Rebel thoughts, ideas and
conversations.

Reflections from the quiet rebellion.

Here's our space for honest writing on life, work, enoughness and doing things differently. Think stories, insights, and questions from the journey for those done pretending everything’s fine.

Making space

You have to stop and change something. Don’t wait for rock bottom.

The psychology of overwork starts as subtle dissatisfaction but ends in a dark place. I lived this in 2015 - the belief that working harder equals success nearly destroyed me.

It begins manageable, then becomes stress and exhaustion.

Next comes cynicism and emotional detachment from colleagues and clients.

Finally, paralysing anxiety, depression, and that heavy suffocating feeling of dread.

If you recognise yourself somewhere in these stages, this isn’t a gentle nudge.

It’s a slap in the face. Time to stop.

There are ways back to feeling calm and joyful. For me it was boundaries (emails off at 5pm), making self-care vital not selfish, redefining my fundamental beliefs, and learning to recognise when I’m slipping off track.

Life comes in waves - there’s no magic fix, but there are ways to navigate it better.

Which stage do you recognize yourself in?

Thank you to “The Brain at Rest” by Joseph Jebelli for inspiring and informing the psychological aspects of this post.

Life’s too short to be sh*t.

#burnout #overwork #boundaries #stoppretendingeverythingsfine #worklifebalance #mentalhealth #psychology #stress #entrepreneur #wellbeing

Dropped the kids off at school, new uniforms, big smiles, new chapters.

Today, for many of us, feels like a symbolic marker of change - new starts, a new season creeping upon us, new business ideas and dreams.

All of that, and a gentle nudging feeling with the big ‘40’ approaching in a few months has made me super reflective today.

How do I retain that summer freedom feeling, that connection with the kids and family, and push on with the amazing things starting to happen at Reflective Rebels?

Perhaps it’s about balancing gratitude, presence and badass ambition?

It’s about focussing on results that feel good, not results that people might expect from me, or the world tells me I should care about.

It’s about connecting with you, dear human, fellow rebel, and us creating some kick-ass stuff together.

Maybe it starts over coffee?

#reflection #balance #resultsthatfeelgood #stoppretendingeverythingsfine

Sometimes the most profound transformations start with complete breakdown.

At 30, Ewa was broke, terrified, and questioning everything she thought she knew about herself. Six months earlier, she’d been in stable employment. Now she was self-employed, down to her last month of money, having what she calls an identity crisis.

“I genuinely thought I was like, I’m having an identity crisis, I don’t know who I am. And all of a sudden, everything that I thought was true kind of disappeared.”

But that breakdown became her breakthrough. The identity crisis became spiritual awakening.

The moment she stopped knowing who she was became the beginning of discovering who she could be.

Swipe through to see the 5 lessons from her transformation that I keep coming back to →

Her story proves that sometimes losing yourself completely is the only way to find out who you really are. And that choosing freedom over security might be the scariest and best decision you ever make.

What part of yourself have you been keeping small? Let me know in the comments.

Listen to Ewa’s full story on Episode 3: Manifesting Freedom 🎧 Search Reflective Rebels wherever you listen to podcasts.
#Breakdown #Breakthrough #IdentityCrisis #SpiritualAwakening #Manifestation #SelfEmployed #Freedom #Authenticity #Transformation #ReflectiveRebels #RefuseToStaySmall #Carousel

September book club read arrived 📚

“The Brain at Rest” - the science of doing nothing.
You want efficiency tips? Try rest and play instead 😅

Writing this in the garden. Three weeks off just finished. Yoga in the work day later.

Makes me BETTER, not worse ✨

When you rest, creativity happens 🧠

Must have a shave before getting back to the office Wednesday though 🪒 🤪😂

Book club 11th September, free to try

Books that help us think differently. A quiet rebellion 🤫

Ready to explore doing nothing?

#bookclub #rest #productivity #quietrebellion #garden #reflectiverebels

This is Ewa during her pandemic breakdown - broke, terrified, questioning everything she thought she knew about herself.

Six months earlier she’d been in stable employment. Now she was self-employed, down to her last month of money, and her entire sense of identity was crumbling.

“All of a sudden, everything that I thought was true kind of disappeared and I was like, who am I?”

But sometimes losing yourself completely is the only way to find out who you really are.

That identity crisis became her spiritual awakening. The breakdown became the breakthrough.

The moment she stopped knowing who she was became the beginning of discovering who she could be.

Ewa’s story proves that the scariest question - “who am I?” - might also be the most liberating one you can ask yourself.

When did you last question everything you thought you knew about yourself?

Listen to how Ewa turned identity crisis into spiritual awakening on Episode 3. Search ‘Reflective Rebels’ wherever you listen to podcasts.

#IdentityCrisis #SpiritualAwakening #Breakdown #Breakthrough #WhoAmI #SelfDiscovery #Transformation #Questioning #ReflectiveRebels #PersonalGrowth #FindingYourself

At 10, Ewa moved from Poland with no English and felt she needed to hide who she was.

As an adult, a pandemic breakdown became her spiritual awakening.

Between building a shop in her treehouse, selling Mars bars at school, choosing self-employment during COVID and discovering manifestation could change her bank account - she learned something profound about refusing to stay small.

This conversation about manifestation isn’t fluffy or mystical. Ewa’s approach is practical: “I had to be delusional for a period of time. I had to embody the version of me that was already making the money.”

Not wishful thinking. Strategic belief combined with action and an open mind.

Her story shows what happens when you choose freedom over security, authenticity over fitting in, and possibility over the stories you inherited about what people like you can achieve.

Sometimes you have to lose yourself completely to find out who you really are.

Episode 3: Manifesting Freedom is live now. Listen by searching Reflective Rebels wherever you get your podcasts.

Thanks @ewa.brzeskax for joining me on the podcast, and thanks to @herds.media for help making it all happen!

What part of yourself have you been keeping small?

#ManifestingFreedom #Entrepreneurship #Authenticity #SelfEmployment #Manifestation #Immigration #RefuseToStaySmall #ReflectiveRebels #PodcastLaunch #LifeStories

"I never understood 'living with cancer' until now"

Some things you can't really understand until you're living them.

Craig's honesty about learning what these words really mean reminds us to hold space for things we don't fully understand yet. And to be gentle with ourselves when we're learning what something means by living it.

What have you experienced that was completely different from what you expected?

Hear Craig's honest reflection on learning to live with uncertainty on Episode 2 💙
#LivingWithCancer #Understanding #LivedExperience #Uncertainty #Cancer #Jenny #Honesty #Empathy #DifferentFromExpected #ReflectiveRebels #RealTalk

Recording Episode 2 with Craig was a complicated conversation, knowing what to ask and when about what is happening in his life.

Not because it was difficult to chat - Craig's so open and honest about everything he's been through. But how do we talk about death? What should we say?

Somehow, in the middle of what’s going on for Craig, he still finds joy in overheard conversations in Kendall, still believes everything happens for a reason, still chooses kindness over bitterness.

His story about Bell's palsy at 15, escaping Burnley, finding peace under an Acer tree during his darkest times - it's all in service of helping others.

That's why these conversations matter. Not to fix anyone or provide easy answers, but to remind us that other people have walked through difficult things and found ways to stay human.

Your story isn't over yet.

Episode 2: Under the Acer Tree is live now 🎧 Search Reflective Rebels wherever you listen

#BehindTheScenes #Friendship #Podcast #Recording #Craig #Jenny #TerminalIllness #Gratitude #StayingHuman #YoureNotAlone #ReflectiveRebels #Episode2

Reflective Rebels Book club is for people who want deeper connections, meaningful conversations and life-changing books 😊 (oh and great coffee and scones!). Link in bio - see you next time?

The Pause is a monthly hour of mindfulness for us busy people. Learn breathwork techniques, talk with fellow humans about the chaos of modern life, take part in guided meditation.

Link in bio for more info. Or message me 😊

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Rebel thoughts, ideas and
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Reflections from the quiet rebellion.

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How coaching can help bring joy and success to business owners in Carlisle and North Cumbria

A reminder to stay curious: Lessons from our first book club

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Reflections from the quiet rebellion.

Making space

How coaching can help bring joy and success to business owners in Carlisle and North Cumbria

A reminder to stay curious: Lessons from our first book club

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Rebel thoughts, ideas and
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