Today I was brushing Mookie.
Which is notable, because for ten years she has acted like brushing was a federal offense.
Dodging. Squirming. Suspicious side-eye. Acting like I was personally ruining her life.
So I assumed she hated being brushed. I'd bribe her. Hold her still. Try to "just get it done." I'd literally be holding on to her back leg for dear life, begging for her to just let me get ONE more snarl out...
You know — the classic human strategy of making everything worse while calling it helpful.
The irony? She has a lot of fur. Brushing genuinely matters for her. And it honestly probably feels SO MUCH BETTER when those rats nests are out, leaving her with fresh fluff.
Today I used a different brush and some leave in conditioner. Different pressure. Different rhythm.
She melted. Relaxed. Stayed still. Let me keep going.
Same task. Same dog. Same me. Totally different result. Ten years later.
· · ·
So what does this have to do with you?
A lot of people come to me believing they're the problem. That they're lazy, undisciplined, or just can't handle what everyone else handles.
Maybe. But usually? That's not typically the issue.
Usually they're trying to regulate a stressed nervous system with shame. Trying to heal burnout with productivity hacks. Trying to build confidence with self-criticism.
That's like grooming a sensitive dog with the energy of a SWAT raid.
Wrong tool. Predictable outcome.
The better question isn't: what's wrong with me?
It's: what if I'm using the wrong tool?
Because when the tool changes, the experience changes. And when the experience changes, progress gets a lot easier.
· · ·
The right tool doesn't feel like forcing. It feels like relief.
Which brings me to the part where I hand you a different brush... and maybe some leave in conditioner.
Here are three things worth trying this week — each one is simple, each one is free, and none of them require you to be more disciplined than you already are.
This Week's Tools - Try ONE
Your nervous system doesn't need fixing. It needs the right input. Here are three that actually work:
Shake it off (yes, literally)
Animals do this instinctively after a stressful event — a dog that just got spooked will literally shake its whole body and then walk away like nothing happened. We've been trained out of it. But intentional shaking for even 60 seconds helps discharge stored tension and signals your nervous system that the threat has passed.
Start with your hands, let it move up your arms, into your shoulders, your whole body. Let it get weird. Let it get silly. If it turns into dancing — even better. Throw on your favorite song and do what Taylor Swift says... shake it off. Or if you're a millennial like me: shake it like a Polaroid picture. Outkast knew things.
As a personal trainer, I'd add: movement is one of the most underused tools in nervous system regulation. Your body was built to move through stress — not sit still and think your way out of it.
Got 2 minutes to spare? Dance with me and get that dopamine boost!
Orienting — your body's built-in "I'm safe" signal
Slowly look around the room. Actually move your eyes and head. Notice what's near you, what's far, what's still. This isn't a mindfulness trick — it's a neurological one. Orienting is how your nervous system scans for threat and clears the alarm. When there's nothing to find, it settles.
As a personal trainer, I'd add: this also trains proprioception — your body's sense of where it is in space. That spatial awareness isn't just important for athletic performance. It's foundational to how regulated and grounded you feel day to day.
Get outside — even for ten minutes
Sunlight on your skin isn't a nice-to-have. It regulates cortisol, anchors your circadian rhythm, and gives your body sensory information it's been starved of all winter. Movement outside is even better. Your system remembers that life exists beyond screens, stress, and survival mode — sometimes that memory is enough to shift everything.
· · ·
Not all resistance means refusal. Not all struggle means failure. Not all discomfort means you need to push harder.
Sometimes it just means it's time for a different brush.
The nicer weather is finally showing up, and if you're anything like the rest of us in the Northeast — your body has been waiting for this.
Go stand in it. Open a window. Take the walk.
Sometimes healing looks less like a breakthrough and more like standing in the sunlight long enough to feel human again.
🎧 This Week on the Hustle Rebels Podcast
SOMETHING NEW IS COMING — AND YOU'RE HEARING IT FIRST
INTRODUCING: "The Toolbox" For the Hustle Rebels Podcast
You know I'm always talking about having the right tools — so it only made sense to actually build a place to put them.
The Toolbox for the Hustle Rebels Podcast is a curated space where guests of the show share their own resources, methods, and tools directly with you. Not filler. Actual things that actual people are using and teaching.
And the first tool is dropping this week.
Christopher Chamberlin will be the inaugural guest — his episode goes live Thursday morning — and he's bringing something genuinely interesting: his own nervous system recalibration technique, the Sovereign Identity Recode Method™, along with details on his upcoming retreat, the Sovereign Man Experience.
He'll be the first resource added to the Toolbox, and as always — you're getting the heads up before anyone else.
And if you missed last week, I had an incredible guest, Wade Simmons, talk about how burnout and stress showed up in his life by taking his voice - through a physical disorder called Spasmodic Dysphonia. Wade was a joy to chat with - you can't listen to the conversation and leave without feeling uplifted and filled with peace. Follow the link below to check out the whole episode or to watch it on YouTube.
🎧 Listen here: When Stress Shows Up in Your Body: Burnout, Identity & the Cost of Hustle Culture with Wade Simmons
Watch here (YOUTUBE) : [When Stress Shows Up in Your Body: Burnout, Identity & the Cost of Hustle Culture with Wade Simmons]
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Check em out here: [Read Previous Editions of The Weekly Recharge]
As always, I appreciate you guys and always here if you have questions or even a chat. Share the Weekly Recharge with a friend so they can be regulated just like you.
- Renae
Wayward Wellness Coaching
Hustle Rebels Podcast