It’s Not More Time That You Need!

I used to believe my nemesis was time.

If I could just fit more in, another meeting, another campaign call while running my son’s bath, another late-night push on climate policy, then maybe we could fix the planet.

But the truth was, I was in permanent firefighting mode. My body and brain were stuck in fight-or-flight, and when we are in that state, the world feels overwhelming.

Two things happen when stress accumulates.

First, adrenaline and cortisol flood the bloodstream, preparing us for survival but blocking the part of the brain that sees the bigger picture. Second, the nervous system gets stuck in survival mode, which makes anxiety and burnout more likely.

This is why the same situation can feel utterly different depending on our internal state.

We have all been there. A message from a friend asking if we can “chat” suddenly sends us into a spiral of catastrophising. Or a small mistake at work feels like the end of our career.

When the nervous system is dysregulated, everything looks bigger and scarier than it is.

Yet the same situations, met from a calm and centred state, are completely different.

What once triggered panic now lands with clarity and steadiness. The difference is not out there. It is in here.

This is the essence of Step One of the Climate Calm™ method. It does not have to be one or the other, panic or denial. If we trust our intuition, we can glide between stillness and action, finding clarity in the middle ground.

Two minutes of deep breathing create immediate biochemical changes in the body, activating the parasympathetic nervous system and allowing you to exit fight-or-flight mode.

Try this simple practice:

1. Find a quiet place to sit with a straight back and feet on the floor.

2. Breathe deeply in through the nose and exhale through pursed lips, as if you were blowing out a candle.

3. Breathe fully into the belly, smoothing the transitions between inhale and exhale.

4. After two minutes, or a time period that feels good, let it go. Notice your breath.

Has anything changed?