The Tom’s Life Lab Podcast

Episode 64 Anxiety in the life: Recognising the trigger

In the final episode of the anxiety series, Tom explores how anxiety often starts in the body before it ever becomes a thought. Racing heart, tension, urgency, these physical signals can quickly pull us into overthinking or reactive behaviour. And in those moments, we’re more likely to believe thoughts that are fast, protective, and often exaggerated. This episode focuses on a simple but powerful skill: recognising when you’re triggered and creating space before you act. This week’s experiment: when you notice the signs, pause for 90 seconds. Don’t react, don’t respond, just let the wave pass, and then choose your next move more deliberately.

Episode 63 Anxiety in the life lab: The illusion of control

In the second episode of the anxiety series, Tom explores a pattern that sits at the heart of anxiety: the need for control. Under pressure, we often try to manage everything: outcomes, opinions, and uncertainty. But instead of calming us down, this can leave us feeling drained and stuck in overthinking. This episode introduces a simple framework to help: separating what’s in your control, what you can influence, and what’s outside of both. By focusing your energy in the right place, you can reduce mental clutter and respond more clearly. This week’s experiment: when anxiety starts to spiral, map your thoughts into three columns : control, influence, and out of control, and focus only on what’s yours to act on.

Episode 62 Anxiety in the life lab: Managing the uncontrollable

In the first episode of the anxiety series, Tom shares a story about “Will” - someone who, from the outside, seems to have it all together, but internally feels like everything could fall apart at any moment. This episode explores a common but rarely discussed experience: high-functioning anxiety. The kind that shows up as perfectionism, overthinking, or the constant fear of being “found out.” Tom breaks down a simple but powerful shift that helped: learning to separate what we can control from what we can’t. Alongside this, he introduces practical tools like gathering evidence to challenge anxious thinking, spotting early physical triggers, and creating a small pause before reacting. This week’s life lab experiment is to notice when anxiety shows up, question the story you're telling yourself, and take back control of your next move.

Episode 61 From miles to milestones: The finish line

In this final episode of Tom’s life lab, Tom reflects on crossing the finish line of the Manchester marathon 2026. After months of early mornings, long runs, and sticking to a plan, even when motivation wasn’t always there, the race itself becomes a moment of celebration. But what stood out most wasn’t the finish line. It was everything that came before it. Marathon training has a rhythm. Some runs feel strong and effortless, others feel slow, heavy, and difficult. And often, the hardest part is simply getting out of the door. But over time, those small, consistent efforts begin to add up. It led to a simple but powerful reflection on leadership. While it’s easy to focus on big moments, results, and visible milestones, what really shapes outcomes are the small decisions made day after day. The conversations you have when they’re difficult. The preparation you do when it feels repetitive. The discipline to keep going when progress feels slow.

Episode 60 From miles to milestones: The quiet miles

In this fourth episode of Tom’s life lab, Tom reflects on one of the more unexpected parts of marathon training, the quiet miles. While preparing for the Manchester marathon, his training plan has created regular time to run. On this particular run, there was no music or podcast, just the sound of his footsteps and breathing. And in that quiet, something shifted. Without distraction, his mind had space to wander, reflect, and think more clearly. It led to a simple realisation; many leaders don’t struggle with effort, they struggle with a lack of space. Space to think, to process, and to notice what’s really going on. In leadership, it’s easy to stay busy and keep moving. But without time to step back, clarity becomes harder to find and decisions become more reactive. This episode is an invitation to experiment with creating your own quiet miles.