Written by Anne Anyia, Registered Nutritionist & Certified Health Coach Anne Anyia is a Global SuperMind Award winner, Registered Nutritionist, and Certified Health Coach. As the founder of Awesco Nutrition in London, she supports clients in transforming their weight, health, and lifestyle through nutrition, coaching, fitness, and gut health. Her mission is to help people build a healthier relationship with food. Do you experience ongoing hunger even after eating a full meal? You finish breakfast, yet by mid-morning, you are already thinking about your next snack. This pattern is common and often misunderstood. Many people assume this is a lack of willpower, but in reality, hunger is often influenced by how meals are structured and how we eat, rather than by how much food we eat. Many people find themselves reaching for snacks shortly after meals, experiencing energy dips, or feeling constantly hungry despite making healthier choices. This can make weight management feel frustrating and unsustainable. The truth is that feeling full and satisfied is not about restriction or eating less. It is about understanding how different nutrients affect appetite, digestion, and blood sugar levels. When meals are structured correctly, they can naturally support fullness, reduce cravings, and make healthy eating easier to maintain over the long term. In clinical practice, I frequently see that persistent hunger is less about portion size and more about meal composition. I often see that small adjustments to meal composition can make a significant difference. By focusing on a few key principles, it is possible to stay fuller for longer without strict dieting or eliminating favourite foods.   3 simple and effective strategies to help you do just that 1. Prioritise protein at every meal Protein is one of the most satiating nutrients, meaning it helps the body feel fuller for longer. Research shows that protein takes longer for the body to process and increases the release of appetite-regulating hormones such as peptide YY and GLP-1, while suppressing ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates hunger. Including high-quality protein in every meal supports blood sugar stability, reduces cravings, and helps maintain muscle mass, particularly important during weight management or periods of caloric restriction. This makes appetite easier to manage without relying solely on willpower. Practical examples: eggs, Greek yogurt, lean meats, fish, tofu, and protein-enriched snacks. Even moderate amounts at each meal, including snacks, can significantly improve satiety. 2. Incorporate fibre-rich foods Dietary fibre is another essential component of satiety. Fibre slows digestion and nutrient absorption, helping maintain steady blood glucose levels and delaying the return of hunger. Unlike many other nutrients, fibre is not fully broken down or absorbed by the body. Instead, it moves through the digestive system more slowly, helping food remain in the stomach for longer and prolonging the feeling of fullness after a meal. Soluble fibre, found in foods such as oats, beans, and certain fruits, absorbs water and forms a gel-like substance in the digestive system, further prolonging fullness. Insoluble fibre, found in wholegrains, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fruits with edible skin or seeds (berries, apples, pears, bananas), adds bulk to meals, promoting a sense of fullness without extra calories. Beyond its effects on appetite, fibre also supports gut health by feeding beneficial gut bacteria, which play an important role in metabolic health and appetite regulation. Increasing fibre intake does not require drastic changes. Adding vegetables to meals, choosing whole grains over refined options, and including lentils, beans, fruit, nuts, and seeds can significantly improve meal satisfaction while supporting overall digestive health. Aiming for fibre at every meal can help reduce snacking and improve digestive wellbeing. Over time, this can significantly reduce the cycle of cravings and energy crashes. 3. Include healthy fats Healthy fats are often overlooked in managing hunger, yet they play an important role in promoting satiety. Healthy fats contribute to fullness by slowing the rate at which food leaves the stomach, meaning digestion takes longer and hunger returns more gradually. This helps sustain the feeling of satisfaction after a meal and reduces the likelihood of snacking soon after. Fat slows gastric emptying and stimulates the release of cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that signals fullness to the brain. This helps meals feel more satisfying and reduces the likelihood of feeling hungry soon after eating. In addition to supporting satiety, fats improve the flavour and texture of food, which can increase meal satisfaction and reduce cravings later in the day. Healthy fats support nutrient absorption and hormone production, making them an important part of a balanced diet. Including moderate portions of foods such as olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, or oily fish can enhance both the flavour and satisfaction of meals. Satisfaction is often the missing piece in sustainable eating patterns. When combined with protein and fibre, healthy fats help create balanced meals that naturally support appetite control without the need for restriction.   The role of a balanced meal Fullness is rarely the result of one nutrient alone. It is the combination of protein, fibre, and healthy fats that helps regulate appetite effectively. When these nutrients are included together, digestion slows, blood sugar levels remain more stable, and hunger returns more gradually. Meals that rely heavily on refined carbohydrates but lack protein or fat are digested quickly, often leading to energy dips and increased cravings. In contrast, a balanced plate supports steady energy and longer-lasting satiety. In simple terms, building meals around a protein source, adding fibre-rich carbohydrates, and including a moderate amount of healthy fats can make eating patterns feel more satisfying and sustainable without the need for restriction.   Common mistakes that can increase hunger Many people unintentionally structure meals in ways that increase hunger later in the day. Common examples include skipping meals, eating low-protein meals, relying heavily on refined carbohydrates, or under-eating earlier in the day and compensating later. These patterns can lead to fluctuations in energy levels and increased cravings. Focusing on balance rather than restriction often leads to more consistent energy and improved appetite regulation. It is also worth noting that eating too quickly or while distracted can override natural fullness signals. Even balanced meals may feel unsatisfying when consumed in a rush or under stress.   Bringing it all together Staying full for longer is not about eating less, but about eating more strategically. When meals contain adequate protein, fibre, and healthy fats, the body receives stronger signals of satisfaction, making it easier to manage hunger naturally. Small, consistent adjustments to meal composition can have a significant impact over time. By working with the body’s natural hunger and fullness signals rather than against them, healthy eating becomes more sustainable, enjoyable, and easier to maintain in the long term. When meals are structured strategically, hunger becomes predictable and manageable rather than frustrating. Sustainable nutrition is not about eating less, it is about eating in a way that supports the body’s natural regulatory systems. Fullness is not about quantity, it is about composition. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Anne Anyia Anne Anyia, Registered Nutritionist & Certified Health Coach Anne Anyia is a Global Supermind Award winner, Registered Nutritionist, and Certified Health Coach. As the founder of Awesco Nutrition in London, she supports clients in transforming their weight, health, and lifestyle through nutrition, coaching, fitness, and gut health. Her mission is to change the way people relate to food and help them break free from the cycle of yo-yo dieting. She guides individuals to shift their focus from eating for weight to eating for health – empowering them to become the best version of themselves and feel confident in their own skin. References: Hetherington M M, Cunningham K, Dye L, Gibson E L, Gregersen N T, Halford J C, Lawton C L, Lluch A, Mela D J, Van Trip H C (2013). Potential benefits of satiety to the consumer: scientific considerations. Nutrition Research Review, 26: 22-38. Paddon-Jones D, Westman E, Mattes R D, Wolfe R R, Astrup A, Westerterp-Plantenga M (2008) Protein, weight management, and satiety. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 87: 1558S-1561S. Burton-Freeman B (2000) Dietary fiber and energy regulation. Journal of Nutrition, 130: 272S-275S. Rolls B J, Bell E, Thorwart M L (1999) Water incorporated into a food but not served with a food decreases energy intake in lean women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 70: 448-455.

Written by Joanne Angel Barry Colon, Certified Wholistic Personal Trainer, Intuitive Healer & Cosmic Energy Reader Joanne Angel Barry Colon has 30+ years in the health, fitness, and wellness industry. She is the Wholistic Fitness owner located in Queens, New York, a certified holistic personal trainer, intuitive healer, cosmic energy reader, student of Astrology, Master of Numerology, and Creator of Chakra Balance Numerology Cosmic Energy Forecast Deck. Right now, we are swimming in Pisces energy, and I mean fully immersed. The Sun, Mercury, and Venus are all moving through Pisces, and this is your invitation to slow down, soften, and lean into your intuition. This is not hustle energy. This is heart energy. This is soul whispering to you in dreams, music, memories, and quiet nudges you cannot ignore. When the Sun is in Pisces (February 19 - March 20), we enter the final sign of the zodiac, the place of completion, surrender, and spiritual maturity. Pisces is mutable water. It flows. It feels. It absorbs. Ruled by Neptune and traditionally Jupiter, this energy heightens empathy, creativity, and deep spiritual awareness. This is where imagination expands. This is where compassion deepens. This is where you may feel everything. Pisces teaches us how to dissolve the ego and move from the heart. The gift here is sensitivity, adaptability, and artistic expression. The challenge? Escaping reality, over-giving, or struggling with boundaries. If you are feeling extra emotional, nostalgic, or dreamy right now, you are not off track. You are tuned in. Now let’s talk about Mercury in Pisces: February 6 - April 14, 2026 Mercury governs communication, thinking, technology, and travel. In Pisces, Mercury does not operate in straight lines. It moves in waves. It thinks in symbols, metaphors, music, and emotion. Logical? Not always. Intuitive? Absolutely. This placement blends mental energy with empathy and imagination. Conversations may feel poetic. Downloads may come through dreams. You may find yourself remembering things from years ago or sensing what someone feels before they say a word. Mercury will go retrograde from February 26 through March 20, 2026, and this one is different. This retrograde is not just about lost emails and tech glitches. In Pisces, it becomes deeply introspective. It asks: What emotional truth have you been avoiding? What creative project needs revisiting? Where have you silenced your intuition? This is a time to reflect rather than react. To revisit rather than rush. To process rather than push. Old memories may surface. Past relationships may reappear. Creative ideas you abandoned may knock again. Pay attention. Now let’s add Venus: February 10 - March 6, 2026 Venus in Pisces is exalted, meaning she thrives here. Love becomes unconditional. Compassion expands. Romance feels magical. This is soulmate energy. This is candlelight and poetry energy. This is loving beyond logic. But with that comes idealism. You may see people through rose-colored glasses. You may give more than you receive. The medicine here is love with boundaries. Dream but stay grounded. Then, on March 2   - April 9, 2026, Mars enters Pisces, blending action with emotion. Mars in Pisces does not charge forward aggressively. It moves through intuition. Desire becomes subtle. Motivation flows through inspiration rather than force. Conflict may feel uncomfortable, so passive tendencies can surface. But creativity? Heightened. Spiritual drive? Strong. From March 2nd through March 6th, we will have four planets transiting Pisces. That is a wave of water energy. A collective emotional cleanse. A spiritual reset. Then on March 6th, Venus shifts into Aries, and the tone changes. Fire replaces water. Passion replaces poetry. But until then, we are swimming in sensitivity, intuition, and spiritual awareness. This is a beautiful time to: Journal Create art Meditate Reconnect with friends Allow romance to unfold naturally Listen to your inner voice Pisces season reminds us that not everything is meant to be figured out, some things are meant to be felt. If you want to know how these transits are activating your natal chart, your houses, your relationships, your purpose, let’s look at it together. Book a reading and discover what this wave means for you personally. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more info! Read more from Joanne Angel Barry Colon Joanne Angel Barry Colon, Certified Wholistic Personal Trainer, Intuitive Healer & Cosmic Energy Reader Joanne Angel Barry Colon has 30+ years in the health, fitness, and wellness industry. She is the Wholistic Fitness owner located in Queens, New York, a certified holistic personal trainer, intuitive healer, cosmic energy reader, student of Astrology, Master of Numerology, and Creator of Chakra Balance Numerology Cosmic Energy Forecast Deck. She is the Host of Joanne's Healing Within TV Show, Joanne's Cosmic Energy Radio Show, and Author/Self-Publisher. Joanne's mission is to help women (men by referral) release issues from their tissues as they release emotional weight and fall in love with themselves while witnessing their transformation into the best version of themselves.

Written by Shahrzad Jalali, PsyD, Psychologist, Author, Founder & Executive Coach Dr. Shahrzad Jalali is a clinical psychologist and executive coach. She’s the founder of Align Remedy, author of The Fire That Makes Us, and creator of Regulate to Rise, a course that helps people heal trauma and reclaim resilience. Her work equips people to break old patterns and step boldly into who they’re meant to be. You are making dinner when suddenly the smoke alarm starts blaring. There is no fire, just a little smoke from the pan. Annoying, yes. But would you really want to live without that alarm at all? Imagine a silent house. Peaceful in the moment, but completely vulnerable if a real fire broke out. Anxiety works in a similar way. It is the body’s built-in security system. Sometimes it is oversensitive and reacts to burnt toast. Other times, it protects you from real danger. The problem is not that you have an alarm. The problem is when it goes off too often, too loudly, or at the wrong times. Anxiety as your brain’s security system Think of anxiety as the brain’s smoke detector. Its job is simple. Notice possible danger and alert you quickly. For our ancestors, this system kept them alive. A sound in the bushes triggered vigilance. The people who paid attention survived. Over time, that protective wiring became part of the human nervous system. Even today, anxiety serves a purpose. It is the feeling that keeps you from speeding on an icy road. It sharpens your focus before an interview. It nudges you to stay alert when walking alone at night. Without anxiety, life might feel quieter, but it would also be far less safe. What happens without fear There are rare cases of people who cannot feel fear because of damage to the amygdala, the brain region involved in threat detection. At first, this might sound freeing. In reality, it can be dangerous. Without the ability to sense risk, people may walk into unsafe situations without hesitation. They may not recognize when something is wrong. This shows us something important. Anxiety is not a flaw. It is protection. When the alarm overreacts An alarm that never stops ringing becomes a problem. When anxiety is too sensitive, it reacts to everything. A meeting at work. A conversation replaying in your mind. The thought of tomorrow’s tasks. Neuroscience helps explain why this happens. Predictive coding theory suggests that the brain constantly forecasts possible threats. Sometimes it overshoots and sounds the alarm even when nothing is happening. Interoception research shows that anxiety can misinterpret body signals. A racing heart from caffeine, for example, may be read as danger. This is why panic can appear even in a safe room. The system is not broken. It is misreading the signals. The cost of constant anxiety Living with chronic anxiety is like trying to cook while the smoke alarm is screaming. You cannot focus. You avoid situations. You begin to move through life carefully, hoping not to set anything off. The cost is not only emotional. Prolonged anxiety is linked to higher cortisol levels, disrupted sleep, digestive issues, and lowered immunity. Over time, the nervous system becomes exhausted. How to recalibrate your anxiety response Pause before reacting: When anxiety rises, slow down. Breathe. Ask yourself whether there is real danger or just a moment of discomfort. This helps the brain regain perspective. Reduce baseline reactivity: Mindfulness and grounding practices can lower stress sensitivity. Research shows mindfulness can change activity in the amygdala and reduce overreaction to perceived threats. Identify patterns: Pay attention to triggers. Lack of sleep, caffeine, or chronic stress can make the nervous system more reactive. Awareness creates choice. Build tolerance gradually: Gentle exposure to anxiety-provoking situations teaches the brain that not every signal means danger. Over time, this helps reset the alarm system. Seek support: Connection regulates the nervous system. Therapy, supportive relationships, and safe spaces can help bring stability and clarity. Anxiety as evidence that you care Anxiety is not proof that something is wrong with you. It is evidence that your system is trying to protect you. It may be loud. It may misfire. But its purpose is survival. The goal is not to eliminate anxiety. A house without alarms is not peaceful. It is unprotected. The goal is to fine-tune the system so it activates when needed and quiets when it is safe. Final thoughts You do not actually want to live without anxiety, just like you would not want to live in a house without a smoke detector. What you want is balance. An alarm that alerts you to real danger but does not keep you on edge all the time. When you learn how to regulate your nervous system, anxiety shifts from enemy to ally. It becomes a signal you can understand instead of a siren you cannot escape. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Shahrzad Jalali, PsyD Shahrzad Jalali, PsyD, Psychologist, Author, Founder & Executive Coach Dr. Shahrzad Jalali is a clinical psychologist, trauma expert, and thought leader in emotional transformation. She is the founder of Align Remedy and Dr. Jalali & Associates, where she’s helped thousands individuate and reclaim their inner truth. Bridging science, soul, and psychology, her work guides high-functioning individuals through nervous system healing and self-reinvention. As the author of The Fire That Makes Us and creator of Regulate to Rise, she helps people turn their most painful beliefs into their greatest source of power, alchemizing wounds into wisdom and survival into strength.

Scaling a business should not mean carrying everything alone. In this interview, Kianna Edwards shares how Thais Mirage Corps supports entrepreneurs with strategic, relationship-based administrative services that restore clarity, structure, and peace of mind while creating space for sustainable growth. Kianna Edwards, Founder of Thais Mirage Corps Who is Kianna Edwards, and what inspired you to start Thais Mirage Corps? I’m a resilient, purpose-driven entrepreneur, veteran, and lifelong learner who has always felt called to do things differently. I describe myself as someone who wears an invisible crown. I’m confident in my worth, unafraid to be untraditional, and committed to creating a life on my own terms. Thais Mirage Corps was born from my desire to build something that had my name, vision, and values attached to it. After transitioning from the military, I realized I wanted more than a traditional 9 to 5, I wanted freedom, flexibility, and multiple streams of income while still making a meaningful impact. The business allows me to support entrepreneurs with administrative services while creating a legacy I can be proud of. Thais Mirage Corps represents independence, ownership, and the belief that success doesn’t have to follow a single path. What specific problems do you help entrepreneurs and business owners solve? I help entrepreneurs who feel overwhelmed, stretched thin, and stuck doing everything themselves. Many business owners start out wearing all the hats, and over time, it becomes exhausting. I step in as an extra set of hands to handle the ‘behind the scenes’ work: admin tasks, organization, and operational support, so they can breathe again and focus on growth. I don’t just complete tasks; I help bring order to the chaos. I help business owners create systems, stay consistent, and move with more intention. My goal is simple: give entrepreneurs back their time, their energy, and their peace of mind.   What services do you offer that set you apart from other virtual support providers? I blend administrative support with strategy, structure, and heart. I don’t just check items off a to-do list; I help entrepreneurs build a foundation that supports growth. From organizing digital systems and managing inboxes to creating documents, workflows, and client processes, everything I do is centered around saving time and reducing stress. What truly sets me apart is my intentional, relationship-based approach. I take time to understand my clients, their vision, and how they work best. I move with integrity, consistency, and purpose, and I treat every business I support as if it were my own.   How does your approach make life easier for busy professionals? I lead with clarity, transparency, and intention, so my clients always know what to expect and can focus on growing their business with confidence. What results have clients achieved after working with you? Clients walk away with organized operations, timely deliverables, and the confidence to move forward. Who is your ideal client and why should they reach out to you now? My ideal clients are entrepreneurs ready to delegate, grow, and build with consistent, trusted support. If you feel overwhelmed, that’s your sign to reach out. What’s one common misconception people have about virtual assistants? Virtual assistants aren’t unlimited task machines. We’re skilled professionals who deliver intentional, quality support. Quality support requires realistic expectations, a clear scope, and mutual respect. How do you customize your support to fit each business’s unique needs? Customization begins with listening. Every client starts with a free 30-minute consultation where I take the time to understand their business, their challenges, and what’s currently weighing on them. What’s your process for onboarding a new client? My onboarding process is structured, simple, and transparent. It begins with a free 30-minute consultation where I learn about the client’s business, challenges, and goals. After the call, the client completes a detailed intake form so I can gain deeper insight into their workflow, priorities, and preferred communication style. Using both the consultation and intake form, I draft a customized business proposal outlining recommended services, scope, timeline, and pricing. This ensures everything is clearly documented before any work begins. Once the proposal is approved and the agreement is signed, the client is officially onboarded, and we move into implementation. This process allows our clients to feel informed, supported, and confident from day one. What tools or strategies do you use to deliver consistent, high-quality support? I rely on a combination of structured systems, clear communication, and intentional workflow management. I use organized digital tools for email, document creation, file storage, and task tracking to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Just as important, I maintain clear processes for prioritization, timelines, and follow-ups to ensure work stays consistent and on schedule. Beyond tools, my biggest strategy is discipline and attention to detail. My military and veteran liaison background taught me the importance of organization, accountability, and precision, and I bring those same principles into my business. I also prioritize transparency, regular check-ins, and realistic expectations so clients always know where things stand. Consistency isn’t accidental; it’s built through structure, communication, and care. What’s one piece of advice you always give to entrepreneurs trying to scale their business? Stop trying to do everything by yourself. Scaling isn’t about working harder. It’s about working smarter. Many entrepreneurs believe they have to master every role before they deserve support, but that mindset often leads to burnout. The moment you begin delegating the right tasks, you create space for growth, creativity, and higher-level decision-making. Investing in support doesn’t mean you’re weak; it means you’re strategic. You don’t scale by carrying everything alone, you scale by building wisely.   What is your long-term vision for Thais Mirage Corps? My long-term vision is to grow Thais Mirage Corps into a well-established, mission-driven company that not only supports entrepreneurs but also creates meaningful opportunities for veterans transitioning into civilian life. I envision building a veteran-safe work environment where former service members can use their skills, feel understood, and continue to thrive professionally.   My vision is to create a company that blends service, structure, and impact; one that supports business owners while also uplifting those who have served. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kianna Edwards

Written by: Marie Novak In the service industry, weak systems are exposed quickly. The market detects instability, and customers feel the difference between chaos and structure almost instantly. You can invest in branding and refine your strategy, but in the end one question always remains, can the internal model withstand real pressure? That question has shaped the professional path of Leyla Alisheva. For more than fifteen years, she has worked in tourism and hospitality across Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, environments with different expectations but the same unforgiving standard of accountability. Her background in international affairs provided strategic perspective, yet her leadership character was forged not in theory, but in daily operational reality. Where leadership is tested Tourism is an industry that rarely forgives miscalculation. A disrupted itinerary, a coordination delay, a missed operational detail, and the entire chain begins to strain. During her time at Detour LLC (later rebranded as Deholdays LLC), one of Azerbaijan’s leading travel companies, Leyla operated at the center of a complex business structure. Each day required maintaining control over interconnected processes, from operational execution to strategic direction, while paying attention to even the smallest details. In that environment, leadership stops being a title and becomes a discipline. Stability is not declared, it is maintained under pressure. A new market, higher standards Today, based in Houston, Texas, Leyla leads her own venture, Lafifa LLC, operating under the Yummy Candy brand. The U.S. market quickly clarifies expectations, transparency, consistency, and quality execution matter more than promises. Building her business in America was not about replication, but calibration. Clear processes, disciplined management, and a structured operational model form the foundation. Growth is not rushed, it emerges from order. When experience becomes a benchmark Over time, Leyla’s approach extended beyond local markets. Her projects and management model began attracting broader professional attention. In 2024, she was recognized as Best Business Leader in Services at the United Talents Award, an international competition with more than 3,000 participants. In October 2025, she was elected as a Distinguished Ambassador Member of The Ambassadors’ Club Dubai, an exclusive professional association uniting leaders with sustained international impact. Later that year, she was invited to serve on the jury of the Glonary Awards for Women in Business, a role reserved for professionals whose experience carries weight. These milestones reflect more than recognition, they signal trust in her judgment and her standards. Her leadership is not built around visibility, but around structure. Management, for her, is not a role to perform, it is a responsibility to maintain resilience within the entire framework of a business. Leyla Alisheva continues to expand partnerships in the United States while exploring new professional directions, viewing growth not as a milestone, but as an ongoing process. In services, longevity depends on internal standards. And that is why leadership here is measured not by volume, but by durability.

Written by Neil Streets, Founder and Managing Director Neil Streets is Managing Director of Alphafish and a global leader in real estate delivery. With 20+ years’ experience, he has led £10B+ capital programmes for UHNWIs, developers, and Fortune 500 firms, known for turning around complex projects and aligning organisations with regulatory and strategic goals. London does not have a design problem. It has a governance problem. Across the City, Canary Wharf, and the wider South East, organisations are committing tens and sometimes hundreds of millions of pounds to headquarters repositioning, trading floors, estate consolidation, and technical environments. The aesthetic quality of these projects is often high. The design teams are strong. The buildings are prime. And yet capital programmes continue to drift. Budgets expand quietly. Programme certainty erodes. Accountability fragments. Boards receive reporting that feels comprehensive but lacks structural clarity. When projects underperform, the narrative defaults to design change, contractor performance, or market volatility. In reality, most capital programmes fail long before construction begins. They fail at the level of structure. The structural flaw embedded in traditional delivery Traditional capital delivery in London still relies on fragmented models: Separate project management and cost consultancy teams Layered contractor mark-ups Diffused commercial authority Procurement routes that prioritise speed over structural alignment On paper, these arrangements appear robust. In practice, they create a subtle but dangerous condition: no single point of commercial accountability. Each party performs well within its scope. No one owns the capital structure. This fragmentation embeds risk in three ways: 1. Cost drift is baked into the process Layered “profit-on-profit” procurement structures introduce compounded mark-ups across the supply chain. By the time a project reaches site, structural inefficiencies are already locked in. What is presented to boards as “market cost” is often simply the outcome of cumulative layering. Value engineering then becomes a reactive exercise, trimming specification to offset structural inefficiency created upstream. That is not capital discipline. That is symptom management. 2. Insolvency and supply chain exposure are misunderstood London has not yet fully absorbed the aftershock of contractor insolvency risk in a higher-interest environment. When margins are thin and procurement is layered, mid-tier contractors absorb disproportionate pressure. Insurance limitations, bond structures, and professional indemnity constraints further complicate the risk profile. Organisations often believe insolvency risk sits with the contractor. In reality, structural procurement decisions determine how exposed the client is when failure occurs. The issue is not whether insolvency happens. It is how structurally protected you are when it does. 3. Governance reporting masks structural weakness Most capital programmes now produce extensive board packs: dashboards, RAG statuses, contingency reports, risk logs. Yet reporting often describes outcomes rather than interrogating structural alignment. Who holds single-line commercial authority? Where does cost discipline truly sit? Is procurement aligned to business timelines or simply market convention? Are approval gateways protecting capital deployment or slowing operational readiness? Without clarity on these questions, reporting becomes theatre. The project appears controlled. The structure remains fragile. Why this matters more in 2026 than it did in 2016 London’s capital environment has fundamentally changed. Cost of debt is materially higher. The Building Safety Act has increased compliance scrutiny. Regulated trading environments face zero tolerance for operational disruption. Boards are demanding audit-grade traceability in capital deployment. Prime landlords are regaining leverage in high-quality stock. Under these conditions, structural inefficiency is no longer an irritation. It directly erodes shareholder value. For PE-backed and publicly listed organisations in particular, capital programmes are no longer facilities exercises. They are balance-sheet events. The delivery structure must reflect that reality. From project management to capital governance The most effective capital programmes in London today share one defining characteristic: They are structured around a single line of commercial control. This does not eliminate professional teams. It integrates them under one accountable authority. A development-led framework aligns: Spatial strategy with business timelines Procurement routes with risk appetite Design governance with cost discipline Construction execution with capital deployment strategy The objective is simple but powerful: Protect capital while accelerating operational readiness. When structured correctly, organisations experience: Reduced programme duration through intentional phase overlap Elimination of unnecessary contractor layering Greater specification control without premium uplift Reduced exposure to insolvency and procurement risk Clear audit traceability from concept to completion This is not about micromanagement. It is about structural alignment. The London HQ as a capital instrument Many organisations still approach headquarters projects as workplace transformations. In 2026, they should be approached as capital instruments. A London HQ decision now influences: Lease exposure across the estate Near-shoring and regional strategy Operational resilience Compliance positioning Investor confidence Capital release opportunities Where governance is fragmented, these strategic levers disconnect from project execution. Where structure is aligned, real estate shifts from cost centre to capital platform. The difference lies not in the quality of the architect or the contractor. It lies in who structurally owns commercial authority. A simple test for boards If you are sponsoring a capital programme in London, ask three questions: Who holds ultimate commercial authority across design, procurement, and construction? Where in the structure is cost discipline embedded, not reported, but enforced? If a contractor fails tomorrow, how structurally protected is the organisation? If the answers are diffuse, layered, or unclear, the risk is structural, not aesthetic. Structure determines return London does not lack talent, design capability, or ambition. It lacks structural discipline in capital delivery. Projects do not drift because architects are creative or contractors are imperfect. They drift because governance is fragmented. In an environment of tighter capital, higher scrutiny, and greater regulatory exposure, that fragmentation is no longer sustainable. The organisations that outperform over the next five years will not be those with the most impressive fit-outs. They will be those that structure capital deployment with clarity, accountability, and execution certainty from day one. Because in complex capital programmes, structure determines return. Visit my website  for more info! Read more from Neil Streets Neil Streets, Founder and Managing Director Neil Streets is a recognised leader in strategic real estate and infrastructure delivery. He is the Managing Director of Alphafish, a specialist consultancy advising UHNWIs, developers, and global firms on capital programmes exceeding £10 billion. With over two decades of international experience, Neil has held senior roles at Cazoo, Dow, and Amazon. He has directed landmark developments including a £5B new town regeneration and a £2B luxury masterplan in Albania. Known for turning around complex projects and aligning organisations with regulatory reform, Neil is also an expert in high-risk buildings legislation and agile delivery.

Written by Sophie Reyer, Author Sophie Anna Reyer is an Austrian author of multiple theater pieces and publications. She was born in Vienna, Austria. Reyer discovered her various profound talents in the arts at a young age as a child prodigy. I remember asking, “Why does the sky look like this?” I was eight. It was summer. The sun hung low and swollen, copper-colored, too heavy to lift itself back into blue. The air smelled wrong, sharp, metallic, as if something electrical had snapped. My throat burned when I breathed. “It’s just heat,” they said. “Just smoke from far away.” Far away. As if distance could soften disaster. I pressed my face against the window and watched ash drift down like lazy snowflakes. I didn’t understand then. I still don’t. How can something be alive, forests breathing, rivers moving, seasons arriving on time, and then suddenly not? How the world can be there one moment and altered beyond recognition the next. Whenever I think about climate collapse, I am always a child again, standing at the window, sensing that something vast had cracked open, even if no one around me yet had words for it. Later, I learned the numbers, parts per million, degrees Celsius, deadlines already passed. But numbers don’t smell like smoke. They don’t itch in your lungs. They don’t make birds disappear from places where birds once sang every morning. And still, we cling to them, as if quantification could contain loss. I wonder if we rely on data because grief feels too large, because mourning an entire planet seems obscene, excessive, almost hysterical. You are allowed to grieve a person, perhaps a species, maybe a single forest. But to grieve systems? Oceans? Futures? That feels inappropriate. Unproductive. And yet the crack opens anyway. A few years ago, I met a woman from an island nation that will likely disappear within my lifetime. She said it casually, the way one might mention an upcoming move. “We will have to leave,” she said. “Our ancestors will stay.” I didn’t know how to respond. There are no polite phrases for submerged graves. Later that night, I watched tourists dance barefoot on the same beach, phones glowing in their hands, filming the sunset as if sunsets were guaranteed, as if land were permanent, as if memory could float. From mourning to tourism, again, a short distance. Too short. We are told to stay optimistic. Hope is marketed as a moral obligation. Recycle. Innovate. Stay positive. Buy the right products. Say the right slogans. But where is the space for despair? Where do we put the rage that comes from watching governments calculate acceptable losses, from hearing that entire regions are “collateral damage” in the pursuit of economic growth? Why must grief always be privatized, softened, transformed into motivational posters and greenwashed optimism? Perhaps because grief is dangerous. Grief interrupts productivity. Grief refuses timelines. Grief does not promise solutions. “Grief is political.” Judith Butler’s words echo here, too, even if the context shifts. Whose losses are acknowledged? Whose futures are considered grievable? A flooded European city becomes a tragedy. A drought devastating African farmers becomes a statistic. Certain landscapes are mourned. Others are expected to vanish quietly. Life that is not framed as worth saving becomes expendable. Life that is not mourned is erased twice. And so, climate collapse is not only an ecological crisis, it is a crisis of recognition, a crisis of whose pain counts. We perform rituals anyway, climate summits with choreographed apologies, minutes of silence followed by business as usual, symbolic tree plantings while entire ecosystems are auctioned off. Like funerals, these performances help us pretend that closure is possible, that if the right words are spoken, the loss will be contained. But the crack remains. It spreads through generations, through bodies that carry anxiety they cannot name, through children who learn early that the future is negotiable. Today, the air is unusually warm for this time of year. The seasons have lost their discipline. I sit by the window and practice mourning. I mourn glaciers I have never seen, languages that will disappear with the land that held them, animals whose names will only exist in children’s books labeled extinct. I mourn the arrogance that taught us mastery instead of belonging, the slowness of our response, the speed of our denial. I do not need optimism right now. I need honesty. I listen to the low hum of the city, to the sound of systems still running, still consuming, still insisting on normalcy, and I allow myself to feel what that costs. The crack does not close. But maybe, if we dare to sit with it, without entertainment, without distraction, it can teach us something. Not how to fix everything, but how to care, finally, for what is still here. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my LinkedIn  for more info! Read more from Sophie Reyer Sophie Reyer, Author Sophie Anna Reyer is an Austrian author of multiple theater pieces and publications. She was born in Vienna, Austria. Reyer discovered her various profound talents in the arts at a young age as a child prodigy. She is a writer of theater pieces (S. Fischer) and novels (Emons) and was shortlisted for the Austrian Book Award in 2019 and 2021.

Written by Catherine Finger, Executive Coaching & Consulting Award-winning coach and multi-certified professional coach Catherine Finger contributes to the well-being of others by offering transformational coaching for leadership, health, and life. In a few days, I’ll board a plane to join colleagues at a coaching event. Three days later, I’ll board another plane to meet my horse in Scottsdale for a ten-day equestrian competition. Two arenas. Two very different worlds. One shared lesson. As I prepare for both, I keep coming back to three intertwined ideas: presence, competence, and performance. In my professional coaching life, we begin with competencies. We study them, practice them, refine them. We learn how to establish agreements, listen deeply, evoke awareness, and maintain ethical boundaries. Early on, it requires effort. We think about every move. Competence comes first. Over time, if we stay committed, those competencies begin to move inward. The structure settles. The internal monitoring quiets. What once felt effortful becomes embodied. Presence begins to emerge. In my horse life, however, the order is reversed. With Clara, my equine partner, presence comes first. Our partnership has been built over years, through repetition, setbacks, subtle adjustments, and quiet trust. In the arena, she responds to things I cannot hide: tension in my shoulders, distraction in my mind, hesitation in my breath. Horses are masters of incongruence detection. If I am not fully present, she knows, and our performance will reflect it. Our competence grows out of our presence together. Without that attuned connection, no amount of technical skill carries us through a pattern cleanly. With it, performance becomes fluid and beautiful. This contrast has been teaching me something. In coaching, competence can become the gateway to presence. In horsemanship, presence is the gateway to competence. In both arenas, performance is the visible outcome, but it is the least interesting part of the equation. What makes performance in the show ring sustainable is the connection between horse and rider, another way of describing presence. As I maintain my connection with Clara, our shared presence steadies our shared competence, refines our performance, and deepens our partnership. Clients feel when we are performing competence rather than inhabiting it. They sense when our questions are technically strong but relationally thin. Just as a horse senses tension, a client senses our divided attention. Presence in the coaching arena is not passive. Rather, it is disciplined attentiveness. It requires regulation. It requires coherence between intention and action. It requires the humility to soften when pushing forward would be easier. As I zip suitcases and review schedules, I’m reminded that both the coaching arena and the show ring ask the same thing of me: "Settle yourself. Trust the process. Stay attuned." Let competence support you, but do not grip it. Performance may be what others see. Presence is what makes it real. Where in your work does presence come before competence, and where does competence lead you toward presence? Follow me on Facebook , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Catherine Finger Catherine Finger, Executive Coaching & Consulting Award-winning coach and multi-certified professional coach Catherine Finger contributes to the well-being of others by offering transformational coaching for leadership, health, and life. Her passion to instill hope and celebrate beauty, goodness, and truth in the lives of leaders led her to launch her executive coaching and consulting business in 2019. Her years of successful experience as an educational leader, board member, adjunct professor, award-winning author, law enforcement chaplain and community leader equip her with unique insights and deep intuition on both organizations and individuals.

Written by Claire Jones, Weight Loss and Confidence Coach Claire Jones is an award-winning weight loss coach, helping people build a healthy relationship with food and themselves. She is the author of How to Eat Less and the founder of YourOneLife. Claire empowers clients to break free from diets, create effective habits, and build confidence in new challenges, guiding them towards lasting success. After six years of working intensively with weight loss clients, and managing my own weight successfully since 2011, following twenty-five years of yo-yo dieting, I am very clear about one central principle: calorie intake dictates body weight. I have yet to meet a client who did not lose weight when we consistently brought their calorie intake into the appropriate range for their body. Activity levels were far less influential than most people assume, although that is a separate discussion in its own right. Where people struggle is not in understanding this principle. Most people know, at least broadly, what they should be eating. The breakdown happens in the consistent application of that knowledge over months and years. And that is not a nutritional problem. It is an identity problem. The calorie model is correct, but incomplete In almost every initial consultation, I find myself speaking to someone who already understands the basics. They know what a calorie deficit is. They understand that portion sizes add up. They are aware that protein supports satiety and that alcohol contributes significant energy with very little nutritional value. They have read the articles, tried the apps, and perhaps even tracked their calorie intake meticulously for periods of time. The issue is rarely ignorance.   The issue is the gap between knowing and consistently doing. Knowing your calorie range and living comfortably within it across busy weeks, stressful periods, and emotionally loaded situations are entirely different challenges. If weight management were purely informational, the diet industry would not be worth billions. The real barrier lies in how behaviour interacts with identity. Calories drive fat gain and fat loss. Identity determines whether those calories remain consistently in range. Until that distinction is understood, people continue to mislabel inconsistency as personal weakness rather than examining the underlying psychological structure driving their behaviour. The identity gap that sabotages weight loss There is a gap that explains why so many well-intentioned weight loss efforts collapse over time. It is the gap between how someone currently sees themselves and how they imagine a consistently healthy version of themselves would operate. You may want to be someone who plans meals in advance, trains regularly, moderates alcohol intake, and prioritises sleep. But if your long-standing identity is rooted in being overwhelmed, emotionally soothed by food, reactive under stress or historically inconsistent, then operating within a calorie deficit feels foreign. It feels like an imposed version of yourself rather than an authentic one. So you manage it temporarily. The calories sit in range. The scale moves. Progress feels encouraging. Then life intervenes. Stress increases. Work becomes demanding. Family responsibilities intensify. Fatigue sets in. Under pressure, most people revert not to their goals, but to their default identity. The behaviours that accompany that identity resurface automatically. This is psychological familiarity, rooted in survival instincts, and behaviour tends to return to what feels normal and easy - the path of least resistance. My own turning point: From dieting to identity work From my early teens into my late thirties, I lived in the classic cycle of bingeing and restriction. I understood calorie balance intellectually. I knew weight loss required a deficit. I could follow structured plans with impressive precision for short periods of time. But I did not see myself as someone who lived in alignment with long-term health. I saw myself as someone who was either “on a diet” or overeating. There was no middle ground in my identity. No stable baseline. The turning point was not a new plan. It was a shift in self-perception. I began asking who I wanted to be and how I wanted to operate long term. I realised I wanted to be someone who consistently put health first, not someone perpetually starting again. That shift changed the nature of my decisions. I moved from temporary compliance to sustainable standards. My behaviour became less about short bursts of effort and more about alignment with the kind of person I believed myself to be. When identity changes, maintaining a helpful calorie range becomes normalised. Tracking becomes a responsible thing to do, to raise awareness to guide better decisions. Why motivation alone is insufficient Motivation is emotional and therefore unstable. It rises with progress and drops with fatigue. It strengthens when the scale moves and weakens when it stalls. It is highly responsive to external reinforcement. Identity is structural. It sits beneath mood and momentum. A person who genuinely sees themselves as someone who looks after their health does not renegotiate their values every day. They may choose flexibility. They may adjust intake occasionally. But those decisions are anchored in a stable internal standard rather than reactive emotion. This explains why short-term programmes often produce visible results yet struggle to create durable change. During the structured phase, external accountability temporarily overrides identity. When that structure disappears, behaviour often drifts back toward the previous identity.   The cultural fixation on speed and visible change Modern weight loss messaging focuses heavily on speed and aesthetics. Rapid transformations are celebrated. Before and after pictures are what grab attention. Aggressive deficits are marketed as commitment. Even pharmacological tools are often positioned as standalone solutions without behavioural support, which is offered as optional.   If calorie intake drops rapidly but internal identity remains unchanged, the foundation remains fragile. Many people experience this as uncertainty and anxiety once the initial weight loss phase ends. They know they can create a deficit. They are far less confident that they can live at that weight long term. And if the body is sending strong appetite signals, which is likely after a period of restriction, it becomes a struggle to keep going. Hunger changes how we think about food and the decisions we make. If you do not yet see yourself as someone who maintains healthy behaviours as a baseline, the maintenance phase feels precarious. How identity makes calorie control sustainable Identity evolves through evidence through repeated, small, consistent actions that demonstrate a new pattern of behaviour, not all-or-nothing thinking.  Each time you plan a meal in advance. Each time you moderate alcohol intentionally. Each time you return to your planned calorie range after a higher day without spiralling. These actions accumulate as proof. Over time, the internal narrative shifts. You begin to see yourself as reliable. Consistent. Capable. When that shift occurs, staying within an appropriate calorie range stops feeling like restriction and starts feeling like alignment. You are no longer forcing behaviour through discipline alone. You are expressing who you are. This is why long-term accountability structures are so powerful. Regular reflection, structured check-ins, and honest feedback create repeated evidence. They help close the identity gap gradually and without stress.   Conclusion: Weight loss as a by-product of identity evolution When identity evolves, behaviour stabilises. When behaviour stabilises, calorie intake becomes easier to regulate consistently. When calorie intake sits within the appropriate range over time, fat loss occurs. The biology works. The barrier is rarely biological. If you want sustainable weight loss, respect the mathematics. Do not argue with physiology. But also recognise that getting calories into the right range consistently is not just a nutritional task. It is an identity shift. Once identity changes, maintaining that range stops feeling like a battle and starts feeling like an expression of who you are. And that is where weight loss stops being temporary and becomes sustainable. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Claire Jones Claire Jones , Weight Loss and Confidence Coach Claire Jones is an award-winning weight loss coach and author of How to Eat Less. After struggling with her own weight and relationship with food, she transformed her mindset and developed a sustainable approach to lasting health. Now, she helps others break free from dieting cycles, build confidence, and create healthier habits. With a background in coaching and behavioural change, Claire empowers clients to embrace a positive, long-term lifestyle. Her mission is to inspire sustainable health and self-belief.

John Angiulo, a lifelong surfer and author, created Surfing Saves to help people understand the power of waves, frequency, and vibration in life. His approach blends spiritual wisdom, personal experience, and scientific validation to guide individuals through life’s challenges. Through his book, film, and community gatherings, Angiulo invites people to ride the waves of existence and find harmony within themselves and the world around them. Surfer, Author, Speaker, Philosopher, Activist For readers meeting you for the first time, who is John Angiulo professionally and in everyday life? My background is as a professional surfer, surf/wave educator and author. Personally, I want to use what I love to be of service to my family, community and humanity and what I love is surfing, writing, researching, sharing stories and connecting with people. So, I spend a lot of time with my family and friends, surf as much as is humanly possible and work to produce writing, content and experiences around waves and frequency that can educate and inspire people to experience more beauty in their existence. Currently, that means turning people onto my book Surfing Saves and everything around that project.   When did surfing first enter your life, and what did it give you that nothing else did? My dad taught me to surf when I was five years old and it really is the cornerstone memory of my whole life. He pushed me on a wave, I rode it to the beach where my mom was there and hugged me. I remember thinking “I’m going to do this for the rest of my life.” And I still love surfing as much, if not more than ever, and it defines my whole life.   What it gave me that nothing else could was a sense of self-actualization. When I was surfing, it was always the closest experience to what I wanted to feel like in life. Sovereign, Connected, Free and Absolutely Ecstatic. The feeling we call “stoke” as surfers is really a flood of interdimensional energies activating the upper levels of our cosmic awareness and earthly experience. An eruption of elation. It gives me that, and still does, after 33 years. So that’s pretty special.   Tell us a little bit more about Surfing Saves and what exactly that book and project is all about? Surfing Saves is a book, film and impact campaign focalized on using surfing as the ultimate analogy for our existence to ground down life lessons and allow people to understanding how to utilize wave and frequency techniques and technology in their daily reality. It’s all about how surfing and time in nature can help us save ourselves from the sickness that is embedded in our society.   The book is the foundational material showing how surfing impacted me and many others, how it inspires us to reconnect with nature and our souls, while providing the blueprint for reading, riding, and thriving in the waves of our world. Backed up with spiritual contemplation and scientific validation the book also offers insight into how to apply these lessons into the ocean of our existence, into our actual lives. The impact campaign is about bringing communities together for group coherence. Those are larger-scale meditations to expand a higher order frequency into the world and providing practical insight into holding frequency in our own lives so we can maintain resonance. Overall, the impact is about showing people how to use waves/frequency/vibration to activate, regenerate and evolve themselves.   How did the idea for Surfing Saves first emerge – was it a book, a philosophy, or a lived experience first?   Really, it started in two ways: a philosophy and art project. The concept first emerged as a teaching philosophy that I used to call Waves of Reality. Around a similar time, I did an art project with a friend for this concept he had, “surfing saves”. We created a photograph of two boards making a cross, produced some t-shirts and overall, it was a success at that stage of the game. It was fifteen years later that I began working on this current realized iteration of the project. Essentially, I ended up fusion the photograph with the philosophy, making it the initial emblem for utilizing surfing as an analogy to work more fluidly & freely with our reality; to surf the waves of our world. That’s the origin story.   Your project includes a book, film, events, and community gatherings. Why was it important to create a movement instead of just publishing a book? The real reason for having a multi-faceted approach is that those are the ways I enjoy working and the ways I feel I can help the most people. Due to the current tumultuous state of the world, I want to offer as many avenues into this project as are possible for people to be able to engage and use the Surfing Saves philosophy to better themselves immediately. Some people like to read, some people like to watch and listen, some people like to get out in nature together, which is of course, my favorite. Regardless, I want to give as many people as possible a chance to use the lessons I’ve learned in their own lives.   What does surfing teach you about life that most people miss when they only see it as a sport? Most importantly, to me, surfing teaches you how to understand waves. Everything in our world is made up of waves, energetic oscillations that move through dimensional mediums. When we understand waves, it makes the working of our world much easier to understand, utilize and alter. That is the real axiomatic basis for this whole philosophy, surfing can show us how to read and ride the waves of our world. That’s what the book does, shows us how to be leaders in our lives through more deeply understanding the world we exist in. How would you briefly explain the Surfing Saves mission to someone? We live in a world that is literally woven by waves, so the mission of Surfing Saves is to use surfing as an analogy for existence, so people can learn to understand and use waves and frequency to better their daily lives. Or, even more simply, help them surf through life, the ocean of our existence. You’ve set an ambitious goal of reaching one million people. What drives that level of impact for you? As these waves of transformation sweep across our world, each of us has to find the way we were designed to contribute to the evolution of our community and humanity as a whole. For me, Surfing Saves is the first step in that direction. It carries deep codes, the greatest lessons I’ve been given insight to through a life of the ocean and that’s the best way I can be of service to everyone right now, by sharing this learning.   That learning encoded in that book is about how individuals can use waves/frequency/vibration to resonate with themselves, harmonize with local community and create coherence globally. That’s how we can individually and collectively alter our reality.   Ultimately, for me, it’s all about being of joyous service to as many people as possible and 1 million seems like a good start. You’ve developed what you call the Havens Wavens 9D model, which first appears in Surfing Saves. In everyday terms, what problem does it help people solve? How does it help improve our world? What kind of world are you trying to leave for future generations?   We live in an ocean of energetic waves, a world of waves. Ideally, you would have a wave model in order to ride through that energetic ocean, a metaphorical surfboard. The 9D Wave Havens Model is a simple model that can act as a surfboard, a structure, to help people remain balanced in the ocean of their lives.   It provides a structure and foundational basis for people to actually functionally use this philosophy to create self and community resilience and regulation through the waves of change we are being bombarded with. The foundations of this functional philosophy are all in Surfing Saves. In fact, it is the structure the book itself is built upon.   I’m going to be dropping into that concept much more deeply in the follow-up book coming in 2027. For now, Surfing Saves hold the key codes to use this knowledge to surf through the wave lengths of our lives. How can people best get involved with or support the Surfing Saves project?   There are a few simple ways that anyone can get involved with Surfing Saves.   First, follow on social media to keep connected. @_surfingsaves_   Second, buy the Surfing Saves Book from the link in bio.   Three, join us for Community Coherence Gatherings.   Four, DM to learn how to contribute to the Film and Impact portions of the project. Other than that, my hope is you keep in resonance with your soul authenticity, harmony with your conscious community, and in coherence with the highest frequency that we can collectively Be, or, as I like to say, Keep The Vibe Alive So the Tribe Can Thrive! Follow me on Instagram and visit my website for more info! Read more from John Angiulo

Written by Sarah McAtee, Subconscious Mindset Coach Sarah Michelle is a Subconscious Mindset Coach for High Achievers. She helps driven leaders uncover the subconscious patterns shaping their results and reprogram the beliefs keeping them from their next level of success. The other day, I was watching the Instagram Stories of a woman we’ll call Kay. Kay’s first story of the morning was filmed from her car, complaining that her day was already going poorly. Before she even finished her sentence, she yelled at another driver to “do his job.” Hours later, she was back on stories, this time upset about her salad tasting terrible. A previous version of me probably would have felt affected by watching her irritation. But knowing what I know now… it actually made me smile. How many people do you know who’ve had a day like that? Better question: How many times have you? Most people believe their experiences shape their beliefs. But what if it’s the other way around? Let’s get into it! What is the subconscious mind? Before we define the subconscious mind, let’s briefly talk about the conscious mind, because this is the part of your mind you probably think is running the show. Your conscious mind is everything you’re aware of. It’s responsible for logic, reasoning, knowledge, and intentional decision-making (like deciding to send the email, change careers, speak up in a meeting, or go to the gym). It’s also the part of your mind that distinguishes between what is real and unreal (like knowing that visualizing yourself on a beach doesn’t mean you’re actually at the beach). For my Instagram friend Kay, her conscious mind was actively interpreting what was happening: she noticed traffic, the time, small inconveniences, and consciously concluded that her day wasn’t going well. Now let’s talk about the subconscious mind. The subconscious is the part of your mind that operates beneath conscious awareness. It quietly influences how you perceive, react to, and experience life all without you realizing it. It’s the part of the brain that stores beliefs, memories, emotional associations, and learned patterns. In the same example, once the first “wrong” thing happened that morning, Kay’s subconscious belief, that any small thing going wrong would mean the day was already ruined, was activated. From there, her reactions weren’t simply conscious choices, but conscious choices influenced by subconscious beliefs running in the background. How beliefs are formed When I was a toddler, my mom used to call me “the Princess and the Pea.” If there was a grain of sand in my sock or a wrinkle in my clothes, I felt it, and I reacted to it. Perfection mattered to me early on. In school, I would take forever to complete assignments because I was afraid that if something wasn’t just right, I would have to start over. Subconsciously, I began to associate imperfection with discomfort and failure. As I got older, that belief evolved. It showed up as overthinking, hesitation, and a fear of starting anything without knowing exactly how it would turn out. When I first decided to build my business, I stalled for months, convinced I needed every detail figured out before I could begin. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was operating from a subconscious belief that imperfection wasn’t safe. So why did an experience like this, so early in life, affect other areas of my life as I grew older? Because most of our beliefs are formed between ages 0-7, before the conscious mind is fully developed to question or challenge what’s being absorbed (We’ll come back to why this is so important later!). When an experience carries emotional weight (like me being bothered by imperfection), the subconscious mind looks for meaning. It asks questions like, "What does this say about me?" or "What does this mean about life and what’s possible?" In my case, the repeated discomfort around imperfection led my mind to conclude that getting things wrong had consequences. When you think a thought over and over again, the subconscious eventually accepts it as truth, forming a belief. How beliefs shape perception The subconscious mind acts like a lens, shaping what is noticed, what is ignored, and how situations are interpreted. Most people are unknowingly responding to reality as it’s filtered through their beliefs. You know how, when you’re excited about someone new in your life and they drive a certain car, you suddenly see that car everywhere? Like, you didn’t even know this type of car existed before, and now you can’t escape it? That’s because your brain has a built-in filtering system called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) . It’s a brainstem system responsible for regulating attention and determining which sensory information reaches conscious awareness. Its job is to decide what information gets your attention and what gets ignored. Your beliefs act like instructions for that filter. When a belief is active, meaning it’s being subconsciously referenced, the RAS scans your environment for information that supports it and brings that evidence into your awareness. Information that aligns with the belief stands out, while information that contradicts it is often filtered out before you even notice it. This is why you start noticing your crush’s car everywhere. Once something becomes meaningful to you, your brain starts prioritizing it, and what it flags as important is heavily influenced by your beliefs. Now here’s another important piece: we don’t all have the same beliefs, which means we don’t all see the same reality. Put two people in the exact same situation, a delayed flight, a tough conversation, a missed opportunity. One person’s beliefs interpret it as proof that things never work out for them. The other’s beliefs interpret it as an opportunity to create something even better. This is how two people can walk away from the same event with totally different interpretations. Their responses aren’t based on the event itself, but on the beliefs influencing how the event is perceived. The experience may seem objective, but the filter is not. And because perception influences interpretation, perception also influences behavior. The choices you make, the risks you take, and the opportunities you pursue are shaped by what you believe is possible, available, or safe. When the lens changes, it changes what you notice, how you interpret it, and how you respond. Over time, that shapes the experiences you continue to have. So, how does the subconscious actually create your reality? At its core, it’s a chain reaction. Let’s break it down: You have a subconscious belief. That belief creates thoughts. Those thoughts create emotions. Those emotions carry a vibration. And that vibration communicates what you want more of. Simple, right? Wink. Just kidding. I won’t leave you to interpret that on your own. Let’s say you have a belief that the only way to be successful is to hustle. That belief pulls in matching thought patterns like: "I haven’t done enough if I want to meet my goals." "I need to be better or else I’ll fall behind." "I never have time for social events." Those thoughts create an emotional state, anxiety, pressure, self-judgment. And when you move through life from that emotional state, it shapes how you show up and therefore what you attract. You say yes when you’re already stretched thin because part of you believes your value is tied to being needed. You take on more than you need to, because slowing down feels undeserved. You interpret feedback as a sign to improve because you equate growth with fixing yourself. You assume effort is always required because you’ve learned that success comes from doing, not receiving. It feels productive and even looks admirable from the outside. But internally, it reinforces the belief that success only comes through force. Over time, the world begins to mirror that pattern back to you. You find yourself in roles where more is expected of you. You attract dynamics where you carry more responsibility. You recreate environments that require 110% of you. The belief isn’t just sitting in your mind, it’s shaping your reality. Belief to thought to emotion to vibration to experience. Change the belief, and you change the vibration. Change the vibration, and you change your reality. Updating subconscious programming If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably wondering, “Okay… cool theory. But how do I actually change this?” While there are many ways to approach shifting the subconscious, the following is the framework I personally use with my clients and one I’ve seen create real, lasting change. The first step is to reveal You can’t change what you can’t see. Start by becoming aware of your thoughts. Not the filtered, polished ones, but the repetitive ones. The automatic ones. The intrusive ones. Your thoughts are clues that point to the deeper beliefs running quietly in the background. Spend some time writing down the most common thoughts you think throughout a single day. Patterns will start to emerge, and those patterns reveal the overarching beliefs shaping your experience. For example, you might notice thoughts like: “I can’t afford to slow down right now.” “Now is not the time to rest.” “I just need to stay consistent.” “If I stop posting, the algorithm will forget me.” “If I take a break, clients will lose interest.” Notice how none of these sound unreasonable. If anything, they sound responsible, driven, and capable. But when you zoom out, a belief emerges: “If I slow down, I might find out that I’m not enough as is.” Damn. You just revealed something that has had power over you for the last 20+ years. But guess what? Now, you get to challenge the belief. Remember earlier when I mentioned that most of our beliefs were formed between ages 0-7, before we had the ability to question what we were absorbing? Yeah, you’re not seven anymore. Now you get to pause and ask: Is this actually true? Or is this just a belief I absorbed and never revisited? Many of the beliefs running your life were never consciously chosen; they were simply accepted. But by revealing the underlying belief, you take back the power to decide whether it still gets to shape your reality. The second step is to release Once you’ve identified a limiting belief, the next step is to release it. I personally use a breathwork technique called Subconscious Release Technique with my clients, but there are other ways of releasing. The key is to thin the veil between your conscious and subconscious mind, meaning we create enough space between you and the belief that it no longer is fused to your identity, releasing control over you. For example, there is an aspect of the Subconscious Release Technique where my clients hold their breath. Why? Because when you hold your breath, your mind temporarily stops cycling through the same thought loops and is just focused on one thing: getting air to the body and brain. Do you see how this interrupts the loop and creates separation from the belief? You’ll know you have released it, or at least loosened its grip, when the body feels lighter and the belief no longer feels like the truth. The third step is to replace Now you intentionally replace it with a new belief you want to install into your subconscious instead. I like to pick beliefs that are aligned with where you want to go and what you want to create in your life. So in this case, you would change the belief to something like “Slowing down progresses me,” or “Even in stillness, I am enough,” or “Rest reveals clarity.” Here’s what that would look like in real life: Instead of answering emails at 10pm to prove you’re committed, you close your laptop and trust that your work speaks for itself. Instead of squeezing five more tasks into your day, you leave more space on your calendar and notice your best ideas show up there. Instead of measuring your worth by output, you practice being fully enough by sitting in the stillness. The final step is to reinforce Just replacing the belief doesn’t create believability. The key part of this step is finding evidence that the new belief is true. I explain this to my clients like a table: The top of the table is a belief, and the legs of the table are the evidence supporting the belief. The more legs (evidence) you have, the deeper the belief. Over time, this reinforces the belief and shows you that it is true, even when other possibilities and outcomes exist. Using the tabletop analogy, the top of the table would be “Rest reveals clarity.” And the legs would be, “Your best ideas come in the shower.” “That one time you came back from Hawaii and had a whole new idea you couldn't wait to implement.” “Taking a day off always increases your productivity the next day,” etc. See how finding the evidence of truth strengthens the new belief? It’s important to note that subconscious programming changes through repetition because it’s intentionally creating new mental habits. The more often you think the same aligned thoughts, the stronger the belief becomes. And over time, those beliefs form your subconscious programming. If you decide to explore this work on your own, I genuinely believe you can. The fact that you’re even thinking about your subconscious patterns already tells me you’re self-aware, and that matters more than you realize! But I also won’t sugarcoat it: This work stretches you. Challenging beliefs you’ve carried for 20+ years can feel super uncomfortable. For me, the reveal and release steps were the hardest… because when you’re in it, you’re in it. You’ve built logic around it. You’ve defended it. You’ve identified with it. You’ve probably succeeded because of it. So questioning it feels… threatening. What changed everything for me was having someone reflect back what I couldn’t see on my own. Having another set of eyes on my patterns was powerful. It created clarity faster than I could access by myself, and that’s why I care so deeply about guiding others through this work now. If you’re ready to update the beliefs shaping your results and unlock your next level, I’d love to support you in that. Below, you’ll find all my information. However you choose to approach it, I encourage you to lean into it. Understanding how the subconscious mind works gives you something most people never realize they have: the ability to create your reality with your mind instead of against it. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Sarah McAtee Sarah McAtee, Subconscious Mindset Coach Sarah Michelle is a Subconscious Mindset Coach for High Achievers who know they’re capable of more but feel stuck despite their ambition. She works with executives, founders, and entrepreneurs to uncover and upgrade the subconscious beliefs creating internal resistance and limiting their expansion. Through deep subconscious work, she helps clients cultivate clarity, confidence, and aligned momentum. Her approach is rooted in the understanding that lasting change happens by transforming what’s running beneath conscious awareness.

A new review by Konsumentguiden.se of fresh European Central Bank (ECB) statistics, underline a growing divide between everyday borrowing and housing finance across the euro area . In December 2025, the interest rate on new consumer loans in the euro area averaged 7.15%, while mortgage borrowing costs—measured using a weighted “composite cost-of-borrowing indicator”—stood at 3.32%. That’s a gap of 3.83 percentage points. Put differently, consumer credit is about 2.15 times more expensive than mortgages—roughly 115% higher in relative terms. “The difference between housing finance and everyday credit works as a clear consumer barometer. Mortgage rates often get the most attention—but consumer credit hits monthly expenses directly, especially when several smaller loans are stacked on top of each other,” says Stefan Sällberg, financial columnist at Konsumentguiden.se . Quick snapshot: euro area borrowing costs (December 2025) Consumer loans (new business):  7.15% (down from 7.33% in November) Mortgages (weighted indicator):  3.32% (roughly unchanged) Gap:  3.83 percentage points Consumer vs mortgage ratio:  2.15× Relative difference:  +115% vs mortgages Even after a month-on-month decline in consumer credit rates, everyday borrowing remains far more expensive than housing finance in the euro area average. Where consumer borrowing is most expensive: the Baltic spike The headline country story is hard to miss: the Baltic states sit at the top of the table, with double-digit consumer loan rates alongside mortgage rates below 4%. In other words: high-cost everyday credit, even as mortgage pricing is comparatively moderate. Biggest consumer-vs-mortgage gaps (December 2025) Estonia:  13.28% vs 3.78% → 3.51× Latvia:  13.35% vs 3.81% → 3.50× Portugal:  8.63% vs 2.84% → 3.04× Greece:  9.94% vs 3.43% → 2.90× Slovakia:  8.98% vs 3.41% → 2.63× The pattern suggests a broader theme: the price of unsecured borrowing varies dramatically across the euro area, and can diverge sharply from mortgage pricing in the same country. See the full list at Konsumentguiden.se . At the other end: where the gap is smallest Some countries show a far narrower spread—meaning consumer loans are closer to mortgage costs, at least compared to the euro-area average. Smallest consumer-vs-mortgage gaps (December 2025) Luxembourg:  3.94% vs 3.47% → 1.14× Croatia:  4.95% vs 3.04% → 1.63× Belgium:  5.92% vs 3.45% → 1.72× Cyprus:  6.21% vs 3.27% → 1.90× Finland:  5.38% vs 2.82% → 1.91× The spread across countries is striking: from 1.14× in Luxembourg to 3.51× in Estonia—an enormous range for borrowers who may assume “euro area rates” move broadly in sync. The Nordics: below average levels, but the same story Konsumentguiden’s review also highlights a Nordic angle: Sweden (used as a comparison country outside the euro area) and Finland both sit below the euro-area averages for consumer loan rates and mortgage rates in December 2025. But the basic consumer-finance story still holds: even in the Nordics, consumer loans remain around twice as expensive as mortgages—just from a lower level and with a smaller gap than the euro-area average. Why such big differences between countries? ECB’s MFI interest rate statistics point to several broad drivers behind cross-country variation in borrowing costs, including: Competitive conditions  (how contested lending markets are) Risk premiums  (how lenders price credit risk) Administrative and operating costs Institutional and structural factors Consumer loans are also typically unsecured, which makes them more risk-sensitive than mortgages and can widen the spread—especially where lenders price risk more aggressively. Why this matters: consumer credit can hit budgets faster than mortgages Mortgage rates dominate headlines. But consumer credit—often used for cars, household spending, or consolidating smaller debts—can affect monthly budgets quickly because the rates are higher and terms are often shorter. The “credit gap” between consumer and housing borrowing costs therefore works as a simple, practical indicator of household pressure: when everyday credit remains expensive, financial breathing room shrinks, especially for households that rely on multiple small loans. About the data The analysis is based on the ECB’s MFI Interest Rate Statistics (MIR) and refers to new business (new loans). Mortgages are presented using a weighted “composite cost-of-borrowing indicator” to reduce volatility, while consumer loans refer to new loans for consumption (AAR).