How are you feeling right now? Overwhelmed? Exhausted? Burnt out?

If that sounds like you, keep reading!

What if you reframed self care as a crucial step for you to feel and perform at your best?

How would you feel knowing you had the time, energy and focus to reach your potential? 

There’s good science backing up why you should flip your thinking.

Many of us view ‘self-care’ such as meditation and movement as a nice add-on to your life but something we can do without.

The lightbulb moment for me came during a visit to Kamalaya, an award winning holistic health retreat on Koh Samui in Thailand.

During a session with one of the life mentors Sujay, we discussed why so many of us put self-care and stress management at the bottom of our to-do lists, instead of the top.

In the past, working too hard without adequate support and recovery led to a severe episode of burnout and I really didn’t want that to happen again!

Sujay explained how the state of your nervous system directly impacts how well your brain functions.

One of the leading researchers on this topic is Dr Judith Willis, a neuroscientist from UCLA.

She studies how your nervous system impacts brain function, particularly focused on  learning.

Her research finds when you are stressed and in fight, flight or freeze mode, your prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain that controls executive function and decision making, stops working properly.

As she explains, stress activates the amygdala- the fear or emotion switching station in the brain, and it stops information getting through.

When I talked about this concept with Sujay at Kamalaya, it made me think – how can you make good business decisions if the part of the brain you need to do that is offline?

How can you be the best version of yourself, if you are always overwhelmed?

How can you know what to prioritise, how to plan strategy and what to say no to?

Instead, research shows we do our best, most creative thinking, when we allow our minds to wander.

When we switch off our attention with the outside world and become introspective, ‘the default mode network’ regions in the brain become more active.

HERE is one interesting paper for you to dig into the science.)

And that’s when the magic happens. 

Kamalaya was the perfect place for me to do some deep work. 

There’s beautiful water everywhere you look, a nourishing whole food diet, body treatments to unlock stored stress and sessions with life mentors like Sujay to dig deeper into emotional blocks and resistance. 

I was able to focus internally on my vision for the next 12 months and map out the daily practices I needed to embed to stay calm and regulated.

So now when I schedule in movement, meditation, rest and recovery, I don’t think of it as ‘self-care’.

I think of it as an integral part of my business strategy to ensure I can serve the clients I work with, in the long term.

And you can too!

Remember, your long term success depends on strategies for peak performance. 

And that’s the micro-habits you embed each day to give you a leading edge.

You follow me on Instagram and watch a video of my visit to Kamalaya here

What self-care practice is non-negotiable for your peak performance?

Take care, Soph 

How are you traveling?

I hope you’re doing well in the lead up to the busy holiday season.

At this time of year, you might come into contact with people where you are more likely to have a difficult conversation, such as friends or family.

I heard a new technique for managing challenging conversations and wanted to share it with you. 

So the first one is T, which stands for. TAKE A MOMENT before you respond. 

The next one is H, and that stands for HELPFUL.

Is your response going to be helpful to the conversation and to your relationship? 

And the next one is I. How IMPORTANT is it that you answer this particular question or have this particular conversation? 

And then the next one is N.  Is it really NECESSARY that you have this difficult conversation right now? 

And the last one and probably the most important is K, and that stands for KINDNESS. It’s so important that we lead with kindness. And this is something that I talk about and think about a lot. If you can try and lead with kindness in all your dealings with others, it helps you establish connection with somebody for a start. But it also acknowledges that there may be things going on in that person’s life that that you have no idea about. 

I hope this might help you navigate some difficult conversations.

I would love you to watch my latest video on how to manage difficult conversations HERE

Take care,

Soph x

At such a busy time of the year, I thought you might like some extra resources. 

With all the holidays and projects and things that you want to finish before the end of the year, we are all carrying a lot in our mental load. 

So I want to give you a great productivity hack that really worked well for me. 

And I hope it will work well for you too.

1.Ditch

What can you take off your to-do list completely? This might be your to do list in the office, at work, at home or in your personal life.

2.Delegate

Often you might be like me and think that you need to do everything yourself. In reality you can actually get a lot more done when you delegate things to people around you.

3.Delay

We’re coming up to the end of the year, where there are some projects or things on your list that you wanted to get done before the end of the year. All those things can wait until 2024. Put them on the to-do list for next year.

That way you’re making a to-do list that’s both important and urgent and a lot smaller as well. So it’s much more achievable.

I would love to know if you have any great productivity hacks that you want to share.

I am so grateful to already be booking some amazing corporate talks in 2024. I love sharing my knowledge to support people like you! 

Please get in touch if you want a speaker to inspire you and your team to feel your best at work and at home.

You can watch my latest YouTube video HERE.

Take care, 

The latest CSIRO Healthy Diet Score report reveals that Australians’ diet quality is generally below the healthy level, with an average score of 55 out of 100.

Only two in five Australians eat enough vegetables, with low nutrition choices such as alcohol, takeaway, ultra processed food, and confectionery dominating the rest of our diet.

Eating well isn’t just about what you consume today and tomorrow.

Instead, intentional eating involves thinking about the long game. 

Are you maximising your nutrition with the food you choose or could your choices be setting you up for a chronic disease later in life?

But here’s what’s exciting.

Changing your eating habits to maximise your physical and emotional health isn’t about completely changing your life. 

It’s about small, achievable changes that stick.

Gone are the days of thinking that ‘eating well’ means deprivation and missing out on delicious food.

Instead of resorting to extreme diets, you might consider weight loss programs that customise your meal plans according to your dietary needs and daily lifestyle.

Along with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, you’ll have a personalised roadmap. 

Fill your plate with a rainbow of fruits and veggies, wholesome grains, lean proteins, and yes, the occasional square of dark chocolate or slice of cheese, if that’s what you desire.

It’s all about balance.

Personalise Your Plate

Maintaining a healthy weight is not about trying to be skinny. 

Eating a diet high in nutrient-dense foods with the odd treat thrown in, sets you up for success.

What can work well is a meal plan that plays to your unique life — your activity levels, your sleep patterns, even your mental space. 

It’s about finding what works for you, personally. 

And science backs this up, showing that tailored dietary advice sticks better than one-size-fits-all tips.

Mindfulness: More Than a Buzzword

Let’s talk about mindful eating. This is about being present, about really experiencing your food. 

Savouring food means you are much more likely to enjoy what you are eating.  No phones, no distractions. Just you and your delicious food.  You might find you enjoy it more and eat just what you need. 

In one of my previous posts I went into more detail around mindfulness that you might find helpful.

Portion Control: Your Secret Weapon

Loving your food doesn’t mean you can’t love your health at the same time.  You can still have your favourite treats. I aim to follow an 80/20 rule.

Portion control doesn’t mean giving up what you really like eating.  There are simple hacks that can help you with portion control.

For example, I use a plate that is a size smaller than a dinner plate. 

There is research from the journal Nutrients that backs this approach up.

It’s not about measuring each and every bite. It’s about being intentional, about choosing to say ‘that’s enough for me.’

A global study found personalised dietary advice helped adults make bigger, more lasting improvements in their diets, eating habits, and overall health compared to general nutritional guidelines.

And Seek Support 

Remember, you’re not walking this path to good health alone. Your friends and family can be part of your support team. 

I like to exchange recipes, share meals, and support people in my circle to choose health first. 

And for those days when you need a little extra push, pop back here.  There’s plenty more where this came from.

So, what’s your first action towards a healthy diet? Let’s take this on, together.

 

Sophie x

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How often do you see your friends and family?

The Answer Could Save Your Life.

Research from Britain suggests loneliness can increase the risk of an early death in a much bigger way than previously thought.

Scientists from the University of Glasgow investigated how your social connections – or the lack of them – impact your health and longevity. You can find the study link here.

They used a massive data set of 450,000 people from the United Kingdom’s Biobank – a database of more than half a million people.

What researchers wanted to understand was the impact of living alone as well as the impact of social connection on your risk of dying, particularly from cardiovascular disease (CVD).

They examined deaths from cardiovascular disease over 12 years..

They dug into issues such as how we connect socially, how often we confide in someone close, how often we feel lonely, our frequency of visiting friends or family, participating in group activities weekly, and living alone.

What Did They Find?

Not catching up with friends or family at least monthly raises your risk of dying.

And here’s an interesting twist: living alone had a unique impact.

People who lived alone but had daily visits from friends or family still faced a higher risk of death compared to those who had daily visits and didn’t live alone.

But the real red flag appeared when all these factors were combined.

People who felt lonely or didn’t have someone to confide in and those who lived alone and didn’t participate in group activities had a significantly higher risk of dying from CVD.

So, What Lesson Can You Take From All This?

Humans are social creatures and it seems there’s a minimum threshold for how often we need to see friends and family to keep healthy.

If you are living alone, especially when combined with other forms of social isolation, it could mean a higher risk for health issues.

And finally, you need to look at the whole picture of someone’s social life to fully understand their risk.

The lesson for me is that we need to see the whole person and their whole social world.

Connection Is The Antidote To Loneliness.

We are coming up to the holiday season which can be a lonely time for some.

Is there someone you could reach out to so they don’t feel so isolated?

You can find lots more resources on emotional wellbeing on my YouTube channel. I would love you to subscribe! 

Hearing from readers helps me to know what subjects you are interested in, so please get in touch.

Take care, Soph x

Do you want to use your strengths to change and evolve? Here are 3 ways you can do just that.

1.Identify What Your Strengths Are.

It could be something like Creativity, Honesty, Leadership.

Here is a link to a full range of strengths and you can find yours here.

2.Find Your Tribe.

And what do I mean by that? 

Find people who share the same values as you, who have the same standards to the things that really matter to you.

3.Prioritise Connection.

We know how important connection is for your physical health and your mental health.

So prioritize connection with people who you feel really strongly towards.

So these three steps will help you use your strengths to change:

Identify Your Strengths, Find Your Tribe and Prioritize Connection.

Have you ever thought about your strengths and how you can use them to change and evolve?

Take care, Soph x 

Subscribe to my weekly YouTube videos. I will provide practical tips to boost your well-being, backed by science.

I hope it will help you too.

 

1.Remember You Are Not Broken And Do Not Need Fixing.

It’s normal for your mood to fluctuate – and feel better on some days.

What I have found helpful is to have a toolkit of strategies in place such as meditation and movement to manage your mood on days when you need it most.  The more you can build these mood-lifting activities into your daily habits, the easier it will be to do when you need it. 

I will give you an example. I wanted to start a daily meditation practice. So for me the best time to embed this habit was to do a 10 minute meditation as soon as I wake up.  I do it in bed sitting up .. before the day gets underway and my mind starts to think about everything I want to do. I use the free insight timer app – You can find my meditations there or lots of other teachers. 

I encourage you to check it out and think about doing a meditation first thing in the morning for the next 7 days. I think it will make a substantial difference to how you feel.

2.Most People Are Not Thinking About You.

You might worry about what people think about you or feel people are judging you. But those people are usually in their own heads thinking about themselves and not you. 

It’s called the Spotlight effect. (Gilovich et al, 2000, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)

How you feel about yourself is much more important. Having a healthy self esteem and not caring too much about what other people think is so important. How would you feel if you could act with curiosity not judgement. When things aren’t going your way, reframe your response through a lens of curiosity. 

Step back and ask what can I learn from this?  What is it trying to teach me? And am I willing to listen?

3.You Can Sit With Uncomfortable Feelings.

Often, you might try to get rid of uncomfortable feelings like anxiety. But this only makes it worse. 

Tell yourself that you can sit with uncomfortable feelings and sensations. They will come and go quickly just like any other. Talking about problems isn’t always the answer. Talk therapy can be powerful but so much of our response to what’s happening occurs in your nervous system in your body. 

Learning to regulate your nervous system through mind-body practices means you can react and respond to daily challenges without being stuck in fight or flight mode. Keep your perspective. When you are in the middle of a difficult period, it can be helpful to think back to times in your life when you have overcome challenges. Ask yourself what strategies helped you then? Who did you lean on for support?

 

Remember – although it’s not always easy, change can help you grow.

What is the best mental health advice you have received?

If it’s of value, you can find more resources here Sophie’s website or Sophie Scott TV or You can also watch my YouTube video HERE

Take care, Soph x 

It’s easier to be positive when your life is going well and the world is relatively settled.

When that’s not happening, (like it is right now for some of us) that’s when you need to call on practices that build resilience.

Here are 3 tips that can help you.

 

1. Seek Support

Surrounding yourself with people who care about you makes challenges less challenging.

Researchers from the University of Virginia found when standing in front of a hill, people who were with their friends estimated the hill to be 10 to 20% less steep than participants who were alone.

And the longer the friendship, the less steep the hill appeared.

Connection requires action. It doesn’t necessarily happen automatically. Who can you contact today to help you feel supported?

2. Self-compassion

Micro-dosing positive emotions builds emotional resilience. 

Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson from University of Chapel Hill tested this theory on 140 adults. Half had to practice daily loving kindness meditations to increase positive emotions.

Those who did so increased mindfulness, a sense of purpose, social support and feeling healthier. They felt more satisfied with life and less depressed.

3. Surrender

Come to terms with both the good and bad in your life, as difficult as it might be.

Make peace with what is, while recognising you would like things to be different. 

Recognise this is where you are in life right now. Just like the good moments in your life, bad ones are temporary too.

Acceptance was a really tough one for me initially. But I realised that fighting against a situation wasn’t going to change it and just made me feel worse.

“The ultimate optimism lies in understanding that every passing moment is a treasure, in joy as in adversity,” Buddhist scholar Matthieu Ricard, from my book Roadtesting Happiness.

If it’s of value, you can find more resources on Sophie Scott TV. Check out our new YouTube Channel trailer here

 

What helps your emotional well-being during times of stress?

 

Take care, Soph x 

What do you think would be more stressful?

Knowing something bad is going to happen or the uncertainty that it might happen, but it also might not.

Scientists from the University College in London found it was uncertainty that led to significantly more stress, than actually knowing something unpleasant was going to happen.

In the study, people were told they were getting a mild electric shock while some in the group were told they had a 50% chance it might happen.

Researchers found the people who didn’t know what was going to happen were much more stressed and had the physical markers of more stress.

Their pupils were dilated and they sweated more.

As humans, we like certainty and to know what’s coming.. But that’s not always possible.

The good news is that when faced with uncertainty, the people in this study showed better judgement.

Uncertainty can make you anxious. But what if you approached uncertainty with an attitude of curiosity and with self compassion. This mindset shift can make a big difference.

Remember, it’s normal to struggle during uncertain times.

Your brain likes certainty.

Change and uncertainty triggers our stress response and activates the amygdala. This is the alarm system part of the brain .. which senses danger.

So how can you still thrive during uncertainty and change?

What if you reframed uncertainty as a learning opportunity?

Researchers from Yale University found there’s greater activity in the prefrontal cortex part of the brain when you are dealing with uncertainty.

And during that time, the brain is actually ‘primed’ for learning. This might seem counterintuitive as uncertainty isn’t something we crave.

But this research shows uncertainty can be a time when we learn the most and in particular learn the most about ourselves.

When have you learnt about yourself while going through change?

If it’s of value, you can find more resources here Sophie’s website or Sophie Scott TV

Take care, Soph x 

How easy is it to change your mindset? Try these 4 tips.

1. Recognise your daily actions and habits matter.

Every action you take today is a vote for the person you will be next year and in 5 years time.

Build in protective factors to help manage stress such as movement, connection and meditation.

And consistency beats intensity – make daily habits automatic so you don’t have to choose to be healthy. 

80 % of our actions are automatic. 

In other words, we do so many tasks without thinking or choosing. 

So every morning and night, embed those rituals that are going to set you up for success. 

In other words, act like the person that you want to become.

2. True balance is a myth – some days work wins, some days your family will.

But your health and mental health has to be at the top of your list, no matter what.

Prioritise human connection and the quality of your relationships. 

This will protect you in the face of challenges. 

With every decision, ask yourself, am I acting in accordance with my values?

3. Overwhelm – ditch the ‘urgency fallacy’

Recognise that not everything has to be done straight away. 

• Pause and act with intention instead. 

• Review your to-do list and delegate, ditch, or delay. 

• Act with a mindset of abundance, not scarcity.

4. Win the morning – win the day.

Research from the University of Essex found less than five minutes of scrolling through social media posts of bad news is enough to lower your mood.

So delay reading negative news and social media for as long as you can – and instead build in habits such as meditation and movement to start your day in a calm, mindful way.

These simple, yet powerful mindset shifts can improve your mental health and productivity.

If you want more recourses on boosting your well-being be sure to follow my YouTube channel Sophie Scott TV

What helped you shift your mindset? I would love to know.

Take care, Soph x