Written by Dr. O. Esther Aluko, Career & Personal Development Coach She is a Career and Personal Development Coach with almost ten years of experience. Her expertise is in Job & workplace readiness, career planning, growth, and personal development. Her work focuses on helping individuals build their capacity for career progression, navigate job transitions with ease, and achieve personal effectiveness using results-oriented methods. For many people in 9-5 roles, career growth feels like a waiting game. You wait for your manager to notice you. You wait for the promotion cycle. You wait for the right role to appear. You wait for someone to tap you on the shoulder and say, “You’re ready.” Over time, waiting becomes a habit, and habits shape outcomes. The Ripple Effect Advantage challenges this way of thinking. It reminds us that careers do not change through waiting, they change through intentional, consistent action. Not loud action. Not dramatic action. But small, deliberate steps that quietly reposition you long before an opportunity appears.   Every career is in motion. Even when it feels stagnant, it is still being shaped daily by the choices you make, the standards you uphold, and the energy you bring to your role. The problem is not a lack of movement, the problem is unconscious movement.   When your actions are reactive, your career drifts. When your actions are intentional, your career compounds.   A ripple can be as simple as how you respond to emails, how prepared you are in meetings, how consistently you deliver, or how willing you are to take responsibility beyond your job description. These things may seem ordinary, but over time, they become your professional identity.   Identity is not built through job titles. It is built through behaviour. Your reputation is formed not by what you say you can do, but by what people repeatedly experience when they work with you.   When you consistently show up prepared, people begin to associate you with reliability. When you communicate clearly and respectfully, people associate you with professionalism. When you solve problems without being asked, people associate you with leadership.   These associations matter. They become the invisible currency of your career. Many people focus on updating their CV when what truly needs updating is how they show up every day. Your CV opens doors, but your daily ripples determine which rooms you stay in.   Visibility is not vanity, it is strategy One of the biggest misconceptions in the workplace is the belief that “hard work speaks for itself.” Hard work matters, but it must be visible in the right way. Visibility is not about self-promotion, it is about clarity.   If people do not know what you contribute, they cannot advocate for you. If your strengths are hidden, they cannot be rewarded. If your growth is invisible, it cannot be recognised.   Visibility can be quiet and strategic. It can look like sharing progress updates, documenting outcomes, contributing thoughtfully in meetings, or volunteering for projects aligned with your strengths. Over time, these actions create a narrative around you, one that positions you as capable, dependable, and ready. The Ripple Effect Advantage encourages you to be intentional about this narrative rather than leaving it to chance.   Confidence in the workplace is often misunderstood. Many people think confidence is something you must feel before you act. In reality, confidence is something you earn through evidence.   Each small action you complete becomes proof that you are capable. Each responsibility you handle well strengthens your self-belief. Each challenge you face and overcome becomes part of your internal evidence bank.   This is why consistency matters more than intensity. One bold move can inspire you temporarily, but repeated small wins sustain confidence long-term. Over time, confidence stops being something you chase and becomes something you carry. Promotions, pay increases, and opportunities rarely happen by accident. They are usually the result of a system, even if that system is informal.   This system includes:   The relationships you build The problems you solve The trust you earn The value you consistently deliver   When you understand this, you stop asking, “Why haven’t they noticed me yet?” and start asking, “What ripples am I creating that make me undeniable?”   You begin to treat your career like a long-term investment rather than a series of emotional reactions.   Feeling stuck often comes from trying to change everything at once. The Ripple Effect Advantage takes the opposite approach. It asks you to identify one small area where change is possible and focus there.   Instead of trying to become more confident overnight, commit to speaking up once per meeting. Instead of trying to change your entire role, identify one process you can improve. Instead of trying to network broadly, build one meaningful professional relationship.   Small changes reduce resistance. They build momentum without overwhelm. And momentum is what unlocks growth.   Your manager is not your career strategy This may be uncomfortable to read, but it is important to understand: your manager supports your role, not your future. They may advocate for you, but they cannot be responsible for your long-term career trajectory. When you rely entirely on external validation, you give away control. When you take ownership of your growth, you regain it.   This means tracking your achievements, seeking feedback intentionally, building skills aligned with your goals, and positioning yourself for the opportunities you want, even before they exist.   The most successful professionals are proactive, not reactive. The actions you take in your role today ripple into future opportunities you cannot yet see. The colleague who observes your consistency may recommend you in the future. The manager who sees your leadership potential may open doors later. The project you deliver well may become a talking point in rooms you are not present in.   This is why integrity matters. This is why excellence matters. This is why small decisions matter. Your career is always speaking on your behalf. As you set goals, dreams, and vision boards in 2026, the question is not whether you want growth. Most people do. The question is whether you are willing to create the conditions that make growth inevitable.   The Ripple Effect Advantage is about choosing those conditions intentionally. It is about understanding that the future version of you is built by the habits you practise today.   You do not need to overhaul your life. You do not need permission. You do not need to wait. You need one intentional ripple repeated consistently. Ask yourself: What small action, if done consistently over the next 90 days, would shift how I am perceived at work? What behaviour, if strengthened, would increase my confidence? What ripple can I commit to today?   Because your career will not change when the opportunity arrives. It will change when you are already prepared for it. If you're ready to turn your small decisions into life-changing momentum in 2026.   Join the ripple effect advantage early access list You’ll be the first to receive:   The Ripple Blueprint Workbook A free Ripple Reset 2026 live coaching session First access to the 12-week Ripple Effect Accelerator Early-bird bonuses Pre-release pricing for the Ripple Effect Advantage eBook Begin your ripple here . Because breakthroughs don’t start with big moments. They start with one intentional ripple, and this might be yours. Follow me on Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dr. O. Esther Aluko Dr. O. Esther Aluko, Career & Personal Development Coach She is a Career and Personal Development Coach with almost ten years of experience. Her expertise is in Job & workplace readiness, career planning, growth, and personal development. Her work focuses on helping individuals build their capacity for career progression, navigate job transitions with ease, and achieve personal effectiveness using results-oriented methods. Her speaking engagements span the United Kingdom, Belgium, West Africa, and Ireland with corporate organizations and higher education institutions.

Written by: Thi Quynh Trang Phan , Executive Contributor Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise. Effective business-to-education (B2E) marketing requires creating highly engaging content that solves customers' biggest problems. Creating the right content can establish you as a thought leader in education, generate leads, and build brand awareness. Your ranking in Google and other search engines can also improve with an effective educational SEO strategy. As part of the Mentoring Program, Trang Phan (Founder) has shown her colleagues how to optimize the educational content they want to convey through the course on SEO. Additionally, she explains how educational marketers can create engaging content that will attract potential customers and increase their Google rankings. To make the article sharing the expertise of educators more attractive, here are a few criteria to consider. “Eat” well EAT stands for "expertise, authority, and trustworthiness." It's a key ingredient in creating content that both potential customers and Google will enjoy. According to Trang, educators need to realize their value, stay current and broaden their horizons about the sustainable development of the educational technology industry. They are excellent professionals, but they also waste a lot of their inherent potential by not sharing what they can do with their friends, organizations, and the world. SEO Content is a great way to show the world you know your stuff. It shows that you must not only have good content, but also that it must stand out and be well-groomed, professional, and relevant." Differentiate and uniquely content Ms. Trang said educators shouldn't just write a blog post once and be done with it. A cluster of supporting content should be created around each page or pillar topic instead. In other words, a series of specialized articles on a particular topic, like an episode series, helps attract and stimulate followers' curiosity. A single piece of content can be used on many platforms, such as in short videos, graphics, or infographics... Combine your keywords suitably The use of keywords is very important, but it is crucial that they are used appropriately according to the topic and not rigidly according to some formula. When you write spontaneously, the problem is automatically solved. Make sure you don't get too hung up on things like singular and plural or different spellings of keywords. This is all about your streaming content and how you want to be found. Understanding SEO article structure Include your primary keyword in your headline (H1). It is a good idea to break up your content into subheadings (H2, H3) and include keywords within them. Alt text describes images so search engines can understand their content. Link to other relevant pages on your website using internal links. Any claims made in the content should be backed up with credible external links. Include keywords in your URLs and keep them short and descriptive. The meta tag should provide a brief description of the page's content, which is often displayed as a snippet in search results. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly, as this can affect your search engine ranking. Lastly, make sure your content is valuable and informative for your readers. Here are some educational articles in SEO structure from the top 19 Mentees in the ClassPoint Mentoring Program season 2. Follow me on Facebook , YouTube, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Phan! Thi Quynh Trang Phan , Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Professional with extensive knowledge of academic, professional, and social development in the field of education. Adaptable, curious, and quick to learn, with skills that can be applied to a variety of tasks. I am passionate about mentoring and leadership and a lifelong learner, always looking to improve and stay on top of the latest trends. My career goal is to help people reach their full potential and reach their goals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I realized I needed to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. The only option I had at that time was to either lose everything or to continue on the educational career path that I had chosen. However, I had to continue in a completely different direction. And I realized that Technology has made it possible for educators to connect with audiences and share their expertise in seemingly unlimited ways. Since I have expertise in teaching, I can apply products to teaching and point out the weaknesses of manufacturers. Through my contribution to educational technology units in the country, I discovered that the educational entrepreneur creates positive value change using economic resources named "studying". A new challenge worth taking on is motivating educators to realize their value, stay current, and broaden their horizons for the sustainable development of the educational technology industry. "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

Versandra Kennebrew is a healing artist, speaker, and grassroots wellness entrepreneur who turns lived experience into practical pathways for connection. Raised by a grandmother who taught resilience and service, she blends myomassology, energy work, yoga, and mindfulness into immersive programs that restore intimacy, reduce loneliness, and strengthen communities.  A neurodivergent, non-traditional student and educator, her mission is simple and ambitious. Touch one million lives by training Touch Artists and creating accessible relationship-wellness experiences worldwide. Versandra J. Kennebrew, Speaker, Author & Healing Artist Please tell us more about you. I’ve been a seeker of truth for as long as I can remember. My grandmother, Nina Belle, born in 1903 with only a third‑grade education, was my first teacher. She taught me that it’s never too late to learn and that loving your neighbor is next to loving God. Those early lessons shaped my devotion to service, lifelong learning, and the belief that healing is both personal and communal. I was born in a mental institution in Detroit in the early 1960s, and my childhood in the projects exposed me to both hardship and possibility. I always sensed that I was meant to rise above the pain, poverty, and despair around me. When my grandmother passed, I became the surrogate mother to my two younger brothers, carrying forward her legacy of compassion, courage, and faith. These lived experiences, combined with my INFJ‑A personality and high DI leadership style, have shaped me into an altruistic leader committed to making the world a better place to live and love. What is your motto? “Let there be light.” This simple phrase guides me through uncertainty, disappointment, and transition. When I speak it, I’m reminding myself that clarity is always available and that the Creator’s guidance is ever-present. It helps me shift from fear to faith and from confusion to illumination. Is there a core value that you are most passionate about? Collaboration is the core value I’m most passionate about. Education and innovation are essential, but collaboration is where transformation happens. When like-minded people come together, we tap into collective intelligence and create solutions that are more powerful than anything we could build alone. Collaboration is the heartbeat of my work. What is your business name, and how do you help your clients? My company is called Optimal Living Retreats LP, and we help individuals, couples, and organizations elevate their wellbeing through immersive wellness experiences, relationship‑building practices, and embodied learning. Using healing touch, yoga, meditation, and mindful communication, we guide people toward deeper connection, emotional clarity, and holistic balance. Whether we’re working with a conference audience, a bridal ecosystem, or a couple seeking intimacy, our goal is always the same, to help people feel seen, supported, and connected. What kind of audience do you target your business toward? I primarily work with conference planners, wellness retreat coordinators, student engagement leaders, and wedding ecosystem professionals who want to offer memorable, embodied experiences to their audiences. Some hire me for book signings or live demonstrations, while others bring me in as a unique activation for sponsors who want to stand out, especially brands aligned with intimacy, wellness, or holistic living. What services or products does your company offer? Optimal Living Retreats LP offers: Keynote speaking and immersive retreats, and wellness experiences Self‑help books, journals, and digital resources Certification programs for Touch Artists A global relationship wellness membership community Each offering is designed to help people reconnect with themselves and each other through practical, heart‑centered tools. How do your services address the needs of your target audience? Event planners want presenters who are relatable, engaging, and able to deliver value long after the event ends. My presentations are experience‑focused and grounded in lived leadership, which means attendees don’t just listen, they participate, feel, and transform. I break down complex concepts using everyday language, making wellness accessible to people from all backgrounds. Everything we provide is designed to be immediately applicable and deeply meaningful. Is there a common challenge your customers face? Conference and retreat organizers often struggle with logistics, budget constraints, and maintaining a genuine wellness focus throughout their events. They also encounter speakers who require more technical support than the event can provide, which can disrupt the flow and energy of the experience. How are you helping them face this challenge? My team and I deliver turnkey, high‑impact presentations that require minimal technical support and maximize engagement. We collaborate closely with organizers to ensure the content aligns with their goals and that attendees leave with practical tools they can use immediately. Our embodied approach helps events stand out and creates lasting value for participants. What sets Optimal Living Retreats LP apart from other services in the industry? What sets us apart is our grassroots foundation. While many retreat companies focus on luxury destinations, my work began in community health fairs, schools, senior centers, and veteran communities. That foundation keeps our programs accessible, culturally relevant, and deeply human. As we expand globally, we remain committed to collaborating with nonprofits, educational institutions, government agencies, and spiritual communities. Our Relationship Wellness Group serves as a global incubator where connection and relationship wellness are elevated as essential life skills, not optional add‑ons. What are your current goals for your business? As we prepare to expand into West Africa, one of our primary goals is to grow our Relationship Wellness Group to 500 active online members by the end of 2026. This community will serve as the foundation for our global movement to normalize intimacy skills and strengthen human connection. We are also preparing to host our first retreat in Liberia in 2027, where we plan to collaborate with organizations committed to healing the emotional wounds left by years of conflict. Our intention is to support families and communities in rebuilding trust, connection, and hope. Could you share some success stories from your clients? One of my most memorable clients was Raymundo, a middle‑aged man living with schizophrenia who struggled with relationships, especially with women. He had experienced sexual trauma as a teen and felt disconnected from his daughters. Through our work together, he learned to differentiate healthy touch from unhealthy touch and began expressing himself more openly. His dream was to have a girlfriend who trusted him and wasn’t afraid of him. Today, he proudly shares that he found his match, and they hug and kiss often, something he once believed was impossible. Another powerful story comes from a couple’s retreat I facilitated for a marriage ministry in Virginia Beach. One couple was on the brink of divorce and arrived unable to make eye contact, standing with their backs turned to each other. After a two‑hour interactive session, something shifted. They left holding hands with a sparkle in their eyes. Their pastor later told me they not only canceled their divorce plans, but they also renewed their vows. I also recall an event at an art gallery in Detroit where a man named Mark attended alone. He wanted to understand why his wife resisted gentle touch during intimacy. As we discussed common barriers to intimacy, including past trauma, he suddenly connected the dots to a story she had shared before their marriage. He left feeling empowered, compassionate, and ready to communicate with his wife in a way that honored both her needs and his own. If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why? I would change the misconception that the wellness and wellness tourism industries are only for the affluent. Even some of my own coaches have encouraged me to focus solely on clients who can afford high‑ticket programs, but that has never aligned with my values. Healing is not a luxury, it is a human right. The truth is that people from all walks of life seek peace, healing, and connection. Many save for months to attend a retreat or invest in a wellness experience that could change their lives. Ignoring these individuals in marketing and programming is not only unethical but also a missed opportunity to serve humanity. I believe wellness should be accessible, inclusive, and representative of the diverse communities that need it most. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Versandra J. Kennebrew

Written by Chris Harris, Keynote Speaker & Executive Coach Chris Harris is an international keynote speaker and executive coach who focuses on helping others transform their mindset to improve their performance in sales, leadership, and life. He has trained hundreds of companies from over 60 countries, authored eight books, and has been inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Have you ever established a vital goal only to stop short of the finish line, not because you consciously quit, but because momentum quietly faded over time? You may have started strong, felt confident in the beginning, and genuinely believed you would follow through, only to look up weeks or months later and realize the goal had slipped into the background of your life. If you’re honest, the failure didn’t happen all at once. It happened gradually through distraction, fatigue, competing priorities, or a slow loss of focus. If that sounds familiar, I want to challenge how you think about goal setting. Missed goals are rarely a motivation problem or a character flaw. More often, they stem from a misunderstanding of what actually determines whether a goal is attained. In my experience, success or failure comes down to two competing forces: focus and friction. Focus comes from meaning and process. Friction comes from habits and saboteurs. If you want a goal to have a high probability of success, you must interrogate all four honestly and in advance.   Goal-related self-interrogation is the deliberate act of asking yourself four honest and often uncomfortable questions before leaving the starting block. If you skip this step, friction will eventually do the interrogation for you, usually at a moment when quitting feels justified.   Here are the questions you must answer.   Focus one: Meaning Why does this goal matter to me?   Meaning is the emotional anchor of a goal. It is the reason you started, and it is what sustains you when progress slows or discomfort shows up. When things are going well, meaning can feel optional. When things get hard, meaning becomes essential. It provides grit and resilience, helping you remember why you started when quitting feels logical or even necessary.   This is not about vague inspiration or external approval. It is about personal significance. Why does this goal matter to you specifically? What improves in your life if you follow through, and what stays the same if you don’t? If you cannot answer those questions clearly, the goal is already fragile because it has nothing to hold onto when resistance appears.   Focus two: Process What is the process I will follow?   Meaning explains why the goal matters, but process is what creates change. The most essential function of a goal is not the goal itself. The goal exists to act as a catalyst that forces you to create a process. That's where progress actually happens.   A well-defined process shifts your focus from a distant outcome to the immediate actions you can take each day. When you stay fixated on the goal itself, especially when it lies far in the future, you put pressure on yourself by measuring yourself against something you cannot yet control. That misplaced attention almost always leads to frustration and a loss of motivation.   Process is the foundation of progress because it answers one critical question clearly and consistently: What do I do today? It removes guesswork, reduces decision fatigue, and gives you something concrete to execute instead of something abstract to chase. When the process is straightforward, repeatable, and realistic, consistency becomes the norm rather than the exception.   This is also where motivation is generated. A well-designed process is laced with small, frequent wins. Each completed step creates a dopamine response that reinforces the behavior and keeps you engaged. Those wins stack, momentum builds quietly, and motivation becomes something you create through action rather than something you wait for.   When combined, meaning and process create intentional focus. Meaning reminds you why you started. Process tells you what to do next.   Friction one: Habits What habits will I need to break?   Most meaningful goals require behavior change, which means something you are currently doing must stop or be replaced with a habit aligned with where you want to go. To reach a new level of growth, you must eliminate the behaviors that produced your current results. This is where self-interrogation becomes uncomfortable but essential.   You must be honest about which habits are working against the future you say you want. Inconsistency, avoidance, late nights, emotional eating, procrastination, distraction, and comfort-seeking behaviors all create friction. If they are not addressed directly at the beginning, they will quietly overpower even the strongest intentions.   Breaking destructive habits is not about willpower. It is about design. These changes must be tied to the goal's meaning and built into the process itself. If the process does not account for the habit, the habit will eventually derail the process.   Friction two: Saboteurs What inner enemies must I confront?   The final element of self-interrogation is the most personal and demands the highest level of honesty. Your saboteur is the inner enemy living deep within your subconscious mind that is most likely to derail you based on your history, not in theory, but in reality. It may manifest as fear, self-doubt, perfectionism, impatience, or a need for immediate results. It may also surface through emotional triggers such as stress, boredom, frustration, or comparison. Only you know what has taken you out before. Self-interrogation requires you to ask one difficult question honestly: based on what you know about yourself, what is most likely to sabotage this goal before you cross the finish line? When the saboteur is named, its power weakens. When it is ignored, it quietly takes control. Going one step further and identifying its root cause allows you to confront it deliberately instead of repeatedly falling victim to it.   When you approach goals by answering these hard but necessary questions on the front end, you begin with meaning attached to effort, and a process designed around small, incremental wins rather than distant outcomes. You stop being surprised by resistance and start anticipating it. The result is success, defined simply as achieving the goal you set out to accomplish. Visit my website for more info! Read more from Chris Harris Chris Harris, Keynote Speaker & Executive Coach After overcoming a tumultuous childhood and through his countless experiences teaching close-quarters combat to elite warriors, Chris Harris has witnessed firsthand the transformational power of having a healthy mindset and choosing the proper perspective. As a captivating keynote speaker, he uses his life stories of enduring homelessness, overcoming adversity, and achieving fulfillment and success to inspire, encourage, and challenge his audience to obtain the life they want by using the tools they already possess.

Written by Tatiana Goded, Motivational Life Coach Tatiana Goded is passionate about helping women find their life purpose and rediscover their passions. She is the CEO of Puiaki Precious, a life coaching, NLP, and mindfulness business designed to leverage women find their true selves. Tatiana is also the author of “A Trip Towards the Sunset,” a journey of self-discovery published in 2025. Do you remember what brought you pure joy as a child? Perhaps you loved painting, writing stories, playing an instrument, or dancing until you forgot about everything else. Those passions that once made you feel most alive, where did they go? For many women, especially in midlife, these forgotten dreams become distant memories, buried beneath years of responsibilities, practicalities, and the voices that told us we needed to be "realistic." If you're like Claire, a 45-year-old woman with a loving family, a stable job, and a nice house who still feels unfulfilled, you're not alone. Claire remembers how she loved painting as a child, how hours would disappear as she lost herself in colors and creativity. But somewhere along the way, she abandoned it. People told her she'd never make a living from it. Life got busy. And now, despite having everything society considers success, she feels joyless and wonders what happened to that part of herself. The good news is that those dreams are still there, like treasures we've buried in our own backyard. We know they're there, but over time, we forget exactly where we put them. In this guide, we'll explore the five essential steps to unearth those treasures and bring joy and fulfillment back into your life. Why recovering your passions matters Before diving into the steps, it's important to understand why this work matters. Research consistently shows that engaging in hobbies and passions has profound benefits for mental health and overall well-being. A comprehensive scoping review published in 2024 found that hobbies help reduce depression, anxiety, and stress while improving quality of life and fostering social connections .[1] Most remarkably, a 12-year longitudinal study  discovered that for older adults with depression, taking up a hobby increased their odds of recovery by 272%.[2] Furthermore, research on passion and optimal functioning  shows that pursuing a passionate activity leads to high levels of psychological, physical, and relational well-being.[3] As noted in Joanne Pagett's recent Brainz Magazine article on "Redefining Success" , midlife has a way of resurfacing those longings and desires, not to shame us for not pursuing them earlier, but to remind us they're still available.[4] This is the moment when suppressed creativity, purpose, and desire begin knocking louder. Step 1: Reconnect with your forgotten dream The first step is both the simplest and the most profound, remembering what you loved. This isn't about choosing something practical or impressive. It's about identifying what genuinely brought you a sense of being most alive. Ask yourself these questions: What did you love doing as a child? What things bring you joy? What brings you a sense of feeling most alive? What have you been doing for hours on end, forgetting about anything else? What have you always felt drawn to? Don't rush this step. Sit with these questions. Journal about them. Close your eyes and let memories surface. The passion you're looking for isn't hiding, it's waiting for you to remember it. For some, it might be a creative pursuit like writing, painting, or music. For others, it could be a skill like woodworking, gardening, or cooking. What matters is not what the passion is, but how it makes you feel. Midlife, as research shows, is actually an ideal time for this rediscovery. Contrary to popular narratives of midlife crisis, this period offers opportunities to feel productive, emotionally fulfilled, and to pursue interests aligned with our sense of self. Insecurities wane, and confidence in work and outside interests typically increase during midlife. [5] Step 2: Understand why you abandoned your dream and define your big why Understanding why you left your passion behind is crucial to bringing it back. This step involves two essential parts, facing the past and clarifying the future. Part A: Learn why you abandoned your dream Most people abandon their passions during major life transitions or due to external pressures. Perhaps you left your passion behind when you transitioned from education to career, started university, became a parent, or entered a new relationship. Maybe you believed you couldn't make a living from it, or someone close to you discouraged you, telling you it wasn't practical or achievable. Fear plays a significant role too, fear of failure, the pressure to be a "responsible adult," and social expectations about what you "should" be doing with your time. At the heart of many abandoned dreams are limiting beliefs—those unconscious thoughts that run our lives without us being aware of them. Beliefs like "I'm not good enough," "Who am I to think I could succeed at this?" or "I don't have what it takes." These beliefs are usually formed in early childhood, when we didn't have the mental resources to question them. As noted in Antonio Esposito's Brainz Magazine article on limiting beliefs , these beliefs become part of our identity and dictate how we think, feel, and behave throughout our lives.[6] Neuroscience research shows that once a belief is formed, the neural pathways associated with it strengthen over time, making it increasingly resistant to change. Bringing these limiting beliefs to light and transforming them into empowering beliefs is often the deepest and most transformative work you can do. Part B: Write down your big why Once you've addressed why you left your passion behind, it's time to clarify why you want to bring it back. Your "big why" is the emotional, spiritual, or existential reason that drives you to reclaim your forgotten dream. Consider these questions: What draws you back to your passion over and over again? Why is it so important to you? Who are you with your dream in your life? What does committing to this mean for you? Your big why isn't just a nice-to-have, it's your anchor. Write it down, print it, and read it out loud daily. When obstacles appear (and they will), your big why becomes your best friend and accountability partner, the one that never lets you give up on your dream. Step 3: Take small steps toward your dream One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to recover their passions is thinking they need to make dramatic, sweeping changes. The truth is, sustainable progress comes from consistent small steps. Enter the 15-minute commitment method. This simple yet powerful approach asks you to dedicate just 15 minutes each day to your passion. That's it. Fifteen minutes feels manageable, even in the busiest of schedules. It doesn't trigger the overwhelm that often comes with bigger commitments, and it sidesteps the perfectionism that can keep us from starting at all. What happens over time is remarkable. Those 15 minutes become a non-negotiable part of your day. They build momentum. They remind you why you loved this passion in the first place. And before you know it, you're not just spending 15 minutes, you're finding more time because you genuinely want to. But the key is to start small. Commit to those 15 minutes as if they're sacred, because they are. Research on passion pursuit  confirms that it's important to develop, explore, and experiment over time rather than tenaciously commit to a single approach.[7] This makes passion pursuit more sustainable by helping you discern who you are and what you care about. Step 4: Make yourself accountable Accountability is what turns good intentions into actual results. Without it, even the strongest commitment can fade when life gets busy or resistance creeps in. This step is about creating structures and relationships that support your commitment to your passion. Create a plan for moments of resistance Resistance is inevitable. There will be days when you don't feel like showing up for your passion, when excuses seem perfectly reasonable, or when old limiting beliefs resurface. The key is to anticipate these moments and have a plan ready. When resistance shows up, go back to your big why. Read it aloud. Remind yourself why this matters. Sometimes that's all you need to push through. Find an accountability partner An accountability partner can make all the difference. But not just anyone will do. Ideally, choose someone who: Understands your passion or has one of their own to rediscover Shares a passion with you, creating mutual understanding Will check in regularly and hold you to your commitments with kindness and support Having someone to share your wins and struggles with, someone who genuinely cares about your progress, transforms the journey from a solitary effort into a shared adventure. Step 5: Sustain your rediscovered passion Recovering your passion is one thing, sustaining it over the long term is another. This final step is about making your passion a lasting part of who you are, not just something you dabble in when time allows. Identify yourself with your passion There's a powerful shift that happens when you move from "I'm trying to write" to "I am a writer." When you identify yourself with your passion, you stop treating it as a hobby that can be dropped when things get hectic. It becomes part of your identity, something that's non-negotiable. As noted in Aden Eyob's Brainz Magazine article on the Pyramid of Change, effective transformation comes from the identity level, for what you say, you eventually become. Allow yourself to claim that identity. If you paint, you're a painter. If you play music, you're a musician. This isn't about ego, it's about honoring the part of you that comes alive when you engage with your passion. Maintain your commitment Sustaining your passion requires ongoing commitment. Keep your 15-minute practice or expand it as feels natural. Continue checking in with your accountability partner. Revisit your big why regularly to keep your motivation strong. And be gentle with yourself on days when life gets in the way. Consistency doesn't mean perfection, it means showing up again and again, even after you've stumbled. Connect with community Finally, seek out others who share your passion. Whether it's an online group, a local class, or a community of like-minded individuals, being part of a community reinforces your commitment and provides inspiration, support, and fresh perspectives. Research demonstrates , that hobbies help connect people, build relationships, and foster a sense of community, all of which contribute to improved mental health and well-being.[9] You're not on this journey alone. Bringing it all together Recovering your long-forgotten passion isn't about adding one more thing to your already busy life. It's about reclaiming a part of yourself that brings joy, fulfillment, and a sense of being truly alive. It's about honoring the dreams you once had and giving yourself permission to pursue them again, no matter how much time has passed. Claire, the woman we met at the beginning of this article, didn't need more time or resources to bring painting back into her life. She needed to remember why it mattered, confront the beliefs that held her back, and commit to small, consistent steps. And so do you. These five steps, reconnecting with your forgotten dream, understanding why you abandoned it while defining your big why, taking small steps, making yourself accountable, and sustaining your passion, are your roadmap. They've worked for countless women who felt stuck and unfulfilled, and they can work for you too. As research confirms, the benefits extend far beyond the hobby itself, engaging in passions reduces stress and depression, enhances quality of life, and creates meaningful connections with others. Take the next step If you're ready to dive deeper into this process and want guided support every step of the way, I invite you to explore my "Recovering Your Long-Forgotten Dream" 5-week online course. Over five weeks, we'll walk through each of these steps in depth, with workbooks, live sessions, meditations, and personalized support to help you bring your passion back to life. You'll receive five weekly live presentations (recorded if you can't attend), comprehensive workbooks for each module, bonus planning charts to track your progress, three guided meditations to keep you focused, an 800-word short story personalized for you describing your success, and a 60-minute private coaching session with me to support you in fulfilling your goal. This course is designed for women like you who are ready to prioritize their needs, rediscover joy, and reclaim the parts of themselves they've set aside for too long. With lifetime access to all materials, you can revisit the course for any passion you want to recover. If group work isn't your preference, I also offer private one-on-one coaching sessions tailored to your specific journey. And if you'd like to start exploring on your own, download my free Essential Kit to Recover Your Dreams, which includes journaling prompts, meditations, inspiring stories, and the first two chapters of my novel. For more information, contact me here. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Tatiana Goded Tatiana Goded, Motivational Life Coach Tatiana is a Motivational Life Coach passionate about helping women find their life purpose and rediscover the passion in their lives. She spent many years trying to find her own life purpose and recover her childhood passion for writing, wishing someone would help her reach her goals. Her journey was full of struggles and setbacks until she discovered the key elements to success. She is now following her life purpose as a life coach, and has followed her passion for writing, publishing her first book, “A Trip Towards the Sunset,” in March 2025. Tatiana’s mission is to help women in their midlife rediscover their long-forgotten dreams and recover their true selves, bringing back joy and passion to their lives. References: [1] Cleary, M., et al. (2024). Exploring the Impact of Hobbies on Mental Health and Well-Being: A Scoping Review. Issues in Mental Health Nursing. [2] Fancourt, D., Steptoe, A., & Bu, F. (2020). Trajectories of anxiety and depressive symptoms during enforced isolation due to COVID-19 in England. The Lancet Psychiatry. [3] Vallerand, R. J. (2024). The role of passion in the resilience process. Self and Identity. [4] Pagett, J. (2025). Redefining Success – Why Midlife Women Lose Their Identity, and How to Reclaim It. Brainz Magazine. [5] Heiser, D. (2019). Three Benefits of Midlife. Psychology Today. [6] Esposito, A. (2022). Limiting Belief – The Reason Why Your Life Sucks (Or Is Difficult!). Brainz Magazine. [7] Berry, Z., Lucas, B. J., & Jachimowicz, J. M. (2025). Giving up on a passion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. [8] Eyob, A. (2021). The Pyramid of Change Is Calling. Brainz Magazine. [9] Pressman, S. D., Matthews, K. A., Cohen, S., Martire, L. M., Scheier, M., Baum, A., & Schulz, R. (2009). Association of Enjoyable Leisure Activities With Psychological and Physical Well-Being. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71(7), 725-732. Klemm, W. R. (2010). Atoms of Mind: The "Ghost in the Machine" Materializes. Springer.

Written by Michelle Gines, Founder of Purpose Publishing Michelle “MG” Gines is a strategist, publisher, and executive advisor who helps leaders transform ideas into books, brands, and platforms. She brings two decades of digital strategy and purpose-driven leadership to authors, entrepreneurs, and organizations ready to elevate their impact. Accomplished leaders often face a point when something familiar stops working. The work is still strong, judgment is deeper, and responsibility remains. Yet authority feels less visible, and access to influences is more complex. This is not a personal failing. It signals a shift in how leadership authority is recognized. In this article, I explain why experience alone no longer defines authority and how quietly successful leaders can assert themselves with clarity and confidence, without becoming louder or sacrificing their grounding. Specifically, I'll share practical strategies to articulate experience effectively, helping you anticipate actionable value and set clear expectations for your leadership journey. What authority used to mean in leadership Early in my career, authority came from tenure, proximity, and consistency. Leaders earned trust by staying, delivering over time, and carrying responsibility through complexity. Credibility developed slowly, often without explanation. There was an adage repeated often: keep your head down, do good work, and it will speak for itself. In many leadership environments, that approach worked. The context lived in the room, history filled in the gaps. Authority accumulated quietly.[1] This model shaped a generation of professionals who valued depth over display and contribution over commentary. Leadership authority was assumed rather than articulated. That model no longer operates the same way.   Why experience alone no longer defines authority Experience has not lost value, but authority is now recognized only when that experience is made explicit. For example, a recent Deloitte (2024) study found that leaders in remote and hybrid organizations who regularly explain the rationale for their decisions are perceived as more authoritative than those who rely solely on tenure or past achievements. This research highlights the changed context in which leadership is recognized, prompting a need to reconsider how authority is established and maintained in contemporary organizations. Organizations are more distributed. Leadership teams are more fluid. Decisions are made quickly by those absent from earlier work or formative years. In these conditions, experience is no longer self-evident. Today, authority is shaped by clarity. Leaders who explain complexity, frame decisions, and articulate judgment are more likely to be recognized and trusted, regardless of others' levels of experience. When leadership experience remains unspoken, it stays private. When it is articulated with care, it becomes visible and transferable. This shift does not reward noise. It rewards interpretation.   The confidence gap many leaders experience For many seasoned professionals, this creates a quiet confidence gap, as influence becomes less predictable and recognition arrives unevenly. Self-doubt may arise even alongside strong leadership capability, and feelings of restlessness or a whisper of impostor syndrome can surface as leaders question their visibility. Importantly, these emotions do not reflect a lack of skill but signal shifting expectations in leadership authority. They are both common and temporary.[2] Leaders often misinterpret these feelings, assuming declining relevance, when in reality the criteria for recognizing leadership authority have changed. In this piece, I will share strategies to help navigate these transitions with confidence. The gap is not about diminished value. The new challenge is that authority is earned through articulation, not just experience. Without language, depth can look like absence. Without framing, wisdom can go unnoticed. Over time, leaders may withdraw, attempt visibility that feels forced or performative, or both. Neither response restores authority.[3] Radigan and colleagues further observe that leadership authority is shaped by a leader’s ability to express genuine concern, which encourages authentic self-expression among employees and helps align individual identities with their job roles. While tenure remains essential for building substance, how leaders communicate and connect is key to their authority, articulation allows that substance to travel. For many quietly successful leaders, articulation feels uncomfortable. Those shaped by past models often see speaking about their work as self-promotion. But articulation is not exaggeration, it is translation.[4] To help ease this transition, consider starting with low-pressure articulation methods. Research supports the effectiveness of reflective writing as a means for leaders to articulate tacit knowledge and clarify their thinking in safe environments.[5] Reflective memos can provide a structured way to express insights without feeling overexposed. Mentoring, widely recognized for its reciprocal benefits, offers a natural setting to articulate your experiences in ways that benefit others and reinforce your authority.[6] Engaging in small group discussions can also provide an opportunity to share and refine your thoughts in a more intimate setting, as collaborative reflection has been shown to foster leadership development and shared understanding.[7] These approaches help demystify articulation, allowing it to feel more like an extension of your leadership rather than a forced performance. I encountered this tension myself during a later professional chapter. The work was strong. The judgment is sharper than before. Yet fewer people understood the context behind my decisions. Authority had not disappeared, but it now required language. Articulation means explaining why a decision matters, not just that it was made. It means naming patterns that feel obvious because you have lived them repeatedly. This shift does not require becoming louder. It requires becoming clearer. Imagine adjusting a dimmer switch instead of flicking on stadium lights, a gradual, intentional increase in understanding rather than a sudden blast of noise. This way, your influence grows naturally and authentically.   Rethinking leadership visibility Visibility is often misunderstood in leadership development conversations. According to Forbes, adequate leadership visibility is not about constant output, personal branding, or lack of humility. Instead, it involves being intentional and measured, speaking with discernment, focusing on clarity rather than sheer volume, and sharing perspectives thoughtfully. Effective articulation also benefits younger leaders. Articulation without experience collapses quickly. Depth gives language weight. According to Christy Chiarelli, when leaders combine their experience with reflective practices, their authority becomes more transparent and more effective.   Authority as stewardship in mature leadership A report from Christy Chiarelli notes that at more advanced stages of leadership, the focus of authority often moves from demonstrating competence to using reflection to guide and steward insight. Experienced leaders no longer build credibility from scratch. They carry a perspective shaped by responsibility. Articulation is a leadership responsibility, not self-assertion. When you explain what you have learned, you are not seeking attention. You are offering orientation. You are helping others navigate complexity with greater clarity. I often see this when leaders begin writing or speaking later in their careers. The ideas have been there for years. Once named, they create immediate clarity, not because they are new, but because they are finally visible.[8]   A season-specific insight for quietly successful leaders If you are quietly successful yet increasingly unseen, this season is not asking you to reinvent yourself. It is asking you to clarify yourself. Consider the example of John Mitchell, a mature leader at a mid-sized tech firm. John exemplifies how individual leaders’ actions can influence organizational outcomes. He consistently communicates his decision-making process to his team and shares strategic insights during regular meetings. This intentional communication not only makes his leadership more visible but also fosters greater alignment and coherence within his team. In John’s case, transparently sharing the rationale behind his decisions builds trust. He facilitates a mutual understanding of goals, which contributes to more cohesive collaboration and improved problem-solving. As a result, his team members are better equipped to anticipate expectations and align their efforts with organizational priorities, thereby enhancing overall performance. Such practices reflect a broader trend in strategic leadership research, which highlights the explicit connection between personal leadership behaviors (like those demonstrated by John) and their positive impact on team alignment and overall organizational effectiveness. What feels obvious to you is often invisible to others. Naming it is an act of leadership.[9] Today, authority evolves less on time served and more on clarity.   Closing reframe Experience continues to hold significant value, though it no longer serves as the sole determinant of leadership authority. In contemporary contexts, authority is established by translating expertise into purposeful action and by offering insights that are thoughtfully communicated and accessible to others. Quietly successful leaders advance by expressing their perspectives meaningfully rather than by increasing their visibility through superficial means. To begin adapting to this shift in leadership expectations, take time to reflect on a recent decision you made, analyze its context and consequences, and share your reflection with a colleague. This practical step provides a foundation for articulating your leadership insights, enabling you to participate more intentionally and visibly in the ongoing evolution of leadership authority. When you give language to what you have lived, your authority becomes visible again.   Join the Silent Success Newsletter If this reflection resonates, I share insights on leadership authority, visibility, and professional transition in my newsletter here . It is for leaders who value clarity over performance. You are welcome to join. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Michelle Gines Michelle Gines, Founder of Purpose Publishing Michelle 'MG' Gines is an author, publisher, and executive strategist known for helping leaders turn their expertise into books, businesses, and platforms that create lasting influence. As the founder of Purpose Publishing and Expertise Unleashed, she has guided hundreds of authors from idea to implementation, building pathways that amplify both message and momentum. She also serves as a corporate digital strategies leader in the healthcare payer space, where she designs experiences for millions across the U.S. MG blends clarity, compassion, and conviction with a faith-forward perspective that inspires transformation and purposeful growth. Her work equips high-achieving professionals to unlock their voice, elevate their brilliance, and lead. References: [1] (The Leading Blog: A Leadership Blog, 2025) [2] (Unger, 2025) [3] (“Seeing to be seen”: The manager’s political economy of visibility in new ways of working, 2021) [4] (Schweitzer, 1963) [5] (Yost, 2012) [6] (Allen et al., 2004) [7] (Killion & Todnem, 1991) [8] (Creating Organizational Clarity, 2024) [9] (Marquis, 2025)

Written by Alfonso Gonzalez, ISSA Master Trainer and Wellness Coach Alfonso (AL) Gonzalez is an ISSA Master Trainer, Certified Wellness Coach, and Co-Founder of the Kairos Wellness Experience. Known for his multidimensional approach to wellness, AL helps individuals cultivate physical vitality, emotional resilience, and inner peace through integrative practices rooted in both science and lived experience. Mindfulness and meditation are everywhere, in leadership training, wellness programs, therapy offices, and corporate resilience initiatives. They’re praised for improving focus, emotional regulation, and stress management. Yet despite their popularity, many people quietly reach the same conclusion, “This doesn’t work for me.” They can’t focus. Their minds race. Meditation feels frustrating instead of calming. The problem isn’t a lack of discipline or motivation. It’s a missing neurological prerequisite.  If the body is tense and the brain is locked in threat-detection “fight or flight”, attention cannot settle into stillness. When stress hormones like cortisol remain elevated, the brain prioritizes vigilance over presence. – Al Gonzalez That missing piece is relaxation. The hidden reason mindfulness often fails From a neuroscience perspective, mindfulness and meditation don’t begin in the mind, they begin in the nervous system. If the body is tense and the brain is locked in threat-detection mode, attention cannot settle into stillness. When stress hormones like cortisol remain elevated, the brain prioritizes vigilance over presence. In this state: Thoughts accelerate Emotional reactivity increases Awareness feels uncomfortable or unsafe Trying to “be mindful” without first downregulating the nervous system is like trying to sleep with the lights on and alarms blaring. Relaxation isn’t optional, it’s foundational. What relaxation actually is (and what it isn’t) Relaxation is often misunderstood as passivity or disengagement. In reality, it is a biological state of safety. From a cognitive-neuroscience lens, relaxation occurs when: Protective muscular tension softens Breathing slows down and deepens The nervous system shifts out of fight-or-flight Cortisol levels begin to fall This shift creates the internal conditions necessary for higher-order brain functions, including awareness, empathy, and cognitive flexibility. When relaxation is absent: Presence feels inaccessible Meditation becomes effortful Mindfulness feels like another task to “get right” It’s not a failure of attention. It’s a failure of physiology. When relaxation becomes the entry point, presence stops feeling like effort, and clarity becomes sustainable. – Al Gonzalez Mindfulness: Awareness that requires safety In my workshops, I explain mindfulness as a skill of attention and awareness, the ability to observe sensations, emotions, and thoughts without resistance or judgment, in the present moment.  It involves: Observing thoughts without attachment Noticing emotions without suppression or judgment Staying curious rather than self-critical But mindfulness requires a regulated nervous system. A brain flooded with stress hormones cannot comfortably explore the present moment, it scans for threats instead. Relaxation creates an internal safety that allows awareness to expand. Meditation: Training the mind through stillness Meditation is a formal mental training practice that strengthens attentional control and emotional balance over time. Research consistently shows meditation can: Reduce anxiety Improve emotional regulation and clear seeing Increase stress resilience But meditation is not the starting point. Without relaxation, the mind resists stillness. The body remains braced. Stillness feels uncomfortable rather than restorative. Relaxation makes meditation accessible. A simple neuroscience-based framework Rather than competing practices, relaxation, mindfulness, and meditation function as a progressive system: Relaxation initiates the shift out of threat Mindfulness sustains awareness within safety Meditation deepens clear seeing through training Together, they reverse chronic stress patterns by lowering cortisol and supporting recovery-based neurochemistry associated with calm, connection, and optimism. Why this matters for brain health and resilience Chronic stress is linked to: Impaired memory Reduced cognitive flexibility Emotional reactivity Pessimistic thought patterns By contrast, when the nervous system repeatedly experiences safety and recovery, the brain becomes more adaptable, resilient, and emotionally balanced. Relaxation initiates the shift out of threat. Mindfulness sustains awareness within safety. Meditation deepens clear seeing through training – Al Gonzalez This is where optimism becomes biological, not forced. Bringing it into daily life Mindfulness and meditation don’t fail people. People are asked to practice them without first being taught how to relax. When relaxation becomes the entry point, presence stops feeling like effort, and clarity becomes sustainable. Continue your journey with Kairos Wellness Experience At Kairos Wellness Experience, we teach relaxation as a learnable physiological skill, using breath-centered, nervous-system-aware practices that make mindfulness and meditation more accessible and effective. If you’re ready to move beyond effort and into transformation, clarity, and resilience, learn more here . A calmer nervous system isn’t a luxury, it’s the foundation for sustainable performance and well-being. Follow me on Facebook ,  Instagram , and visit my  LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Alfonso Gonzalez Alfonso Gonzalez , ISSA Master Trainer and Wellness Coach AL Gonzalez is redefining what it means to be “well” in today’s fast-paced world. His approach at the Kairos Wellness Experience goes beyond surface-level fitness, offering deep, integrative practices that restore balance, build resilience, and foster community. By teaching participants how to “breathe for power and peace,” AL empowers people from all walks of life to reclaim their wellness, not just as a destination, but as a daily practice.

Written by Jenna McDonough, Emotional Regulation Specialist Jenna McDonough is a trauma-sensitive emotional regulation specialist who supports adults and children through meditation, mindfulness, breathwork, somatic resets, and sound healing. She is the creator of the PEACEFUL: Mindful Moments for Every Age app and author of Kind Kids. Her mission is to make emotional well-being accessible to all. Trauma doesn’t only live in memory, it lives in the body. When a stressful or traumatic experience isn’t fully processed, its energy can remain stored in the nervous system, shaping how we respond, react, and even how we feel physically years later. Understanding how trauma energy gets “stuck” is the first step toward releasing it safely and effectively. What does it mean when trauma gets stored in the body? Everything on Earth carries vibration and energy, even objects that appear completely still. The human nervous system is no different. When a traumatic event occurs, the body mobilizes energy to respond to the threat. If that energy is not fully discharged, it can remain stored in the system. Over time, this unresolved energy may act as a trigger, causing reactive responses instead of regulated ones, or manifest physically as chronic pain, illness, inflammation, anxiety, or fatigue. What we often label as “symptoms” are frequently the body’s attempt to protect and communicate. Why the body responded differently each time Over the course of four years, I was involved in three car accidents. None of them were due to any fault of my own, yet each one offered a powerful lesson in how trauma energy moves, or doesn’t, through the body. The first accident, while often labeled “minor” by others, caused significant physical damage to my spine. It came with its own challenges and consequences. However, for the purpose of understanding how trauma energy is processed, it was the latter two accidents that revealed the most striking contrast. Both incidents happened on the same road, only 50 to 100 yards apart, though I was traveling in opposite directions. I was not driving the same vehicle, but both were large SUVs. I was struck on the passenger side both times. My child was in the backseat both times. The time of day and weather conditions were nearly identical. The most significant difference was this: I saw the first accident coming. I was completely blindsided by the second. There were many layers that compounded the trauma in both situations: my child being present, the physical injuries, and the recklessness and distraction of the other drivers. But for this comparison, one factor stands out above all others: what happened to my body immediately after the impact. The first accident In the first accident, I noticed the car ahead of me drifting. I tried to slow down, but it happened too quickly. The driver, believing she had missed her turn, didn’t look and turned directly into the front passenger side of my vehicle. The impact deployed the airbags and pushed my car off the road into a preserve and trees. I was shaken, but I was able to remove myself and my child from the car. A fire truck arrived and suggested we skip the hospital and follow up with our personal doctors instead. Not knowing any better at the time, I allowed the firefighters to bandage my bleeding arm and waited for my husband to arrive. My husband took our child to the doctor. With my car towed and no transportation, I needed medical care myself. I was still in a fight-or-flight state and not emotionally ready to get back into a car, so I decided to walk. The doctor’s office was only a few minutes away by car, but on foot it was a 15–20-minute walk. I remember the feeling of every step. Years later, I still feel immense gratitude for the nurse practitioner who gave up her lunch break to see me, examine my arm, which was burned and torn from the airbag, and dress the wounds. Afterward, I walked to a small, local pharmacy where everyone knew me. They told me I was in shock. I filled my prescription, walked the rest of the way home, reunited with my husband and child, and began dealing with the practical aftermath of the accident. What I didn’t realize at the time was that, through all of this, my body was moving. Walking. Orienting. Discharging and slowly returning to safety. The second accident Just over two years later, I was driving the same road this time in the opposite direction. The same child was in the backseat. Out of nowhere, an SUV ran a stop sign at a high rate of speed. I saw a flash of black out of the corner of my eye, and then we were hit. The vehicle struck the front passenger side of my car, fishtailed, hit the rear passenger side, and once again pushed us into a preserve full of trees. All the airbags deployed. My child started crying. This time, shock set in immediately. I never saw it coming. I remember sitting on the side of the road repeating, “I can’t believe this just happened again.” I was taken to the hospital by ambulance, placed in a wheelchair, and left in a waiting room crying until my husband arrived with our child. We were told it was safer for him to come separately in his own car seat rather than have our child transported in the ambulance. After several hours, I was discharged and went straight home and straight to bed. That night, when I closed my eyes, the accident replayed in full sensory detail. The black flash. The sound of impact. The smell of the airbags. The metallic taste of blood from where the airbag hit my face. Every time I tried to sleep, my body relived the event. This continued for weeks. The critical difference Admittedly, the second accident was more severe, but the difference in impact went beyond severity alone. Both accidents required physical and emotional healing. Yet mentally and neurologically, the first resolved far more quickly than the second. The defining difference was movement. After the first accident, I walked. I moved. My body discharged the energy of the trauma and gradually returned to my window of tolerance. After the second accident, I was still. I went from the crash to the ambulance, to the wheelchair, to my bed. The trauma energy had nowhere to go. My body never completed the response. The energy stayed, and it stuck. Ultimately, what I was experiencing forced me to seek support sooner rather than later. In my case, EMDR became a critical part of helping my nervous system process and release what had remained frozen. What is “stuck energy,” really? “Stuck energy” is a somatic term used to describe what neuroscience refers to as unfinished threat response patterns in the brain-body stress system that did not complete after trauma. This concept is supported by the work of Bessel van der Kolk, whose research shows that trauma is not only remembered cognitively but held in the body, breath, and nervous system. When the brain cannot fully process an experience, the body often continues to respond as if the event is still happening. What happens when trauma energy isn’t released When trauma energy remains unresolved, several long-term effects may occur: Dysregulation of the stress response system Increased inflammation and immune activation Elevated cardiovascular disease risk Brain-circuit changes that keep the system hyper-alert Chronic pain and somatic symptoms Emotional and physiological ripple effects across the lifespan How to move trauma energy immediately after an event In the moments following a traumatic experience, gentle movement is often the most effective intervention. This may include: Walking or marching in place Pressing your feet firmly into the ground Shaking your arms, hands, or legs Brushing your body with your hands Orienting visually to your surroundings Animals instinctively do this. After freezing in response to a threat, they shake to discharge energy once danger has passed. Humans have the same biological capacity, we’ve just forgotten how to trust it. What if the trauma is old and showing up physically? When trauma is not processed at the time it occurs, it often settles into the body. Research consistently shows that unresolved stress can express itself through chronic tension, digestive issues, pain, anxiety, fatigue, and a persistent sense of being “stuck.” Healing older trauma requires a layered, integrative approach. I strongly advocate starting with licensed medical or mental health professionals. Once that foundation is in place, body-based practices can help restore movement and regulation. Practices that help release stored trauma energy Meditation Mindfulness and body-based meditation improve interoception, the brain’s ability to sense internal states. Studies show these practices calm the amygdala while strengthening the prefrontal cortex, allowing the nervous system to move out of survival mode. By directing breath and awareness into areas of tension, the body gradually restores rhythmic movement and safety. I often describe this like a jellyfish expanding on the inhale, softening on the exhale. Sound healing Sound works through vibration and frequency. Because the body is largely water, sound travels efficiently through tissues and fascia. Research shows sound can promote parasympathetic activation, reduce cortisol, and improve nervous-system coherence. Breathwork Slow, rhythmic breathing stimulates the vagus nerve, supporting emotional regulation and physiological calm. Clinical research shows breathwork can reduce anxiety, PTSD symptoms, and chronic stress by directly influencing autonomic balance. Energy healing While not always framed within Western medicine, emerging research suggests energy-based practices influence heart-rate variability (HRV), a key marker of nervous-system resilience. These practices are particularly helpful when trauma is preverbal or difficult to articulate. Healing is about completion, not erasure Healing does not mean forgetting what happened. The body doesn’t need the experience erased, it needs it completed. Trauma occurs when the nervous system cannot finish its response to threat. Healing happens when safety, movement, and regulation allow that response to resolve. Listening to the body is the first act of healing Your body is not working against you, it is protecting you. Symptoms are not failures, they are signals. When we shift from asking “What’s wrong with me?” to “What does my body need now?” healing becomes possible. A final grounded takeaway Trauma does not stay stuck because you are broken. It stays because your system did what it needed to survive. With the right support, pacing, and tools, survival responses can soften. Movement can return. Regulation can be restored. Your body is not the problem. It is the pathway forward. If you are noticing the effects of past trauma in your body, consider beginning with professional support and exploring gentle, body-based practices that restore safety and movement. Healing happens in layers and each step matters. “When the body is given safety, movement, and time, even the oldest trauma can soften, integrate, and finally let go.” Author reflection | Jenna McDonough This article was written from both professional training and lived experience. I’ve felt firsthand how trauma moves through the body and what happens when it doesn’t. Understanding that my symptoms were not failures but signals from a nervous system seeking safety changed everything. My hope is that this perspective helps normalize body-based healing, reduce shame around trauma responses, and remind readers that healing is not about force, creating the conditions for regulation and integration to unfold naturally. Follow me on   Facebook ,   Instagram, LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jenna McDonough Jenna McDonough, Emotional Regulation Specialist Jenna McDonough is a meditation and mindfulness teacher, children’s book author, and emotional regulation specialist dedicated to helping people of all ages live more peaceful and present lives. She supports adults and children in recognizing, understanding, and moving through their emotions with meditation, mindfulness, somatic resets, breathwork, and sound and energy healing, all offered through a trauma-sensitive approach that ensures safe and empowering experiences. She is the founder of the PEACEFUL: Mindful Moments for Every Age App and the author of Kind Kids: The Adventures of Hurley, Pearl, and the Pink Soldiers of Kindness, and the creator of meditation and healing arts courses designed to foster emotional intelligence, resilience, and compassion.

Written by Abisola Fagbiye, Customer Experience Strategist Abisola Fagbiye is a Customer Experience Strategist and Microsoft 365 Productivity Consultant with a Professional Diploma in CX from The CX Academy, Ireland. A WiCX member, she transforms how businesses connect with customers, turning interactions into drivers of loyalty and growth. Customers used to wait days for our replies, but now they hope to hear back within just 30 minutes. This quick turnaround is crucial to keeping our customers happy and loyal, underscoring the importance of finding even faster ways to respond. Customers are impatient Today, customers who once waited hours or even days for a response now expect to hear back within minutes. Showing that you understand their urgency makes them feel truly appreciated and helps build trust and loyalty. Recognising the importance of their needs can turn a one-time customer into a long-term supporter. Unfortunately, the gap between what customers expect and what many companies deliver keeps widening each year. According to American Express, quick response times are now among the most valued elements of a positive customer experience, outranking resolution quality, agent expertise, and personalisation. SuperOffice's research echoes this, indicating that customers want replies within 30 minutes across various channels, even in the evenings and on weekends. The expectation remains high regardless of business hours, staffing, or query complexity. American Express also found that many customers see long holds as a reason to abandon a company altogether. The patience that previous generations showed toward businesses seems to be fading.   Speed drives financial outcomes According to Jay Baer, customers tend to spend more with companies that respond quickly to their requests, especially on social media. Conversocial highlights that companies that overlook social inquiries often experience higher churn rates than those that reply promptly. Not responding at all can be seen as a sign of indifference, which customers notice. The initial response time is essential for customer satisfaction, a quick first reply can significantly improve how customers view the service and encourage their loyalty.   Why speed matters now Digital experiences have shaped customers' expectations to get quick responses. When search results pop up in milliseconds and packages arrive rapidly, long wait times for service feel outdated. People now expect the fastest experiences they’ve encountered, not the slowest. Mobile devices have created a customer base that’s always connected and expecting instant service. With so many competitors just a few taps away, there's little patience for sluggish responses. Each delay creates a chance for a competitor to step in and delight the customer. Implementing AI can deliver instant responses and efficiently route complex issues, enhancing responsiveness and freeing human agents for more nuanced interactions.   Speed and quality aren't opposites Quick acknowledgement differs from a swift resolution. Customers really appreciate a prompt confirmation that their issue has been received and is being investigated, as it helps build trust. This acknowledgement can happen right away, even if fixing the problem takes a bit longer. The main frustration isn't how long it takes to fix something, it's not knowing whether anyone is working on it. Delivering quality solutions is far more valuable than rushing out quick but incomplete answers. Customers are happy to wait a little longer if it means getting the correct solution rather than receiving a rushed, incorrect one. Setting clear expectations early on can make a big difference, if customers know how long it will take, they can plan accordingly. Sharing an estimated timeline upfront reduces frustration much more than providing a shorter, unshared timeline. AI triage can handle simple questions instantly. More complex issues that require a human touch should be directed to a person quickly, but questions that can be managed on their own shouldn't be left waiting for a human. Real-time dashboards are an excellent way for managers to see current queue lengths, response times, and agent availability- helping everything run smoothly.   Process optimisation matters Keep an eye on response times across all channels by tracking the initial response, resolution duration, and intervals between replies. This helps establish clear benchmarks and boosts accountability, fostering a more responsive and dependable experience for everyone. Understanding which channels to prioritise enables a focus on speed improvements that will have the most significant impact on the customer experience.   Staff to reality, not averages Customer contact volume varies across times of day, days of the week, and seasons. Relying solely on average staffing levels might make it challenging to keep up during busy periods or to have more staff than needed during quieter times. To better serve your customers, consider modelling your demand patterns and adjusting your staffing accordingly. Adding flexibility with options like part-time staff, flexible hours, and overflow capacity can really make a positive difference. You might also find it helpful to adopt a follow-the-sun approach, in which global teams provide round-the-clock support by routing inquiries across time zones. Plus, cross-training your agents across different channels lets them seamlessly switch from email to chat during busy times, making the service smoother and more enjoyable for your customers.   Communicate during waits Providing honest time estimates and keeping customers updated during longer waits can really make them feel appreciated and understood. When you inform them about delays early on, they often value your honesty. Reaching out proactively shows that you care and want to keep them in the loop, which can help reduce their frustration. If a solution might take more time, letting them know in advance shows your thoughtfulness. In urgent situations, offering alternatives can be a real help. Suggesting self-service options allows customers to find answers quickly, making the overall experience more positive and less stressful.   The around-the-clock question AI enables support around the clock at a reasonable cost. Chatbots and automated systems can handle many questions even when your business is closed, helping you save on extra staffing costs. Consider your customers' needs: do they genuinely need assistance at all hours, or are they just reaching out during their free moments? If providing 24/7 live support isn't feasible, be transparent about your working hours so customers know what to expect. Focusing on what truly matters is key, like first-response time, which shows how quickly customers hear back when they're waiting to see whether their message was received. Time-to-resolution tracks the journey from problem identification to resolution. The customer effort score reflects how much effort a customer must invest to get assistance. Customer satisfaction reflects the overall impression customers walk away with from their experience. Understanding how customer feedback relates to response time helps prioritise improvements.   Is your team drowning in response time expectations? "Deliver Consistency Without Killing Personalisation" solves the speed-versus-quality equation without burning out your team. You'll learn capacity modelling techniques, technology investments that deliver ROI, and how to set customer expectations that reduce frustration while maintaining service excellence. Book for your conference or leadership event,  or email . Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn   for more info! Read more from Abisola Fagbiye Abisola Fagbiye, Customer Experience Strategist Abisola Fagbiye is a Customer Experience Strategist and Microsoft 365 Productivity Consultant who helps organisations rethink engagement, build CX-driven cultures, and drive retention and growth. With global experience spanning SMBs to enterprises, she delivers workshops and training that blend strategy, energy, and actionable insight. She is a mentor and rising voice in CX leadership. Further reading: How to Collect Customer Feedback and Actually Do Something With It Which Customer Service Channels Should You Actually Support? AI in Customer Service: How to Automate Without Losing the Human Touch

Written by Vicci O'Reilly, Emotional Wellness Hypnotherapist Vicci O'Reilly is a trauma-informed hypnotherapist and emotional wellness mentor who helps highly sensitive women heal from survival patterns, reconnect with their intuition, and create a grounded, empowered life through subconscious reprogramming and spiritual healing. For many, the word chakra stirs up images of colourful meditation posters or mystical yoga practices. It’s often dismissed as “too spiritual” or “unscientific,” sitting in the same category as crystals or tarot cards. And yet, when we peel back the layers, chakra work is not only deeply practical but also increasingly validated by modern science. Chakras, originating from ancient Indian philosophy, are often described as energy centres within the body. While traditional texts frame them as metaphysical, they also map strikingly well onto our nervous system, endocrine glands, and psychological development. This makes chakra work far more than a spiritual practice. It becomes a holistic framework for emotional regulation, self-awareness, and personal transformation. In recent years, neuroscience, psychology, and mind-body medicine have begun to bridge the gap between what ancient wisdom has always suggested and what modern research is now confirming, that the mind, body, and energy system are deeply interconnected. By engaging in practices that balance our inner energy, meditation, breathwork, sound, visualization, and mindful awareness, we can create profound shifts in both personal and professional life. Below, we’ll explore why chakra work has been underrated, the science that supports it, and seven compelling reasons to integrate energy work into your life. Why chakra work is underrated Part of the reason chakra work gets overlooked is that it’s often misunderstood. Some see it as esoteric, while others see it as overly simplistic. But here’s the truth, chakras are simply a lens, a way of understanding how energy, emotions, and physiology interact. The root chakra, associated with safety, reflects our most primal survival instincts, linking closely to the amygdala and the body’s stress response. The heart chakra connects to emotional regulation and social bonding, echoing findings from the HeartMath Institute on heart-brain coherence.[1] The throat chakra, tied to self-expression, activates the vagus nerve through practices like chanting or humming, both shown to reduce stress and enhance resilience.[2] The crown chakra, representing higher consciousness, aligns with meditation studies showing structural brain changes that improve focus, compassion, and well-being.[3] When we view chakras through this lens, they stop being abstract concepts and instead become a bridge between the tangible (nervous system, hormones, brain) and the intangible (emotions, purpose, meaning). The science behind energy work While chakra systems themselves aren’t directly studied in scientific literature, the practices associated with chakra balancing overlap significantly with well-researched fields: Polyvagal theory shows how nervous system states influence feelings of safety, connection, and regulation.[2] Chakra work often begins with grounding, which aligns with activating the parasympathetic system. Endocrine research connects chakras with glands such as the thyroid, adrenals, and pituitary, which regulate everything from stress to mood.[4] Mind-body medicine confirms that breathwork, meditation, and visualization reduce cortisol, improve immunity, and rewire stress responses.[5] Neuroplasticity research demonstrates that consistent mental practices can change brain pathways, supporting intuition, focus, and emotional intelligence.[6] In other words, chakra work is a framework that organizes what science is already beginning to prove. 7 reasons to integrate chakra work into your life 1. Enhances emotional awareness & regulation Each chakra corresponds to core human emotions, safety (root), joy (sacral), confidence (solar plexus), love (heart), truth (throat), clarity (third eye), and meaning (crown). By tuning into these energy centres, we create space to notice, name, and process feelings rather than suppress them. Science says: Emotional awareness reduces amygdala reactivity and improves emotional regulation, according to mindfulness research. This means fewer impulsive reactions, more thoughtful responses, and greater emotional balance. 2. Strengthens resilience & stress response Grounding practices linked with the root chakra, such as breath awareness, body scans, or connecting with nature, help stabilize the nervous system. They shift the body from “fight or flight” into “rest and restore.” Science says: Polyvagal research confirms that cultivating a sense of safety through practices like deep breathing enhances vagal tone, which is directly linked to resilience, lower anxiety, and improved recovery from stress. 3. Improves relationships & communication When the heart chakra is open, compassion flows more naturally. When the throat chakra is balanced, self-expression becomes clearer and more authentic. Together, they form the foundation of healthy, connected relationships both at home and in the workplace. Science says: Studies on vagus nerve stimulation and heart-brain coherence show measurable increases in empathy, social bonding, and prosocial behavior. In short, chakra work makes us not just calmer, but kinder. 4. Boosts creativity & problem-solving The sacral chakra governs creativity and flow. Working with this energy can unblock emotional rigidity, making room for fresh ideas and innovative solutions. Science says: Research into “flow states” highlights that when we allow the brain to move into relaxed, creative modes (theta brainwaves), we enhance problem-solving, artistic thinking, and adaptability. 5. Supports leadership & confidence The solar plexus chakra is linked to self-worth, willpower, and healthy boundaries. When balanced, it encourages authentic leadership, leading from confidence, not ego. Science says: Psychological studies show that self-efficacy (the belief in one’s ability to succeed) strongly predicts career achievement, resilience, and overall life satisfaction. Chakra work around the solar plexus directly fosters this quality. 6. Cultivates intuition & decision-making The third eye chakra supports inner clarity and intuition, the ability to “sense” beyond surface information. Far from being mystical, intuition is simply the brain’s ability to synthesize subtle cues and past experiences into insight. Science says: Neuroscience research shows that meditation strengthens the prefrontal cortex and improves cognitive flexibility, both of which enhance decision-making and intuitive thinking. 7. Creates alignment between personal & professional life Finally, the crown chakra represents connection to meaning and higher purpose. When this energy is integrated, work no longer feels like “just a job” but becomes aligned with values and deeper fulfillment. Science says: Research into purpose-driven living reveals that individuals who feel connected to meaning experience greater well-being, longer life expectancy, and higher levels of motivation and satisfaction. Why this matters for personal and professional life In a world where burnout, disconnection, and emotional overwhelm are common, chakra work provides a framework that integrates inner healing with outer performance. It’s not about escaping reality, it’s about grounding ourselves more deeply in it. For professionals, it enhances leadership, focus, and creativity. For individuals, it nurtures emotional balance, resilience, and self-trust. For relationships, it deepens empathy, communication, and connection. By aligning our inner energy, we align our outer lives. Closing reflection Chakra work is often underrated because it’s misunderstood. Yet when we strip away the labels and look at the practices, grounding, breathwork, sound, meditation, and self-reflection, we find that science consistently confirms their benefits. The chakra framework simply gives us a holistic map to apply them in a meaningful way. Integrating chakra work into daily life is not about subscribing to a belief system. It’s about engaging with tools that help us become more aware, more resilient, and more empowered. It’s about bringing the science and the soul together. Because when our energy is balanced, our lives naturally follow. Take inspired action If you’ve ever felt disconnected, unmotivated, or overwhelmed, that’s your energy asking to be heard. Chakra work is about presence. It’s a journey of coming home to your body, your emotions, and your truth. Start small: Take five minutes to ground your body and notice your breath. Visualize each energy center as you move from base to crown. Reflect on where you might feel blocked, safety, confidence, love, or expression. These small acts of awareness create powerful ripples of transformation. If you’d like to go deeper into understanding your own energy system and emotional patterns, you can explore my Conscious Connection Circles, gentle group hypnotherapy sessions designed to reconnect you with your inner balance and clarity. Your energy is your foundation. When you nurture it, everything else begins to align. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my  website  for more info! Read more from Vicci O'Reilly Vicci O'Reilly , Emotional Wellness Hypnotherapist Vicci O'Reilly is a trauma-informed hypnotherapist and emotional wellness mentor who helps highly sensitive women heal trauma patterns, regulate their nervous system, and reconnect with their intuition. With a background in psychology and over 10 years of experience in meditation, shadow work, and energy healing, she blends science and spirituality to support deep self-awareness and empowerment. She is the creator of the Chakra Archetype system and founder of the Conscious Connection Membership. References: [1] McCraty et al., 2009 [2] Porges, 2011 [3] Lazar et al., 2005 [4] Young & Korszun, 2010 [5] Black & Slavich, 2016 [6] Davidson & McEwen, 2012

Written by Vicci Collins, Emotional Wellness Hypnotherapist Vicci Collins is a trauma-informed hypnotherapist and emotional wellness mentor who helps highly sensitive women heal from survival patterns, reconnect with their intuition, and create a grounded, empowered life through subconscious reprogramming and spiritual healing. When most people think of the “ego,” they imagine arrogance, self-importance, or vanity. But in reality, ego is none of those things at its core. The ego is a psychological safety mechanism, a collection of identities, roles, and patterns we develop to feel safe in the world. It’s the mask we learn to wear in different situations, the protector that helps us adapt to our environment, and the role we adopt to fit into family dynamics, friendships, workplaces, and communities. Without it, we wouldn’t have a stable sense of self or know where “we” end and others begin. In that sense, the ego is not bad; it’s essential. It’s an integral part of the human psyche and experience. As Carl Jung noted, “The ego stands to the self as the moved to the mover.” It’s not the enemy; it’s simply not the whole picture of who we are. But here’s the catch: the ego is clever. When we embark on a healing or spiritual journey, it doesn’t disappear; it simply takes on a new form. It can slip in through the back door, wearing a robe and mala beads, convincing us that we’ve transcended it. This is when we fall into what’s often called the spiritual ego, where our sense of identity and self-worth becomes tied to how “awakened” we believe we are. The Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa coined the phrase “spiritual materialism” to describe this, where spiritual practice becomes another way for the ego to strengthen itself, rather than dissolve its grip. The truth is, none of us is immune. These ego traps are subtle, and most of us have fallen into them at some point. The key isn’t to feel ashamed but to stay aware. Awareness is what helps us stay grounded, compassionate, and open-hearted, no matter how far we travel along the path. 10 common ego traps to watch out for as you heal and grow spiritually 1. “I’m more evolved than others” When we begin seeing life through a higher perspective, it’s easy to feel like we’ve “outgrown” certain people or mindsets. We might start looking down on those who are still spiritually “asleep.” The truth: Spiritual growth is not a race, and it’s certainly not a hierarchy. Every soul’s timing is different, and no one is “above” anyone else. 2. Making healing your whole identity It’s natural to want to talk about your healing journey; it’s exciting and life-changing. But when healing becomes your entire identity, you can start to feel lost without it. The truth: You are a whole, complex human beyond your healing work. Rest, joy, and play are equally vital parts of your growth. 3. Constantly looking for something to fix Once you’ve experienced deep breakthroughs, you might feel like you need to keep digging forever. You search for new wounds, new shadows, new patterns to work on. The truth: Healing is not meant to be an endless excavation. Sometimes the most healing thing you can do is live, without dissecting every moment. 4. Believing intuition is always superior Intuition is a beautiful gift, but it’s not infallible. If we place it above logic or others’ experiences, we risk dismissing valuable perspectives. The truth: Intuition and logic can be powerful allies. One doesn’t cancel out the other. 5. Equating healing with constant positivity Many people believe that being “healed” means never feeling anger, sadness, or anxiety again. But this isn’t realistic. The truth: Emotions are messengers, not mistakes. Feeling deeply is part of being human, and healing doesn’t erase that. 6. Slipping into teacher mode with everyone When we’ve learned tools and insights that changed our lives, it’s tempting to want to share them with everyone. But sometimes, that turns into trying to “fix” others who never asked for our guidance. The truth: Respecting someone’s readiness and autonomy is one of the highest forms of compassion. 7. Measuring spiritual worth with possessions or titles There’s nothing wrong with enjoying spiritual tools, crystals, cards, sacred objects, or certificates. But they can become a way to “prove” how spiritual we are. The truth: Your wisdom isn’t validated by what you own or how many courses you’ve taken. 8. Thinking your path is the path When something works powerfully for you, it’s natural to want others to experience it too. But insisting it’s the only valid way can be alienating. The truth: There are infinite doorways into healing and growth, and each person’s path is unique. 9. Using spirituality to avoid difficult emotions This is sometimes called “spiritual bypassing,” using love-and-light thinking to sidestep the messy parts of life. Psychologist John Welwood, who coined the term, described it as “using spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep personal, emotional ‘unfinished business.’” The truth: True healing requires walking through the discomfort, not skipping over it with affirmations. 10. Treating healing like an achievement If we believe healing has a finish line, a point where we’ll be “done,” we can become impatient with the process. The truth: Growth is cyclical. You’ll revisit certain lessons from deeper perspectives as you evolve. Staying grounded on the journey Awareness is everything. Here are a few ways to keep ego in check without making it the enemy: Ask yourself regularly: “Am I doing this for connection, or validation?” Surround yourself with grounding influences, friends, mentors, and communities who keep you honest. Stay curious, there’s always something to learn, even from those you think have “less” experience. Celebrate being human; this is not a path to escape life, but to live it more fully. Meet yourself with compassion when you notice an ego trap; awareness itself is a sign of growth. Closing thoughts The ego will always be part of you. You can’t outgrow it, outrun it, or meditate it away, and you don’t need to. It’s here to help you navigate life. The goal isn’t to dissolve it, but to form a healthier relationship with it. Spirituality and healing are not about becoming “better” than others; they’re about deepening your connection to yourself, to humanity, and to life itself. The higher you rise in awareness, the deeper your roots must grow in humility. If you’ve recognized some of these ego traps in your journey and want support in moving through them with compassion and awareness, I’d love to hear from you. You can connect with me through my website or social channels. Let’s walk this path consciously, together. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my  website  for more info! Read more from Vicci Collins Vicci Collins , Emotional Wellness Hypnotherapist Vicci Collins is a trauma-informed hypnotherapist and emotional wellness mentor who helps highly sensitive women heal trauma patterns, regulate their nervous system, and reconnect with their intuition. With a background in psychology and over 10 years of experience in meditation, shadow work, and energy healing, she blends science and spirituality to support deep self-awareness and empowerment. She is the creator of the Chakra Archetype system and founder of the Conscious Connection Membership.

Daniela Aneva is an organizational development (OD) consultant, executive coach, and therapist who works at the intersection of business transformation and human wellbeing. She supports executives, leadership teams, and globally mobile professionals through the moments that test identity and performance: restructuring, rapid growth, mergers and acquisitions, career reinvention, and life-changing events, including chronic illness. Her work is built on a simple premise: change fails less because of strategy and more because of psychology. Even the best-designed operating model will stall if leaders cannot create safety and accountability at the same time, make meaning in uncertainty, and help people move from resistance to ownership. Daniela blends practical change architecture (governance, decision rights, communication, culture integration, and capability building) with therapeutic depth (schema-informed leadership, nervous-system regulation, and evidence-based approaches to anxiety, self-esteem, and resilience). Known for combining high standards with warmth, she helps clients build change that is not only successful on paper but also sustainable in real life. For Daniela, happiness is not a “nice to have” or a motivational slogan – it is a leadership capability that improves judgment, relationships, and endurance under pressure. Daniela Aneva, Executive and Team Coach Who is Daniela Aneva, and what inspired you to dedicate your work to guiding people and organizations through change? I’m someone who has always been fascinated by what happens when the external world changes faster than the internal world can adapt. Over time, my work naturally converged into two arenas where that gap shows up most clearly: organizational change and personal change. In business, I’ve seen brilliant strategies fail because people were exhausted, fearful, or unclear – and because leaders didn’t have the tools to translate vision into lived behavior. In therapy and coaching, I’ve seen capable people feel stuck because a change threatened their identity, their sense of safety, or their belonging. What inspired me is the realization that the same human dynamics drive both contexts: the stories we tell ourselves under pressure, the patterns we repeat when we feel threatened, and the relationships we can – or cannot – rely on. My mission is to make change more humane and more effective: to help leaders and organizations deliver results without sacrificing health, meaning, and joy. How do you define “successful change,” whether it happens in business, leadership, or personal life? Successful change is sustainable progress that people can actually live with. In organizations, success is not just hitting the target date or the synergy number. It’s when the new structure, processes, and ways of working are adopted because they make sense, not because people are scared. You see clarity in decision-making, improved execution, and a culture that can learn in real time. In leadership, successful change means the leader evolves – not only their skills, but their capacity. They can hold complexity, listen without defensiveness, set boundaries, and lead through uncertainty with steadiness. In personal life, success is when a person can move through disruption with self-respect: grieving what was lost, accepting what is true, and choosing a direction that aligns with their values. If the outcome looks good but the person is depleted, anxious, or disconnected, I wouldn’t call that successful change. What are the most common challenges teams face during restructuring, expansion, or mergers and acquisitions? Three challenges show up again and again. First is the identity shock: restructuring and M&A don’t just change boxes on an org chart – they change status, belonging, and the unwritten rules of “how we win.” People are not resisting a process; they’re protecting a sense of self. Second is the leadership alignment gap. Teams often underestimate how quickly confusion spreads when leaders are not aligned on the story, the priorities, and what will not change. Mixed messages create fear, politics, and productivity loss. Third is the integration reality: culture, ways of working, and decision rights collide. If you don’t design how decisions get made, how conflict gets handled, and how success is measured, you get duplication, hidden power struggles, and change fatigue. The good news is that these are predictable problems – and predictability means we can design for them. How do you support leaders and teams to stay resilient and aligned during high-pressure transitions? I work on two tracks at the same time: the system and the human nervous system. On the system side, we build a clear change architecture: governance, decision rights, roles, a communication cadence, and metrics that measure adoption – not just activity. We create simple rituals that reduce ambiguity: weekly leadership alignment, a single source of truth for decisions, and feedback loops that surface reality early. On the human side, I help leaders become “regulators” rather than “amplifiers.” Under pressure, leaders can unintentionally spread anxiety through urgency, blame, or silence. We practice steadiness, clean accountability, and repair. We also build psychological safety in a practical way: making it easier to speak the truth than to manage politics. Resilience is not about pushing harder. It’s about pacing, clarity, and connection – so teams can stay aligned even when outcomes are uncertain. In what ways does your approach differ when helping individuals navigate life-changing events or chronic illness? When change is personal – especially with chronic illness – the timeline and the stakes are different. In organizational work, we can often plan, sequence, and optimize. With life-changing events, there is often grief, uncertainty, and a loss of control that cannot be “managed” away. The work becomes more relational and more compassionate. We make space for what’s true, without collapsing into hopelessness. I use a trauma-informed, values-based approach: helping clients name what they’re carrying, reduce shame, and rebuild identity beyond productivity. We work with energy realistically, not idealistically. We focus on boundaries, supportive relationships, and meaning – because meaning is often what keeps people moving when certainty is unavailable. Importantly, I never treat illness as a mindset problem. I treat it as a human reality that deserves dignity, agency, and a plan that honors both the body and the person. How do you help clients move through career transitions with clarity, confidence, and purpose? I help clients move from “What do I do now?” to “Here’s who I am, what I want, and how I’ll get there.” Practically, we start with clarity: strengths, values, energizers, and non-negotiables. Then we translate that into a career thesis and narrative that makes sense to others – not a perfect story, but an honest and compelling one. From there, we design experiments: conversations, networking, visibility, and targeted applications that test fit quickly. For many clients, the real work is psychological: tolerating uncertainty, releasing old identities, and building confidence through action rather than waiting to feel ready. I also coach the “micro-moments” that shape outcomes – interviews, negotiation, executive presence, and boundary setting – so the transition becomes a deliberate move, not a desperate leap. Why do expats and globally mobile professionals struggle with change, and how do you support them? Expats and globally mobile professionals often experience change on multiple layers at once: practical, cultural, relational, and identity-based. You might be starting a new role while also rebuilding community, learning an unspoken cultural code, and managing the emotional cost of leaving support systems behind. Even positive moves can carry grief. Many expats also live with a subtle background uncertainty: visas, contracts, social belonging, and “Where is home?” My support combines practical transition design with psychological grounding. We map the change (what’s ending, what’s beginning, what must be carried forward), establish stabilizing routines, and build a community strategy instead of hoping connection will happen organically. We also work on cross-cultural leadership skills: how to read context, communicate with clarity, and avoid misattributing behavior to intent. When people feel anchored internally, they can be flexible externally – and global mobility becomes a strength rather than a strain. How do issues like anxiety, low self-esteem, or personality challenges impact change, and how do you address them? Anxiety, low self-esteem, and personality patterns don’t just affect emotions – they shape behavior during change. Anxious leaders may over-control, over-communicate without clarity, or catastrophize. Low self-esteem can show up as people-pleasing, avoidance of conflict, or overwork to prove worth. Certain personality patterns can intensify under stress – for example, defensiveness, rigidity, or emotional withdrawal. My approach is both compassionate and direct. We identify the pattern, the trigger, and the protective function. Often, these patterns are coping strategies that once worked. Then we build alternatives: nervous-system regulation, communication skills, boundary setting, and schema-informed reframes that reduce shame and increase choice. I also normalize that leaders don’t need to be perfect to be effective. They need to be self-aware, accountable, and willing to repair relationships quickly when their stress response shows up. What role does leadership development play in managing both personal and organizational transformation? Leadership development is the bridge between change strategy and lived culture. Organizations can buy frameworks, but they cannot outsource leadership capacity. During transformation, people watch leaders more than they listen to them. A leader’s attention, tone, and behavior become the organization’s weather system. That’s why I focus on developing three capabilities: self-leadership, relational leadership, and systems leadership. Self-leadership is the ability to manage your inner world under pressure: your schemas, emotions, and reactions. Relational leadership is how you create trust, psychological safety, and accountability – especially in conflict. Systems leadership is how you align structure, incentives, and culture so the change is reinforced, not resisted. When those three are developed together, transformation becomes faster, kinder, and more sustainable – and leaders often find their own lives become healthier in the process. What results do clients typically experience after working with you and your team? Clients typically experience results on two levels: measurable outcomes and a different internal experience of leadership. On the organizational side, we often see faster adoption, clearer accountability, reduced “change noise,” and stronger execution. In M&A and restructuring contexts, clients report smoother integration, fewer surprises, and a quicker return to productivity because roles, decision rights, and cultural expectations are clarified early. On the human side, leaders often describe a shift from survival mode to grounded confidence. They communicate more clearly, handle conflict with less reactivity, and build teams that are both high-performing and psychologically safe. Many clients also report improved wellbeing: better boundaries, less anxiety, and more access to genuine happiness – not because work is always easy, but because they are no longer leading from chronic tension. My team and I measure success by what changes and what endures: stronger results, stronger relationships, and a leader who can stay well while doing hard things. Want to make change work – without losing the people behind it? If you are leading a restructuring, expansion, or integration – or navigating a personal transition that is redefining your identity – I invite you to treat change as both a business discipline and a human practice. The organizations and individuals who thrive are not the ones who avoid discomfort; they are the ones who build the skills, systems, and support to move through it with clarity. To learn more about working together, connect with me online, explore my writing on leadership and wellbeing, or reach out to schedule an exploratory conversation. Follow me on Facebook , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Daniela Aneva