Your nervous system dictates how you think, feel, and act. The problem? The moments you most need perspective are the very moments your biology shuts it down. A racing mind, tense muscles, and cortisol surges aren’t proof you’re broken—they’re proof your survival system thinks you’re facing a predator, when in reality it’s just an email, a bill, or a sideways glance at the grocery store.

In this episode, Colleen explains how your sympathetic nervous system (fight/flight/freeze/fawn/flop) can hijack your focus in an instant—and why the real threat isn’t the stressor, but your body’s reaction to it. She shows how mindfulness gives you the skill to step into the observer role, notice the storm without fusing with it, and create the space to calm your body so your brain can come back online. True power lies in reclaiming your pause.

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Your thoughts and emotions are nervous system states—not permanent truths.

• Stress hijacks your body first; calm restores your power to choose.

• You can’t stop the stress response from firing, but you can notice it and interrupt the loop.

• Modern stressors (emails, money, approval) trigger ancient survival wiring—recognize the mismatch.

• Mindfulness trains you to shift into the observer role instead of reacting on autopilot.

Viktor Frankl’s reminder: “Between stimulus and response, there is space.” Your power lives there.

If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.

Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you’re struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen’s NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!

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X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

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