expansion works

Your brain physically changes, at every age. The patterns you carry were learned, and learned things can change. That is not hope, that is biology.

Do you feel that you are meant for more, but something keeps pulling you back? There is a reason, and it is not a flaw in you. See it in two minutes 👉 https://www.expansion-works.com/spark/

The plan is written. The date is in the diary. You know exactly what to do.

And still: not today.

It gets called procrastination. Or discipline. Or not wanting it enough. Usually it is none of those.

Somewhere in you there is a part that remembers what happened last time you put yourself out there. It is doing its job. It has the handbrake on so you don't get hurt again.

You cannot argue a part out of that. It isn't listening for logic, it is listening for safety. So the thing to work on isn't the plan. It's what sits underneath it. Ready tends to turn up after you move, not before.

The workbook is a gentle first step to setting down what you've been carrying, yours to keep: https://www.expansion-works.com/you-are-not-broken/

The creator economy has a conscience. Meet Phie McKenzie.

Founder of Creative Ally, the purpose-led talent agency whose creators are moving the needle on climate, representation and mental health. Co-host of the Move Over Mother Theresa podcast, co-founder of Clwb Creative Cymru, one of our changemakers, and the person who introduced me to neurocoaching in the first place, years before I trained.

She talks founding an agency on her own terms, the fear of being seen that quietly held her back, and what shifted in how she shows up to grow the business.

"The fear of being seen was so strong. I hated putting myself out there."

Read the full conversation here: https://www.expansion-works.com/phie-mckenzie-founding-creative-ally-the-fear-of-being-seen/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=conversations-phie

Coping is a skill. It just isn't the same as clearing.

Some of us were lucky enough to be taught how to cope. The breathing, the boundaries, the walk round the block, the phrase that talks you down. Those are real skills and they work. I use them.

But coping manages the weight. You're still the one holding it, just holding it better. Which is why you have to do it again tomorrow.

Clearing is different. The weight goes down, so there's nothing left to manage. Not a better grip. No grip needed.

Keep your coping skills. They're yours, and they're good. This is the thing that means you need them less.

The workbook is a gentle place to start: https://www.expansion-works.com/you-are-not-broken/

Source: Gross and John (2003), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

You got the thing. It didn't go quiet.

The promotion. The achievement you told yourself would mean you'd made it. You got there, and the voice that said you weren't enough came with you.

Of course it did. That voice was never asking about your CV. It was never about capability, so capability was never going to answer it.

So you set a bigger goal, because surely that one will do it. That's the bit most people never say out loud.

The quiet doesn't come from doing more. It comes from setting down what you've been carrying.

The workbook is a gentle place to start, as my guest: https://www.expansion-works.com/you-are-not-broken/

Meet Anne B***y. She shapes the sound of Yorgos Lanthimos' boldest films, Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness and Bugonia, and campaigns for Nike, Adidas and Jaguar.

In our latest Expansion Spotlight she shares the moments that made her wobble, what brought her back, and why she now feels like Practical Anne is in the driver's seat.

"Think of failure as a gateway to success. The more opportunities you give yourself to fail, the more you might just win."

Read the full conversation: https://www.expansion-works.com/anne-booty-sound-yorgos-lanthimos-personal-growth/

A feeling doesn't decide how long it stays. The replay does.

Researchers tracked 27 everyday emotions from start to finish. Some cleared in half an hour. Some emotions could linger for days, up to 240 times longer than the shortest. The difference wasn't the event. It was how much people replayed it afterwards.

So a feeling that keeps coming back is not proof that something is wrong with you. It is a loop being re-run. And a loop can be set down.

Try this. Next time a heavy feeling returns, ask one quiet question: "Am I feeling this — or replaying this?" You don't have to answer it. The asking loosens the loop.

The workbook is a gentle place to start: https://www.expansion-works.com/you-are-not-broken/

Source: Verduyn & Lavrijsen (2015), Motivation and Emotion.