Julie Fowlie: Academic & Life Coach

But that does not mean you are stuck.
One small word can change the instruction your brain receives:
yet.
“I don’t know how to do this.”
becomes
“I don’t know how to do this… yet.” ✨
Marie Forleo’s Everything is Figureoutable idea is not about pretending life is easy.
It is about reminding yourself that the story is still unfolding.
Your brain is always listening. 🧠
It hears:
“I can’t.”
“I am behind.”
“I am not ready.”
But it also hears:
“I am learning.”
“I can take one step.”
“I have not found the way yet.”
And that small shift matters.
Especially when you are changing direction, rebuilding confidence, returning to study, stepping into leadership, or beginning again.
Unfamiliar does not mean impossible.
Sometimes it simply means:
not yet. 🌱
🔹 Tiny Move
Take 60 seconds today.
Write down one sentence that feels heavy.
Then add:
“…yet.”
Read it back slowly.
Notice what changes.
For more weekly research-based ideas, visit my website — open the page and the subscribe pop-up will appear.
What is one “not yet” sentence you could give yourself this week?




UnlockYourPotential

During our annual cycle ride in France, we came across a locked gate.
No easy way through.
No quick solution.
So we used three simple principles:
💛 Care — making sure everyone felt safe and supported.
🤝 Collaborate — lifting bikes, steadying one another and finding a way forward together.
🥂 Celebrate — later, around the table in our hotel restaurant.
The celebration may be the part we remember, but it was care and collaboration that made it possible.
Care creates trust.
Collaboration creates solutions.
Celebration reminds us what we can achieve together.
Which of the three Cs could help you this week?

They need somewhere to land.
This notebook makes me smile — it is not exactly understated. 😊
But it reminds me of something important:
Writing things down changes the relationship we have with our own intentions.
When a plan stays in your head, it is easy to renegotiate.
When you can see it, it becomes a cue. ✍️
Dr Gail Matthews’ research found that people who wrote down their goals achieved significantly more than those who only thought about them.
And research by Professor Kuniyoshi Sakai and colleagues suggests that paper may support memory because it gives the brain richer spatial and tactile cues.
That does not mean phone notes are useless. 📱
They are brilliant for catching ideas on the move.
But for committing, clarifying, and coming back to what matters, paper may have an advantage.
So perhaps the rule is simple:
Capture anywhere.
Commit somewhere visible. 🧭
Tiny move for this week:
Write one sentence somewhere you will see it:
“This week, I am committing to ______.”
Your brain is always listening.
Give it something clear to listen for.
What idea or plan would benefit from being written down this week?

Oscar and Pedro are giving a masterclass in calm presence here. 🐾
And it made me think about the tone we bring to ourselves before we step into the day.
Before a meeting.
Before a difficult conversation.
Before pressing send.
So often, the inner voice sounds like pressure:
➡️ Don’t mess this up.
➡️ I hope I sound confident.
➡️ What if I get it wrong?
But when your inner voice sounds like threat, your brain scans for danger.
When it sounds steadier, your attention has somewhere more useful to land.
✨ Tiny Move for this week:
Before one meeting, call, or task, swap one line of self-talk.
Instead of:
“I hope I don’t get this wrong.”
Try:
“I am here to contribute one useful thing.”
That is not hype.
It is direction.
A small instruction your brain can listen to. 🌿
What sentence would help you show up with steadier confidence this week?

Not because you are behind.
Because starting again has friction. 🧠
I took last Monday off for the UK Bank Holiday, and for many people it was also half term here in the UK.
So this week may feel like a return to routine after a different rhythm.
This photo is my small reminder that environment matters.
💻 Laptop open
📓 Notebook ready
🖊️ Pen waiting
☕ Tea nearby
🌻 Sunflowers adding brightness
Nothing dramatic.
But enough to say to my brain:
this is where we begin.
Your brain is always listening.
Not only to what you say.
But to what your environment is quietly asking of you.
An open notebook says: continue here.
A pinned link says: begin.
A first sentence says: you do not have to start from scratch.
This week’s tiny Move:
➡️ Remove one step before you begin.
Open the document.
Lay out the notebook.
Put the shoes by the door.
Write the first sentence before you need it.
Keep it small.
Sometimes progress begins before the task begins.
If you would like weekly research-based ideas like this, visit my website — open the page and the subscribe pop-up will appear.
What is one step you could remove to make starting easier this week?

This is my outdoor gym.
On its own, it cannot make me stronger.
But it can act as a cue.
It reminds me:
this is where I start.
That is why prompts are powerful when they are practical.
Gabriele Oettingen’s work on mental contrasting reminds us that change is not just about imagining what we want.
It is also about noticing what might get in the way.
The wish matters.
The obstacle matters.
And then we need a plan.
Not:
“I need to get fitter.”
But:
“When I step into this space, I will move for 60 seconds.”
Not:
“I need to write more.”
But:
“When I open my laptop, I will write one sentence before email.”
Tiny prompts help your brain recognise the next right step.
This week’s tiny Move:
Complete this sentence:
When I ___, I will ___ for 60 seconds.
Keep it small.
Keep it specific.
Let the cue do some of the work.
If you would like more weekly research-based ideas like this, I share them through the Growth Hub on my website.
What cue could you link to your next right step?

Thought Leadership Your goal might be missing one word: Why.
Most goals are written as statements:
➡️ Build my business.
➡️ Make time to write.
➡️ Grow my network.
➡️ Improve my confidence.
➡️ Look after my health.
All useful.
But sometimes a statement just sits there.
A “Why” question gives your brain something to search for.
Instead of:
“I need to build my network.”
Try:
🔎 “Why am I finding one genuine conversation to open this week?”
Instead of:
“I need to feel more confident.”
Try:
🔎 “Why am I noticing evidence that I can contribute something useful?”
This connects with something I come back to often:
Your brain is always listening.
Your Reticular Activating System, or RAS, helps filter what your brain notices.
So the questions you ask yourself matter.
This week’s tiny Move:
📝 Choose one goal you keep pushing aside.
Add Why to the beginning.
Make it specific, useful, believable enough, and linked to one small action.
Your question becomes an instruction to your attention.
What goal would benefit from a better question this week?

All day long, it is taking in far more than conscious attention can hold.
So it filters.
That is why the words, questions, and cues around you matter more than they seem.
Above my desk I keep two simple prompts:
Curiosity
Optimism
Not because every day feels easy.
But because they are useful instructions.
They help me notice possibility instead of only pressure.
Learning instead of only judging.
Movement instead of paralysis.
When we give the brain a positive direction, we make it easier to spot what supports the week ahead.
This week’s tiny Move:
Before email or your to-do list takes over, complete this sentence:
Today I am listening for ___
Keep it simple.
A useful conversation.
Evidence of progress.
A chance to contribute.
One small sign of what matters most.
It takes a minute or two.
But it can change what comes into view.
If you would like weekly research-based ideas like this, visit my website — open the page and the subscribe pop-up will appear.
What do you want your brain to notice first this week?
GrowthMindset IntentionalLiving PositiveChange LeadershipDevelopment LifeCoachingTips

You do not need to reinvent your whole life.
Sometimes change starts much more quietly than that.
One small experiment.
One better question.
One action that fits the person you are becoming.
Oscar and Pedro were “helping” me with my journal when I was thinking about this final week of 8 Mondays for mid-career professionals or anyone feeling a little stuck.
I had been reading a recent piece by Vishen Lakhiani about the power of questions that begin with WHY.
What stayed with me is this:
Your brain can argue with statements it does not yet believe.
But a question gives it something to work on.
So instead of pressuring yourself to have the whole next chapter figured out, you might ask:
Why am I becoming someone who is willing to try a new direction?
Why am I more ready than I realise?
Why am I getting better at taking small brave steps?
Questions like that help your brain start looking for evidence, using the Reticular Activating System (RAS) to notice signals, patterns, and possibilities that match the person you are becoming.
This week’s move:
Choose one micro-experiment.
One conversation.
One proposal tweak.
One new habit.
One brave no.
You do not need the full plan.
Just one small step.
What would your one small experiment be this week?
LifeCoachingTips CoachingJourney ResilientMindset GrowthMindset PositiveChange

Week 7 of 8 Mondays for mid-career professionals or anyone feeling a little stuck. Sometimes confidence does not disappear because we are failing.
It disappears because we are not giving ourselves credit for what we are already doing.
This notebook is where I have been capturing small achievements.
Not big shiny milestones.
Just honest evidence.
Things like:
I did ___ even though ___.
I spoke up even though I felt nervous.
I kept going even though I was tired.
I sent the email even though I was doubting myself.
It links to something I learned from the Be Extraordinary Mindvalley programme with Vishen Lakhiani: the Reverse Gap.
Instead of always looking at how far there is still to go, the Reverse Gap asks you to look back and notice how far you have already come.
That shift matters.
Because when you stop and credit your effort, you give your brain a different message:
I am making progress.
I am coping.
I have already done hard things before.
This week’s move:
Write 3 credits using this sentence:
I did ___ even though ___.
Keep it simple.
Keep it factual.
Let your brain see the evidence.
Small wins may not look dramatic.
But they help rebuild trust in yourself.
What is one thing you are doing that deserves more credit.