Before you blink and 2026 is already underway, join our January 23rd workshop to uncover the unconscious rules shaping your work and redesign how you lead, respond, and create space in your career: www.balanceinstitute.com/rules

We explore how speed becomes a nervous system rule that feels like safety, why AI amplifies it, and what it costs when pace outruns capacity. We share practical ways to upgrade the rule so you keep your edge without burning out or abandoning yourself.

• speed as competitive advantage and hidden safety rule
• the anxiety of slowing down and earning rest
• AI as productivity amplifier and risk to nervous system limits
• signs of dysfunction including numbness, irritability and hollow wins
• habit of slowing for others while abandoning ourselves
• the dream metaphor of leaving without our shoes
• the upgrade: keep speed, remove it as the dominant rule
• practical shifts to build safety beyond pace

“I'm unpacking these rule upgrades in my free workshop starting January 23rd. Help you build safety in places other than speed and create the space and agency so many women are craving.”

Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: jo@balanceinstitute.com
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!

Before you blink and 2026 is already underway, join this January workshop to uncover the unconscious rules shaping your work and redesign how you lead, respond, and create space in your career: balanceinstitute.com/rules

What if the smartest move for 2026 isn’t more control, but more responsiveness? After stepping out of routine during a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, we saw how thousands of scooters glide through “organised chaos” without aggression. No one clings to a rigid lane. Everyone scans, anticipates, and adjusts in real time. That street-level wisdom exposes why so many driven women feel tense and boxed in: the old success rules reward force and overplanning, while the world now rewards awareness and timing.

We unpack the nervous system relief that comes when you drop the micro-management of everyday life, even for a moment. You don’t need a holiday to feel free; you need space. Ten minutes of unscheduled choice can soften reactivity, restore creativity, and invite curiosity back into your day. We share simple, practical ways to weave novelty and movement into a structured life without burning it down—new routes, flexible meals, micro-walks, and tiny experiments that make room for aliveness.

History also offers a powerful reframe. Meeting people who carry deep collective trauma yet choose presence and gratitude raised a brave question: what weight are we still dragging? Holding on to old slights keeps us anchored to past versions of ourselves. Letting go doesn’t erase the past; it releases our energy for what matters now. We land on three guiding shifts for the year ahead: flow needs responsiveness not control, freedom needs space not escape, and forward movement needs release not rumination.

If you’re successful but quietly frustrated, this conversation is a reset. We outline a January workshop designed to help you examine the rules you’ve been living by and decide what genuinely deserves to come with you into 2026. Subscribe, share with a woman who needs this, and leave a review to help the message reach more ears. Then tell us: what rule are you ready to rewrite?

Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: jo@balanceinstitute.com
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!

Meetings don’t need more sticky notes; they need better thinking. We sit down with Cate Sefton to explore how structured play — especially Lego Serious Play — turns flat brainstorms into 3D strategy, elevates quiet voices, and surfaces ideas that actually move teams forward. Kate breaks down why hands-on metaphors matter, how great facilitation changes the questions we ask, and why joy is not a luxury but a performance edge.

From there, we zoom out to the tectonic shift happening with AI. Brand isn’t fading; it’s becoming the filter that gets you found and remembered. We unpack how emotional connection helps a brand cut through algorithmic sameness, and what that means for personal branding on LinkedIn when fewer than one percent post. AI can prime the pump, but your specifics, tone and lived evidence do the heavy lifting. We talk practical ways to sound like yourself, not a template, and how to keep showing up with clarity and conviction.

Cate also shares the human side of a big career: being the breadwinner across countries, the power of a supportive partner, and the boundaries that protect what matters — from Friday night no-call rules to small rituals that reset you from corporate mode to present parent. We confront judgement around non-traditional roles, the sting when it comes from other women, and the antidote of solidarity. Finally, we tackle ageism, confidence dips and the tendency to discount decades of experience because of a new tool. The reminder is simple and strong: you’re not alone. Find your wing women, name your value, and ask for help.

If the conversation sparked something for you, follow the show, share it with a woman who’d benefit, and leave a quick review so these stories reach more ears. Ready to shape a braver 2026? Visit balanceinstitute.com and let’s build it together.

Thank you for joining us today on the Balance and Beyond Podcast. We're so glad you carved out this time for yourself!

If you’re keen to dive deeper into our world, here are our socials where you can discover more about the toolkit that has helped thousands of women create a life of balance.

Website: www.balanceinstitute.com
Podcast Website: https://www.balanceinstitute.com/podcast
Email: jo@balanceinstitute.com
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/stonejoanne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterbalanceinstitute/
Instagram: @betterbalanceinstitute

Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Balance & Beyond Podcast!