E021 Living with Intention: I Did What I Said I’d Do and This Is What Changed

Many women talk about wanting to slow down and live with more intention but rarely get the opportunity to fully step away from routine and notice what actually shifts when space is created. 

If you keep thinking ‘why does this feel so hard right now?’ you might simply be in a different season. That’s completely normal. This $7 Season Mapping Quiz will help you work out where you are and what to focus on next. 

Living with Intention: I Did What I Said I’d Do and This Is What Changed

In this episode of The GA Wellness Podcast, I reflect on what happened when I followed through on my intention to live differently. How an impulse decision to book a New Year’s cruise, unplug from work and let go of constant planning created conditions that supported deep nervous system regulation. 

You will learn how reducing cognitive load affects the brain and body, why being on open water shifted my sense of urgency and what changed in my energy, digestion and parenting when intention was lived through environment and experience rather than effort. 

📋 What we covered: 

• What shifted when I stepped away from routine
• How cognitive load affects energy, decision-making & body awareness
• What shifted when I wasn’t watching the clock
• How nervous system safety supported digestion
• What I learned about gluten intolerance through lived experience
• How supportive environments reduce internal friction
• Reflections on parenting, independence and attunement
• How the HNSF pillars integrated naturally
• Why rest and growth can exist in the same season 

🧰 Living with Intention: Reflection Guide 
A guide to help you pause, look at your days and move forward with more clarity.

👉 https://gawellness.myflodesk.com/livingwithintention

🧭 Season Mapping Quiz 
A simple guided check-in to help you work out which season you’re in right now and what to focus on next. 

👉 https://gawellness.myflodesk.com/seasonquiz

🌟 Key takeaways: 

• Intention creates change when it is lived
• Reducing cognitive load eases pressure on the body
• Supportive environments improve clarity
• Rest creates conditions for growth
• Awareness increases when urgency drops 

🔁 Episodes referenced in this episode: 

E007 Let’s Talk Habits: Why You Can’t Hustle Your Way to Wellness 
E008 The Myth of Balance: Let’s Talk Seasons 
E020 Create Calm On Purpose: Finding Intention and Equilibrium for 2026 

🎧 Related listening: 

E002 Hydration 
E011 Mum Guilt Explained: Reframing Rest, Guilt and Self-Care for Mums 
E016 Mobility Matters: Restorative Movement for Busy Women 

By the end of this episode, you will understand what changed for me when I stepped away from routine, reduced mental load, and allowed my nervous system to lead. You will be invited to notice how much you are holding day to day, how that might be affecting your body and where creating a little more space could support you in this season.

📱 Let’s Connect 

• All links, resources and ways to connect are here https://linktr.ee/GAWellness

🔔 If this episode spoke to you, lovely, please:

• Follow the podcast.
• Leave a quick review (it truly helps!)
• Share with a bestie who’s ready to reclaim wellness on her own terms.

 © 2026 GA Wellness with Georgia Ann™. All content is for educational purposes only and is not medical or psychological advice. 

Transcript

E021 Living with Intention: I Did What I Said I’d Do and This Is What Changed 
Georgia Ann 

Opening 

There are moments in life where you don't collapse into rest, you choose it because something in you knows it's time to stop overriding your body and start listening instead. That's the pause I want to talk about today, the one that I chose on purpose and the unexpected clarity that arrived when I finally stepped out of my comfort zone and let my nervous system lead. 

Podcast Intro 

Welcome to the GA Wellness Podcast. Small steps, lasting change. I'm your host, Georgia Ann, health coach, solo mum and a woman who's lived through the chaos, the curveballs and the craving for something steadier. After 20 years in the fitness industry and my own journey through grief, motherhood and starting over, I've learned that real wellness isn't about doing more, it's about doing what matters. Each week, we cut through the noise and get real with simple, doable tools to help you feel stronger, calmer and more like you. This isn't about perfection, it's about steady soul led progress because you deserve wellness that fits into your full life, not just one version of it. Let's dive in. 

Hello 2026 

Hello lovely and welcome back to the GA Wellness Podcast. OMG. So here we are, the very first episode of 2026. Okay, so firstly, I want to wish you a happy new year. I hope you had some time over the Christmas break to unwind and find your calm, however that might look for you. 

I want to start with saying that I'm a planner, yes, but I also very much believe in adapting to what is around you. I call this Transition season, which is part of my trademarked C.A.L.M Pathway membership and framework, so transitioning is exactly what I'm doing today. I had a very different idea in mind for what this arc was going to start off with and how I wanted to begin 2026, I'm still going to use it and it's coming, but I wanted to reflect and chat about what I did over my summer holidays. 

This is very reminiscent of a movie I used to love watching as a kid. It was a tiny tunes movie, How I Spent my Summer Vacation. Okay and if you're like me growing up in the 90s, I'm pretty sure you've probably got a smile on your face right now. Just all those memories coming back. I mean, if you haven't heard of it, it was a comedy but the whole idea was about being away, having adventures, especially their types of adventures and letting the days unfold. They went back at school providing a recap of what they went up to. So, we're not in school, but there were so many emotions and takeaways I learned about it myself which is why we're going to take a little detour. 

Episode 20 to Episode 21 

The last episode of 2025, which was episode 20, I spoke about wanting to live 2026 with intention. I talked about creating calm and purpose, about finding equilibrium instead of constantly reacting to the pace around us and I want to take a pause here and ask, when you listen to that episode, did a spark something for you? What were your biggest takeaways? I'd love to know, you can either write them in the comments or send me a DM @gawellness on Instagram. 

Okay, so in episode 21 I want to go a little deeper into what it looks like to take action from alignment because I really did practice living a freedom filled life which I introduced back in the last episode last year. I didn't mention then what I was going to be doing over the Christmas break because to be honest, I didn't really know if it was going to be for me. I didn't know if it was something I was going to be enjoying and I didn't really know how it was going to be but I did want to go into the experience from a very different mindset. 

Letting My Nervous System Lead 

So what happened is over Christmas and New Year is I stepped away and let my nervous system lead without overriding my usual programming. What exactly do I mean by this? 

I spoke back in episode seven about how often we wake up thinking the same thoughts we thought yesterday and this is because our brain loves consistency. It runs on repeat because it feels efficient and safe and that doesn't just shape our habits, it also shapes how we interpret our body's signals. If we're thinking the same thoughts, we usually take the same actions, which means we're letting our brain lead rather than listening to what our body is actually asking for. 

So for this experience, I wanted to break down all barriers that normally keep me in that repeat through mindset and I want to step out of autopilot and let my nervous system have a voice. I know it's an interesting concept when you really think about it, isn't it? That's exactly what happened here and if you like to explore this idea more deeply, episode seven goes into how habits are formed and why change feels so hard when the brain is running the show. 

Today I'm going to have a chat about what I noticed when I unplugged and actually lived the way I said I wanted to. 

The Cruise Decision 

Okay, so setting the scene for you here, I did something I've never done before. I impulse bought a cruise. Yep, it was the end of financial year sales, which for us in Australia is the end of June and I was casually chatting to a work colleague about getting out of my comfort zone. Clearly I was sitting very firmly in Growth season at the time. Anyway, I noticed there was some pretty significant discounts and without really overthinking it, I booked a New Year's cruise to New Zealand with Ellie. 

Seriously, the checkout process felt no different than buying a pair of pants online. It was a set and a forget. Aside from obviously paying the cruise off over time, but it was when it was a week beforehand I thought, oh yeah, I should probably maybe book some travel insurance and I mean, this is so not me. I'm usually much more of a planner, but my focus was clearly elsewhere at the time, like, you know, trying to wrap up everything like before the Christmas and before New Year. 

So anyway, fast forward to 28th December and Ellie and I are embarking on this huge ship, heading over to New Zealand and okay, so I did plan our excursions from home, which was a bit of fun, choosing some of the onboard activities and stuff. When I saw how much the Internet package was, I thought, nah, not happening. So, I made a very intentional decision to unplug and be offline while we were on the ship. 

I do have a terrible sense of direction, total cliché so I knew that Google Maps was going to be my saviour when were at port. That's the only thing I purchased. $12 for 14 days, easy as but do you know how expansive that decision felt? No work emails, no planning, no checking on anything and no wondering or looking at what was happening in the outside world. 

I promised myself I wouldn't look at any emails until I was back on Adelaide soil and my phone was really there to just check on what was happening on the ship. To the outside world. I was completely offline. 

What Open Water Did to My Nervous System 

There were so many moments where I would just stop and stare out to the sea. Halfway through a table tennis match with Ellie or just sitting at the spa or even meandering around the ship so not really thinking about what was happening back at home and all I could see were just kilometres and kilometres of open water in front of me and every now and then the occasional dolphin. 

The byproduct of living like this for two weeks was that I felt the shackles of life slowly release. We don't even realise how much we're carrying most of the time, how much mental load we're holding and how much doing and organising and managing happens on autopilot. 

This experience was different for me and it was unique. I learned a lot about myself and I learned a lot about Ellie while we’re away. It's funny how when you remove responsibility, you can really tune into what you actually need. You give yourself permission to make decisions based on what your body is asking for, rather than what you think you need, because you've always done it that way and for me, that was a genuine light bulb moment. 

Our Ship Rhythm 

So, Ellie and I are very energetic people and our days on the ship had a beautiful rhythm to them. It usually looks something like this. We'd explore a port, have dinner around 5, change into our gym clothes and go to the gym together, play table tennis or dodgems or go roller skating or laser tag or whatever else was on and then maybe squeeze in some trivia and bed. 

The thing is, all of this was taken care of us. There were no thoughts about logistics, no meal prep, no planning energy, no mental juggling around, who needs what and when, no preparation load at home. Most of your mental and physical energy goes into organising everything before the activity even happens, making sure everyone's okay, thinking ahead and then holding all the moving pieces and yes, this is very normal. 

Cognitive Load and Nervous System Safety 

This is also where the science part comes in. Yep, here's the first one for 2026. Okay, so there's something called cognitive load theory and this links very directly into nervous system safety. Cognitive load is the mental effort your brain is using to manage life. It's the things you're actively doing, plus everything you're holding in the background at the same time. 

This is how your brain keeps interpreting information and why our brains rarely feel that they can truly switch off. Okay, so see, if this sounds familiar. Knowing you need to organise dinner later, remembering an email you have to reply to, keeping track of what's coming up tomorrow, holding responsibility for everyone else's needs alongside your own and you're not solving or you're not doing all of this all at once, but your brain is keeping them active and available in your mind. 

A friend of mine explained this perfectly when she said that she feels exhausted because it's like her brain has 20 tabs open at once and she just wants to shut them all down and that metaphor really stuck with me, because just like our devices, when you have too many tabs open, everything slows down. Pages take longer to load, responses lag, things feel clunky and insufficient. Your brain works in a very similar way and this is cognitive load. 

The Standby Layer 

While all of this is happening, your brain is also tracking, it's watching the clock, monitoring any levels, keeping an eye of what still needs to be done before the day is over and there's that other layer again. So your brain is preparing, it's staying on standby in case you need to make a quick decision, respond to someone or change course unexpectedly even when you sit down, that background work still continues. 

Your body might pause, but your brain is still alert, keeping everything quietly running in the background. The same friend also told me that when she sits down, she feels like she should be doing something and this is why the brain is firing off all these different functions at once and, yes, that drains energy at home. 

So much of our mental energy goes into this invisible work. Holding plans, tracking responsibilities, preparing for the next task, the next transition, the next need. I do want to pause here and just normalise this for a moment, because this is everyday life for most of us. Carrying that invisible mental load, holding things in the background and staying on standby without realising it. 

When the Invisible Load Disappeared 

What felt unusual and what really stood out for me was what happened when I was on open water and that invisible load simply disappeared. For those two weeks, it genuinely felt like I was in a different world because my sense of urgency had shifted. 

I noticed this most when I was walking around the decks and a little bit earlier I mentioned about how all I could see around me was open water in every single direction but the interesting part is when you don't see land, you don't really have anything to orientate you two. No familiar markers, no visible cues telling me to hurry or to plan or to prepare, because all there was ocean. 

That absence changed my perspective in a way I wasn't expecting. I remember thinking how lucky I was in those moments to take everything in, to actually be inside the experience, rather than thinking about how it might be documented later or turning into content. That freedom was incredibly expansive for my nervous system because I wasn't on standby and I wasn't anticipating what was next. I was fully in the here and now. 

There's actually research that supports this experience as well. Studies on attentional restoration show that environments with open horizons and minimal stimulation give our brain space to recover from mental fatigue and I could feel that happening in my body as my thoughts slowed, deeper breaths and my sense of urgency dissolved. It wasn't something I tried to make happen. It happened because my nervous system finally had room to breathe. 

Nutrition, Body Signals and Gluten 

I didn't just experience this sense of ease on open water, it also showed up in real practical ways. One of them in particular was through food. So one of the biggest things I noticed during this time was how calmly my body spoke when I finally was able to listen, because the cognitive space was there and I learned that I really am gluten intolerant. 

At home, I sometimes eat gluten anyway at a convenience, at a laziness because gluten free options cost more or because I end up finishing Ellie's plate, you know, because of that old mentality of cleaning your plate because of the hungry kids all over the world and all that plays into it. 

While we’re away, I casually mentioned that I was gluten intolerant and from that point on, I didn't have to think about it anymore or consider what meals were coming out or wonder if how I was going to react to it afterwards. It was all simply taken care of and I felt amazing. 

My digestion worked better. I felt I was less bloated, felt less inflamed and I even had dessert every single day. The desserts were gluten free and lactose free and I noticed that I wasn't bloated at all. My stomach stayed flat and my body felt settled. 

So that experience really stayed with me. It taught me that I probably need to be more conscious of this moving forward, maybe even a little bit stricter because now that I know what my body actually needs and I know that what it can tolerate and this awareness wouldn't have come from my usual default programming at home. I'm often moving too fast, making decisions on autopilot. 

I wasn't giving my nervous system the space to speak on the ship. It finally did for me, giving my nervous system that space felt luxurious. It felt indulgent in the best possible way and it's something I'm now consciously carrying forward into our routines at home. 

At the time of recording this episode, the kids have just gone back to school after summer holidays and it's actually giving me a really beautiful opportunity to bring what I've learned on the ship back into this new rhythm and season. 

Ellie and the Nervous System Safe Lens 

A bit of a side note, I want to share a different nervous system safe perspective. Ellie described the whole experience as being luxurious and when I asked her what she meant, she said it felt classy for her. 

That meant being taken care of. It meant being asked directly what she wanted and it meant the waiters didn't have to look at me for clarification or seem confused because they didn't understand her. They spoke to her at her level, like even her eye level and they went out of their way to understand what she likes. 

By the third night, she didn't even have to ask for rockmelon to be taken out of her fruit salad and her burger arrived exactly the way she likes it. Bread, meat and cheese only, no sauce, no tomato, no lettuce and the look on her face when she realised she didn't have to explain herself anymore. It was just beautiful to see. 

From a nervous system perspective, that kind of attunement is incredibly regulating. When you don't have to keep advocating for your needs, your body relaxes. 

It really made me reflect as a parent, because it wasn't just Ellie, it was about how often I step in to manage, translate and buffer in so many areas of life. How often I do that for others and how often I do it for myself too. 

Seeing her needs being met by the environment without any intervention made me realise how powerful support can be when it's built into the space around you. When needs don't have to be constantly explained or managed, the body can relax and trust that it's being taken care of. 

The same principle is playing out for me across the entire experience. 

The HNSF Pillars Showing Up Naturally 

When I look back at it now through the lens of the HNSF pillars, everything connects without me consciously trying to practise them. 

Self-care showed up through space, both physically because I was surrounded by open space and mentally through a real reduction in cognitive load. I felt this in a way because I wasn't constantly on standby or anticipating what was coming next and with fewer decisions to make and fewer responsibilities, abilities to hold, my nervous system finally had the space to land. 

Nutrition showed up constantly and through the incredible support that I had from the crew on board, meals were prepared exactly the way my body needed, without me having to think about it or negotiate and I wasn't making choices based on convenience, cost or habit and as I mentioned earlier, the experience of felt genuinely magic for my body and how I use my energy from day to day. 

Fitness showed up through movement that felt enjoyable and natural, especially with Ellie. We walked around the decks playing different sports and activities together. We went to the gym because it felt energising. That part really stood out for me and how we did this together. Movement and connection happened side by side and it wasn't scheduled or planned, it just unfolded intuitively and it brought us closer. 

Hydration was woven into the day as well. Easy access, reminders throughout the ship, natural teas and flavoured waters and this just made it feel so inviting and effortless. I didn't even purchase a drink package because I didn't feel the need to. My body felt hydrated and nourished, which was what was with what was already available as part of the experience. 

Something you might notice as I talk about this was that there was very little structure involved. Everything unfolded intuitively because it felt right in the moment. 

Freedom Filled Living and Capacity to Hear the Body 

I speak often about living a freedom filled life and this was that in action. Through the HNSF method, my nervous system felt safe enough to lead. 

As I mentioned earlier, when cognitive load reduces, the body has more capacity to communicate. When urgency drops, awareness increases and when the environment provides support, the HNSF pillars begin to integrate naturally. 

This experience allowed me to live, which is what I often talk about. Wellness becomes part of you when the conditions are right. That's what made this time so meaningful for me. I was creating the space for what was already there to surface and stabilise. 

Seasons Lens: Rest With an Undercurrent of Growth 

When I look back on experience through the lens of seasons, it becomes very clear that there was so much more than just a holiday for us. It really was a seasonal experience and a journey on the surface. 

Yes, I was in rest season. I felt this through space, through time, slowing down, through the absence of urgency. My body had room to recover and recalibrate in a way that felt deep and genuine. 

Underneath that there was another layer I didn't expect, growth. Gowth showed up as clarity. I grew in my understanding of my body. I now know without question that I am gluten intolerant. Not as theory, but something that I probably should be mindful of and also now, as lived information. My body was clear and because I had the space to listen, I could finally hear it. That awareness is something I'm carrying forward and it's already changing how I support myself. 

Growth as a Mother 

I also grew as a mother. Being away showed me that Ellie is capable in ways that I hadn't fully allowed myself to see. I realised how instinctively I step in to be her voice, to translate and to manage situations for her before she even needs me to. 

On the ship, I watched her speak up for herself with waiters, with staff, with our room attendant. She confidently shared her preferences, asked for what she needed and took the time to thank and acknowledge people for their care. She felt comfortable, she felt seen and she trusted herself. 

Watching that helped me loosen my own grip. It reminded me that support can sometimes look like stepping back and letting her take the driver's seat as she grows more independent. 

So that experience was a powerful reminder that seasons aren't isolated, they're fluid. You can be deeply resting while something new is integrating underneath. You can be restoring while you're learning, noticing and recalibrating. 

For me, the cruise held both, rest created the conditions and growth emerged naturally and that's the energy I'm bringing into this next season. At home, I'm not rushing to act on everything I noticed. I'm letting what surfaced during that time continue to inform me how I move forward. 

Mirror Moments and Context 

Okay, as I reflect on all of this, I'm truly aware how experience like this tend to hold up a mirror. You might be listening and noticing parts of yourself in what I'm sharing. Maybe you're recognising how much you've been holding or tensing up. Or maybe you're wondering why rest hasn't quite landed the way you thought it would. 

These moments don't always give us the answer straight away, but they often spark curiosity and that curiosity is usually where change begins. 

Okay, so if you're looking for a bit of context about what seasons are and what seasons of life I'm referring to, I recommend going back at listening to episode eight, where I first introduced the concept of living and working with seasons instead of chasing balance. 

If this conversation is leaving you curious about where you're sitting right now, I've created a Short Seasons quiz. It's a gentle way to understand which season your nervous system is in and what kind of support might be helpful for you at this point. You'll find the link in the episode description if you'd like to explore this further. 

A Shift in How the Podcast Supports You 

Okay and before I finish up today, I want to share something with you on how I'm doing things a little bit differently this year. 

I spent a lot of time reflecting on what intention really looks like for me in 2026. Not just in my own life, but also in how I work and how I support you through this podcast. This is actually why I didn't rush back in January. I need a space to step back, reflect and make sure the way this podcast shows up is genuinely matches the way I want to live and work moving forward. 

Last year, each episode was accompanied by journal prompts designed to help you deepen your understanding and integrate the concepts we explored. Those tools were created with so much care and your feedback around them really mattered to me. I could see that for some of you it felt a little bit too much, a little like homework and that was never what I wanted. 

I'm all about offering tools that support you without adding to your mental load. So, this year I'm introducing a new model. Instead of a journal for every episode, each arc will now have one core journal that supports the entire arc. 

It offers gentle prompts and reflections and ideas from the concepts I introduce so you can start using them straight away in your own space and for if you want to explore things more deeply, each arc will also include a more in-depth resource. This is designed to help you understand your season more clearly, explore how to use the tools I share and gently integrate them into your real life over time. 

These are the same resources I use myself and the same ones my clients return to on a regular basis. 

You might also notice this year I'm no longer including reflection questions into the episode itself and that's intentional. I want the podcast to stay spacious and focused and for integration to happen when you're ready. If reflection feels supportive for you'll always find these prompts and resources waiting for you in the episode description. 

I'd really love to hear how this episode and how all this sounds for you. Does this feel supportive for the season you're in right now? Would a bit more contained resource feel helpful for you at this point? I'd really love for you to let me know. 

Full Circle Summary 

Alright, lovely. We're at that time again. Let's come full circle. 

Okay, so we began by revisiting what intention I shared back in episode 20 before the break and why I'm choosing to live 2026 with intention and create calm on purpose and today was really about what happened when I chose to actually live that rather than just talking about it. 

I shared what it looked like to step away over summer, to unplug to impulse book a cruise, to say no to the Internet package and let my nervous system lead without overriding it with the usual planning and productivity programming. 

From there we explored what happened when cognitive load reduces, how our brains are often holding so much in the background, tracking, anticipating, staying on standby and how when that invisible load is removed, even temporarily, the nervous system finally gets this message that it's safe to relax. 

I talked about how being on open water shifted my sense of urgency, how the absence of familiar markers and constant stimulation gave my brain and body the space to breathe and how that sense of safety allowed presence to arrive naturally. 

We then moved into body awareness and nutrition, how when that cognitive space available, my body was able to communicate clearly how I learned through lived experience that I'm gluten intolerant and how support, consistency and having my needs met without effort changed how I feel in my body and how I use my energy. 

I also shared Ellie’s perspective, what felt luxurious for her. How her needs being met, listened to and understanding without needing translation was deeply regulating. How that experience helped me reflect on my own role as a parent and what support can look like as our children grow and become more independent. 

We then looked at the experience through the HNSF lens, how self-care, nutrition, fitness and hydration all show up naturally when the environment provides support and the nervous system feels safe enough to lead. 

Finally we explored this experience through the lens of season, how I was deeply in rest season while also experience a quite undercurrent of growth, learning about my body, growing as a mother and being reminded that seasons are fluid and can exist together. 

I also shared how this podcast is changing this year in a way that creates room to support you and if this episode stirred something for you and you're curious about where you're stepping into right now, you'll find the seasonal quiz linked into the episode description. 

Where We’re Heading Next 

Before I finish up, I want to share where we're heading next. 

This episode was really about introducing what living with intention felt like for me on the cruise and what I discovered about myself through that experience. Over the next couple of episodes, we're going to start zeroing in on some of those findings. How I felt before the cruise, what shifted while I was away and now a few weeks post cruise, how those same situations are showing up differently based on what I've learnt and what I'm carrying forward. 

Next week in particular, we're going to focus on the nutrition pillar of the HNSF method. We'll explore why digestion offers settles when the nervous system feels safe, why anticipation alone can trigger symptoms, how stress hormones affect absorption and inflammation and why predictability around food can be incredibly regulating for the body. 

Thank you for being here and for letting me come back in this way. Until then, take a breath, notice what you're carrying and remember that sometimes the most powerful change begins with creating space and I'm so glad you're here. 

Outro 

Thanks for being here. Lovely. If today's episode gave you a light bulb moment, helped you feel seen or sparked a small step, I'd love to hear about it. 

Tag me over on Instagram @gawellness and share you in so I can cheer you on and if there's a woman in your world that needs this kind of support, send this to her because wellness feels better when we do it together. 

Make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss an episode and check the description for all the resources mentioned today plus the link to join my email list, which is where I share exclusive content, early access to offer some freebies and little love notes that I only sent to my community. 

If you loved this episode, it would mean the world to me if you left a review. 

Until next time, take a deep breath and take care of you. 

With love, 

Georgia Ann 

© 2026 GA Wellness with Georgia Ann™. 

All content is for educational purposes only and is not medical or psychological advice.