Challenging Willpower-Based Wellbeing
January is far away in the rear-view mirror and we’re nearly through February.
The last couple of months have featured short days, long nights, a LOT of rain, maybe a new fitness regime and possibly a side order of Dry January for good measure. The arrival of February may have felt like a finish line. But then fatigue takes over and the good intentions of January now feel uncomfortably like pressure.
Safe to say motivation has dipped; but workplace wellbeing is more important than ever. So how can you support your employees’ wellbeing through the end of February and beyond?
Challenging willpower-based wellbeing
If you’ve ever tried to adopt a new lifestyle routine, you will undoubtedly have learnt that making any wellbeing change that relies on willpower alone is doomed incredibly difficult to maintain.
Most lifestyle changes fail not because people lack willpower, but because they’re trying to change behaviour while their nervous system is in survival mode. When the body is under stress (hello midlife professionals!), the brain prioritises immediate relief over long-term goals, making consistency and self-control far harder to access.
Regulating the nervous system creates the internal safety needed to pause, choose, and respond rather than react. Unlike willpower - which is finite and easily depleted - nervous system regulation supports sustainable change by working with the body’s biology, not against it.
Breathwork is a regulation tool, not just another thing to do
If you’ve put Breathwork into a mental box marked “just a nice way to relax,” think again.
Breathwork is a practical tool that uses the breath to regulate the nervous system in real time. By changing the body’s stress response first, it makes focus, decision-making, and sustainable behaviour change far easier.
This is the good news. The even better news, is that anyone can do it, it’s accessible (no equipment required; if you can breathe you can do it!), and even short breathwork exercises can have a big impact.
Introducing Breathwork to the Workplace
If this is the year your organisation plans to focus on employee wellbeing, offering a breathwork lunch and learn-style session is a really great place to start.
My Pause, Reset, Thrive workshops are brief, practical sessions designed to reset the nervous system and restore focus during the workday. Employees leave with simple techniques they can use at any time, to improve energy, resilience, and decision-making – with employees and the organisation experiencing benefits long after the session ends.
Limited March and April Workshops still available!
For the next couple of months, I have some availability to deliver tailored, accessible breathwork sessions for stress and resilience.
Pause, Reset, Thrive is a lunch & learn session created for organisations keen to kickstart or rejuvenate their wellbeing provision. Sessions can be shaped around themes relevant to your culture and workforce, or to tie in with a specific wellbeing awareness day.
If you’d like to find out more about the workshops or discuss your workplace wellbeing requirements, drop me a message - I’d love to hear from you!