Do the Thing

You know that thing you've been putting off? Do it. Not because it's the most important thing on your list, but because it's taking up space it doesn't deserve. 

Lauren talks mental load, transitions, and the small act that cuts through the fog. 

Transcript

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Hey, it's Lauren and welcome to What Remains Wild. This podcast is recorded on Larakia Country and is about transition, leadership, identity, and the parts of us that won't be tamed. I've been sitting with this for a few weeks now and thinking about what this episode would be, and this morning, my body made its mind up for me. The world feels really heavy. My brain feels really full, and I know lots of you are feeling exactly the same way. And I'll tell you that today, somehow doing one really annoying piece of admin that I've been avoiding for a while made me feel better than anything else that I tried. It is a lot right now. I don't know if you are listening from outside the Northern Territory, if you grasp quite how much rain there's been, not only in Catherine, which is about three and a half hours from Darwin, but right across the entire Northern Territory. It's been a lot, and there's an awful lot of territorians who have experienced the devastating impacts of that. And it looks like it's going to continue, even though I can see some blue sky right now, and we're going to hook onto that blue sky. But I'm really feeling for people at the moment. But for all of my millennial friends, it's feeling a lot like the late 90s. My children are into Pokemon, and we've got a good dose of global instability. We're definitely in the land of information overload, a lot of us dealing with the relentless pace. I see it and I feel it too. But isn't it lovely? I'm seeing so many people out there who started this year and are continuing this year by saying 2026, it's going to be awesome. I'm feeling really good about what 2026 is going to mean for me. And even when other things feel a little bit like a dumpster fire, I think people are holding on to that personal hope for what the year might bring for them personally. I think that is so important and we have to keep doing that. So I've had a couple of guests on the pod so far, Shalom and Vicky, and I've got some more to bring you over the coming weeks. But I wanted to take a moment to stop and think about some of the themes that have been coming up through those interviews. Creativity as something that is essential for all of us, not a luxury, is something that we'll delve into a little bit more over the coming weeks. And I'm so excited about because I think a really important part of transition and realigning ourselves is taking the time to be creative, not necessarily to be awesome at something, but just to do something and use your brain in a different way and to recognize how important that is to our well-being as individuals and as a community. Knowing what anchors you. Trusting your gut on what drives you, on what you're good at, and what excites you. Really, really important, particularly when so many of us still experience that self-doubt or imposter syndrome, talking ourselves out of opportunities or undervaluing ourselves, trust your gut, and setting boundaries and time for yourself as non-negotiables, not as aspirational goals. So important. So keep hearing these things from different people in different contexts, both on the pod and out in the community. And we all know there's something in it. These things are not outrageous or shocking. It's just creativity, essential for everybody, knowing what anchors you, trusting your gut, and making sure that you set boundaries around your own time. Really, really super important. And a little bit of a personal note. I am still very much in transition. When I say my body sort of dictated the way in which today was going to go, I mean because I went to bed feeling exceptionally anxious. I lay awake at 2 a.m. feeling exceptionally anxious, and I woke up feeling exceptionally anxious. So those really familiar feelings of a tight throat, tight chest, the butterflies in your stomach that aren't pleasant ones. Maybe they're like killer butterflies, I don't know. And just really yucky feeling in your stomach. It wasn't necessarily triggered by something really negative happening. I just have entered this week feeling quite overwhelmed. And in many ways, in a good way, overwhelmed by many, many choices as I move through life trying to redefine myself after a decade in politics. As I start a business and am seeking work and looking for different places that I belong that align with my own values. Something that I know that all of you will have been doing as well. So there are really specific tensions that occur when things start to shift and you start to ask yourself again, what do I want to be when I grow up? Because it doesn't just go away, it gets louder when you're in this time of transition. And it's a tug between the things that light you up and the really long burn of building something that aligns with that and sustains you really hard. It's the tension between the work that pays the bills and the work that feeds you. And ideally, those things are aligned. Sometimes it's still a juggle. It's the coordination of a portfolio career, different clients, different rhythms, different expectations, and your family and everything else that you've got going on, and building structures that work not only for you, but also for the people that you work with. Life's a bit messy when you're figuring all of this out. And I guess that's the point. Many of us are feeling versions of this. Maybe it's just me. I don't know. I just want to name it that this transition into a new life and business and some really exciting projects can still be really overwhelming and a massive juggle. And I really felt it in my body. And it surprised me because if you'll remember, and I've had a lot of feedback about that first episode where I talked about some of the mental health challenges that I had early in 2025 and the big work that I've been doing to really get on top of that, it's been it's been really good. And I was surprised actually by the immovable feeling of anxiety that I had from last night until this morning, because I I haven't had it for a little while. So I've been surprised when all of that went away, at the feeling of what I can only anticipate is somehow typical of your average person. And now I'm surprised when the anxiety sets in for the long term, just like the rain over the course of a day. But here's the thing: there isn't a hack, there isn't some magic trick that I'm gonna tell you about. It's just a pattern that I've noticed that's been really useful for me. And the thing that I did that was really helpful was picking the thing that I've been avoiding. So not necessarily the most important thing that I needed to do today, but for me, there was some financial admin. It's just been sitting in the back of my head as something that I know needs to be done, and it's not necessarily urgent, but you know, it's just sitting there in the back of your brain and you're avoiding it. You know it's got to be done at some point. So I decided this morning that's one thing that I'm gonna do today. I have many priorities, I've got many, many things to do. I've got multiple bodies of work, I've got volunteer commitments, I've got family, I've got board commitments, but I was gonna put this in action, and even if I only manage to get it into motion, that counts. And so I encourage you to do that. And then the next step's really important a clean transition. That's really key. You don't just move on to the next thing. You know, you need to give yourself a little bit more love and care than that, and your brain a little bit more love and care than that. Mark the shift, go for a run, go for a walk, do a little bit of yoga, lie on your acupressure mat, you can see all the things that I enjoy doing. Sing something really loud in the car, or maybe turn the radio and the music and the sound off in your car and enjoy the silence for a bit. Or maybe just go through the whole ritual of making yourself a cup of tea, boiling the water, steeping the teabag, and really just enjoying that moment. Whatever resets you doesn't have to be something big, grand, and long, just something that feels nurturing and helps you to reset your brain. And the point is the pattern, right? It's taking action, then it's the celebration and the transition, then it's the next thing, and it really interrupts the fog. So I always think it's really good if you can do three things in a day. So set your three main priorities in a day. But look, sometimes one is enough. The point is the pattern, the point is the disruption. And for those of us who really recognize the pattern of looping thoughts, ruminating thoughts, the idea that if I just plan all the things that I need to do, then I'll somehow magically know how to get started, and then I'll hopefully feel less overwhelmed and less anxious. Doesn't work for a lot of us because we enjoy writing the lists in our notebooks and then realizing because we've now got a list of all the things that we've got to do, how many things we've got to do. It can be paralyzing. So I want to bring it back to the things that guests have been saying on the podcast creativity, anchors, gut instinct. These are not abstract things, they're how you get through weeks like this one. Pick one thing that you've been putting off, do it or start it, and then give yourself a really deliberate transition, whatever that looks like for you. See what it does, and I hope that it just gives you a little bit of a reminder to take time to nurture yourself and to celebrate the really boring things too. Now, before I go, I want to give a little shout out to a bigger conversation that's actually happening across three podcasts. So, what remains wild is super important to me, and I'm really appreciating your support. The Bold Heart Collective is another podcast that is bringing together four women with very different perspectives on the different issues that are impacting us as a community and how we can put compassion and heart back at the centre of social change. So we'd love for you to come and join us to have a listen over there. And Rage on the Rocks, which is a bit of fun. It's myself and Sarah and a beverage, and we rage on because we love the world enough to be mad about it, and we've got a lot of feelings about the things that impact women, but also with glimmers of hope because it's really important to always find those glimmers of hope. But all three of them are really about women figuring things out individually, collectively, sometimes loudly. You can find the links in the show notes. Once again, thank you so much for joining What Remains Wild. I really hope that you enjoy the upcoming episodes. Transition, I'm working through it too. See you next time.