The Science of Change and the Humans Who Live It

I started this blog again to write about the science behind transformation. In the fall, I was deep in research, hyper-focused on the technical language of change. Despite the long hours I have spent researching “Sources Cited” episodes to film for social media, this is the most relaxed I’ve been in a while. It’s nice to be energized by a creative project. It’s been a long time since I’ve been inspired.  

During a recent session with my new therapist, she noted that she hasn’t met this version of me. She had only known the stressed version. The last few years have been about pregnancy, postpartum, work drama, and cost-of-living woes. The non-stressed version of me hadn’t been present in a while. 

Ever since I started filming these educational videos, I’ve been remembering things about myself. I remembered that, long before I cared about neurological and psychological terminology, I was fascinated by people who were seeking transformation. I was always drawn to the moments when someone shifts their life so dramatically that they cling to the tools that saved them.

I saw this in three very different places. In church, during my yoga teacher training at an ashram, and in a personal development program. In each environment, the same pattern appeared. People who had overcome something significant were fiercely loyal to whatever practice or belief had helped them do it. People in recovery. People rebuilding their finances. People trying to finally live up to their potential. When someone moves from one extreme to another, they often become the most devoted advocate of the thing that carried them across.

That has always fascinated me. The same human longing shows up everywhere, no matter the setting. This next chapter of my writing will still include the science of transformation because I enjoy that work, and I believe it provides real value. But I want to bring in the humanness of it too. The raw desire people have to alchemize their lives and how fiercely they work to stage rebellions against their own patterns. 

Expect to hear about motherhood as well because becoming a mother changed me in ways that show up everywhere.

I am excited to write long form again and to have a space where depth is welcome. I’m looking forward to sharing my stories and reading yours. 

Here we go.