Nothing Flourishes Alone: Self-Reliance, Interdependence and the People who Help Us Grow
As an introvert-leaning person who naturally enjoys solo tasks, I’ve been thinking about the value we place on being able to manage things by ourselves.
Perhaps underneath the value is a false sense of security. When we are working through things alone then we feel like we have total control over the experience. But is that true?
I’m not talking about solitude, because tuning in and creating space is vital to our wellbeing. I’m talking about the habitual resistance to allowing another person to contribute something we haven’t yet been able to find for ourselves. For some of us, this can touch surprisingly tender places: a fear of appearing inadequate, incapable, less accomplished or somehow weak. These ideas rarely appear from nowhere. They can be bound up with the identities we have built over time, particularly through periods when being capable, independent or in control helped us feel safe.
The Curious Practice of Being ‘Fine’
I’ve been thinking lately about the distance that can open up between how we appear on the outside and how we actually feel within ourselves. I’m not talking about those regular moments where we might not feel enthusiastic about the weekly grocery shop but we know we need to get it done. Most of us know something about putting on a brave face, just getting on with it, finding ways to manage feeling completely uninspired, overwhelmed or just… blah inside, while still having to show up for work, present in the meeting, pick up the kids from school and juggle the million things that keep the wheels turning at home and in our careers.
Burnout Recovery: Why Rest Alone Isn't Enough
Rest helps, for a while. But if the exhaustion always finds its way back, the heightened emotions, the anxiety or overwhelm - the truth is that burnout was never really a rest problem to begin with.
What Is Transcendental Meditation? Exploring Its Vedic Roots and Benefits
If you've spent any time trying to meditate, you've probably had the experience of sitting down, closing your eyes, and immediately being besieged by thoughts. The grocery list. That email you forgot to send. A conversation from three days ago that's somehow still bothering you. After a few minutes of this, many people quietly conclude that meditation simply isn't for them. With the right technique, you don’t need to worry about stopping your thoughts - it is easy to learn, and with daily practise it will have a profound impact on your life.
Feeling Stuck, Flat, Overwhelmed?
In reality, life unfolds like the seasons of a year. There are seasons of building, when everything seems to move and growth feels rapid and visible. There are seasons of rest, when very little appears to be happening, even though something is quietly taking root beneath the surface. And there are seasons of questioning, when old structures, old roles, old versions of ourselves no longer fit, and something new hasn't yet taken their place. These in-between seasons are rarely comfortable. They don't come with a map. They often arrive not as a single clear realisation, but as a slow accumulation of small signals: a flicker of envy when someone else makes a bold change, a wave of fatigue around things that used to feel manageable, a long-held idea that keeps quietly resurfacing no matter how many times you set it aside.
High-Functioning Anxiety: The Art of Putting on a Brave Face
A lot of advice for anxiety focuses on managing symptoms in the moment: breathe through it, reframe the thought, push past it. These tools have their place, and I use many of them with clients. But if you've been managing anxiety for years without it ever really lifting, the missing piece is often that managing isn't the same as healing. Genuine change tends to happen on three levels at once.