Hey, it’s Monday evening, and I’m sitting at my desk with cold coffee and a honest admission: I almost didn’t send this check-in today.
Not because I didn’t have anything to share. Not because the week wasn’t full. But because some part of me wondered if these raw, unpolished updates actually matter to you. If sharing my nervous system on the verge of dysregulation is actually helpful or just… weird.
Then I remembered why I started doing these in the first place: because the polished content only tells half the story.
One Thing That Landed This Week
A client sent me a voice memo on Wednesday. She’d watched a 90-second reel I posted about the difference between “toxic positivity” and genuine boundary-setting. She said watching me admit that I struggle with saying no—even now, years into my coaching practice—gave her permission to stop pretending she had it all figured out.
She hired me that day.
But here’s the part social media won’t show you: that reel got 240 views. I posted it on a random Wednesday with mediocre lighting and zero strategy. The algorithm didn’t push it. But one person saw it at exactly the moment they needed it. And that’s the entire game right there.
The lesson I’m sitting with: you’re not creating content for the masses. You’re creating breadcrumbs for the exact people who need to find you. Sometimes those breadcrumbs reach thousands. Sometimes they reach one person who becomes a client, a collaborator, or a friend. Both matter equally.
One Insight About Nervous System Regulation
I’ve been diving deep into somatic work this month, specifically how entrepreneurs dysregulate their nervous systems without realizing it.
Here’s what I noticed in myself: I don’t dysregulate when things go wrong. I dysregulate when I’m succeeding and pretending I’m not.
When I get a new client, I immediately minimize it. “Well, they probably would’ve found someone anyway.” When someone leaves a testimonial, I focus on the one person who didn’t. When content performs well, I think about the algorithm changes that might make it tank tomorrow.
This constant mental hedging—this refusal to actually feel success—keeps my nervous system stuck in a protective state. I’m not celebrating wins because I’m unconsciously convinced that celebration leads to complacency, which leads to failure.
The body knows this survival pattern, even when the conscious mind doesn’t. And it stays tight. Ready. Braced.
The somatic reframe: what if celebrating the win is actually what allows your nervous system to downshift and access deeper creativity? What if acknowledgment—genuine, embodied acknowledgment—is what lets you build from a grounded place instead of a panicked one?
I’m experimenting with this. Deliberately pausing when something good happens and saying out loud, “That worked. I did that.” Not ego. Just honest attunement to what’s actually happening.
It changes something.
One Vulnerability From My Building Journey
I want to tell you about the three-week period in August when I genuinely considered shutting down my coaching practice.
It wasn’t a dramatic crisis. No major failure or loss. Just a slow accumulation of doubt. I was comparing my behind-the-scenes chaos to everyone else’s highlight reels. My client results felt mediocre compared to the coaches with massive followings. My content felt repetitive. My business felt small.
And I told myself a story: maybe I’m not cut out for this. Maybe I should just go get a real job.
I didn’t tell anyone for two weeks. I just went through the motions—client calls, content creation, course updates—while internally questioning whether any of it mattered. The irony? I was coaching clients through their own self-doubt during the day and then going home and convincing myself to quit.
My friend Jasmine called me on it. Not gently. She said, “You’re comparing your chapter two to someone else’s chapter fifteen, and you’re wondering why you feel broken.”
That sentence broke something open in me. I realized I wasn’t actually questioning my ability to coach. I was questioning whether my ability was visible enough. And I was letting the invisibility make me doubt the substance.
So here’s what I did: I doubled down on the unsexy stuff. Consistent posting even when metrics were low. Client check-ins that didn’t lead anywhere immediately. Building the thing for real instead of building the appearance of the thing.
Three months later, I can honestly say that period of doubt was necessary. It clarified what I actually wanted. It wasn’t fame or viral success. It was the ability to help people in a sustainable, embodied way, whether that reached 50 people or 50,000.
I’m telling you this because you might be in that place right now. And I want you to know it’s not a sign you should quit. It’s usually a sign you’re about to level up.
One Actionable Practice: The 2-Minute Nervous System Reset
This is something I do every single day, usually right after I post content or before I open my email.
The Practice:
Sit somewhere comfortable. No phone. No distractions.
Place one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly. Take one deep breath and just notice: where do you feel tension right now? Not judgment. Just honest observation.
Now, slow your exhale down. Breathe in for a count of four. Breathe out for a count of six.
Do this seven times. The longer exhale signals safety to your nervous system. It’s not complicated neurobiology; it’s ancient parasympathetic activation.
After the seven breaths, open your eyes and notice one thing in your physical environment. The color of the wall. The temperature of the air. The sound of traffic outside. Ground yourself in what’s actually here, not what’s hypothetical or worrying.
Total time: about two minutes.
What this does: it interrupts the anxiety loop. It reminds your body that you’re safe. It creates a micro-reset between the doing and the worrying, so you can actually feel the work you’re putting in instead of constantly bracing for the next problem.
I do this before client calls. Before I send a email to a potential partner. After I post vulnerable content. Whenever I notice I’m in my head instead of in my body.
Try it today. Let me know what shifts.
Your Turn: What’s One Win You Had This Week?
Real talk: I learn more from your responses than you probably learn from what I share.
When you tell me about your wins, it reminds me why I do this. When you share your struggles, it clarifies exactly what I need to be teaching. When you ask questions, it shapes the future content that actually moves people.
So I’m asking directly: What’s one win you had this week? It doesn’t have to be big. It doesn’t have to be business-related. Did you show up consistently? Did you have a hard conversation? Did you take a risk? Did you choose yourself?
Drop it in the comments or reply directly. I read every single response.
And if you didn’t have a win this week, that’s okay too. Some weeks are about survival, not winning. But I’d like to know about that as well. Because I’m building this journey with you, not for you.
That’s the difference that actually matters.
Until next week, keep building. And be honest about what you find along the way.
Coach Austin
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