It’s that time of year when we are bombarded with messages to set goals, review our year, make plans for the next year, improve ourselves and generally be better humans. We are told that if we set and meet goals, we will feel good. 

Huh.

Is that true? Let’s do some poking around these internalised ideas in another two-parter!

Come and explore:  

• Why we are obsessed with goal-setting and planning 
• Why and how we set goals, and why this may be making us miserable 
• What traditional goal-setting gets wrong 
• The enormous missing piece in all of this 
• …and a teeny bit of homework before Part 2 to help you unlock some of this stuff for yourself

Mentioned in the show: 

Episode: You Are Not Your Thoughts…So Who Are You Then? (Part 1)

Kara Loewentheil: Perfectionist Fantasy 

Vote for the upcoming playshop here 

Question, comment, thought, idea, anything else? Contact me here.

I loved having Christine Heath and Judy Sedgeman as my special guests on the pod! Chris and Judy have been working with groups, individuals, couples and classes for - literally - decades to help them find freedom beyond their personal thinking and see life in a completely new way. 

They also co-host the incredible podcast Psychology Has It Backwards, which completely reimagines mental health awareness and 'recovery' and is one of my favourite shows.

Chris and Judy have had an enormous influence on my work (and life!) and it was a sweaty-faced fan-girl moment to have them as my special guests on the show.

Please join us to explore:  

• How and why does psychology have it backwards and what are the implications for seeing this?
• Finding freedom from anxiety and insecurity by looking toward how it’s created
• The power of a quiet mind and how slowing down IS possible even when our lives are outrageously busy and full and bursting at the seams
• Chris and Judy also give a beautiful answer to a question from a listener about ‘spirituality’ and what’s the big deal, and are they missing out if spirituality feels icky? (Or something like that)
• What would Chris and Judy bring to a picnic?
• What's their favourite memory of each other?
• ...and lots of other mind-melty wisdom

Find Chris and Judy, their amazing podcast, their cool classes and courses and heaps of other resources here.

Other stuff:

The Playshop is coming up! Pop your name on my friends list here to vote for the topic and for further details about this free event in January.

Get the recipe booklet for Less Overthinking, More Peace here, or the Freedom From Overthinking in Business Intro Class here.

Got a question you want answered by an upcoming guest? Pop me an email here or DM me here

Ok, link overload there. Bye! 

Hang out with me for the second part of our two-parter on 'thought work' and what we should be doing with this incessant, powerful thought-thingamabob.

Come and explore:  

• A round-up from part one where we took a look at what thought is and when it may be helpful or not to poke it and try and change it
• How to tell the difference between helpful or unhelpful 'thought work'
• What to do if you get it wrong (you can't get it wrong!)
• How it looks to me and what I 'do'
• Anxious Alice gives a great example around 'changing beliefs'

And:

See details about the upcoming free Playshop here or jump straight to the suggestion box for the topic here

ICYMI: Get the recipe booklet for Less Overthinking, More Peace here, or the Freedom From Overthinking in Business Intro Class here. 

Question, comment, idea, want to show me a picture of your cat, anything else? Pop me an email here or DM me here

I'm recovering from a cold so if you can handle the un-edit-out-able sniffles, then join me while we take a look at managing, controlling or changing our thoughts.  

Come and explore:  

• What is thought work??
• Should we be doing it? Why? When?
• What is thought anyway? (Erm, we talk about this all the time!)
• How does understanding the nature of thoughts and feelings help us decide whether to poke or work on our thoughts?
• And, as warned, sniffles and heavy breathing. You lucky ducks 🦆

 Mentioned in the show: 

Episode:
You’re The Best Person To Call Bullsh*t On All That Anxiety Advice

Episode:
Thought: How to Use This Mind-Boggling Superpower

The replay of the "Freedom From Overthinking in Business & Entrepreneurship" intro class is here. This comes with two bonus videos on 'how to manage self-doubt and 'how to believe in yourself'. Grab it here for free!  (If you're on my Friends List I already sent it to you so no need to do anything)

If you want to hear the latest news, updates, invites and other cool shit from me, you can do that here.

Question, comment, thought, idea, anything else? Contact me here.

I loved having Daniel Magnusson as my special guest on the pod! Daniel is a coach with a zillion years of experience and extensive professional training. A couple of years ago, he came across the inside-out nature of how humans work that is shared on this show and it transformed his own life and those of his clients. 

Please join Daniel and me to explore:  

• How seeing how our experience is created changes everything
• Where stress comes from and how to see it in a fresh way
• Why we may turn to habits, behaviours and other things to feel ok...
• ...But how our wellbeing is always, always there
• ...and lots of other mind-melty wisdom

And: 

• Daniel makes up a word! (Shituation)
• He answers a question from one of you (it's a goodie)

Find Daniel at his website, his Instagram, and check out his amazing podcast ‘Human Change’ here. 

Do you want your question answered on the show too? Email me at [email protected] or DM me on Instagram. Question, comment, idea, anything else? Contact me here.

Join me while I share your stories of returning to peace and calm after feeling intense anger, hurt, overwhelm and panic.

Come and explore:  

• Tales from your fellow humans on how thoughts and feelings changed without intervention
• What do they make of that? What did they see?
• How does noticing our experience change even help us?
• How to see this more for yourself around the self-settling mechanism of our amazing minds 
• And, Anxious Alice is very, very moody today 

Mentioned:

Hop on to my friends list here to get the audio of the other stories in the next newsletter, and the other nice things I send out every sometimes. 

Question, comment, idea, anything else? Contact me here.

It was brilliant to have Clare Downham, Queen of Calm, on the show. Clare was a busy and successful headteacher before burning out and becoming a hypnotherapist on a self-development kick. But then she came across the principles of how humans work (that this show is based on) and she now works with people to help them uncover their calm, clarity and confidence. 
She's also a smart and funny human and I loved hanging out with her.

Please join Clare and me to explore:  

• How constant pushing, striving and succeeding may lead to burnout
• How life is so very different when we realise how our human experience is created (from the inside out)
• Why the self-development hamster wheel isn't helping us 
• The astonishingly amazing role of our feelings as our 'human dashboard'
• ...and lots of mind-melty wisdom

And: 

• When was the last time Clare was pissed off (and what did she do)?
• What's a good name for a pet seahorse?
• Clare answers a question from one of you (it's a goodie)
• Do you want your question answered on the show too? Email me at [email protected] or DM me on Instagram 

Find Clare on the webs:

Clare's Website 

Clare's Instagram

Question, comment, idea, anything else? Contact me here.

We recently explored how we don't create our thoughts. We can't control them and we don't 'think' them up. So where do they come from? 

Come and explore:  

• Why do we have the thoughts we have?
• The visible and invisible influences which may inform our thoughts 
• How seeing this is enormously helpful when it comes to our experience of anxiety, overthinking, worry, stress and all the others. 
• Three pieces of Amazingly Good News
• Anxious Alice gets somewhat political

Mentioned: 

• I went on a mentioning spree in this show!
• For newbies: listening to episodes 1, 2 and 3 are recommended before this one 
• Episode 11: Clarity, Creativity, Confidence, Joy, Resilience & Lots of Other Cool Shit
• Episode 14: Thought: How To Use This Mind-Boggling Superpower

Question, comment, idea, anything else? Contact me here.

It was brilliant to have Matt Roberts on the show. Matt is a psychological performance coach and former international high jumper who now works with athletes and business leaders to guide them to their own source of flow and peak performance. He's also an exceedingly nice human and I loved hanging out with him. 

Please join Matt and me to explore:  

• What is psychological freedom…and how can we experience it?
• The relationship between state of mind and our performance
• The compelling allure of goals, and how seeing this in a fresh way can set us free
• What our feelings can show us about life 
• ...and lots of mind-melty wisdom

And: 

• When was the last time Matt was pissed off?
• What do Ricky Gervais and cherry vodka have to do with anything?
• Some merch-worthy soundbites such as “What we can create in the world is infinite…and meaningless” 🤤
• Do you want your question answered on the show too? Email me at [email protected] or DM me on Instagram 

Find Matt on the webs:

Matt's website 

Matt on Instagram

Matt's Facebook

(This episode has little spots of rubbish audio quality because  - guess what? - I'm not that good! But bear with us. It's completely tolerable) 

Question, comment, idea, anything else? Contact me here.

Welcome to part 2 of our exploration! Perhaps you may be on board with the idea that you are not your thoughts (part one is here if you missed it)...so who are you then?

Come and explore:  

• Why, if we come to see we are not our thoughts, we instead think we are the things we DO: our behaviours, habits, actions and responses...
• ...But are we really though?
• If we are not the things that change, what or who are we?
• Are we even asking the right questions? Does it even matter? Why? Huh?
• And a little dash of woo, even suitable for those who don't like woo

Mentioned: 

• The next hangout is on 28th September (which might be in the past by the time you read this!) Coming? Get the details from https://siobhanfriel.com/hangout/
• Missed the hangout, but want details for the next one, and/or for the Who-Are-You Playshop I mentioned in the show? Pop your name on to my friends' list and I will let you know all the things
• Struggling and want to chat to me? Grab a free slot here 
• Pod episode: "Your Experience Is Always Moving (& Why This Matters)"
• Pod episode (the proof one): "But How Do We Know We Don’t Need to Believe Our Crappy Thoughts?"

Question, comment, idea, aaaaaaanything else? Contact me here.