We Don’t Have to Live Like This

The Science of Self-Compassion & High Performance with Sarah Ann Macklin

Have you ever pushed yourself harder, done all the "right" things, and still felt worse? Sarah Ann Macklin is a model turned nutritionist, author of Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard (Penguin Random House), and host of the acclaimed Live Well Be Well podcast, one of the UK's top health shows dedicated to demystifying wellbeing with compassion and evidence-backed insight. In this episode, Sarah Ann shares her personal story of being hospitalised at 23 despite following every health protocol she had been given, and how that experience sent her down a completely different path, one that led her to a radical rethinking of what health actually means. We explore why self-compassion is not a soft, feel-good concept but a science-backed performance and leadership tool, and how the relentless self-criticism most of us carry is quietly driving inflammation, poor metabolic function, and burnout. Sarah Ann also unpacks the fascinating research of Dr. Ellen Langer, whose hotel maid study showed that simply changing your perception of what you are doing can change your physiology. For leaders, this conversation asks a question most never think to ask: not what do I need to do to get results, but how do I need to be? Sarah Ann introduces her three-stage model of self-compassion and explains why understanding whether you are a thinker or a feeler is the key to knowing which tools will actually work for you. You will leave this conversation with a fresh lens on health, performance, and what it really means to be on your own side. You can connect with Sarah Thorpe Scott on:  * her website:  ⁠https://www.thorpe-scott.com/ [https://www.thorpe-scott.com/] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-thorpe-scott-93a78a12  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-thorpe-scott-93a78a12] * Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thorpe__scott/ [https://www.instagram.com/thorpe__scott/] * by subscribing to Sarah's ⁠Field Notes newsletter⁠: https://sarahthorpescott.myflodesk.com/podcast-join [https://sarahthorpescott.myflodesk.com/podcast-join] Find out more about Sarah and Matthew's Nervous System Summit ⁠here⁠: ⁠https://www.thorpe-scott.com/nervoussystem⁠ [https://www.thorpe-scott.com/nervoussystem]. You can hear more from Sarah Ann Macklin: * on her⁠ website: https://www.sarahannmacklin.com/ [https://www.sarahannmacklin.com/] * on⁠ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin/⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin/⁠] You can find her book Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard wherever books are sold. If you’d like to revisit this conversation, you can check out the transcript: https://www.thorpe-scott.com/sarah-ann-macklin-transcript [https://www.thorpe-scott.com/sarah-ann-macklin-transcript] Production support from ⁠Rethink Audio⁠ [https://www.rethinkaudio.com/] & Alice Giuditta.

"Computer Consciousness": Why You Can’t Override Your Biology with Matthew Cooke

Do you find yourself going full speed ahead all week, only to crash the moment Friday evening hits? Matthew Cooke is a nervous system expert who coaches senior leaders to find sustainable success by working with their physiology. Matthew is also the founder of Body-Based Breakthrough [https://bodybasedbreakthrough.com/], a leading somatic coaching program designed to teach nervous system literacy.  In this episode, Matthew shares his personal story of hitting burnout at 24, dives into how this age of "Computer Consciousness" is driving the mistaken belief that humans can run like machines, and shares how this damages our wellbeing and our performance – showing that we cannot override our biology without consequence. We explore why so many high-performers live in a state of "Functional Freeze," going through the motions of leadership while totally disconnected from their physical selves, and how the science of the "Window of Tolerance" can bring your nervous system back to a responsive state.  Matthew argues that the future of work depends on "nervous system literacy," teaching us how to balance "directed attention" with necessary states of rest and creativity. You will leave this conversation with a practical understanding of how to read your body’s signals. Matthew also shares a simple, 10-second "Orientation" tool to help you reset immediately, which, trust us, really works! Find out more about Sarah and Matthew's Nervous System Summit ⁠here⁠: https://www.thorpe-scott.com/nervoussystem [https://www.thorpe-scott.com/nervoussystem]. You can connect with Sarah on:  * her website:  ⁠https://www.thorpe-scott.com/ [https://www.thorpe-scott.com/] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-thorpe-scott-93a78a12  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-thorpe-scott-93a78a12] * Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thorpe__scott/ [https://www.instagram.com/thorpe__scott/] * by subscribing to Sarah's ⁠Field Notes newsletter: https://sarahthorpescott.myflodesk.com/podcast-join [https://sarahthorpescott.myflodesk.com/podcast-join] If you’d like to revisit this conversation, you can check out the transcript: https://www.thorpe-scott.com/matthew-cooke-transcript [https://www.thorpe-scott.com/matthew-cooke-transcript] Production support from ⁠Rethink Audio⁠ [https://www.rethinkaudio.com/] & Alice Giuditta.

Welcome To We Don’t Have to Live Like This

If you’ve ever looked around and thought, “there’s GOT to be a better way of doing this,” you’re not alone. We Don’t Have to Live Like This invites you into conversations that challenge the status quo of how we work, lead and live, offering alternative perspectives on creating more fulfilling lives and a more functional society. Sarah Thorpe Scott Sarah is an Executive coach, Founder of Thorpe Scott Coaching & Advisory. Previously Managing Director, EMEA of The New York Times, she now works with corporate leaders, investors, and multigenerational family enterprises to tackle complex challenges, prepare the next generation of leadership, and drive meaningful impact.  Sarah is joined by global leaders in their fields, to explore the systems – corporate, societal, and personal – that often fail us, and reimagine how they could better serve us.  If you’re looking for honest, human conversations to improve how you work, lead and live, and build a better world for generations to come – then you’re in the right place.