When you are the wild horse.
If you know me well, you’ll know I can be a bit of a runaway horse.
A little wild. A little untamed. Definitely spontaneous. I often trot to the beat of my own drum and sometimes at full gallop. There’s creativity pulsing through me at any given moment. Ideas. Projects. Visions. Vibes. The problem? They all arrive at once and none of them file a plan.
It’s become a bit of a running joke that someone needs to fit me with a saddle.
I certainly am a mixed bag of goods. We often joke about me needing a saddle. I have so many creative ideas and endeavours I want to be, do and have. That’s why I have started building a small group of super organised ladies around me to help me get everything out of my head and into measurable action, so I don’t either: fluff around and get nothing done, or burnout. There is no in-between with me.
Because left to my own devices? I either fluff about for hours or burn myself out trying to do everything at once.
Today, for example, instead of getting stuck into my to-do list, I have:
Heated up my heat pack three separate times
Made two cups of tea (drank half of each)
Watched a string of Met Gala red carpet videos
Rewatched vintage lip sync battles from the early 2000s
… and accomplished zero of the admin tasks “Organised Gayle” had blocked in the default diary.
You see, last week I had some incredibly exciting and nerve-racking meetings about phase 2 of Soul Care Healing. I can still feel the power of the enthusiasm and the potential of what we are going to build. The excitable and nerve-racking feelings are still swirling through my body like an electric current.
And that’s the truth of it.
Sometimes it’s not that we’re lazy or disorganised or failing.
It’s that our nervous system is overstimulated and our energy has nowhere to land.
I have always said my gravestone will say “Here lays Gayle, easily distracted - SQUIRREL!!!” IYKYK.
I am a ball of mixed emotions and hesitations. I am grateful though, that even when I am feeling this way, I understand that I have the ability to change it for myself.
For me, I’ve learned the hard way that when I’m in these moments, I need rituals.
Simple, grounding cues that remind my body and brain:
“We’ve got this. Let’s focus. Let’s settle.”
Here’s what helps me regulate when I’m spiralling or buzzing:
Big body movements – I do a few rounds of bench pushups, some deep stretches, or a quick dance break (or in today’s case, I attacked the benches with spray-&-wipe highly satisfying).
Hydration – I fill my water bottle, again, and keep it near me.
Scent – I light a candle next to my desk. There’s something about the flame and the aroma that cues a softness in me.
Sound – I hit play on the same Spotify playlist I use every time I write, soft, lyric-free music that doesn’t compete for attention.
These four steps help me transition from chaos to clarity. From runaway horse to focused Gayle in flow.
They’re my personal activation sequence. And because I do them every single time, they’ve become muscle memory a ritual that anchors me, so my creativity has a clear runway to take off from.
These 4 things are cues straight to my brain that it is go time. I’ve built it up as part of my muscle memory. These small rituals all help my brain to recognise the routine and cue an inner dialogue “Oh I know what it means when she does these things.” “I know what I have to do”
Its like all the parts of me are communicating at once. My breathe slows down, my hands go into automatic pilot. I am settled. I am grounded.
If this feels like you, if your mind runs fast and your focus feels slippery try creating your own ritual of four. Four non-negotiables. Four small acts that signal to your nervous system:
“We’re safe. We’re steady. We’re on.”
It doesn’t need to be fancy. It just needs to be repeatable.
We explore this kind of nervous system re-patterning inside the Soul Care Method, because so many of the women I work with are not lazy. They’re overstimulated. They’re holding too much, feeling too much, doing too much — and trying to “push through” like that’s sustainable.
Spoiler: it’s not.
If this feels like you sometimes too, see if you can find 4 things that you do EVERY single time you need to switch into gear.
E.V.E.R.Y. T.I.M.E - I promise it; it will help make you be more productive and set you in good stead to be effective and efficient.
Take care of your mind and your body this week.
Make your tea. Dance at the bench. Let your playlists do the heavy lifting.
And maybe, saddle up, not to control yourself, but to guide your wildness with intention.
Thanks for reading,
If you want to hear more about how I use rituals and movement to shift my energy (and how I coach other women to do the same), Episode 2 Soul Care Healing Podcast is a good place to start. I talk through how I structure my days to suit my brain — not shame it — and how to work with your energy, not against it.
Gayle xoxoxoxoxo
