What are your thoughts, feelings and emotional tendencies? What is the story you repeatedly tell yourself? What beliefs are quietly shaping the way you behave and the life you are creating?

In this solo episode, I explore why we often spend so much time looking out at the world and so little time looking in, and why self-awareness may be one of the most powerful tools we have for change.

I explain how our early experiences, childhood and environment can help create the foundations of our beliefs and behaviours. Some of these foundations may be uneven, but that doesn't mean they are permanent. Once you become aware of a pattern, you can question it, decide whether it still serves you, and begin to change it.

From meditation and music to journalling, mindfulness and other emerging approaches such as neurofeedback and medically supervised psychedelic therapies, there are many ways to begin changing the patterns that have shaped us. 

I always try and take my own advice of course, and have completed meditation training, including during my two @drjoedispenza retreats, and am trying medically supervised psychedelics soon so watch this space for my review of that!

Importantly, the thing to remember is that you are not your thoughts. You are not your beliefs. And you are not stuck with either.

Self-awareness is vital and change comes with practice, repetition and time. It is entirely possible though, and I can help you to take the first step.

Because, sometimes, the most powerful question you can ask yourself is simply:

“Why do I think, feel and behave the way I do?”

Follow me on Instagram for more science-backed tips, techniques and advice to help you live a happier and more fulfilled midlife: @elizabeth_hammond_msc

In this very first episode, I open up about the experiences that shaped me, why I created this podcast, and what I hope it can offer women navigating midlife and beyond.

I share my personal story of childhood trauma, loss and uncertainty - including the sudden death of my mother when I was just four, the disappearance of my older sister, the loss of my brother, and the impact those experiences had on the woman I have become.

For years, I dealt with pain by doing what I knew best: working harder, achieving more and keeping busy. From a high-powered career in the City to becoming a coach and eventually studying applied neuroscience at King’s College London, my journey has been one of continually trying to understand myself, my experiences and, ultimately, the human brain.

But this isn't an episode about being defined by trauma.

It's about what happens when we begin to understand that our brains can change, that our emotional states aren't necessarily fixed, and that we can learn new ways of responding to the things life throws at us.

I truly believe that difficult experiences don't have to define our future. in Here Comes the Sun you can expect accessible neuroscience, practical tools and techniques, conversations with women who have lived through extraordinary experiences, honest stories, exercise, habits, mindset, wellbeing - and plenty of humour along the way.

This is a podcast about midlife, but it isn't about slowing down or looking backwards.

It's about what comes next.

Here Comes the Sun.

Follow me on Instagram for more science-backed tips, techniques and advice to help you live a happier and more fulfilled midlife: @elizabeth_hammond_msc