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.

Written by Maynard Hebert, Keynote speaker/ Consultant Maynard Hebert is a Red Seal heavy-equipment expert, award-winning shovel technician, and the author of Onward Buttercups. He is a workplace culture specialist who teaches teams and leaders how to communicate better, work smarter, and build trust in high-pressure environments. There’s a belief floating around the business world that refuses to die, no matter how many good employees it drags out the door on its way to the grave. It sounds reasonable. It even sounds responsible. And that’s why it’s dangerous. It goes like this, “We’d retain people if we could afford big wages.” I get it. Payroll hurts. Benefits hurt. Fuel hurts. Insurance hurts. Everything hurts. But that statement, while comforting, is often just a clean excuse wrapped around a messy truth. Because wages matter, yes… but they are rarely the real reason people stay. Wages can keep someone quiet for a while, but they can’t keep someone loyal forever if the workplace feels like a daily stress test with no finish line. Eventually, the culture catches up. Eventually, the supervisor shows their true colors. Eventually, the employee realizes they’re not quitting a job… they’re escaping an environment. And when that moment hits, it doesn’t matter how big the paycheque is. People leave anyway. Let’s talk about money (because I’ve lived both sides) At one point in my career, I was taking home $810.88 every two weeks. That’s the kind of pay where you don’t budget, you perform miracles. You’re not planning vacations, you’re planning which bill gets paid late without the lights getting shut off. Then I went to Fort McMurray, and suddenly I was taking home $10,460.62 in one month. That should’ve locked me in for life. That’s “finally breathe” money. That’s “fix the truck, pay the debt, buy groceries without math” money. And I quit within two months. Not because the money wasn’t incredible, it was. I left because the leadership was brutal, the culture was toxic, and every shift felt like paying rent with my sanity. The work itself wasn’t the issue. The people weren’t even the issue. The issue was what happened when pressure showed up, blame, chaos, ego, disrespect, and that constant feeling that no matter what you did, you’d still be the one holding the bag. That experience taught me something I’ve carried ever since, money delays pain, but leadership decides outcomes. You can’t out-pay disrespect. You can’t out-bonus burnout. You can’t out-incentive a workplace that makes people feel small, disposable, or unsafe, emotionally or physically. Employee departure is the invoice for bad leadership Here’s a line I’ve said for years, and I’ll keep saying it until companies stop pretending they don’t understand it. Employee departure is the invoice for shit supervisors. And that invoice always shows up. Sometimes it shows up loud, turnover, resignations, exit interviews, people walking out mid-shift. Other times it shows up quiet, absenteeism, low engagement, the bare minimum, the “I used to care but now I don’t” attitude that spreads like rust through a shop. Either way, the invoice arrives, and it doesn’t ask permission. It just collects. The mistake many businesses make is assuming retention is primarily a “pay issue.” In reality, pay is often the decoy. The real problem is leadership, and leadership failures don’t always look dramatic. Sometimes they look like inconsistency. Sometimes they look like favoritism. Sometimes they look like supervisors who manage by threat instead of trust, who correct in public but never praise in private, who demand loyalty while giving none. People don’t wake up one day and say, “I think I’ll quit because the wages are slightly lower than I’d prefer.” They quit because of what they’re forced to tolerate every day, disrespect, unclear expectations, unsafe environments, poor communication, constant chaos, and leadership that reacts instead of leads. Employees don’t leave jobs. They leave environments. Why small and medium businesses have a massive advantage Small and medium businesses don’t realize how much power they already have. They assume they’re at a disadvantage because they can’t compete with massive corporate wages, big perks, or shiny programs that look great in a recruitment brochure. But here’s the truth, SMBs have a retention advantage that big companies can’t buy. Why? Because you’re close. You’re closer to the work. You’re closer to the people. You’re closer to the problems, and the fixes. In a smaller business, employees can actually feel the difference when leadership makes a good decision. They can see the ripple effect. They can feel stability when it’s created. They can feel safety when it’s protected. And when you’re close enough to respond quickly, you don’t need perfection, you need presence. People don’t expect flawless management. They expect responsiveness. They expect someone to notice when things are breaking down. They expect leadership to step in before a small issue becomes a full-blown workplace infection. Leadership is always on display In a small business, leadership isn’t hidden behind five layers of management and a corporate policy manual thicker than a service manual for a 797. Leadership is something employees experience daily. They see how decisions are made. They watch how pressure is handled. They notice who gets blamed and who gets backed. They notice what gets fixed and what gets ignored. They can tell whether the owner leads with maturity or ego. They can tell whether supervisors protect the team or protect themselves. And because leadership is so visible, it creates one of two outcomes, trust grows fast… or turnover grows faster. You don’t get to hide leadership problems behind “corporate structure.” In a smaller company, culture isn’t theoretical, it’s personal. It’s felt. It’s lived. People stay where they matter People don’t quit places where they feel useful. They quit places where they feel invisible. When employees feel like they matter, they show up differently. They take pride in the work. They care about outcomes. They solve problems without being begged. They protect the team because the team protects them. But when employees feel like a disposable tool, something changes. They stop giving their best. They stop volunteering ideas. They stop taking ownership. They start protecting themselves. And quietly, sometimes months before they actually leave, they begin planning their exit. Retention isn’t built by pizza lunches and motivational posters. Retention is built when leadership proves, consistently, that effort is noticed, people are supported, accountability is fair, communication is real, and respect is the baseline, not a reward for good behavior. Flexibility beats pay more often than employers realize Here’s something small businesses don’t use enough, and it’s sitting right in your hands: Flexibility is compensation. Not every employee is chasing maximum income. Many are chasing stability, sanity, and a life that doesn’t feel like it’s collapsing under the weight of work. Flexibility looks like realistic schedules. It looks like time off that doesn’t come with guilt. It looks like understanding when life happens. It looks like expectations that match human capacity. People don’t burn out from work. They burn out from bullshit. They burn out from chaos. From disrespect. From unclear expectations. From leaders who make everything harder than it needs to be. If your business offers an employee peace, predictability, and respect, you can retain people even without paying top-dollar wages. Culture is cheaper than turnover Turnover is expensive, and not just in dollars. It costs time. It costs training. It costs momentum. It costs customer experience. It costs the morale of the employees who stay behind and pick up the slack while the new hire learns where the broom is. Culture costs less than replacement. It always has, and culture isn’t about being “fun.” Culture is about what happens when things get hard. Culture is how people treat each other under stress. Culture is what leadership tolerates. Culture is what gets rewarded. Culture is what gets ignored. A strong culture doesn’t mean no conflict. It means conflict gets handled with maturity instead of ego. Retention and reliability are linked Reliable leadership creates reliable teams. And reliable teams stick around. When leadership is consistent, people feel safe. When people feel safe, they speak up. When they speak up, problems get solved early. When problems get solved early, teams don’t rot from the inside out. Retention isn’t a perk. It’s a result. It’s the result of leadership that’s stable, respectful, and accountable. Final thoughts Small businesses don’t lose talent because they pay less. They lose talent when they tolerate weak leadership. Big wages might attract people faster, but they don’t keep them longer when the culture is broken. If you’re an employer trying to win the retention game without competing in the wage wars, here’s the truth: You don’t need to be the highest-paying workplace. You need to be the best-led workplace. Because at the end of the day… Employee departure is the invoice for poor supervisors. And that invoice always shows up. Onward, Buttercups. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Maynard Hebert Maynard Hebert, Keynote speaker/ Consultant Maynard Hebert is a Red Seal Heavy Equipment Technician, author, and host of the Gears of Trust podcast. Drawing on decades in the mining and oil sands industry, he helps organizations strengthen communication, reduce turnover, and build teams that actually work together. His book, Onward Buttercups, has become a practical guide for mechanics, supervisors, and leaders looking for real-world, human-centered solutions to workplace chaos. Maynard blends technical expertise with humour, storytelling, and straight-talk leadership. He was recognized as Mader Mining’s 2024 Outstanding Employee of the Year. Today, he speaks, teaches, and consults across Canada on reliability, culture, and team performance.

Written by Garet Free, Executive Transformation Coach, Bestselling Author Garet Free is a best-selling author and executive coach who helps ambitious leaders stop white-knuckling their way through life and unlock authentic confidence. He blends raw yet loving honesty with transformational practices to turn self-doubt into rocket fuel for success. Thriving as a CEO isn’t about doing more. It’s about knowing when to say no. This article explores why clear boundaries, strategic refusal, and disciplined focus are essential leadership skills, and how saying no can protect performance, relationships, and long-term success without burning bridges. Why survival depends more on subtraction than addition Most CEOs don’t fail because they make bad decisions. They fail because they say yes too often. They say yes to avoid conflict. They say yes to avoid disappointing people. They say yes because saying no feels risky. Under pressure, we default to survival mode, doing whatever it takes to keep things moving. Sometimes that flexibility serves us, and when survival becomes the only operating system, it quietly erodes clarity, focus, and leadership. Thriving leaders understand that respectfully saying no is part of the job. A lesson from the emergency department When I was a paramedic, I was working in the emergency department on a summer night when everything felt tense. We were overwhelmed. New physicians had just started training, wait times were long, and the department was at capacity. A new fellow physician, fresh out of residency, asked me to draw two sets of blood cultures on a child being evaluated for a fever. That would mean two needle sticks, more time, higher cost, and little clinical benefit. “Why?” I asked. “Because if he gets admitted, the team upstairs will want a second set,” she said. “No,” I replied. “That’s not how we practice down here.” She looked confused, so I directed her to an attending physician for clarification and moved on. In that moment, my responsibility was clear: do right by the patient and family, uphold the standard of care, and keep the department flowing. In emergency medicine, fifteen minutes matter. The child was later discharged without further workup. Had I said yes, I would have taken on unnecessary work, delayed care for others, and caused harm under the guise of compliance. Instead, I stayed on task. That fellow physician gained my trust, and I was able to care for another patient sooner. All from a simple no. In a crisis, not everything deserves a response Treating every request as urgent creates self-inflicted chaos. Emergency medicine teaches triage, the ability to assess acuity, respond to what matters now, and move on. You don’t give equal attention to everything. You respond to what matters most. That requires decisiveness and the acceptance that you can’t do it all. The same principle applies to leadership. When you say no, you’re not being dismissive, you’re being decisive. You’re protecting flow. Bottlenecks don’t serve patients, teams, or businesses. When discernment is the anchor, you will discover ease. A decision you can’t undo One early fall morning around 3 a.m., I was dispatched to a car accident involving two people who had been ejected from their vehicle. The nearest hospital was 45 minutes away, the closest trauma center was over 90 minutes away. I was the only ambulance available. I placed a helicopter on standby while en route. Preparation matters in a crisis. You’ll never get it perfect, but slowing down to think clearly makes a difference. When we arrived, one patient was in cardiac arrest. Firefighters were performing CPR. I quickly assessed, checked for a pulse, and asked whether there were concerns about terminating resuscitation. There were none. Time of death: 3:22 a.m. Traumatic cardiac arrest has a nearly 100% fatality rate. Resources were limited, and decisions had to be made. The second patient was breathing but unconscious. I activated the helicopter. He needed a trauma center immediately, and the rest of the county needed an available ambulance. We stabilized him, transferred care, and cleared the scene. Later, the questions came, as they always do. Did I make the right decision? Would the second patient survive? How would the family of the deceased be notified? When the dust settled, I knew I had done the best I could with what was available. Letting go of second-guessing took effort, but it mattered. Moments of crisis test your ability to pause, assess, and say no, even when saying yes feels safer. That pause prevents regret and preserves trust in yourself as a leader. Saying no to shiny objects If it doesn’t reinforce your core strategy, it steals from it. Shiny opportunities often disguise themselves as growth, new partnerships, features, or visibility plays. Left unchecked, they create distraction cycles that kill momentum. Before exploring something new, check alignment first. Strategy comes before curiosity. Two simple responses: “This isn’t a priority for us right now.” “That’s interesting, but it doesn’t align with our focus.” You can be kind without saying yes. In the startup world, experimentation is necessary, and guardrails are a must. I once worked with a company that had a highly detailed process for evaluating new ideas. It was thoughtful, complex, and ultimately ineffective. One key step was missing, early strategic alignment. Ideas should be vetted by senior leadership before entering the pipeline. If they don’t align with the strategy, they should be stopped immediately. Instead, the pipeline grew unmanageable, momentum stalled, and the process collapsed under its own weight. Alignment first. Execution second. Saying no to misaligned clients This is where many leaders get uncomfortable. Saying no to revenue feels counterintuitive, especially when you know you can help. But short-term cash often comes at the expense of long-term survival. Misaligned clients cost more than they pay. They drain energy, erode morale, and quietly damage your brand. Recently, I guided a prospect toward not working with me. On the surface, he seemed like a strong fit. As we dug deeper, it became clear there was misalignment. He was rigid in his thinking and not ready for the type of work I do. I know who I serve best. This wasn’t it. Rather than avoiding the conversation, I addressed it directly and respectfully. Two responses I often use: “We’re not the right partner for what you need in this moment.” “We can’t deliver this at the level we expect of ourselves right now.” Preserve dignity, for them, and for yourself. Professional relationships matter, even when you don’t move forward together. Saying no to your own ego This is the hardest no of all. You don’t have all the answers. You never have and never will. Many executives fail to evolve beyond a command-and-control mindset. Ego convinces them they must be involved in everything, approve everything, and carry everything. I once worked with a C-suite leader whose calendar ran from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., five days a week. He insisted on reviewing every contract, deck, and decision. Nothing moved without him. The result? Bottlenecks, disengaged teams, missed deadlines, and eventually, his exit from the company. Thriving leaders understand this: Delegation is trust. Boundaries are respect. Clarity is strength. You don’t need to do everything. You need to empower others to do it well. Growth requires space for learning and, yes, occasional failure. Let go of the death grip. Strong leaders build teams that can think, decide, and grow without constant oversight. Thriving is about what you don’t do This isn’t about availability. It’s about respect. When your gut says no, listen. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Just because the answer is no today doesn’t mean it will always be. Thoughtful 'nos' send a signal to your body, your team, and your clients. Priorities become clear. Standards are reinforced. Trust is built. Take a moment to review your current yes list. What does it say about your leadership? What will change starting today? The regulated leader thrives You don’t need better time management. You need fewer commitments. A calm, direct no, delivered without apology, is one of the most respectful leadership moves you can make. It protects capacity, preserves focus, and prevents quiet collapse. Thriving leaders don’t do more. They do less, on purpose. Garet Free is a bestselling author and peak performance coach. The most resilient leaders he works with aren’t chasing more. They’re choosing alignment, clarity, and restraint. If you’re ready to address the cracks in your life before burnout chooses for you, connect at garet@theresilienceedit.com or click here to schedule time to talk. Click here for Garet’s best-selling book: The Imposter Within. Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Garet Free Garet Free, Executive Transformation Coach, Bestselling Author Garet Free is a best-selling author and executive coach who helps ambitious leaders stop white-knuckling their lives and finally unlock the confidence they’ve been searching for. Known for blending raw and loving honesty with transformational practices, he guides clients to turn self-doubt into rocket fuel for success so they can step into their next chapter with clarity and momentum. Through his writing, speaking, and coaching, Garet challenges high performers to stop settling, start leading authentically, and build a life they’re proud of.

Written by Carla Madeleine Kupe, Executive Leadership Advisor Carla Madeleine is an attorney, executive leader, and advisor who guides executives in integrating unexamined inner aspects so their leadership becomes examined rather than reactive. Her work bridges authority, authenticity, and inner transformation, particularly during moments of personal and organizational transition. Most of us don’t meet our true and full selves in calm moments. We meet ourselves when the stakes are high, when timelines tighten, when pressure mounts, when decisions carry visible consequences. It is in those moments that leadership stops being theoretical and becomes personal. Power, in these moments, doesn’t transform who we are. It reveals it. That idea can be unsettling. Many leaders bristle at it, not because it’s wrong, but because it removes the comfort of distance leaders have been taught to believe comes with holding authority, with hierarchy. We prefer to think of leadership as something we do, not something that shows who we are. Yet the willingness to look is not a weakness. It is one of the strongest leadership capacities there is. There is a particular discomfort that comes with realizing that our self-image, often skewed toward a more favorable or positive view, does not automatically produce a positive or desired impact. Most leaders I work with care deeply about being fair, thoughtful, and principled. When power exposes a gap between intention and effect, the instinct is often to defend intention rather than examine outcome. That instinct is human. It is also limiting. Yes, intentions matter. But they are separate from outcomes. Good intentions do not automatically produce good leadership. They do not insulate us from unacknowledged dynamics, inherited habits, or unexamined beliefs. When leaders rely on intention alone, they miss what power is actually surfacing in real time. Power functions less like a tool and more like a magnifier. It amplifies what is already present our fears, our assumptions, our relational patterns. Under pressure, we don’t suddenly become someone else. We become more ourselves, often faster and louder than we realize. One of the first lenses power reveals is the set of stories we carry. Stories about competence and control. About who can be trusted. About what risk is acceptable and what failure means. These narratives often operate quietly, shaping decisions about delegation, transparency, and accountability. When left unexamined, they can harden into default behaviors that feel practical but are actually protective and erosive over time. Another lens is fear, though it rarely announces itself as such. Fear often shows up as urgency, rigidity, self-righteousness, or impatience. It can look like over-functioning, micromanagement, or withdrawing from hard conversations. It might look like rushing a decision to avoid dissent, or framing pushback as resistance rather than information. In positions of authority, these responses don’t stay contained within the leader, they ripple outward, shaping team dynamics, psychological safety, and ultimately the organization’s capacity to fulfill its mission and purpose. A third-place power reveals that our full self is in our relational habits. How we listen or don’t. Who we interrupt. How we respond when harm is named. Whether repair is prioritized or avoided. Authority shows up not only in decisions made, but in moments of pause: what we notice, what we allow, and what we rush past. This is why authority is less a title than a practice. Formal power may grant permission to decide, but lived authority is demonstrated in how those decisions are carried. It requires a slower stance, one willing to notice internal reactions without being governed by them. Self-examination, therefore, should not be a one-time reckoning, but an ongoing discipline. There is no arrival point where a leader becomes fully neutral, fully healed, or fully beyond reproach. The work is not to eliminate influence, but to become more conscious of it, especially when it is amplified by position. Some questions are worth returning to again and again: What does my power protect? What does it avoid? Who feels safer because of how I lead, and who does not? The leaders we tend to trust most are rarely the most polished. They are the ones willing to be seen clearly, including by themselves. They understand that credibility grows not from certainty, but from coherence between values, behavior, and impact. Power will continue to reveal. The question is not whether it will show us something, but whether we are willing to look. Follow me on   LinkedIn  for more info! Read more from Carla Madeleine Kupe Carla Madeleine Kupe , Executive Leadership Advisor Carla Madeleine is an attorney, executive leader, and trusted advisor who works with leaders navigating power, responsibility, and transition. With a background in law, executive leadership, and organizational change, she helps individuals identify and integrate unexamined inner patterns that quietly shape decision-making, authority, and trust, particularly during periods of uncertainty, contraction, and reimagination. Carla writes at the intersection of leadership, inner work, and change, offering grounded insight for those shaping the future.

Written by Patrick “Dr. FiT” Jamerson, Lifestyle Transformation Coach Patrick "Dr. FiT" Jamerson is a certified nutritionist, elite trainer, and entrepreneur with 20+ years in pharmaceutical sales and 16 years transforming lives through fitness. He's the founder of One FiT Nation and author of "Indestructible 42: Mind First. Body Second. Become Indestructible," launching March 30, 2026. By the summer of 2018, I sat alone in a Bank of America parking lot, tears streaming down my face as I cried out to God for a miracle. I had hit rock bottom. Just two years earlier, I had been Dr. FiT, the successful fitness entrepreneur with the growing brand, the loyal clients, and the vision. Now? I couldn't afford my own car. My credit score had collapsed. Every morning, I'd drop my wife off at work, rush to train clients, pick up our son from school, grab my wife, and she'd drive me back to the studio where I'd work until 8:30 PM. The tension was suffocating. Then came the knock on my window. An old friend, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. A God wink.   I quickly pulled myself together, wiped my face, and got out of the car. What started as a chance encounter became the conversation that changed my life. I stopped pretending. I let the facade crumble. "I need help," I told him. "I don't care about my ego anymore. I just need to provide for my family."   He mentioned a local compounding company pharmacy owner who might give me a shot. I took a sales position earning what I'd made two years out of college. Every morning, I woke up with failure weighing on my chest like a stone. But beneath that weight, something else flickered: a stubborn refusal to stay down. If you've ever felt that sick recognition, that moment when you realize you've let yourself down so completely that you can't trust your own commitments anymore, then you already know the truth most success gurus won't tell you. The problem isn't motivation. It isn't even willpower. It's that we've been lied to about what discipline actually costs in a world designed to make it impossible.   Why discipline feels impossible Our society is engineered to destroy consistency. We live in an era of manufactured distraction. Every app on your phone employs neuroscientists whose sole job is to hijack your attention. The average person checks their phone 96 times daily, once every ten minutes. Social media platforms use the same psychological mechanisms that make slot machines addictive. Our culture celebrates instant gratification while meaningful achievement demands delayed gratification. We can stream any movie, order any meal, and receive validation through likes within seconds. Meanwhile, real transformation requires weeks or months of sustained effort with zero immediate payoff.   Add our always-on work culture, epidemic sleep deprivation, and the constant comparison trap, and you're fighting an uphill battle. But here's what I've learned through nearly 20 years as a fitness professional and lifestyle transformation coach: You're not broken. You're unfinished. That distinction changes everything.   The 42-day discovery In that Bank of America parking lot moment, I had all the knowledge about what I should do. What I didn't have was proof that I could trust myself to actually do it. That's when I committed to something radical: 42 consecutive days of intentional change. No excuses. No negotiations. Just showing up, even when I didn't feel like it.   Why 42 days? Research on neuroplasticity shows it's long enough to rewire neural pathways and establish new patterns, but short enough to maintain laser focus without burnout. It's not about perfection. It's about proving to yourself that you're capable of more than you believed possible.   This became the foundation of what I now call Indestructible 42: Mind First. Body Second. Become indestructible.   The sequence matters profoundly. You cannot discipline your body if your mind remains undisciplined. You cannot transform your physical reality if your mental landscape is still governed by limiting beliefs, patterns of avoidance, and fear of discomfort. Over nearly two decades, thousands have completed this framework and discovered what I learned in that parking lot: change isn't about finding motivation, it's about building unshakeable trust with yourself.   The confidence cascade When you achieve a challenging goal, something remarkable happens beyond the accomplishment itself.   A rush of confidence follows not the fleeting kind from external validation, but deep-seated belief in your capabilities. Your inner critic, that voice whispering "you can't" for years, gets replaced by an inner champion who knows more victories lie ahead. With one real achievement under your belt, even the most daunting dreams become achievable because you've learned to:   Look within for strength, not external circumstances
 Challenge fears head-on instead of avoiding discomfort
 Believe in what once seemed impossible
 Visualize success with clarity Sustain focus despite distractions
 Take consistent action daily This isn't motivational theory. This is what pulled me from that parking lot breakdown to building a thriving global brand. The thrill of accomplishing something significant cultivates self-belief and happiness that material possessions simply cannot replicate.   The daily promise protocol Here's what nobody tells you about discipline: it doesn't get easier, you get stronger. Every morning at 4:47 AM, before the chaos began, I'd stand in front of the mirror and make one promise to myself. Just one. And I'd keep it. The gym session I committed to. The chapter I said I'd write. The healthy meal I planned. The reasonable bedtime I set. Small promises, kept daily, became the foundation for bigger transformations. Start with incremental changes. Adjust your sleep patterns. Modify eating habits. Observe how they transform the way you feel, look, and think. Get active. Instead of spending free time on the couch, go for a walk. On days off, rise early and run, work out, read, or consume motivational content.   Most importantly, engage in activities that spark joy and peace, and activities that motivate improvement. These aren't luxuries to be earned. They're the building blocks of a life worth living.   When it feels impossible The transformation won't be linear. There will be setbacks, moments of doubt, days when showing up feels impossible. That's precisely when it matters most. Consistency isn't about perfection, it's about showing up, especially when you don't feel like it. It's about becoming someone you can trust again, promise by promise, day by day. In that Bank of America parking lot, I was broken. My business had collapsed. My pride was shattered. My family was suffering. But in my darkest moment, crying out for help came that knock on the window. That divine intervention reminded me I wasn't alone. I took the sales job. I worked the grueling schedule. And I committed to rebuilding not just my business, but my belief in my own word.   Forty-two days later, I had become someone I could trust again. The financial situation hadn't magically resolved. The challenges hadn't disappeared. But I had proven something crucial: I could keep promises to myself. That changed everything.   Your turn In a world designed to scatter your focus and drain your willpower, choosing discipline is a declaration that you will not be a passive consumer of your own life. It's a commitment to building something that matters, one promise at a time. Your future self is counting on decisions you make today. The question isn't whether you're capable of change, you are. The question is whether you're willing to commit to the daily work that makes transformation inevitable.   Because here's what I know for certain after nearly 20 years of coaching thousands through this process: You're not broken. You're unfinished. And that means your best chapters haven't been written yet. If discipline has felt impossible, if you've broken too many promises to yourself, if you're ready to finally become the person you know you're capable of being, I invite you to start your own 42-day journey.   Write down "I am indestructible" and say it daily. Carry it everywhere you go until your mind starts to believe it.   In 42 days, your mind will be rewired, your body will not just look different, it will feel different, and everyone will sense your new confident presence the moment you walk into any room.   The journey begins with one promise. One day. One decision to trust yourself again.   Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Patrick “Dr. FiT” Jamerson Patrick “Dr. FiT” Jamerson, Lifestyle Transformation Coach Patrick "Dr. FiT" Jamerson is a certified nutritionist, elite trainer, and fitness entrepreneur dedicated to helping people become indestructible from the inside out. With 20+ years in pharmaceutical sales and as the first African-American owner of a high-end training facility, One FiT Nation, starting with 3 clients. With 16 years of professional training experience and 11 years as a Precision Nutrition Coach, Jamerson has transformed countless lives through his SWEAT Interval Training System. He is the author of "Indestructible 42: Mind First. Body Second. Become Indestructible," launching March 30, 2026. His mission: empowering others to achieve total mind and body transformation.

Written by Janice Webber, Owner, Coach, and Artist Janice Webber is a creative transformational coach and artist who works at the intersection of stress, burnout, and creativity. She helps people restore calm, clarity, and creative flow through embodied, sustainable practices. Stress does not belong to one personality type, profession, or way of thinking. Whether you are analytical or creative, structured or intuitive, high-performing or quietly overwhelmed, stress affects the nervous system in remarkably similar ways. What differs is how stress manifests and how easily it can be misinterpreted. Stress is a human experience, not a personal failing Stress is often framed as something to manage better, overcome faster, or push through more efficiently. This framing quietly implies that if stress becomes a problem, the person experiencing it must be the problem as well. Stress is a built-in biological response designed to help humans adapt and respond to challenge. When something feels threatening or demanding, the body prepares to act by mobilizing energy and focus. Under healthy conditions, this response rises when needed and settles once the situation has passed. Difficulty arises when stress no longer completes its cycle. Different brains, same nervous system rules People often assume that stress affects different types of thinkers in fundamentally different ways. Creative thinkers, analytical minds, global thinkers, or highly sensitive individuals are sometimes treated as exceptions. They are not. While people may process information differently through logic, imagery, sensation, emotion, or pattern, the nervous system itself operates according to the same foundational principles for everyone. Research in neuroscience consistently shows that, regardless of cognitive style, the human nervous system responds to stress through similar physiological mechanisms. To function well, the nervous system requires rhythm, recovery, and a sense of safety. Rhythm refers to natural cycles of activity followed by rest. Recovery involves allowing the body and mind sufficient time and conditions to restore themselves. A sense of safety means feeling secure enough to relax, reflect, and shift attention without remaining on alert. When these elements are missing, stress does not resolve. When stress becomes prolonged, no thinking style is protected from its effects. Why stress looks different but feels the same Stress does not announce itself in the same way for everyone. Some people experience mental fog or difficulty making decisions. Others notice emotional flattening or heightened reactivity. Some lose access to creativity. Others remain productive while feeling exhausted or disconnected. Because stress can look different on the surface, many people dismiss their own experience, believing they should be coping better or that others “have it worse.” What matters is not how stress appears, but whether the nervous system has the capacity to recover. Nervous system recovery refers to the body’s ability to return to a state of calm once a demand has passed. When this recovery does not occur, stress lingers and begins to shape how we think, feel, and respond. You might pause here and notice how stress shows up for you. There is no correct or incorrect response, only information your system is offering. Why labels don’t solve the stress problem Over time, stress-related experiences have been described using many labels, including burnout, anxiety, ADHD traits, sensitivity, overthinking, or loss of motivation. While these frameworks can offer insight, they can also distract from a core truth. Stress is not selective. No label changes the nervous system’s need for regulation. No identity removes the requirement for recovery. No mindset alone can override a system that has been operating in protection mode for too long. Shifting the focus from labeling to regulation changes the conversation entirely. Rather than searching for a better explanation of what is “wrong,” attention turns toward what supports the system’s ability to settle. This might include allowing space to breathe, moving the body, stepping away from constant demand, or creating boundaries that reduce ongoing strain. Restoring capacity refers to supporting the nervous system’s ability to function again after prolonged stress. It means providing the conditions that allow the system to settle, rather than continuing to demand performance from it. When capacity is restored, clarity, flexibility, and responsiveness begin to return naturally. Recovery is about capacity, not willpower When stress becomes chronic, trying harder rarely restores clarity or creativity. This is because reflection, perspective, and flexibility depend on nervous system regulation rather than effort. As safety returns to the body, the observing mind comes back online. Choice becomes possible again. Creativity follows naturally rather than being forced. This is why embodied approaches, such as breath, movement, rhythm, and creative process, are so effective. They support recovery by helping the system settle instead of demanding more from it. Sometimes this looks as simple as slowing the breath, allowing the body to move gently, or stepping out of constant demand long enough for the system to reset. In essence, sustainable recovery depends on restoring internal resources rather than pushing harder against exhaustion. A supportive next step If stress has become a constant background state, even while you are still managing to function, it can be helpful to understand where you currently sit within the stress cycle. Different stages of stress require different forms of support. Beginning with an accurate understanding of your current capacity helps prevent overwhelm and supports lasting change. The Creative Reset Quiz is designed as a brief reflective tool to help you identify your present stress state. It includes simple questions that invite you to notice how stress is showing up in your body, energy, and daily life. Based on your responses, the quiz offers guidance aligned with what your system can realistically integrate right now. By matching support to your current capacity, you can avoid overwhelm and create sustainable change rather than relying on quick fixes. Creative Reset Quiz . Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Janice Webber Janice Webber, Owner, Coach, and Artist Janice Webber is a creative transformational coach and artist specializing in stress, burnout, and creative shutdown. Drawing on decades of lived and professional experience, she helps people restore calm, clarity, and creative flow through embodied, sustainable practices. Her work is grounded in the belief that stress is a normal part of being human and that learning how to work with stress is essential. Further reading on Brainz Magazine: For readers interested in exploring related perspectives on stress and recovery, the following Brainz Magazine articles may be helpful: Rethinking Stress: Mental Health Philosophy and How We Experience, Understand, and Manage Stress by Lance Allan Kair. A mental health-oriented exploration of stress as an ongoing human experience shaped by perception, environment, and nervous system patterns. Why Relief Doesn’t Last for High-Functioning People by Shale Maulana. An examination of why capable, driven individuals often experience short-term relief without long-term nervous system regulation.

Written by Gemma Gains, Director Gemma Gains is a Space Holder and Facilitator in the world of healing and transformation. She specializes in the subtleties of reading and harnessing energy. From flickering cave walls to modern boardrooms, humanity has always navigated threat, survival, and belonging. This article reflects on what ancient images reveal about our nervous systems today, and why emotional intelligence and community may be the missing link in how we lead, live, and endure. The cave wall Imagine, if you will, a flame-lit cave, the flickers of light unveiling a dynamic image of two- and four-legged creatures dancing together. The light playing over the image lets your eyes believe that the picture is moving. The earthy tones of the image feel safe and warm. There is a child-like wonder crossing your face as you disappear into the picture. A moment in time, recorded on stone for lifetimes. A moment that, as modern man, we view through the lens of fear, danger, and survival. From cave walls to nervous systems Through our perceived safety, I feel it is impossible to look at images made thousands of years ago and be sure of what was communicated. We are the farthest away from nature and our true humanness that we have ever been. There is a pretty heavy storyline that fear once kept us alive, and now it keeps us small. I believe, from my own personal battles with morality, that we could benefit from a rewrite. As humans, we are wired for threat detection, but the four-legged creatures are extinct, behind bars, or hiding from us in the evaporating wildernesses. Survival mode is efficient, until it isn’t Survival priorities are speed, protection, and reactivity. This saves lives in crisis. When we orient ourselves from this state, it is harmful to relationships and status and costs us time and money. You can use an enormous amount of energy when you are fighting for your life. This is not conducive to long-term living. Survival, when efficient, is quick, intense, and then over. When the perceived threat is out of sight, but the body senses it, this keeps us in a heightened state with no end. Relationships collapse. Businesses burn out, and leaders cannot sustain. Emotional intelligence equals capacity, not “soft skills” I was told recently that the only information people will spend money on to learn is that which would save them time, money, lower risk, and give them status. A tsunami of strategy content seems to have flowed into our current reality, dealing with all the problems and issues we have as humans. The perceived threats. Promoting productivity, terrified that we may spend some time creating something. I work with people from all different backgrounds, classes, and sectors, and the reality of their conundrum is always the same, they lack emotional intelligence. EI is completely overlooked in our society because it cannot be measured or quantified. EI is not niceness. Capacity leads to long-term thinking and better decisions. Pigeon-holed as being “airy-fairy” and pointless, EI is put on the back seat for strategy, statistics, and measurable outcomes. We are all leaders. Team players. Wanting the best for ourselves and our communities, whether at work, rest, or play. But how can you lead what you don’t understand? Artificial intelligence vs lived intelligence We are all using AI to some degree, time-saving, staff cost-saving, and outsourcing tasks to tech. So much information at our fingertips, a source to bounce ideas around and calculate in seconds what would take our brains a while. Making people and their agency obsolete. People don’t feel important, necessary, or engaged. Getting the most out of people has nothing to do with statistics and everything to do with loyalty, trust, reciprocity, and understanding. Intimacy and belonging. We are in an age of breathtaking possibility. The knowledge we have access to is vast, through time and space. But our morality seems more at risk than ever. When life starts “life-ing” Humanity has never followed the plan. It can’t by its very nature. Systems fail, illness happens, we can strategise, but the possibilities cannot all be eventualised. Planning for a future that has not happened yet, from low capacity, lacks abundance. Our internal capacity is the thing that holds when plans break. A leader who can stay consistent in the face of crisis will be the one people trust. As a parent, we plan, but what our children will learn from us is how we handle things when they fall apart. Our colleagues, staff, and customers are all our children, looking to us to captain the rough seas. Authority is not given trust without humanity. It does not matter whether you are building a home, a company, or a brand. Having trust in your ability to withstand complex emotional storms is your fail-safe. The cost of disconnection Unfortunately, most modern societies are built on control, dominance, competition, and possession, which erodes community. An “us and them” attitude causes further separation. Often, there is no one to call if things go wrong, and we are taught that asking for support is weak. That having problems is due to fault and blame. The options when things do go wrong have also been designed and created from this same fear. In my own experience of approaching services available in our society for help, I now understand why so many never seek out support. Overloaded with policy and procedure, with little to no compassion or dignity, you are left “outcast” from the tribe in modern terms. Return to the cave painting, the forgotten detail The painting in the cave didn’t show a lone hero, a single creature out in life on its own. It clearly depicts the tribe. Whether they were dancing, running, or hunting, they were moving together. In coordination. With a shared vision, shared meaning, and a shared experience. So important that it lasted for thousands of years. The threat that we face in modern days is not illusory. It is very much present. Where is the tribe? Survival was never individual. It was communal. Community as the original wealth Before money, wealth, and success were measured in trust, cooperation, and shared protection. Our competitive society keeps us in a scarcity mindset, squabbling for visibility, market shares, followers, offers, opportunities, and resources. Our key performance indicators need to have different headings, repeat customers, loyal teams, resilient families, and supportive communities. Emotional intelligence is strategic to legacy building, not just for individuals but for society. Creation vs opposition I have personally seen so many businesses and movements fail because of the orientation of their leadership. Fighting, reacting, or separating from something. Fear-based thinking has a short-term life plan. No one can sustain in survival mode. For example. When disciplining children, you can shout and tell them off in the moment. It will stop them maybe once, but it teaches them nothing, and the likelihood of it happening again is high. Threatening, dominating, or controlling anyone is not a long-term strategy. Meeting them on their level and figuring out what they need will settle the “problem” for a lifetime. Not only are you teaching in the moment, but you are also creating a legacy with your child, giving them a skill to carry into their life. This is a skill to train through staff and communities. Learning how to live We have learned how to live in perpetual survival mode. When we look at the world around us, whether in the cave, at images left to us by creatures we no longer are, or by the modern cellular society we have created, we see fear. Let this article be a stark reminder that the thing that sets us apart from the creatures we share the earth with is our capacity to understand it. No one taught us how to exist in a world without four-legged creatures to dance with. Our humanity is failing us without the creatures we used to run with. Full of energy, we lived in symbiosis with our fellow nature. What if we didn’t fear the creatures at all? We are animals too. Now stuck in hunt mode, braced for threat, hungry for sustenance, and longing for the fires of community to burn again. I know in my bones when I have been my happiest, most contented self. I see the image so clearly. Gazing across fires, surrounded by humans, eating, laughing, talking, singing, and dancing. Looking into eyes while we tell stories and debate life and all its musings. Do you? Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Gemma Gains Gemma Gains, Director Gemma is a space holder, guiding you as a compassionate, protective, and dedicated shepherd through the subtle energies of your field. With patience and wisdom, Gemma uses her intuitive card readings, deep conversation, and body work to help release blockages and heal generational traumas, realigning your energetic flow. Drawing on principles of quantum physics, Gemma can help you understand how your inner world reflects your relationships with yourself, others, and the Earth. As your unwavering guide, Gemma is dedicated to supporting you in returning to a "right" relationship with yourself, while leaving you with full autonomy over your healing journey. Her intention is to empower you to reconnect with your true self and cultivate harmony within your body, energy, and the world around you.