EP 154: Running a business when life feels heavy – Part 1: Regulating Your Energy & Emotional Capacity
You can’t out-strategise your nervous system.
No amount of mindset work, productivity hacks, or forcing yourself to “push through” will override the fact that your body is always speaking to you.
So what happens when life happens—when stress, illness, or emotional upheaval collide with the reality that you still have a business to run?
In this episode, Jessica Read goes beyond resilience and dives deep into understanding your nervous system, recognizing what state you’re in, and learning how to work with your body—not against it—so you can keep moving forward without burning out.
Inside, we’ll cover:
✨ The three states of the nervous system (ventral, sympathetic, dorsal) and how they impact your ability to show up.
✨ How to recognize which state you’re in so you can regulate accordingly.
✨ Practical, body-led ways to shift your state—without force, guilt, or bypassing what you truly need.
By the end of this episode, you’ll understand why you’re not lazy, unmotivated, or inconsistent—your nervous system is simply responding to what it perceives as safe.
Key Takeaways:
🔥 Your Business Feels Harder Than It Should—Here’s Why
It’s not about motivation—it’s about capacity.
Your nervous system decides how much you can hold, and when stress dysregulates it, everything feels harder.
Your body is not the enemy—it’s the messenger.
🔥 The Three States of Your Nervous System & How They Affect Your Business
Ventral (Regulated, Connected): You feel clear, grounded, and in flow.
Sympathetic (Fight/Flight, Overdrive): You feel urgent, overwhelmed, and reactive.
Dorsal (Shutdown, Freeze): You feel fatigued, foggy, or emotionally disconnected.
🔥 Regulation Isn’t About Forcing Yourself to Feel Better—It’s About Giving Your Body What It Needs
Dorsal Shutdown: You need gentle activation—breathwork, light movement, grounding in nature.
Sympathetic Overdrive: You need to slow your system down—deep exhales, tapping, co-regulation through connection.
Ventral Regulation: You need to nourish what’s already working—play, joy, and moments of ease.
💡 The goal isn’t to never dysregulate—it’s to learn how to return to safety, over and over again.
Reflection Questions (from the Episode):
💡 What state does my nervous system tend to default to when I’m under pressure?
💡 What regulation practices actually work for me, and which ones feel forced?
💡 What is one small shift I can make today to support my capacity?
P.S. If you’re ready to bridge the gap between where you are and the version of you who moves with certainty, join me inside The Expansion Code. This is an energetic activation, not just another workshop—where you’ll feel the shift in your body, not just in your mind.
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