Are You Living Braced?

There is a difference between being prepared for your life and perpetually preparing yourself against it. In this episode, I unpack internal and physical bracing, preparation versus preoccupation, anticipatory suffering, transitions, receiving, rest, and why slowing down can feel uncomfortable when you're used to handling everything. I talk about how the nervous system can become conditioned to activation when anticipating, solving, monitoring, and staying one step ahead have been practiced for years, and how that state can begin to feel normal even when there is nothing immediately wrong. Being capable, responsible, and prepared are strengths, but there is a difference between using those strengths intentionally and feeling like you have to stay activated in order to feel safe, in control, or ready for whatever might happen next.