February 26, 2025 • 41 mins
✨ Ever felt overwhelmed by anxiety, struggling to trust yourself or navigate high-pressure situations? You're not alone! In this episode, Claire sits down with Georgia Shears, a nervous system strategist, who shares her powerful journey of overcoming anxiety and panic attacks. She breaks down how understanding your nervous system can completely transform the way you handle stress, make decisions, and show up with confidence - whether in business, public speaking, or daily life.
💡 What You’ll Learn:
✅ The power of the nervous system - how it shapes emotions, behaviors, and everyday decisions. ✅ Why self-awareness is your superpower - spotting the signs of stress before they take over. ✅ Trusting your gut instincts - how to strengthen intuition and make aligned choices. ✅ Practical strategies for managing anxiety - including breathwork, grounding techniques, and self-regulation tips. ✅ Overcoming public speaking nerves - Georgia’s expert advice for feeling confident in front of an audience. ✅ How to create a life that feels good inside AND out - rewiring your mindset for lasting change.
Why This Matters: Your nervous system affects everything - your confidence, decision-making, and ability to show up as your best self in business and life. When you learn to work with it rather than against it, you unlock the clarity, resilience, and calm needed to thrive.
🎧 Tune In Now: This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to reduce stress, build confidence, and take control of their life. Hit play, take notes, and let’s start rewiring your nervous system for success!
🔗 Listen now on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Your Favorite Podcast App
💬 Join the Conversation! What’s one thing you’ll start doing differently after this episode? Tag us on Instagram @cs_bartlett and let us know! #TheBoldBlueprint #MindsetMatters
Connect with Georgie:
https://www.facebook.com/georgie.dwyer.1
https://www.instagram.com/georgieshearsstrategist/
Connect with Claire:
https://www.instagram.com/cs_bartlett/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008840233523
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Hi everyone and welcome to this week's episode of the Bold Blueprint.
This week I am joined by the gorgeous Georgia Shears, who is a life design strategist andI just absolutely adore that job title.
So Georgie, welcome to the show.
I'm going to dispel good morning.
Well, it's actually afternoon, aren't we?
I'm going to dispel that a little bit because I've had a little title update, Claire, youknow.
(00:24):
no, no, it doesn't matter.
I was when you saw me and when we met I was a life design strategist.
Now.
I've actually tweaked my title and title is already important, but this is just a littlemore descriptive.
So I call myself now a nervous system strategist.
I still absolutely use my shift life design system.
So nothing's changed.
It's just that I realized my approach was really centered in the nervous system.
(00:48):
So I just updated my title to help people.
Well, is even more exciting.
Hey!
do you want to start off by, I always ask all my guests how you sort of got onto this pathand what led you to where you are.
And then we'll dive into what it is that you actually do and how you help people.
Yeah, of course.
But I think everybody, first of all, thanks so much for having me on and hello toeverybody.
(01:09):
I think when you do work like this and you want to help people, it always comes from ajourney of your own.
And mine is a history of horrific anxiety, depression, panic attacks, that feeling ofnever feeling enough, always had loads of friends, you know, from the outside in, you
(01:29):
would think, dead happy, always having loads of fun.
But I just never felt it inside.
And that is really what set me off on this journey.
But where I am now very much comes from a pivotal moment in 2020.
I'd been a
health fitness and lifestyle coach for over a decade.
I didn't suffer panic attacks then, that was sort of 17 years ago, and I'd learnt tomanage my anxiety with talk therapies and exercise, and I did loads of sort of
(01:57):
self-healing work and yeah.
But then in 2020, obviously we all know what happened, I had to close down my in-personbusiness and...
Sadly, COVID coincided with a time when my dear cousin or cousin sisters, we used to calleach other, was in the very late stages of cancer.
And yeah, so we took the kids out of school early, down so we could see her, obviously,because you couldn't be near anybody who had had, you know, could have had COVID, been in
(02:26):
touch with anybody.
And in a nutshell, my main anxiety used to be health anxiety.
It had always been.
So a a pandemic with being locked down, not knowing what's going to happen.
And my cousin's real.
It was a lot.
And I was watching the news like a Wally, scaring myself.
(02:48):
That's why I worded.
yeah, my panic attacks came back basically.
And it was horrendous.
And was obviously homeschooling my children, trying to make out this is all fun and safe.
And there's me in a crumpled heap.
Body had shut down, couldn't exercise to release the anxiety anymore, but body had justsaid, no, you know, and I just didn't know what to do, reached literal breaking point.
(03:12):
I was terrified.
And in that moment, desperation, grabbed my phone, searched for how do I stop a panicattack now?
And I don't know if you've heard me say this story before, but I found just an anxiety SOSmeditation and thought, yeah, really, but I was desperate.
I tried anything and there I was 12 minutes later, calm as anything, the anxiety had goneand I just had this, I call it an awakening but I'm very down to earth and I could see the
(03:42):
eye roll.
That's what I feel like it was like a massive awakening.
It was like, you've just had a panic attack because you watched the news.
Yeah.
Watch the news and I never have done since.
And this is all so relatable as well, especially in that time and we were all, the anxietyin the whole world I imagine was
so heightened.
But you, like you said, you're homeschooling your children and this is something you'vesuffered with before.
(04:08):
So suppose finding that small meditation that completely managed to snap you out of it andbring you back around must have been so transformational for you.
It was for me, it was, you know, I'd done so much talk therapy and I knew how powerful weare as humans and the human mind.
But I tell you what I hadn't realised.
was the resource we had inside us.
(04:28):
Everything I had ever done, I realized, had come from outside.
And in this moment, because I'd got quiet, I heard myself inside say, you don't have to dothat.
You get to choose a different way.
And honestly, it has been that tiny little moment that has set me off on this journey,which was all about, my God, if you get quiet, you can hear yourself.
(04:54):
And you have the answers.
And we all know it because we all lie to ourselves, don't we?
We're like, try and pretend you can't hear that voice inside.
depends on what it's telling us.
Exactly that.
Exactly that.
But so, yeah, that is how I sort of got on this journey.
And then I learned how to launch an online course.
never even been on Zoom.
then, yeah, I you had...
had before 2020.
(05:14):
you had Lisa Johnson on here who I seeked out.
I'd never heard of Lisa.
I wanted a mentor.
to really help me bring this because I knew how powerful the work, you know, this newmissing jigsaw piece in the work I already did to help humans get the most out of life and
found it.
So yeah, I tracked Lisa down, never heard of her before, my words, she's beentransformational as she is.
(05:38):
Yeah, yeah, so powerful.
So powerful.
There you go.
That's such an amazing journey.
And like I said, I think it will resonate with so many people because...
It happens to all of us at different stages in our lives, but we've all been at that pointwhere we've just felt so overwhelmed.
You know, the anxiety, the walls are closing in on us and we just feel like we don't knowwhere to turn and don't know how to move forward in whatever it is that's surrounding us.
(06:04):
I think that, that lot, don't think I've ever heard anyone explain it quite like that,everything had always been external for you.
You know, we all read the books, the self-help books, we listen to the podcasts, we dothis, we do that, but actually,
the majority of the power that we need is already inside us and we need to be listening toourselves.
(06:25):
I think that's so beautiful.
So you created some courses and you transitioned your business and started then helpingpeople in this more rounded way.
Yeah, I did.
But interesting to note what you've just said there because I did.
And at this point, I hadn't looked into the nervous system.
I was looking at intuition and limiting beliefs.
(06:48):
gratitude practices, which honestly, I would have rolled my eyes out and I would do as afavor and busy, you know, but I started doing it and I started learning the sciences
behind, okay, I can get on board with that because you're literally rewiring neuralpathways to focus on positive.
Now your brain knows you want to see those positive things.
(07:09):
So that fascinated me.
And I was doing this for a good couple of years, but I was, and yes, that is what I wrotecourses on.
Hence why I launched as a life design strategist.
I'm so passionate about it, but I never stopped learning.
You know, it's lived experience.
It's professional experience.
I want to get better and better.
I've never been happy inside my own skin and I see that with my clients and that's what Ihelp happen.
(07:34):
And that I cannot put it down.
It's my utter passion.
You know, it just.
And I can see that in your face, I can hear it in your voice.
And I went, so I met you, was it maybe two months ago now?
So I saw you.
Yeah, I can't even remember what it was.
I'm like, I think it was two or three months ago.
And I saw you speaking on stage at Ideas Fest and your entire story and your passion justresonated with me so much.
(08:01):
was like, I need her, need her to come on to the podcast and share this message with theworld.
And I think it's
a really important message.
I think, again, people will really understand what it is.
And education, like I said, you we can always be improving ourselves, but it's just aboutlistening to ourselves more and the understanding and the kindness.
(08:24):
I think, so I talk about this, you know, and I joke about being woo and being into, youknow, the journaling, gratitude journaling, manifestation, all of those things.
But it's
It's not just a woo thing, there's science behind it, it's facts.
And if you actually look into it and you understand what is happening in your mind andactually the science and the facts behind it, it really does and can work for anybody in
(08:54):
any situation.
It doesn't have to be about wanting to earn a million pounds or having that car or thatlifestyle.
It can just be about how you want to feel about yourself, can't it?
and those sorts of things.
And I think some people think it has to be for some really massive plan and it reallydoesn't.
It doesn't.
I'm going to be slightly controversial here because as I say, no, I totally agree withyou.
(09:15):
And as I say, for a good couple of years, I was all about that and I still do that daily.
I think there's huge value in all those practices and meditate as soon as I wake up, Ijournal in a way that I want to.
I don't think you have to live by rules and this is it.
You do.
what feels good in your own body.
And this is something that's so important to learn about with the nervous system, becausealthough I thought it was all mindset, it goes further down than that.
(09:44):
So I was teaching mindset and I still hugely believe in it, but nervous system isphysiological.
You know, it's a part of your body that is in you and it's designed solely to keep youalive.
So when you are feeling anxiety,
That is your body thinking you're in danger.
(10:04):
It's actually doing you a really kind thing.
Anxiety rather than being something to be scared of, which I was for years.
know, it's actually, if you can utilize it as a warning sign that you're doing somethingthat doesn't feel good to you, your body feels like it's in danger.
You know, it's evolutionary this.
(10:27):
So what might happen?
Every single experience you have ever been through in life is stored in your nervoussystem.
It's like a database of everything.
Even if you don't consciously remember it.
There's something called neuroreception and this is part of your nervous system.
It is literally designed to be constantly looking out for danger, be that in yourenvironment, in people around you, in your own body.
(10:53):
is literally in milliseconds it works.
We're doing it now.
You're looking at
that fight or flight mode that we...
Exactly that.
Right.
Exactly that.
So when your nervous system feels like it's in danger, it goes into fight or flight, readyto, as it says, either fight back or flee.
And it releases chemicals that allow you to run or fight.
(11:18):
Yeah.
So it shuts down.
It sends the blood rushing to all the parts you need to do those things and borrows theenergy from all the places that...
don't need to fight or flight like your digestive system or your immune system.
Hence why we spent, when we spend too long in fight or flight, we start to get poorly.
You know, people have really bad digestive issues.
(11:40):
They can't sleep because you've got all these wired chemicals in your body.
when you think of it like that, you can't go back to thinking of it any other way.
And I will stop speaking in a minute, but really important to know is,
The nervous system cannot hear you tell it it's safe.
It's thinking thing.
(12:01):
This happens below the neck, so it's not the brain.
is, we need to show our nervous systems they're safe.
So when we're talking about practices like gratitude and meditation, we are activelyslowing the body down in a place where it feels in flow and calm and it knows it's safe.
And therefore your body can function properly.
(12:22):
You feel happier.
You feel karma, your prefrontal cortex, which is your creative brain comes back on board,because that's not needed either when you're going to fight or flight.
So we're not the kind of high achieving people that I work with a push, push, push, andtrying to get to that next level in business or achieve this before they allow themselves
(12:43):
to slow down.
They're actually switching off the bit they really need to get to that next level andenjoy the success they've created anyway.
It's incredible, isn't it?
I find it really interesting though, because there's, how does it work in certainsituations?
So for instance, wanting to go and talk on stage like you did at Ideas Fest.
(13:05):
Now, obviously, especially if it's the very first time you've ever done that, theanxiety's there, the adrenaline, and you're definitely in fight or flight mode, this is
very out of your comfort zone.
So how does that impact everything and how can you handle those situations when you reallyare
consciously escaping your comfort zone and what happens when you move forward, but it'sgoing to create these physical reactions for you.
(13:34):
It's a great question that as well, actually.
And from my own experience, that I found really exciting and actually excitement andnerves do feel very similar.
They're very similar, I'll go back a few years ago.
One of the mantras I told myself, as well as being claustrophobic and scared of heights,as you heard me say on stage was,
(13:55):
I could never stand in front of a room full of people.
I'm just not that type of person.
Because years ago, an experience I had was in a trustee meeting.
I'm a trustee of a charity foundation.
I had to speak while I went bright red, completely blank and could not speak.
And that obviously stored in my nervous system as a memory.
So cue forward to on stage, how do we deal with that?
(14:17):
It is taking very small steps.
It's not going.
from not daring to do anything to suddenly standing on a stage in front of 300 people.
This is exactly what I teach.
You can't go from never speaking to doing a TEDx.
The way that I explain it and you see if this fits and resonates with you is if you tryand envision yourself doing a TEDx, it's too far a leap for you to consciously believe
(14:46):
that you can make.
but by breaking it down.
every time, instead of leaping out of your comfort zone, you're sort of nudging theboundaries of it just slightly every time.
And then suddenly give yourself a year and you'll look back and you won't even realize howfar you've come.
Cause it's not been as painful as just making that, you know, huge leap.
(15:08):
Not only do I agree, to talk over you, I absolutely promote that.
And that is...
Again, because gently, gently, you are just showing your nervous system that at each stageit's safe.
And that your nervous system literally controls everything.
Yeah.
And I think each time that you do it, because you've done it once and you've survived it,you don't have the same severe reaction.
(15:31):
So I speak about this all the time.
The very first time I had to do public speaking, I had a really physical reaction, know,the sweat.
my legs were shaking, I was breathless, I couldn't catch my breath.
But I asked the audience after some of the people I knew in the audience and theygenuinely said we couldn't see, like, you could tell that you were nervous, but couldn't
(15:55):
see most of this physical reaction that you were having.
Because most of it is sort of internal, isn't it?
Next time I did it, it was a slightly bigger audience, but I was a lot less nervousbecause I knew that I...
could survive it.
I'd done it once already.
But I have a very funny, well, it wasn't funny at the time, it's very funny story to you.
(16:17):
So I was in the choir when I was at school.
I was a soprano, which my husband laughs at constantly now because when I sing it does notsound as pretty as it did back then.
But I was given the privilege of being a solo in the, I think it was a Christmas carolconcert or something.
And I was so excited.
(16:37):
And in rehearsal, they got this cube out for me to stand on, on my own, away from thechoir.
And my part came and I opened my mouth, nothing came out.
I just could not sing under that pressure.
And then obviously then the emotions kick in and then I was getting more more worked up,which meant I had even less chance of getting the words out.
And in the end, they took the role away from me.
(16:59):
And I stood back in the soprano section of the choir.
that stuck with me for a really long time.
So well done you like genuinely now doing what you do.
That's taken work.
It's a gradual process though, isn't it?
And it is, you know, sitting in, I always say, you know, you've to be comfortable withbeing uncomfortable.
(17:19):
You have to be able to push yourself slightly.
But if I'd ever tried to do something huge from the beginning, it just wouldn't, that justwould not have worked for me.
I had to break it down into a gradual step.
You did, but I just think so many, in this world, the entrepreneurial world, certainly,we're all very determined and we're all pushing boundaries, aren't we?
You you don't have to do this.
(17:39):
We're choosing to.
And I think I am like my biggest passion having lost quite a few special people and justseeing the beauty and the enjoyment that we get out of this like one short precious life.
You know, we've just got to make it as big as we can.
You don't have to stay small.
You can if you want.
But hearing you doing that, you you could have said, no, because I just can't, I know I'mnot that type of person, but we're not a type of person with the message, with the passion
(18:09):
that's inside, aren't we?
And we deserve to bring that out in our lives and we can do it we can do it in a gentleway that we can look back and go, wow, just like you are.
And I just think that's magical.
I really do.
And I think there's so much to say about the labels that we put on ourselves.
label ourselves as not the type of person that would ever public speak or you know, I'mreally tidy or I'm always late.
(18:33):
These are all labels that we give ourselves.
And we can easily take them away as well.
But if you constantly telling yourself, yeah, I'm always late.
I'm the type of person I'm never ever on time.
Your body and your mind will just start believing that and then you will never be on time.
Yeah, it's about changing how we speak to ourselves, isn't it?
And how we behave.
(18:54):
Yeah, showing ourselves that we can do whatever it is that we're talking about.
Yeah, and I think you touched on science before because I often I like things verytangible.
I do believe in the woo, but I have to hear the tangible side to make myself.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I am.
I the balance.
I need the balance.
Exactly that.
Yeah, I need to know that when I'm teaching something, if someone asks me something, I'mlike, no, because that's this.
(19:16):
And I don't know the answer.
And I'll go off and find it.
But.
I think it was actually Mel Robbins a few years ago who heard this and learned about thereticular activating system in the brain.
It's like a hairnet over your brain.
it obviously so much information goes in our brain all day, every day.
There has to be a filter.
Otherwise we'd just explode, possibly.
(19:37):
so when we're telling- Science, it proves that, but we look into that later.
There's no science about exploding brains.
There is not, But I think when we're saying to ourselves, I'm always late,
What you're actually doing is telling your brain, you want to see evidence that you'realways late.
Much like if you're buying a new car, you will see that car everywhere.
(19:58):
Cause you're actually programming your brain.
So when we're rewriting limiting beliefs, you'll know this.
You're actually saying to your brain, no, I'm not always late because when I go to thisthing that I absolutely love, I'm always on time.
You're rewriting it and therefore showing your brain, I want proof that I am not late.
(20:18):
And that's why you start seeing the positives.
And that for me is why manifestation works because you start taking the, seeing theopportunities and taking the opportunities because you're focusing your brain on that
thing.
That's my take on it.
I genuinely feel like I'm speaking to myself.
Like we have so many of the same views and we're using so many of the same scenarios.
(20:41):
So how does all of this then, we go deeper into the nervous system, how does all of thisconnect?
So we're talking about, you know, reframing our mind and then that opens up seeing theopportunities around us or seeing what, you know, the positives that we're looking for.
So how does that then impact the nervous system?
It's the other way, I would say.
(21:02):
So what happens is every experience we've ever had is stored in our nervous system, as Isay.
part of that, let's use the example of public speaking because it's one that everyone'sterrified of, isn't it?
Part of that could be the...
When you were at school, you may have a been bullied or one incident might have happenedwhere you walked into a group of people and something happened and you felt stupid and
(21:28):
rejected or somebody laughed at you.
That feeling, because it's about feelings, not words, that feeling gets stored in yournervous system as danger because you felt in danger.
Now, anything now that your reception, your reception, that thing that's constantlylooking out for danger.
It constantly looks outside for danger and inside as to have we had this experiencebefore, this is how we react.
(21:54):
So when you go into a situation that brings up that same feeling, it will react in thatsame way.
So it will immediately go into panic, into fight or flight.
And that will continue to happen throughout your life until you become aware of it.
And it is everything starts with awareness.
(22:14):
fact, self-awareness is like the first bit of my shift life transformation system.
is, it's the S self-awareness for everything.
So as soon as you start to feel, call it dysregulated, you know, a little bit off, alittle bit panicky, a little bit uncomfortable.
That's your nervous system becoming dysregulated, going into fight or flight, feelingdanger.
(22:37):
So in those moments, it's about...
being really aware of where you're feeling that discomfort.
I'm not gonna get too scientific on here, but there are three main...
What's caused that reaction for you from your nervous system?
How is your body feeling at the moment?
And then we need to try and get it back into regulation to show that you are safe in thatmoment.
(23:02):
So that could be, if you're outside is wonderful.
I know it sounds daft touching a tree, nature's amazing.
If you're in the moment.
Just focus on your feet, ground yourself in that moment, something that's real, somethingthat's tangible.
Feel your toes on the floor, feel your heels on the floor, just really ground yourself.
You're actually telling your body, showing it that you are safe.
(23:25):
That's an old feeling.
And the more we tune into that, and the more we keep showing our body in those situationsthat it's safe, the less those feelings come up.
So in a way,
We are nudging that boundary that we talked about earlier, but from the inside out.
Does that make sense?
(23:45):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it's connecting, isn't it?
It's connecting past experiences to present circumstances.
And then it's making assumptions, I suppose is what you're saying.
We're talking about becoming more self-aware.
And I think that is a term that's banded around quite a lot.
(24:07):
What does it actually mean and how does that happen?
Can I just ask you really quickly before you answer that?
Is my microphone sounding okay to you?
Yeah, it is a bit funny.
It does keep going a bit funny.
I'm gonna see if I can swap my microphone.
I didn't want to say that in the middle of the podcast because I didn't know if you were,let's have a little listen.
(24:30):
Is that better now?
Yeah.
Okay.
I could see it on the thing.
was flashing and I was like, why is that?
I'll be able to edit that to make it sound okay.
Okay.
Do you remember the question?
becoming self-aware is a term that we talk about a lot and
we, you know, it's banded around a lot, but what does that actually mean?
(24:51):
And how can we actually become more self-aware?
Yeah, I agree with you.
And actually this whole industry, feel like there's just so many words that they don'tmean anything anymore.
I think what has happened is so many of us have just become disconnected from our bodies.
And I really mean this.
cannot feel any more sensations from our bodies.
(25:15):
So self-awareness really, and
I try and find words that don't sound wellness world and I really struggle with itactually.
But it really is about like just taking a minute, put your hand on your heart or your handon your tummy.
Feel your tummy expand and go in as you breathe and feel that's a part of you, that's you.
(25:35):
Just reconnect to that.
Because our bodies are constantly sending us signals.
And self-awareness is how am I feeling in this moment?
Not what am I achieving?
Not how big is my business growing?
Not what do people think of me?
How am I perceived?
You know, what's my label?
(25:56):
What's my title?
How am I feeling?
Because surely in life it is how we're feeling and our enjoyment of it.
So for me, self-awareness is just cut out the noise, even if it's for five minutes.
turn your phone off, sit on your own.
I don't care if you need to nip in the loo for five minutes just to be away from any othernoise.
(26:18):
doesn't matter.
It doesn't have to be fancy.
Maybe that's what my husband's doing when he's always disappearing.
my God, mean, it's unbelievable, isn't it?
There seems to a lot of synergy in that conversation.
Self-awareness is honestly just tuning in to your own body and the sensations that are init.
And if you've only got five minutes, just do a little...
(26:39):
Quick body scan, go from the top of your head down to your shoulders, just not trying tochange anything, just feel what sensations are there.
Put your hand on your heart, put your hand on your tummy, touch your own body, connectwith yourself.
How am I feeling?
And actually, you know, there's so many people here in this world who are like, I've gotflu again, that same old flu, or I've got stomach issues, it must be IBS, and they just
(27:04):
pass it off as a thing they've got.
It isn't, this is your body.
sending you signals that it is not happy.
You're overloading it and we only get one body.
Yeah, it's got to last a long time.
Yeah, not only that, it's like it is trying to send you messages as to what feels good foryou.
If it doesn't feel good, start to tune into that and think of ways, know, seek help, seekinformation, read a book, contact someone like me, contact, there's plenty of us out
(27:34):
there, you know.
One of the feelings that people talk about a lot is the gut feeling.
we, I actually a hundred percent agree with you that I think a lot of us and myselfincluded actually for a long time, we just stopped listening and asking our bodies, you
(27:54):
know, what's going on.
But the one thing that we talk about a lot is, I had a gut feeling about this and I, youknow, whether I listened to them or my gut feeling is always right.
Is that part of the nervous system or is that more a mind thing?
Where does come from?
no, do you know what's really funny is you say that I got a quote the other day and I'msure you've heard of Gabil Mate, everybody has, and he put, he said, gut feelings are
(28:18):
responses to our environments.
Emotions are responses to our minds.
And I thought that was incredible.
Yeah.
So a gut feel, this is what I'm talking about, those messages from inside.
know, when you meet someone, how you feel about them, do you trust them?
Do you not?
That is a gut feel, isn't it?
(28:40):
And I think when we are in business, we can feel if what we're doing feels right in ourgut.
feels like we're in, and then we, here we go with those words that go in alignment, but Idon't know what to say.
it makes sense.
We quite often go against it because we might have had a mentor or we might see somebodyelse doing it a different way and go, but they did it that, that must be the way.
(29:07):
And I think the way things work is by doing what that gut feel is telling you.
Yeah.
It's never wrong.
Is it?
You to build that trust up with it, I suppose.
for me in, you know, I've been in business for 10 years now.
And in the beginning, there were times where I ignored the gut feeling.
(29:28):
went against, you know, it was sort of it.
People put it down to like a mind and a heart.
Yeah.
Choosing one or the other.
And I was looking at what other people were doing exactly as what you say.
Other people were doing or what a business mentor or friend or somebody told me, you youshould do it that way.
And I would listen to them because I felt, I don't know, external societal pressure thatthat was the way that you should do things.
(29:56):
And they might be right.
Yeah, they might be.
But I knew internally that that wasn't the way for me.
But I ignored myself and I went for it anyway.
and I learned the hard way a couple of times in the early days of business.
And I have not made that mistake since, you I listened to myself now.
But it's gradual process.
(30:17):
Yeah.
And I think mistakes teach us and I'm exactly the same as you.
I know what my gut says.
And sometimes I've gone the other way and I've always come back full circle to what my gutsays.
And I think you need to do that.
I think you need to make those mistakes and know that
That's fine.
To dad that even make the mistake is totally fine.
(30:39):
That is learning.
You tell kids mistakes are fine.
We're all learning forever, aren't we?
And I think that- Sorry, go on.
No, I was just gonna say the older we get, the more experience we have, the more we learnto properly lean into that gut feel and go with it.
Yeah, I think, yeah, it comes with experience and practice and trust.
(30:59):
Like I say, know, choose the other road.
and learn from that and realise that actually the gut was the right way.
And I think the more that you do that, the more you can build trust because really we allhave decisions.
It all comes down to a decision, doesn't it?
You can choose to listen to your body or you can choose to not, but just listen, turnyourself, you know, look inside and listen, at least listen to what it's telling you and
(31:23):
then make the decision.
And I think we can be so disconnected now that we're not even hearing the message in thefirst place.
And I suppose that's what you're helping.
people to work on, isn't it?
Absolutely, because I'll tell you what, there's no fulfillment if you're not connected towho you are.
Everything comes from the outside.
You know, we need enjoyment in life.
(31:43):
We need meaning in life.
And everybody's looks different.
We all have our own flavor, our own blend that we're naturally born with.
You know, why does one person find this person attractive?
Why does one person like this type of music and not that, or this hobby and not that?
We're just...
We come like that.
And without really tuning into who we are and our own special blend, never gonna, youmight be mega successful, you might have millions of pounds in the bank, but if that's not
(32:11):
floating your boat, you're never gonna feel happy.
And what's the point?
That's the thing for me.
That's the thing though, isn't it?
It is so easy to be led by what we see, especially now with social media.
Seeing these people having these beautiful, insta-perfect lifestyles.
earning the six figures and all of this.
And it's so easy to be led that that's what we should be doing.
(32:33):
That's what we should be wanting.
And again, in business, you know, I was pushing for down a journey that really wasn't whatI wanted, but I thought that's what I should be doing.
And then it's only when I was down that path and I was like, I'm not enjoying this at all.
Yeah, so common.
Yeah, suddenly this business that I've been growing is feeling like a job, you know, like
(32:57):
I'm losing my passion and my excitement.
So I just diverted right back to where I should have been going in the first place.
And I had to do that, I suppose, to learn that lesson again.
it's very difficult.
It's so much easier said than done, isn't it, to not be led by these beautiful lives thatwe've shown that you can have.
And you can have, you can have anything you want, but it has to align with, and there'sthat word again, with what actually you want.
(33:23):
with that perfect blend of you, what is it that you want and what does success look likefor you?
Because it's so different for everybody.
It is and thanks for being so open and honest and actually I do think the only way we comeback full circle to this is by going down that road.
We've all done it.
Honestly, my clients, this is why they come to me.
The majority of my clients say, I wish I could go back three or four years to when I wasreally enjoying my business.
(33:48):
Because we all set these things up because we're passionate and we love it.
And we want to deliver, but we end up running a business and doing what we set it up todo.
And this is what I say.
help high achievers create a life that feels as good on the inside as it looks from theoutside.
Why often our lives look shiny and glorious and not feeling that I help people createthat.
(34:15):
And it is an utter joy and privilege to be able to help people do that, to feel great intheir own lives.
you know, it's just a real privilege.
Yeah.
And it's like you said earlier, and again, honestly, it's like looking in a mirror.
So similar, but what you were saying earlier about when you were younger and on theoutside, you know, loving life, the soul of the party, you know, really living the best
(34:41):
life, but internally, those, how you were feeling did not connect with the exterior atall.
And I
And I think that actually goes a lot into business as well.
So I had someone on in season one, I think they were on and she described it as a GildedCage.
She'd built her business.
(35:01):
beautiful prison.
Isn't it?
Yeah.
It's such a lovely term.
I really resonated like she'd built this incredible business, but she was so unhappy init.
And, know, she had to tune in and listen to herself and realize, well, at what point did Istart losing the passion?
Where do I want to go back to?
And what does...
what am I wanting it to look like?
And I think it can be, and this is why I started this podcast because we all look up,everyone is always looking up at someone for inspiration.
(35:29):
And all you see 90 % of the time when we look up is people are successful, happy, livinggreat lives.
But actually being an entrepreneur is hard.
It's not all rainbows and butterflies.
We all have tough days in business.
And I think it's really important that we are open about those because
When someone is looking up to us, if someone's looking up to me, I want them to know Istruggled, I have days where I'm really struggling.
(35:55):
It's not a perfect journey, it isn't for anybody and I want to break any of those mythsthat we're all living perfect lives because we're not and you need to connect what's
happening in your business with, it's a much bigger picture, isn't it, than just business?
It's your whole life and make sure that you feel balanced across.
Exactly, that is a blend, isn't it?
(36:16):
And I want people to know that
It is okay to say I am not enjoying this because what I want you to also recognize withthe nervous system and going back to how we felt as children, there will have been an
experience that happened that made us feel unsafe.
And we had to learn, like I was, this is a common one, people pleasing.
(36:37):
I had a pretty crap dad.
He left when I was one and he would just not turn up some weeks.
And I did.
really everything to try and make him love me like I wanted to be loved.
So I tried to please him and that led onto external validation hugely, you always tryingto please people, but never feeling like you were doing.
Now that can carry, like I say, it's embedded into your nervous system that it's not justabout thought therapy and understanding why you react like you do.
(37:06):
Cause I understood what triggered why I reacted like I did or behaved like I did or, but Ijust couldn't stop doing it.
forgot until I learned about my nervous system and felt these things coming up.
So often in business, we are still replicating those same things.
That's why we carry on building for that.
You know, mentioned emotional homeostasis.
(37:27):
You get to a certain level and you feel great for a bit.
Then you need more because you're probably not used to it.
And you're just chasing that external to fill a feeling inside that you still have untilyou take it to a nervous system level.
and you start showing your body it's safe here.
When you feel good here, it's safe to stay here.
(37:49):
Safe to be here and build your life from this perspective, from this feeling, you know?
So there's no shame in having built a mega successful business you're not happy with.
It's incredible.
Look how talented you are.
You know, look what you're capable of.
And now you get to choose to enjoy it too in a different way maybe and tweet.
(38:10):
and make it yours and yeah, I think it's powerful.
So now we've, we've explained what the, you know, the nervous system is and how it works.
Yeah.
How, what, what can you do when you, you know, like you say, I might have situations Iknow trigger me and, but similar to you, maybe I'll just, you know, you can't change it.
(38:33):
You, you're aware of it and it happens, but you, you don't, you can't stop it fromhappening.
What can people do?
What can the listeners do when they feel themselves in that moment?
What would be like the first thing that you would say for them to start changing that,actually making a change?
I mean, it's different for everybody because, well, I'll give you some really simple tips.
And actually while I'm on here, I will give you, I have a guide to managing your nervoussystem when you're running a six figure business.
(39:00):
I actually charge for it, but I'm going to give you all listeners it free.
So if you- Yeah, it's 97 pounds, but I'm going to give you for free.
if you-
follow me on Instagram, which is Georgie Shears Strategist.
I'll put the link in the show notes.
Thank you so much.
Just drop me a DM saying guide.
I'll know it comes from here and I'll send it to you.
(39:20):
That is there's just too much to go into.
I'm going to be a question.
I mean, really, it's about showing your body it's safe.
And like I say, if you are feeling overwhelmed and unhappy in the moment.
Notice where you're feeling that in your body.
put your hand on it and show it some compassion like you would a friend.
This is not woo.
This is gentle touch on your own body.
(39:42):
Like you'd put your hand on someone's shoulder to show support.
You can do that for yourself as well.
You can shake your body.
If you're feeling anxious, give your body a good shake.
That energy needs to move.
Or if you can go and walk, go and walk and then do some nice steady breathing or
I've actually got something coming out like a seven day thing just to give you some handyin the moment hints.
(40:05):
So if you do follow me on Insta, you will see that coming up as well.
It's just, there's too much to give you in one moment, but.
Well, there's some great tips in there already.
I hope so.
hope so.
Yes, no there is.
Amazing.
And I'll put all the information in the show notes for everybody.
But yeah, I mean, honestly, Georgia, I could speak to you.
all day about this but...
I could speak to you, been so nice, I know I'm like, no, the time's passing again.
(40:28):
I know, I'm sure the listeners have stuff they need to get on with so we will have to callit a day there but thank you so much honestly for coming and sharing that and I think, you
know, really explaining to us how it works and why we should start looking into that.
Like I said, I'll put in the show notes how people can find you if they're looking to diveinto that a bit more and learn more about it.
(40:49):
But yeah, just thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
It's just been a glorious conversation.
So nice to spend time with you as well.
we'll, yeah, we'll have to do it again soon.
Thank you.
I know, we will.
And listeners, thank you so much for joining us again this week.
I will catch up with you all next week.
Have a great time.
Hi everyone and welcome to this week's episode of the Bold Blueprint.
This week I am joined by the gorgeous Georgia Shears, who is a life design strategist andI just absolutely adore that job title.
So Georgie, welcome to the show.
I'm going to dispel good morning.
Well, it's actually afternoon, aren't we?
I'm going to dispel that a little bit because I've had a little title update, Claire, youknow.
(00:24):
no, no, it doesn't matter.
I was when you saw me and when we met I was a life design strategist.
Now.
I've actually tweaked my title and title is already important, but this is just a littlemore descriptive.
So I call myself now a nervous system strategist.
I still absolutely use my shift life design system.
So nothing's changed.
It's just that I realized my approach was really centered in the nervous system.
(00:48):
So I just updated my title to help people.
Well, is even more exciting.
Hey!
do you want to start off by, I always ask all my guests how you sort of got onto this pathand what led you to where you are.
And then we'll dive into what it is that you actually do and how you help people.
Yeah, of course.
But I think everybody, first of all, thanks so much for having me on and hello toeverybody.
(01:09):
I think when you do work like this and you want to help people, it always comes from ajourney of your own.
And mine is a history of horrific anxiety, depression, panic attacks, that feeling ofnever feeling enough, always had loads of friends, you know, from the outside in, you
(01:29):
would think, dead happy, always having loads of fun.
But I just never felt it inside.
And that is really what set me off on this journey.
But where I am now very much comes from a pivotal moment in 2020.
I'd been a
health fitness and lifestyle coach for over a decade.
I didn't suffer panic attacks then, that was sort of 17 years ago, and I'd learnt tomanage my anxiety with talk therapies and exercise, and I did loads of sort of
(01:57):
self-healing work and yeah.
But then in 2020, obviously we all know what happened, I had to close down my in-personbusiness and...
Sadly, COVID coincided with a time when my dear cousin or cousin sisters, we used to calleach other, was in the very late stages of cancer.
And yeah, so we took the kids out of school early, down so we could see her, obviously,because you couldn't be near anybody who had had, you know, could have had COVID, been in
(02:26):
touch with anybody.
And in a nutshell, my main anxiety used to be health anxiety.
It had always been.
So a a pandemic with being locked down, not knowing what's going to happen.
And my cousin's real.
It was a lot.
And I was watching the news like a Wally, scaring myself.
(02:48):
That's why I worded.
yeah, my panic attacks came back basically.
And it was horrendous.
And was obviously homeschooling my children, trying to make out this is all fun and safe.
And there's me in a crumpled heap.
Body had shut down, couldn't exercise to release the anxiety anymore, but body had justsaid, no, you know, and I just didn't know what to do, reached literal breaking point.
(03:12):
I was terrified.
And in that moment, desperation, grabbed my phone, searched for how do I stop a panicattack now?
And I don't know if you've heard me say this story before, but I found just an anxiety SOSmeditation and thought, yeah, really, but I was desperate.
I tried anything and there I was 12 minutes later, calm as anything, the anxiety had goneand I just had this, I call it an awakening but I'm very down to earth and I could see the
(03:42):
eye roll.
That's what I feel like it was like a massive awakening.
It was like, you've just had a panic attack because you watched the news.
Yeah.
Watch the news and I never have done since.
And this is all so relatable as well, especially in that time and we were all, the anxietyin the whole world I imagine was
so heightened.
But you, like you said, you're homeschooling your children and this is something you'vesuffered with before.
(04:08):
So suppose finding that small meditation that completely managed to snap you out of it andbring you back around must have been so transformational for you.
It was for me, it was, you know, I'd done so much talk therapy and I knew how powerful weare as humans and the human mind.
But I tell you what I hadn't realised.
was the resource we had inside us.
(04:28):
Everything I had ever done, I realized, had come from outside.
And in this moment, because I'd got quiet, I heard myself inside say, you don't have to dothat.
You get to choose a different way.
And honestly, it has been that tiny little moment that has set me off on this journey,which was all about, my God, if you get quiet, you can hear yourself.
(04:54):
And you have the answers.
And we all know it because we all lie to ourselves, don't we?
We're like, try and pretend you can't hear that voice inside.
depends on what it's telling us.
Exactly that.
Exactly that.
But so, yeah, that is how I sort of got on this journey.
And then I learned how to launch an online course.
never even been on Zoom.
then, yeah, I you had...
had before 2020.
(05:14):
you had Lisa Johnson on here who I seeked out.
I'd never heard of Lisa.
I wanted a mentor.
to really help me bring this because I knew how powerful the work, you know, this newmissing jigsaw piece in the work I already did to help humans get the most out of life and
found it.
So yeah, I tracked Lisa down, never heard of her before, my words, she's beentransformational as she is.
(05:38):
Yeah, yeah, so powerful.
So powerful.
There you go.
That's such an amazing journey.
And like I said, I think it will resonate with so many people because...
It happens to all of us at different stages in our lives, but we've all been at that pointwhere we've just felt so overwhelmed.
You know, the anxiety, the walls are closing in on us and we just feel like we don't knowwhere to turn and don't know how to move forward in whatever it is that's surrounding us.
(06:04):
I think that, that lot, don't think I've ever heard anyone explain it quite like that,everything had always been external for you.
You know, we all read the books, the self-help books, we listen to the podcasts, we dothis, we do that, but actually,
the majority of the power that we need is already inside us and we need to be listening toourselves.
(06:25):
I think that's so beautiful.
So you created some courses and you transitioned your business and started then helpingpeople in this more rounded way.
Yeah, I did.
But interesting to note what you've just said there because I did.
And at this point, I hadn't looked into the nervous system.
I was looking at intuition and limiting beliefs.
(06:48):
gratitude practices, which honestly, I would have rolled my eyes out and I would do as afavor and busy, you know, but I started doing it and I started learning the sciences
behind, okay, I can get on board with that because you're literally rewiring neuralpathways to focus on positive.
Now your brain knows you want to see those positive things.
(07:09):
So that fascinated me.
And I was doing this for a good couple of years, but I was, and yes, that is what I wrotecourses on.
Hence why I launched as a life design strategist.
I'm so passionate about it, but I never stopped learning.
You know, it's lived experience.
It's professional experience.
I want to get better and better.
I've never been happy inside my own skin and I see that with my clients and that's what Ihelp happen.
(07:34):
And that I cannot put it down.
It's my utter passion.
You know, it just.
And I can see that in your face, I can hear it in your voice.
And I went, so I met you, was it maybe two months ago now?
So I saw you.
Yeah, I can't even remember what it was.
I'm like, I think it was two or three months ago.
And I saw you speaking on stage at Ideas Fest and your entire story and your passion justresonated with me so much.
(08:01):
was like, I need her, need her to come on to the podcast and share this message with theworld.
And I think it's
a really important message.
I think, again, people will really understand what it is.
And education, like I said, you we can always be improving ourselves, but it's just aboutlistening to ourselves more and the understanding and the kindness.
(08:24):
I think, so I talk about this, you know, and I joke about being woo and being into, youknow, the journaling, gratitude journaling, manifestation, all of those things.
But it's
It's not just a woo thing, there's science behind it, it's facts.
And if you actually look into it and you understand what is happening in your mind andactually the science and the facts behind it, it really does and can work for anybody in
(08:54):
any situation.
It doesn't have to be about wanting to earn a million pounds or having that car or thatlifestyle.
It can just be about how you want to feel about yourself, can't it?
and those sorts of things.
And I think some people think it has to be for some really massive plan and it reallydoesn't.
It doesn't.
I'm going to be slightly controversial here because as I say, no, I totally agree withyou.
(09:15):
And as I say, for a good couple of years, I was all about that and I still do that daily.
I think there's huge value in all those practices and meditate as soon as I wake up, Ijournal in a way that I want to.
I don't think you have to live by rules and this is it.
You do.
what feels good in your own body.
And this is something that's so important to learn about with the nervous system, becausealthough I thought it was all mindset, it goes further down than that.
(09:44):
So I was teaching mindset and I still hugely believe in it, but nervous system isphysiological.
You know, it's a part of your body that is in you and it's designed solely to keep youalive.
So when you are feeling anxiety,
That is your body thinking you're in danger.
(10:04):
It's actually doing you a really kind thing.
Anxiety rather than being something to be scared of, which I was for years.
know, it's actually, if you can utilize it as a warning sign that you're doing somethingthat doesn't feel good to you, your body feels like it's in danger.
You know, it's evolutionary this.
(10:27):
So what might happen?
Every single experience you have ever been through in life is stored in your nervoussystem.
It's like a database of everything.
Even if you don't consciously remember it.
There's something called neuroreception and this is part of your nervous system.
It is literally designed to be constantly looking out for danger, be that in yourenvironment, in people around you, in your own body.
(10:53):
is literally in milliseconds it works.
We're doing it now.
You're looking at
that fight or flight mode that we...
Exactly that.
Right.
Exactly that.
So when your nervous system feels like it's in danger, it goes into fight or flight, readyto, as it says, either fight back or flee.
And it releases chemicals that allow you to run or fight.
(11:18):
Yeah.
So it shuts down.
It sends the blood rushing to all the parts you need to do those things and borrows theenergy from all the places that...
don't need to fight or flight like your digestive system or your immune system.
Hence why we spent, when we spend too long in fight or flight, we start to get poorly.
You know, people have really bad digestive issues.
(11:40):
They can't sleep because you've got all these wired chemicals in your body.
when you think of it like that, you can't go back to thinking of it any other way.
And I will stop speaking in a minute, but really important to know is,
The nervous system cannot hear you tell it it's safe.
It's thinking thing.
(12:01):
This happens below the neck, so it's not the brain.
is, we need to show our nervous systems they're safe.
So when we're talking about practices like gratitude and meditation, we are activelyslowing the body down in a place where it feels in flow and calm and it knows it's safe.
And therefore your body can function properly.
(12:22):
You feel happier.
You feel karma, your prefrontal cortex, which is your creative brain comes back on board,because that's not needed either when you're going to fight or flight.
So we're not the kind of high achieving people that I work with a push, push, push, andtrying to get to that next level in business or achieve this before they allow themselves
(12:43):
to slow down.
They're actually switching off the bit they really need to get to that next level andenjoy the success they've created anyway.
It's incredible, isn't it?
I find it really interesting though, because there's, how does it work in certainsituations?
So for instance, wanting to go and talk on stage like you did at Ideas Fest.
(13:05):
Now, obviously, especially if it's the very first time you've ever done that, theanxiety's there, the adrenaline, and you're definitely in fight or flight mode, this is
very out of your comfort zone.
So how does that impact everything and how can you handle those situations when you reallyare
consciously escaping your comfort zone and what happens when you move forward, but it'sgoing to create these physical reactions for you.
(13:34):
It's a great question that as well, actually.
And from my own experience, that I found really exciting and actually excitement andnerves do feel very similar.
They're very similar, I'll go back a few years ago.
One of the mantras I told myself, as well as being claustrophobic and scared of heights,as you heard me say on stage was,
(13:55):
I could never stand in front of a room full of people.
I'm just not that type of person.
Because years ago, an experience I had was in a trustee meeting.
I'm a trustee of a charity foundation.
I had to speak while I went bright red, completely blank and could not speak.
And that obviously stored in my nervous system as a memory.
So cue forward to on stage, how do we deal with that?
(14:17):
It is taking very small steps.
It's not going.
from not daring to do anything to suddenly standing on a stage in front of 300 people.
This is exactly what I teach.
You can't go from never speaking to doing a TEDx.
The way that I explain it and you see if this fits and resonates with you is if you tryand envision yourself doing a TEDx, it's too far a leap for you to consciously believe
(14:46):
that you can make.
but by breaking it down.
every time, instead of leaping out of your comfort zone, you're sort of nudging theboundaries of it just slightly every time.
And then suddenly give yourself a year and you'll look back and you won't even realize howfar you've come.
Cause it's not been as painful as just making that, you know, huge leap.
(15:08):
Not only do I agree, to talk over you, I absolutely promote that.
And that is...
Again, because gently, gently, you are just showing your nervous system that at each stageit's safe.
And that your nervous system literally controls everything.
Yeah.
And I think each time that you do it, because you've done it once and you've survived it,you don't have the same severe reaction.
(15:31):
So I speak about this all the time.
The very first time I had to do public speaking, I had a really physical reaction, know,the sweat.
my legs were shaking, I was breathless, I couldn't catch my breath.
But I asked the audience after some of the people I knew in the audience and theygenuinely said we couldn't see, like, you could tell that you were nervous, but couldn't
(15:55):
see most of this physical reaction that you were having.
Because most of it is sort of internal, isn't it?
Next time I did it, it was a slightly bigger audience, but I was a lot less nervousbecause I knew that I...
could survive it.
I'd done it once already.
But I have a very funny, well, it wasn't funny at the time, it's very funny story to you.
(16:17):
So I was in the choir when I was at school.
I was a soprano, which my husband laughs at constantly now because when I sing it does notsound as pretty as it did back then.
But I was given the privilege of being a solo in the, I think it was a Christmas carolconcert or something.
And I was so excited.
(16:37):
And in rehearsal, they got this cube out for me to stand on, on my own, away from thechoir.
And my part came and I opened my mouth, nothing came out.
I just could not sing under that pressure.
And then obviously then the emotions kick in and then I was getting more more worked up,which meant I had even less chance of getting the words out.
And in the end, they took the role away from me.
(16:59):
And I stood back in the soprano section of the choir.
that stuck with me for a really long time.
So well done you like genuinely now doing what you do.
That's taken work.
It's a gradual process though, isn't it?
And it is, you know, sitting in, I always say, you know, you've to be comfortable withbeing uncomfortable.
(17:19):
You have to be able to push yourself slightly.
But if I'd ever tried to do something huge from the beginning, it just wouldn't, that justwould not have worked for me.
I had to break it down into a gradual step.
You did, but I just think so many, in this world, the entrepreneurial world, certainly,we're all very determined and we're all pushing boundaries, aren't we?
You you don't have to do this.
(17:39):
We're choosing to.
And I think I am like my biggest passion having lost quite a few special people and justseeing the beauty and the enjoyment that we get out of this like one short precious life.
You know, we've just got to make it as big as we can.
You don't have to stay small.
You can if you want.
But hearing you doing that, you you could have said, no, because I just can't, I know I'mnot that type of person, but we're not a type of person with the message, with the passion
(18:09):
that's inside, aren't we?
And we deserve to bring that out in our lives and we can do it we can do it in a gentleway that we can look back and go, wow, just like you are.
And I just think that's magical.
I really do.
And I think there's so much to say about the labels that we put on ourselves.
label ourselves as not the type of person that would ever public speak or you know, I'mreally tidy or I'm always late.
(18:33):
These are all labels that we give ourselves.
And we can easily take them away as well.
But if you constantly telling yourself, yeah, I'm always late.
I'm the type of person I'm never ever on time.
Your body and your mind will just start believing that and then you will never be on time.
Yeah, it's about changing how we speak to ourselves, isn't it?
And how we behave.
(18:54):
Yeah, showing ourselves that we can do whatever it is that we're talking about.
Yeah, and I think you touched on science before because I often I like things verytangible.
I do believe in the woo, but I have to hear the tangible side to make myself.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I am.
I the balance.
I need the balance.
Exactly that.
Yeah, I need to know that when I'm teaching something, if someone asks me something, I'mlike, no, because that's this.
(19:16):
And I don't know the answer.
And I'll go off and find it.
But.
I think it was actually Mel Robbins a few years ago who heard this and learned about thereticular activating system in the brain.
It's like a hairnet over your brain.
it obviously so much information goes in our brain all day, every day.
There has to be a filter.
Otherwise we'd just explode, possibly.
(19:37):
so when we're telling- Science, it proves that, but we look into that later.
There's no science about exploding brains.
There is not, But I think when we're saying to ourselves, I'm always late,
What you're actually doing is telling your brain, you want to see evidence that you'realways late.
Much like if you're buying a new car, you will see that car everywhere.
(19:58):
Cause you're actually programming your brain.
So when we're rewriting limiting beliefs, you'll know this.
You're actually saying to your brain, no, I'm not always late because when I go to thisthing that I absolutely love, I'm always on time.
You're rewriting it and therefore showing your brain, I want proof that I am not late.
(20:18):
And that's why you start seeing the positives.
And that for me is why manifestation works because you start taking the, seeing theopportunities and taking the opportunities because you're focusing your brain on that
thing.
That's my take on it.
I genuinely feel like I'm speaking to myself.
Like we have so many of the same views and we're using so many of the same scenarios.
(20:41):
So how does all of this then, we go deeper into the nervous system, how does all of thisconnect?
So we're talking about, you know, reframing our mind and then that opens up seeing theopportunities around us or seeing what, you know, the positives that we're looking for.
So how does that then impact the nervous system?
It's the other way, I would say.
(21:02):
So what happens is every experience we've ever had is stored in our nervous system, as Isay.
part of that, let's use the example of public speaking because it's one that everyone'sterrified of, isn't it?
Part of that could be the...
When you were at school, you may have a been bullied or one incident might have happenedwhere you walked into a group of people and something happened and you felt stupid and
(21:28):
rejected or somebody laughed at you.
That feeling, because it's about feelings, not words, that feeling gets stored in yournervous system as danger because you felt in danger.
Now, anything now that your reception, your reception, that thing that's constantlylooking out for danger.
It constantly looks outside for danger and inside as to have we had this experiencebefore, this is how we react.
(21:54):
So when you go into a situation that brings up that same feeling, it will react in thatsame way.
So it will immediately go into panic, into fight or flight.
And that will continue to happen throughout your life until you become aware of it.
And it is everything starts with awareness.
(22:14):
fact, self-awareness is like the first bit of my shift life transformation system.
is, it's the S self-awareness for everything.
So as soon as you start to feel, call it dysregulated, you know, a little bit off, alittle bit panicky, a little bit uncomfortable.
That's your nervous system becoming dysregulated, going into fight or flight, feelingdanger.
(22:37):
So in those moments, it's about...
being really aware of where you're feeling that discomfort.
I'm not gonna get too scientific on here, but there are three main...
What's caused that reaction for you from your nervous system?
How is your body feeling at the moment?
And then we need to try and get it back into regulation to show that you are safe in thatmoment.
(23:02):
So that could be, if you're outside is wonderful.
I know it sounds daft touching a tree, nature's amazing.
If you're in the moment.
Just focus on your feet, ground yourself in that moment, something that's real, somethingthat's tangible.
Feel your toes on the floor, feel your heels on the floor, just really ground yourself.
You're actually telling your body, showing it that you are safe.
(23:25):
That's an old feeling.
And the more we tune into that, and the more we keep showing our body in those situationsthat it's safe, the less those feelings come up.
So in a way,
We are nudging that boundary that we talked about earlier, but from the inside out.
Does that make sense?
(23:45):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it's connecting, isn't it?
It's connecting past experiences to present circumstances.
And then it's making assumptions, I suppose is what you're saying.
We're talking about becoming more self-aware.
And I think that is a term that's banded around quite a lot.
(24:07):
What does it actually mean and how does that happen?
Can I just ask you really quickly before you answer that?
Is my microphone sounding okay to you?
Yeah, it is a bit funny.
It does keep going a bit funny.
I'm gonna see if I can swap my microphone.
I didn't want to say that in the middle of the podcast because I didn't know if you were,let's have a little listen.
(24:30):
Is that better now?
Yeah.
Okay.
I could see it on the thing.
was flashing and I was like, why is that?
I'll be able to edit that to make it sound okay.
Okay.
Do you remember the question?
becoming self-aware is a term that we talk about a lot and
we, you know, it's banded around a lot, but what does that actually mean?
(24:51):
And how can we actually become more self-aware?
Yeah, I agree with you.
And actually this whole industry, feel like there's just so many words that they don'tmean anything anymore.
I think what has happened is so many of us have just become disconnected from our bodies.
And I really mean this.
cannot feel any more sensations from our bodies.
(25:15):
So self-awareness really, and
I try and find words that don't sound wellness world and I really struggle with itactually.
But it really is about like just taking a minute, put your hand on your heart or your handon your tummy.
Feel your tummy expand and go in as you breathe and feel that's a part of you, that's you.
(25:35):
Just reconnect to that.
Because our bodies are constantly sending us signals.
And self-awareness is how am I feeling in this moment?
Not what am I achieving?
Not how big is my business growing?
Not what do people think of me?
How am I perceived?
You know, what's my label?
(25:56):
What's my title?
How am I feeling?
Because surely in life it is how we're feeling and our enjoyment of it.
So for me, self-awareness is just cut out the noise, even if it's for five minutes.
turn your phone off, sit on your own.
I don't care if you need to nip in the loo for five minutes just to be away from any othernoise.
(26:18):
doesn't matter.
It doesn't have to be fancy.
Maybe that's what my husband's doing when he's always disappearing.
my God, mean, it's unbelievable, isn't it?
There seems to a lot of synergy in that conversation.
Self-awareness is honestly just tuning in to your own body and the sensations that are init.
And if you've only got five minutes, just do a little...
(26:39):
Quick body scan, go from the top of your head down to your shoulders, just not trying tochange anything, just feel what sensations are there.
Put your hand on your heart, put your hand on your tummy, touch your own body, connectwith yourself.
How am I feeling?
And actually, you know, there's so many people here in this world who are like, I've gotflu again, that same old flu, or I've got stomach issues, it must be IBS, and they just
(27:04):
pass it off as a thing they've got.
It isn't, this is your body.
sending you signals that it is not happy.
You're overloading it and we only get one body.
Yeah, it's got to last a long time.
Yeah, not only that, it's like it is trying to send you messages as to what feels good foryou.
If it doesn't feel good, start to tune into that and think of ways, know, seek help, seekinformation, read a book, contact someone like me, contact, there's plenty of us out
(27:34):
there, you know.
One of the feelings that people talk about a lot is the gut feeling.
we, I actually a hundred percent agree with you that I think a lot of us and myselfincluded actually for a long time, we just stopped listening and asking our bodies, you
(27:54):
know, what's going on.
But the one thing that we talk about a lot is, I had a gut feeling about this and I, youknow, whether I listened to them or my gut feeling is always right.
Is that part of the nervous system or is that more a mind thing?
Where does come from?
no, do you know what's really funny is you say that I got a quote the other day and I'msure you've heard of Gabil Mate, everybody has, and he put, he said, gut feelings are
(28:18):
responses to our environments.
Emotions are responses to our minds.
And I thought that was incredible.
Yeah.
So a gut feel, this is what I'm talking about, those messages from inside.
know, when you meet someone, how you feel about them, do you trust them?
Do you not?
That is a gut feel, isn't it?
(28:40):
And I think when we are in business, we can feel if what we're doing feels right in ourgut.
feels like we're in, and then we, here we go with those words that go in alignment, but Idon't know what to say.
it makes sense.
We quite often go against it because we might have had a mentor or we might see somebodyelse doing it a different way and go, but they did it that, that must be the way.
(29:07):
And I think the way things work is by doing what that gut feel is telling you.
Yeah.
It's never wrong.
Is it?
You to build that trust up with it, I suppose.
for me in, you know, I've been in business for 10 years now.
And in the beginning, there were times where I ignored the gut feeling.
(29:28):
went against, you know, it was sort of it.
People put it down to like a mind and a heart.
Yeah.
Choosing one or the other.
And I was looking at what other people were doing exactly as what you say.
Other people were doing or what a business mentor or friend or somebody told me, you youshould do it that way.
And I would listen to them because I felt, I don't know, external societal pressure thatthat was the way that you should do things.
(29:56):
And they might be right.
Yeah, they might be.
But I knew internally that that wasn't the way for me.
But I ignored myself and I went for it anyway.
and I learned the hard way a couple of times in the early days of business.
And I have not made that mistake since, you I listened to myself now.
But it's gradual process.
(30:17):
Yeah.
And I think mistakes teach us and I'm exactly the same as you.
I know what my gut says.
And sometimes I've gone the other way and I've always come back full circle to what my gutsays.
And I think you need to do that.
I think you need to make those mistakes and know that
That's fine.
To dad that even make the mistake is totally fine.
(30:39):
That is learning.
You tell kids mistakes are fine.
We're all learning forever, aren't we?
And I think that- Sorry, go on.
No, I was just gonna say the older we get, the more experience we have, the more we learnto properly lean into that gut feel and go with it.
Yeah, I think, yeah, it comes with experience and practice and trust.
(30:59):
Like I say, know, choose the other road.
and learn from that and realise that actually the gut was the right way.
And I think the more that you do that, the more you can build trust because really we allhave decisions.
It all comes down to a decision, doesn't it?
You can choose to listen to your body or you can choose to not, but just listen, turnyourself, you know, look inside and listen, at least listen to what it's telling you and
(31:23):
then make the decision.
And I think we can be so disconnected now that we're not even hearing the message in thefirst place.
And I suppose that's what you're helping.
people to work on, isn't it?
Absolutely, because I'll tell you what, there's no fulfillment if you're not connected towho you are.
Everything comes from the outside.
You know, we need enjoyment in life.
(31:43):
We need meaning in life.
And everybody's looks different.
We all have our own flavor, our own blend that we're naturally born with.
You know, why does one person find this person attractive?
Why does one person like this type of music and not that, or this hobby and not that?
We're just...
We come like that.
And without really tuning into who we are and our own special blend, never gonna, youmight be mega successful, you might have millions of pounds in the bank, but if that's not
(32:11):
floating your boat, you're never gonna feel happy.
And what's the point?
That's the thing for me.
That's the thing though, isn't it?
It is so easy to be led by what we see, especially now with social media.
Seeing these people having these beautiful, insta-perfect lifestyles.
earning the six figures and all of this.
And it's so easy to be led that that's what we should be doing.
(32:33):
That's what we should be wanting.
And again, in business, you know, I was pushing for down a journey that really wasn't whatI wanted, but I thought that's what I should be doing.
And then it's only when I was down that path and I was like, I'm not enjoying this at all.
Yeah, so common.
Yeah, suddenly this business that I've been growing is feeling like a job, you know, like
(32:57):
I'm losing my passion and my excitement.
So I just diverted right back to where I should have been going in the first place.
And I had to do that, I suppose, to learn that lesson again.
it's very difficult.
It's so much easier said than done, isn't it, to not be led by these beautiful lives thatwe've shown that you can have.
And you can have, you can have anything you want, but it has to align with, and there'sthat word again, with what actually you want.
(33:23):
with that perfect blend of you, what is it that you want and what does success look likefor you?
Because it's so different for everybody.
It is and thanks for being so open and honest and actually I do think the only way we comeback full circle to this is by going down that road.
We've all done it.
Honestly, my clients, this is why they come to me.
The majority of my clients say, I wish I could go back three or four years to when I wasreally enjoying my business.
(33:48):
Because we all set these things up because we're passionate and we love it.
And we want to deliver, but we end up running a business and doing what we set it up todo.
And this is what I say.
help high achievers create a life that feels as good on the inside as it looks from theoutside.
Why often our lives look shiny and glorious and not feeling that I help people createthat.
(34:15):
And it is an utter joy and privilege to be able to help people do that, to feel great intheir own lives.
you know, it's just a real privilege.
Yeah.
And it's like you said earlier, and again, honestly, it's like looking in a mirror.
So similar, but what you were saying earlier about when you were younger and on theoutside, you know, loving life, the soul of the party, you know, really living the best
(34:41):
life, but internally, those, how you were feeling did not connect with the exterior atall.
And I
And I think that actually goes a lot into business as well.
So I had someone on in season one, I think they were on and she described it as a GildedCage.
She'd built her business.
(35:01):
beautiful prison.
Isn't it?
Yeah.
It's such a lovely term.
I really resonated like she'd built this incredible business, but she was so unhappy init.
And, know, she had to tune in and listen to herself and realize, well, at what point did Istart losing the passion?
Where do I want to go back to?
And what does...
what am I wanting it to look like?
And I think it can be, and this is why I started this podcast because we all look up,everyone is always looking up at someone for inspiration.
(35:29):
And all you see 90 % of the time when we look up is people are successful, happy, livinggreat lives.
But actually being an entrepreneur is hard.
It's not all rainbows and butterflies.
We all have tough days in business.
And I think it's really important that we are open about those because
When someone is looking up to us, if someone's looking up to me, I want them to know Istruggled, I have days where I'm really struggling.
(35:55):
It's not a perfect journey, it isn't for anybody and I want to break any of those mythsthat we're all living perfect lives because we're not and you need to connect what's
happening in your business with, it's a much bigger picture, isn't it, than just business?
It's your whole life and make sure that you feel balanced across.
Exactly, that is a blend, isn't it?
(36:16):
And I want people to know that
It is okay to say I am not enjoying this because what I want you to also recognize withthe nervous system and going back to how we felt as children, there will have been an
experience that happened that made us feel unsafe.
And we had to learn, like I was, this is a common one, people pleasing.
(36:37):
I had a pretty crap dad.
He left when I was one and he would just not turn up some weeks.
And I did.
really everything to try and make him love me like I wanted to be loved.
So I tried to please him and that led onto external validation hugely, you always tryingto please people, but never feeling like you were doing.
Now that can carry, like I say, it's embedded into your nervous system that it's not justabout thought therapy and understanding why you react like you do.
(37:06):
Cause I understood what triggered why I reacted like I did or behaved like I did or, but Ijust couldn't stop doing it.
forgot until I learned about my nervous system and felt these things coming up.
So often in business, we are still replicating those same things.
That's why we carry on building for that.
You know, mentioned emotional homeostasis.
(37:27):
You get to a certain level and you feel great for a bit.
Then you need more because you're probably not used to it.
And you're just chasing that external to fill a feeling inside that you still have untilyou take it to a nervous system level.
and you start showing your body it's safe here.
When you feel good here, it's safe to stay here.
(37:49):
Safe to be here and build your life from this perspective, from this feeling, you know?
So there's no shame in having built a mega successful business you're not happy with.
It's incredible.
Look how talented you are.
You know, look what you're capable of.
And now you get to choose to enjoy it too in a different way maybe and tweet.
(38:10):
and make it yours and yeah, I think it's powerful.
So now we've, we've explained what the, you know, the nervous system is and how it works.
Yeah.
How, what, what can you do when you, you know, like you say, I might have situations Iknow trigger me and, but similar to you, maybe I'll just, you know, you can't change it.
(38:33):
You, you're aware of it and it happens, but you, you don't, you can't stop it fromhappening.
What can people do?
What can the listeners do when they feel themselves in that moment?
What would be like the first thing that you would say for them to start changing that,actually making a change?
I mean, it's different for everybody because, well, I'll give you some really simple tips.
And actually while I'm on here, I will give you, I have a guide to managing your nervoussystem when you're running a six figure business.
(39:00):
I actually charge for it, but I'm going to give you all listeners it free.
So if you- Yeah, it's 97 pounds, but I'm going to give you for free.
if you-
follow me on Instagram, which is Georgie Shears Strategist.
I'll put the link in the show notes.
Thank you so much.
Just drop me a DM saying guide.
I'll know it comes from here and I'll send it to you.
(39:20):
That is there's just too much to go into.
I'm going to be a question.
I mean, really, it's about showing your body it's safe.
And like I say, if you are feeling overwhelmed and unhappy in the moment.
Notice where you're feeling that in your body.
put your hand on it and show it some compassion like you would a friend.
This is not woo.
This is gentle touch on your own body.
(39:42):
Like you'd put your hand on someone's shoulder to show support.
You can do that for yourself as well.
You can shake your body.
If you're feeling anxious, give your body a good shake.
That energy needs to move.
Or if you can go and walk, go and walk and then do some nice steady breathing or
I've actually got something coming out like a seven day thing just to give you some handyin the moment hints.
(40:05):
So if you do follow me on Insta, you will see that coming up as well.
It's just, there's too much to give you in one moment, but.
Well, there's some great tips in there already.
I hope so.
hope so.
Yes, no there is.
Amazing.
And I'll put all the information in the show notes for everybody.
But yeah, I mean, honestly, Georgia, I could speak to you.
all day about this but...
I could speak to you, been so nice, I know I'm like, no, the time's passing again.
(40:28):
I know, I'm sure the listeners have stuff they need to get on with so we will have to callit a day there but thank you so much honestly for coming and sharing that and I think, you
know, really explaining to us how it works and why we should start looking into that.
Like I said, I'll put in the show notes how people can find you if they're looking to diveinto that a bit more and learn more about it.
(40:49):
But yeah, just thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
It's just been a glorious conversation.
So nice to spend time with you as well.
we'll, yeah, we'll have to do it again soon.
Thank you.
I know, we will.
And listeners, thank you so much for joining us again this week.
I will catch up with you all next week.
Have a great time.
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