Unwind Your Mind

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to navigate difficult conversations, stakeholder challenges and workplace pressure more effectively than others? It's easy to assume they're naturally better with people. But what if they've just developed skills that most of us were never taught?   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind, we wrap up the emotional intelligence series by exploring four of the...

What if some of the most expensive problems in your organisation aren't the ones you're measuring?   A conversation gets postponed, a concern goes unspoken, a stakeholder leaves a meeting feeling slightly less confident than they did when they walked in. None of these moments seem particularly significant at the time, and yet when enough of them accumulate, the consequences can become very real.  ...

Have you ever worked with a team full of intelligent, capable people and wondered why things still weren't running smoothly?   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind, we explore a question that many professionals encounter throughout their careers: Why do smart teams still struggle?   Drawing on a real project from my engineering and project management career, I unpack how many workplace challenges t...

Many of us grow up believing that success follows a predictable path. Choose a career, gain experience, climb the ladder.   But what if career paths aren't meant to be straight? What happens when your interests evolve? What if the path you're on no longer feels aligned? And how do you know whether you're moving away from something… or moving towards something that's a better fit?   In this episode...

Have you ever noticed how your mind keeps attaching conditions to feeling okay? "Once this project is over, then I can relax." "Once I've proved myself in this role, then I'll feel secure." "Once I feel more confident, then I'll speak up."   On the surface, these thoughts can sound ambitious and responsible. But underneath them is often a much deeper emotional pattern, the belief that your worth,...

If you've ever received feedback that felt more personal than helpful… or found yourself holding back from saying what's actually needed because you didn't want to come across the wrong way, this episode is for you.   In part two of this conversation on role clarity, we move from understanding the problem to exploring how it plays out in real workplace dynamics.   We unpack how expectations are of...

Have you ever been doing exactly what was asked of you… but still felt like you somehow missed the mark?   Or been on the other side, where someone is doing work for you, and it's fine but the way they are showing up is frustrating you?   In many cases, this isn't a performance issue. It's a clarity issue.   In part one of this two-part episode of Unwind Your Mind , I unpack one of the most overlo...

Have you ever completed something you knew you did well… and still found yourself fixating on the one small thing that wasn't perfect?   Maybe it was a test, a presentation, a project, or even a conversation. Everything went well overall, but your mind keeps coming back to that one moment that "should have been better."   And somehow, despite everything you did do well… it doesn't quite feel like...

Negative emotions at work can feel uncomfortable, inconvenient… and something we just want to get rid of as quickly as possible. Especially when you care about doing a good job.   In those moments, it's easy to fall into the pattern of overthinking, self-criticism, and trying to "snap out of it" by forcing yourself to be positive.   But if you've ever tried to jump straight from frustration or gui...

Resilience Series (Part 2): The Real Meaning of Resilience with Carolyn Cranwell   Resilience is often spoken about as though it's a simple instruction, something you should just be able to switch on when life gets hard. But in reality, resilience is far more nuanced, and often far less polished, than the way it's commonly portrayed.   In Part 2 of this conversation with resilience expert Carolyn...

Resilience is a word that gets thrown around a lot, in workplaces, communities and online spaces, often as though it's a simple instruction: just be resilient. But what does resilience actually mean in real life, especially when someone is already carrying a heavy load?   This two-part series began after a listener of Unwind Your Mind reached out to share her experience living and working on a far...

International Women's Day brings important conversations about equality, opportunity and fairness in the workplace. While many of those challenges require broader societal and organisational change, there are also powerful shifts we can make in our own lives that influence how we experience work every day.   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind , I explore the theme of "Balance the Scales" through...

Have you ever felt genuinely excited about a potential career shift… only to feel that clarity start to disappear the moment you told someone else about it?   Maybe you were considering applying for a promotion, stepping sideways into a different team, reducing your hours, leaving something stable to try something more aligned or even staying exactly where you are when others expect you to push fo...

Performance reviews can feel heavy.   Even when they're structured well. Even when your manager has good intentions. Even when you've technically had a "good year."   Because underneath the surface, these conversations often feel like verdicts. Am I doing enough? Am I progressing fast enough? Are my contributions valuable enough?   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind , I unpack how to completely r...

Have you ever found yourself spiralling after someone else has a perception of you that doesn't feel quite right?   Maybe it was a comment made directly to you. Maybe it was something you heard second-hand. Or maybe it was just a subtle shift in how someone was acting that left you questioning yourself.   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind, we explore how other people's perceptions can influence...

Coming back to work after a break can feel harder than we expect.   There's often pressure to hit the ground running, be immediately productive, and prove you're "back into it", even when your mind and energy levels are still adjusting.   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind , I share a practical approach to returning to work in a way that supports sustainable success, not short bursts of productiv...

If you don't want to rush straight into 2026 without intention (or set goals just for the sake of setting goals) this episode is for you. So many high-achievers move from one year to the next carrying the same patterns, pressures, and habits forward, simply because they never paused long enough to understand what the previous year was actually teaching them. In this episode, I walk you through a s...

Have you moved through the entire year at full speed, only to look back and realise you've been repeating the same patterns: overworking, overthinking, over-delivering, and wondering why things still feel harder than they should?   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind , I unpack five of the biggest lessons high achievers tend to learn through experience (often the hard way). Think of this as an inv...

Are you finishing up the year feeling tired, unsure how you actually got through the last few months… but also not entirely clear on what you want to do differently next year?   Or maybe you look back and realise the whole year felt like you were running, reacting, adjusting, pushing, without ever getting the chance to think about what was working for you and what wasn't.   In this episode of Unwi...

Have you ever noticed how quickly you can go from grounded and clear… to defensive, frustrated, or trying to fix everything all at once?   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind , we explore one of the most practical tools for understanding your emotional patterns: the difference between operating above the line and below the line .   You'll learn how fear shapes your reactions without you realising...

Do you ever catch yourself spiralling into stress the moment an email lands in your inbox, assuming it needs to be done immediately, only to realise later that no one expected it urgently at all?   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind, we unpack the pattern so many high-achievers fall into: creating pressure that doesn't actually exist.   From imagined deadlines, to guilt over delayed replies, to r...

Have you ever walked away from a conversation wondering, "How did that get so intense so quickly?"   Maybe you were trying to have a calm discussion, but the energy shifted, emotions ran high, and suddenly you were defending yourself or trying to fix someone else's problem.   Or maybe someone else came in heightened, and you left the interaction feeling completely drained.   In this episode of Unw...

Have you noticed that even when you've slowed your pace and learned to trust your own rhythm, you still feel the urge to fill every moment? To keep doing, producing, pushing forward?   In this final episode of the From Drive to Flow mini-series, we explore the other half of productivity: receptivity .   You'll hear about the psychology behind why our best insights often happen away from the desk:...

When you've always been someone who can push hard and make things happen, slowing down can feel counterintuitive, even risky.   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind , we explore what happens when the habits that once helped you succeed start clashing with the version of success you want now.   You'll hear about the shift from intensity to intention, why "keeping up the momentum" isn't always the an...

Have you noticed that even after doing the inner work, shifting away from people-pleasing, learning to trust yourself, building a career you love, you still have the instinct to push, to fill every spare moment, to keep doing ?   In this episode of Unwind Your Mind , I open up about something I'm personally working through right now: learning how to let go of constant busyness and redefine what pr...