Hi friends, welcome back, I’m glad you’re here. Wow, there’s a lot happening in the world, we are experiencing change at an incredible pace. If you’ve been feeling stretched thin lately—maybe everything is “fine” on the surface, but inside you feel heavy, distracted, or even a little hopeless—this episode is for you. I created this episode because this is what I needed this week…. I was in Washington DC for several days this week dropping off my daughter at college where she is now a sophomore, I was taking in a lot of news on social media, the White House had just ordered the national guard be deployed within the city, so it was a week that I was following the news closely and it had a heavy effect on me, and it’s exactly what I described that everything was fine on the surface – my experience was completely pleasant and wonderful as it always has been—but I could feel dread and a heaviness in my body from all of the news I was taking in. So I am taking in true things, real news, but it also wasn’t matching my experience.  I did my usual walk along embassy row, we were up and down constitution avenue, shopping in Georgetown, the weather was mild and gorgeous, we went out for several lunches and dinners—all great—restaurants in DC are out of this world. So anyway, there’s this external news I’m taking in, there’s my actual moment by moment experience,  and then there’s what’s going on in my mind and body. And I was aware of the disconnect and I thought whoa, I need to get myself back to center.

Life can feel overwhelming in a hundred invisible ways. Some of it’s the external stuff—work, family, world events. But a lot of it is what’s happening in our own minds. And my guess is that many of you can relate to this feeling of heaviness so

Today, I want to share **five simple but powerful ways to find groundedness, find your center when you are experiencing that feeling of overwhelm or dread or just heaviness….

And here’s the good news: this groundedness is not something far away. It’s available in this moment. It’s a skill. And like any skill, you can practice it. It’s like you lose it, you then become aware that you’ve lost it, and that’s the golden monme t because when you become aware, that’s when you can line up your feeling with the present moment reality.

Okay so let’s talk about these 5 ideas….

---

### 1. Breathe First, Think Later

When life feels like too much, most of us immediately go into “fix-it” mode. We want to think our way out of stress. But your nervous system won’t let you solve problems well if you’re revved up.

So the first step is always the breath.

Stop. Close your eyes if you can. Inhale slowly. Exhale longer than you inhaled.

Do this a few times, and your whole body will begin to calm down. You importantly come into the present moment. Your mind gets into trouble when it fixates on the past and future. So come back to now.

Breathing is not just symbolic—it’s neurological. It signals safety to your brain. Because that’s really what is going on—that heaviness you feel is coming from the body thinking you are experiencing something dangerous. But when you bring your attention to the moment in front of you—there’s no danger, I mean on the contrary, I’m dining alfresco and enjoying a glass of wine. So you use your breath to line up your mind and body with the present moment, And from there, clarity becomes possible.

---

### 2. Narrow Your Focus

Overwhelm often comes from trying to hold too many things at once. Your brain is juggling ten open tabs, and none of them get your full attention. Sometimes you’re not even aware you’re doing it but you’re jumping from tab to tab telling yourself there’s too much to do, wondering how you’ll get it all done.

Here’s the truth: you don’t need to handle everything right now. And you can’t anyway. You always do one thing at a time. I know we say we are these great multitaskers but it isn’t actually true. Humans do one thing at a time.

Ask yourself: What is the very next step?

Not ten steps ahead. Not the whole project. Just the next thing. You’re not a laptop, you’re not a computer—you have to work with who you are and how you get things done which is through focus. Constraining your attention.

When you give yourself permission to narrow the focus, you shrink overwhelm back down to something human-sized.

### 3. Move Your Body to Move Your Mind

So I teach Thought Work, and when you learn how your mind has been conditioned, you can practice thinking and feeling on purpose. So, Sometimes the answer to thoughts that make you feel stressed and overwhelmed, it’s not to work hard to change your thoughts, it’s  to get out of your head completely.**

Go for a walk. Stretch. Dance in your kitchen.

Your body is designed to help discharge stress. When you move, you literally change your brain chemistry—you release tension, you create endorphins, you shift your state.

It doesn’t need to be perfect exercise. It just needs to remind you that you’re not trapped in thought—you have a body, and that body can carry you into groundedness and peace.

### 4. Choose Your Inputs Wisely

If life already feels overwhelming, notice what you’re consuming.

This was me this week--Too much news, too much scrolling, too many negative conversations mostly in my own head—it all adds weight.

You are allowed to curate your inputs. To say no. To take a break.

Peace comes when you stop feeding your mind a steady diet of chaos. You don’t have to ignore reality—you just need to give equal airtime to things that ground and nourish you.

### 5. Don’t Do It Alone

Here’s the one I think most of us resist—but it might be the most powerful: peace is easier when you’re not carrying everything alone.

Your brain is not meant to untangle itself in isolation. We heal, grow, and calm down faster in connection with others.

When you’re in a supportive group, you realize: Oh, it’s not just me. I’m not broken. Other people feel this too.

And even better, you can learn actual tools to manage your mind—how to shift your perspective, how to rewire old thought patterns that keep you stuck.

This is one of the reasons I created my Feel Better class.

It’s six weeks of learning these exact tools—together. You get to practice in a safe, supportive group of smart midlife women who get it. You’ll learn how easy it can be to get unstuck, and knowing you’re not alone is a huge part of what gets you unstuck. When we try to figure all of this out alone in our own heads, there is a layer of self doubt and an assumption that other people are fine but you’r e not and it feels awful. So it’s part of the secret sauce is realizing that all of these smart women think just like you—it facilitates quicker change than you could get on your own.  

So there you have it:

1. Breathe first, think later.

2. Narrow your focus.

3. Move your body.

4. Choose your inputs wisely.

5. Don’t do it alone.

Those are my five ideas for you based on the ideas I had for myself.

Peace is not about escaping your life. It’s about creating space inside yourself, so life feels different—even when the circumstances are the same.

And if you want to practice these tools in real time, with real support, come join me in the **Feel Better Masterclass. There are a lot of tips and tricks out there about rewiring your brain and finding calm in the storm. But if you’ve ever thought, “Will someone please just tell me what actually works?” — then this class is for you. In Feel Better Masterclass, I’ll guide you step by step through the exact tools I’ve used with my students to calm your mind, shift old patterns, and create real relief. You learn how to turn down the volume on anxiety and worry. We are in an era that it has become crucial to understand how to manage your mind, it’s the invitation of this moment in history, to learn how to live from the inside out, to create peace inside the universe within your own body regardless of what is happening externally.   so If you’ve been waiting for something that finally clicks, I would really encourage you to check out this class, it’s the only time I am teaching it this year. Class kicks off Sunday Sept 14th, we will then meet every Thursday night for six weeks at 7pm CST over Zoom. If you can’t make it in person, that’s not a problem you’ll get the recordings.  You can get all of the details on my website at www.sheilatully.com...and   there is a great early bird special that ends soon, Sunday August 31st, so if you’re considering it, sign up by Sunday.