With the end of the year approaching, how many of you have slipped into "panic work" mode? Working late, dropping boundaries, telling yourself you'll just "get a bit more done", but actually achieving less. I've been noticing how often I hear people say, "I can't believe it's already September, we're in the last quarter." I've even caught myself saying it. At first, it feels harmless, but here's the truth: those small words start to wire the brain into panic. Suddenly, time f

Over the past few weeks, I've been discussing our beautiful brain's filtering system extensively. At a recent corporate workshop, we had the privilege of coaching a leadership team on what's really happening beneath the surface of their everyday communication. While many of them had attended training sessions before, something clicked this time, because we weren't just discussing what they were doing, but why their brains were doing it in the first place. Which, let's be hone

There's a moment that has stayed with one of my clients, and, in truth, it echoes in the lives of many of the people I've worked with. She was about ten. Dressed in sequins and nerves, ready to perform her part in a school dance. The music began, and she missed a step. Just a beat, nothing more, but in that moment, from the back of the room, came a sharp voice, a family member's offhand comment, wrapped in frustration: "Honestly, you're so clumsy. Can't you get anything ri

A couple of weeks ago, something happened to me. I sat at my desk staring at the screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard but not typing, not really doing anything. I felt physically stuck, my body wouldn’t move, my head was spinning, thoughts racing like they were chasing each other in circles: “I can’t do this. I’m not good enough. I’m so tired. I should know better. I don’t look great. I don’t feel great. I am failing at everything”

Focusing on what we do not want is an avoidance tactic. It is comfortable because it does not require much of us. We do not have to imagine anything new or stretch ourselves. We simply point to what exists (or what we fear might happen) and reject it.

I have always been described as an extrovert. I get involved in conversations, laugh, and tell stories, but what the outside world doesn't see is my internal narrative. This battle goes on when I am going to meet people I don't fully know, join a networking group, or go into a place I haven't been before.