity. I realised where the fear of speaking had stemmed from in the first place. That was my older sister challenging what felt like everything I said growing up, and as a sensitive little Pisces, I formed the belief that it wasn’t safe to use my voice. From that moment, I knew I didn’t have to believe that anymore. This one powerful experience led me to show up to my masterclass with no fear, with clarity, certainty, and confidence. And I thought, “If I can release this lifelong fear of speaking in just fifteen minutes, what else can I do?” Why mindset alone doesn’t work A lot of us are taught to “do manifestation” by repeating affirmations, visualising, positive thinking, and creating beautiful vision boards, but these practices will only get you so far. When you’re forcing “positive” thoughts that your body is contracting against, then you’re opposing and ignoring the very energy that actually creates. Manifestation happens through the body Manifestation doesn’t happen from the mind, it happens from the body. When your body does not believe what you’re repeating, and when your nervous system does not feel safe to receive love, success, or abundance, no amount of affirmations or pretty pictures will override what’s held beneath the surface. This is why so many give up on manifestation, believing it’s nonsense, which I can totally relate to. I used to repeat the affirmation “I am confident” over and over again, but my lack of confidence didn’t budge, and I certainly didn’t break free from my comfort zone. My body knew the truth at that point, that it simply wasn’t true. The subconscious holds the key Your body holds stories and emotional imprints from the past. Your past experiences determine what beliefs you have instilled about what is possible for you, what is acceptable, and what you’re worthy of achieving. This is the subconscious, which dictates 95% of your behaviour and is mainly formed before the age of seven, but this doesn’t mean it’s permanent. Actually, what is stored in the subconscious, when made conscious, is the gateway to liberation, to higher vibrational states, and to more aligned manifestations. From shame to embodied confidence My experience of releasing shame around speaking led me to continually delve into the body to release other stored emotions from the past, and deeper, ingrained beliefs in my subconscious, which created space to call in beliefs and feelings that were aligned with the life I knew I wanted to create, and the woman I wanted to become. It eventually led me to being asked to speak on stages, where I again had to release fear and shame through the body. In doing so, I created space for the embodiment of a grounded, confident woman, one who could stand on stage with calm clarity, caring less about how she was perceived and more about those in need of the transmission. This method of exploring the deeper layers of the subconscious (the body) and releasing what isn’t you to make space for what is, applies to everything in life, including love and relationships. Embodied manifestation in love and relationships My past is full of painful relationship stories with men who would lie, cheat, and manipulate. I called it love, believing this was just how love was, painful and inconsistent. After all, this was what was modelled to me as a child. A few years after separating from the father of my two boys, and doing a lot of inner work, I reached a point where I was ready for a relationship. I decided at that point, no more half-in-half-out men, no more settling for anything less than amazing. I wanted the real deal. Why wanting keeps us stuck I was ready for real love, and I wanted it because I was tired of feeling lonely. I wanted connection, love, and safety. Until I realised that “wanting” itself is the frequency of not having. If you want something, it means you do not have it, and the Universe responds to your energy, not your desires. Wanting to escape loneliness only amplifies loneliness (and makes you settle for anything that helps you feel less alone). Wanting a man to help me feel whole only emitted the frequency of not yet feeling whole. And needing a man so I could feel love, connection, and security, only made it conditional. As in, if he leaves, he takes with him my source of love, connection, and security, which would make me anxious, needy, and insecure in the relationship. This is not the energy I wanted to start my love story with. Becoming the source of what you desire So, I went to work again. I released the belief that love meant pain, and I replaced it with ‘love gets to be love.’ I released my fear around opening my heart by finally grieving past heartbreak. I softened my loneliness through radical acceptance. And I finally embodied the fact that no man was coming to complete me. I had become the woman who was complete within herself. How? I released every belief that had me feeling incomplete and unworthy, and I started giving myself everything that I was craving from a man: love, connection, safety, play, touch, and emotional containment. I connected to my heart daily, I played by myself at the beach, I touched my body sensually as if it were a lover touching me, I created love and safety within myself through my own emotional containment, my own inner masculine holding my feminine with love and non-judgement. I became my own lover. When the body can hold what the heart desires This process took me from need and want to having it all before he physically arrived, and it made it clear who I was willing to settle for and who I wasn’t. I raised the bar. And that’s when he appeared. Not only because I became the vibrational match of that kind of relationship, but I also became the woman whose nervous system could hold that kind of love. You don’t get what you want, you get what you are. 3 truths about embodied manifestation Here’s what these experiences, from speaking to relationships and everything in between, taught me: 1. You manifest from the body, not the mind Your body decides what you allow in, and if you haven’t embodied what you say you desire, your nervous system sees it as foreign and unsafe. If you have emotions in the body, such as suppressed grief and fear closing your heart, you will struggle to allow anything in. The door is closed. 2. You must release what’s in the way Stored emotions block your frequency. If you want a clear channel, you must allow those emotions to finally flow. You cannot manifest expansion from a body that feels tense, anxious, and closed off due to old, suppressed grief or anger. 3. You must embody the frequency of your desires Every emotion has a feeling, and each feeling holds a frequency. For example, fear feels constrictive, love feels open and expansive. Lack feels unsafe, and abundance feels like trust and flow. What do you desire? And how would it feel to have that? Feel that now. Living from coherence Don’t live for the future, waiting for someone or something to give you what you want so you can feel what you want to feel in your life. Don’t live in the past, don't let your old stories dictate what is created in your current reality. Live and feel your desires now, right now. Every feeling is available to you now. Your desires are within you because they’re entirely possible for you, they are invitations from the person you’re becoming to let go of the old and step into the new. You’re not here to chase, force, or control outcomes, you’re here to magnetise. You do not need to try harder, let go of trying, align deeper. When thoughts, feelings, and actions are in coherence, everything that is not in alignment in your life will fall away naturally. When you release the emotion that blocks you, when you embody the frequency of what you want, when you decide to become the person who has it before they have it, your entire reality begins to shift around you. “This isn’t magic, it’s embodiment” If you’d love to explore this work further, my book, "Becoming Her – The woman you’ve been taught NOT to be," is available on Amazon, directly from my Bookstore , or find me on Instagram . Visit my website  for more info! Read more from Tara Swann Tara Swann , Emotional Empowerment Coach & Author Tara Swann is an Emotional Empowerment Coach, Author, and Speaker known for helping women alchemise emotional patterns into personal power. She guides women into deeper confidence, clarity, and self-connection through her unique blend of emotional mastery, feminine embodiment, and manifestation work. Tara is the author of You Don’t Have Anxiety, Becoming Her, and The Ocean Is She, and is currently deepening her expertise through formal Tantra Practitioner training. Her mission is to help women remember who they are and consciously create lives that feel aligned, expansive, and unapologetically alive.

Written by Jenny Gaynor, Social Emotional Learning Coach and Founder Jenny Gaynor, author and founder of Calm Education, teaches SEL tools to help kids, families, and teachers build confidence, connection, and calm. In a world that often feels hurried, divided, and overstimulated, the idea of “loving kindness” can sound soft or even idealistic. But loving kindness is not a weakness, and it isn’t passive. It is a powerful, intentional way of relating to ourselves and others. It builds emotional resilience, strengthens relationships, and supports nervous system regulation. Loving kindness, often referred to as “metta” in mindfulness traditions, is a practice of wishing well being, safety, and ease for ourselves and for others. It is rooted in the belief that all humans want to feel safe, valued, and connected, even when their behavior does not reflect it. At its core, loving kindness asks one important question, “How can I respond with care without abandoning myself?” This is where loving kindness becomes compassionate with boundaries. It is not about ignoring harm or tolerating mistreatment. It is about choosing curiosity over judgement, connection over contempt, and intention over reaction. The best part? Loving kindness does not require grand, Valentine’s Day style gestures. It lives in small, daily moments. Below are five simple, realistic ways to practice loving kindness in your everyday life. 1. Start with yourself (yes! really!) Many people associate kindness with what they give to others and struggle to extend that care inward. Loving kindness begins with self compassion, especially during moments of stress, failure, or emotional overwhelm. It might sound like: “This is hard right now, and I am doing the best I can.” “I can feel frustrated and still be a good person.” “I do not need to fix myself to be worthy.” When we practice loving kindness toward ourselves, we calm the nervous system and reduce feelings of shame, which are two key ingredients for emotional regulation. This inner safety then allows us to show up more patiently and calmly for others. Try this: Place one hand on your heart, take one slow breath, and silently offer yourself a kind phrase such as, “May I be gentle with myself in this moment.” 2. Pause before you react Loving kindness often shows up in the pause. This is the space between a trigger and a response. When someone cuts you off, snaps at you, or disappoints you, your nervous system naturally moves into protection mode. Pausing does not mean excusing mistreatment. It means giving yourself enough space to choose a response aligned with your values rather than your impulse. This pause might last the time it takes you to take one deep breath, slowly count to three, or give yourself the gentle reminder, “I can respond instead of react.” This moment of regulation is an act of kindness to yourself and to your relationship with the person who upset you. 3. Assume a neutral or kind story Our brains are wired to fill in gaps quickly, often with unhelpful interpretations. Loving kindness invites us to soften the story we are telling ourselves. Instead of: They do not care. They are doing this on purpose. I must have done something wrong. Try: I do not know what they are carrying today. There may be more going on than I can see. I can stay curious. This does not mean ignoring red flags or boundaries. It simply means releasing unnecessary judgement that drains emotional energy and increases stress. 4. Offer small acts of presence Loving kindness is not always about what you do. It is more about how you are with others. Presence is one of the most meaningful gifts we can offer. This can look like: Making eye contact and truly listening. Putting your phone down during a conversation. A warm one instead of a rushed one. A simple, “I’m glad you’re here.” For children, especially, presence communicates safety and worth far more powerfully than words. For adults, it fosters trust and connection in a world that often feels transactional. 5. Practice loving kindness even when it is hard, with boundaries Perhaps the most misunderstood part of loving kindness is the belief that it requires self sacrifice. In reality, loving kindness and boundaries go hand in hand. You can: Be kind and say no. Be compassionate and protect your peace. Care deeply without absorbing someone else’s emotions. Loving kindness might sound like: “I care about you, and I can’t do this right now.” “I want you to be well, and I need space.” “I can hold compassion without trying to fix this.” This kind of kindness is grounded, sustainable, and empowering. Why loving kindness matters Research continues to show that loving kindness practices support emotional regulation, reduce stress, and increase feelings of connection and well being. Research on loving kindness meditation from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley highlights benefits such as increased positive emotions, empathy, and social connection. But beyond research, loving kindness matters because it reminds us of our shared humanity. It helps children learn that feelings are allowed. It helps adults repair relationships. It creates moments of calm in a dysregulated world. Loving kindness is not just a Valentine’s Day idea. It is a daily practice that supports emotional well being, resilience, and connection. This Valentine’s Day, consider beginning with one small act of kindness toward yourself or others. With intention and repetition, loving kindness can become a habit you carry into everyday life. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Jenny Gaynor Jenny Gaynor, Social Emotional Learning Coach and Founder Jenny Gaynor is the author and founder of Calm Education. She teaches children, families, and teachers essential SEL (Social Emotional Learning) skills. Her mission is to help others build confidence, resilience, and healthy connections. Jenny is a former educator with over 20 years of classroom experience. She holds certifications in both elementary and special education. Jenny also has training in yoga, meditation, and SEL facilitation. She lives in Barrington, Rhode Island, with her family and therapy cat, Tiller.

Written by Diana Beaulieu, Womb Healing Teacher Diana Beaulieu is the founder of the InnerWomb Method, an innovative healing modality empowering women to awaken their embodied feminine power through Womb Healing. She trains practitioners globally to bring profound emotional and energetic transformation to women’s lives. Womb healing is a transformative practice that addresses physical, emotional, and energetic blockages in your sacred womb space, your feminine centre of power, creativity, and intuition. Your womb space is a profound energetic centre that connects you to your deepest feminine power and creative life force. This energy centre exists within all women, regardless of whether you have given birth, your age, or your fertility status. When your womb energy is blocked or disconnected, you may feel stuck, unfulfilled, or unable to step into your potential. Many women have never consciously connected with their womb space, living primarily in their minds while this foundational feminine energy centre remains dormant. Seven key signs you need womb healing 1. Repeating toxic relationship patterns Have you noticed that, despite your best efforts, you keep finding yourself in similar relationship dynamics? Your womb space functions as an energetic magnet for intimate relationships. When unhealed wounds or traumas are stored here, your womb unconsciously broadcasts a frequency that attracts matching energies. Womb trauma healing works directly with this space, releasing old programming and recalibrating your frequency. Once cleared, you naturally begin attracting healthier partnerships without force or effort. 2. Blocked sensuality and low libido When was the last time you truly felt present in your body, not thinking about it, but actually feeling it from the inside out? We are trained to prioritise mental intelligence over body wisdom. This creates profound disconnection from our womb energy, the centre that anchors us into our physical body and awakens our capacity for pleasure and embodied joy. When you are cut off from your womb, intimacy can feel mechanical or unmotivating. Your libido may be low, or you may experience pelvic discomfort. You may feel numb to simple body pleasures, delicious food, sunshine on your skin, and joyful movement. Womb healing shifts your consciousness from the thinking mind to the body. As you bring attention to your womb, your vital life force begins to flow. You become more sexually magnetic and able to experience the full spectrum of pleasure. 3. Making fear-based decisions instead of following your truth Are you making choices based on what you truly want, or what you think will keep you safe from judgment, failure, or the unknown? Your womb holds deeper wisdom than gut instincts or heart feelings. This is your soul level knowing. When connected to your womb energy, you access clear feminine intuition about everything from life purpose to daily needs. Decision-making from the mind alone is rooted in fear, fear of instability, judgment, or making the wrong choice. When you develop a conscious relationship with your womb, you access remarkably pure intuition. This deep knowing helps you navigate life from trust rather than fear. Womb-connected women make decisions that may seem illogical but lead to extraordinary outcomes, unexpected career changes that blossom, relocations that reveal soul homes, and creative risks that open unexpected doors. This is not recklessness. It is being deeply rooted in your truth. 4. Creative blocks and manifestation problems Do you have a graveyard of half-finished projects, abandoned dreams, and brilliant ideas that never made it into the world? Your womb is designed for manifestation, taking something energetic and bringing it into physical form. When womb energy is weak or blocked, you can become stuck in ideation. You may have brilliant visions but struggle to ground them into reality. Women with unhealed womb energy often experience a frustrating cycle, excitement, initial action, then stalling before completion. Others scatter their energy across too many ideas, never fully birthing even one. This blockage often stems from fear, fear of visibility, presence, or unconscious patterns that keep you small. When you heal your womb, you access a stable and focused creative force. Mental chatter quiets. You stay with projects through completion, attract the resources you need, and manifest visions with greater ease. 5. Energy drainage and unhealthy caretaking patterns Do you feel exhausted after time with others? Do you automatically slip into caretaker mode, prioritising others’ needs while your energy runs dangerously low? This points to wounded womb energy and compromised boundaries. Your womb is your foundation for healthy boundaries, where you establish sovereignty and your right to protect your energy. When your womb is wounded, you unconsciously absorb others’ emotions and energy. This shows up as feeling responsible for others’ states, difficulty saying no, attracting energy vampires, giving until empty, and losing yourself in relationships. Womb healing establishes sacred boundaries from wholeness. As you clear wounds that teach self-abandonment, your womb radiates a clear field, “I honour my personal energy and own my worth.” You become compassionate without being consumed, supportive without depletion. 6. Inner emptiness and addictive coping behaviours Do you experience persistent emptiness that no external success fills? Do you turn to food, alcohol, shopping, or sex to soothe this void? This emptiness signals disconnection from your womb space. Cut off from this centre, you lose access to deep fullness, groundedness, and inner nourishment from your feminine essence. Without womb fullness, you reach outward to fill the gap through emotional eating, shopping for excitement, substances for escape, sexual validation, or constant busyness. The cycle perpetuates, emptiness into coping into brief relief into guilt into more emptiness. When you heal your womb, you discover the fullness you have sought externally existed within all along. Your awakened womb becomes a wellspring of nourishment and satisfaction, independent of circumstances. You engage with pleasures from genuine enjoyment, not desperate need. 7. Financial anxiety and money blocks Why does money feel like a constant struggle, no matter how hard you work or how much you know you are worth? Persistent money anxiety is intimately connected to womb health. Your womb and root energies create your sense of safety, groundedness, and capacity to receive material abundance. When womb energy is blocked, you may experience chronic financial struggle despite hard work, difficulty charging your worth, disproportionate money anxiety, feast-famine income patterns, and beliefs that you cannot support yourself. These patterns stem from deep womb wounds around safety, worthiness, and your right to thrive. Many women carry ancestral womb wounds related to survival and scarcity within their cellular memory. Womb healing addresses these root patterns. As you clear trauma and awaken your womb’s creative force, your capacity to generate, receive, and steward money transforms. You trust that you can support yourself. Money flows with greater ease. Did any of these signs resonate with you? The good news is that you can heal these patterns at the root by connecting with and healing your womb space. Download my three-week Womb Healing course to get started on your womb healing journey. Follow me on  Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Diana Beaulieu Diana Beaulieu, Womb Healing Teacher Diana Beaulieu studied Biology and Human Sciences at Oxford University and brings over 20 years of experience in anthropology, writing, shamanism, and energy medicine. As the founder of the InnerWomb Method, she has trained practitioners in over 40 countries, including doctors, coaches, and therapists. Her pioneering work blends somatic healing, shamanic practice, and quantum transformation to help women reclaim their feminine power. Diana is recognized as a leading global authority in the field of Womb Healing.