🧠Weekly MindSweep No. 188 | Manage Your Mind | Self-Trust
August 2025
Week 186: Curated Conversation: Self-Trust
Week 187: Mind Your Business: Self-Trust
*Week 188: Manage Your Mind: Self Trust
Week 189: What’s On My Mind: Self-Trust
Let’s sweep the brain…
Let’s Sweep the Brain
🎬 Rather watch or listen instead of read? Now you can!
In the MindSweep this week:
Curated Conversation with curated GIF’s & puns (for your entertainment).
Jamie’s Second Brain Corner: Links to references. Need a map? I’ve got you!
What’s I’m Reading - What’s I’m Reading - Awakening the Brain by Charlotte A. Tomaino Ph.D.
Collaborations with Terri Hamilton (Thursday) & Shannon Giordano and the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce
My face đź’ś and a link to schedule your free consultation.
Rewire your brain for Self-Trust: The Day I Planted My Feet and Found My Voice
There was a time when a microphone felt like a fire alarm.
I vividly remember my first podcast interview. The moment it ended, it was as if I had blacked out and come to, wondering what I had actually said. Later, when I listened back, I was stunned. It was my voice, speaking things I truly felt and believed, with no recollection of saying them so coherently.
That eerie disconnection reminded me of the same fear and doubt I once carried as a wedding photographer, staring at my camera bag of possibilities and wondering if what I produced would be good enough.
If you'd asked me to describe public speaking then, my answer would have been simple: "threat." My palms would sweat. My knees would shake. My chest would tighten.
And then came Project Empathy at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts. [1]
The Turning Point
The night of the first show, I stood backstage, heart pounding, listening to the low hum of the crowd. My brain started its loop: What if your voice shakes? What if you forget all of your words? What if they can tell you didn't do enough?
But when the lights hit, I did three things:
Planted my feet.
Exhaled longer than I inhaled.
Spoke the first sentence I had practiced.
My voice wobbled at first, but then steadied. My breath found its rhythm, and my nervous system logged a new line of code:
We did this. We didn't die. We can do it again.
I wrote about this experience back in Weekly MindSweep No. 92, on the theme of Failure. Re-reading it now, I can see how much of my early journey was spent looking outside myself for answers and reassurance. That night marked the shift and was the hinge moment that swung open new doors: podiums for Leadership MetroWest, live commentary for the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, and the kind of "stand up and speak" opportunities I used to avoid. [2,3,4]
The fear didn't vanish. But the evidence changed.
What Actually Changed in My Brain (and Can in Yours)
Self-trust isn't a personality trait; it's a circuit. A relationship between:
Amygdala: the alarm bell ("danger?!").
Insula: the interoceptive dashboard (your heartbeat, breath, and gut sense of what's right for me).
Prefrontal cortex (PFC): the planner and meaning-maker ("we've prepared; here's what matters").
Anterior cingulate/ventromedial PFC: conflict monitors that update the plan without panicking.
Before Project Empathy, my amygdala was in control. Once on stage, I gave my PFC something concrete to do (say the first sentence), signaled safety to my insula with slow exhales, and let the experience complete without escape. That closed the loop.
In brain terms: prediction ➡️ action ➡️ corrective feedback.
The message my brain received? Safe enough. And next time, the alarm wasn't as loud.
This is Hebbian learning in action: what fires together, wires together. Each trusted action lays down myelin on the pathway that says, 'I can rely on myself.' [5]
"Ready" Is a Myth
Initially, I believed that confidence was something you cultivated before stepping onto the stage. If I prepared enough, rehearsed enough, and polished enough, surely, at some point, I'd feel "ready."But that moment never came.
When I stepped into the spotlight at Project Empathy, nothing about me felt calm or polished. And yet, when I planted my feet and spoke the first line, something shifted. I realized that "ready" is a myth.
Neuroscience helps us make sense of this. The amygdala, the brain's alarm system, doesn't care how perfect your powerpoint slides are. Its job is to scan for risk, which means it will always flag uncertainty. If you wait until you feel calm, you'll wait forever.
The real threshold isn't readiness, it's regulatable.
It's being activated but steady enough to act. Not the absence of fear, but the presence of capacity.Every time we step up to the podium before we feel ready, we train our nervous system to learn:
I can survive this. I can steady myself enough to begin.
The Podium Protocol
That night gave me a set of anchors I still use. I call it my Podium Protocol.
Before I speak
Feet: both planted. This is a somatic anchor that signals stability to the insula.
Breath: A 4-count inhale and a 6-count exhale x3. This is a vagal "brake" on the alarm system.
One line: I memorize only the first sentence and the closing line. This gives the PFC rails to run on.
During
Triangle of Attention: feet ➡️ breath ➡️ a friendly face. And I cycle through them.
Micro-pauses: commas you can hear. This buys the PFC a beat and can also calm the room.
Meaning over polish: speak to the one person who needs it. This shifts the amygdala from "me under threat" to "us in connection.”
After
30-second debrief— and no more:
One thing that went well.
One tiny improvement.
One feeling you can name without fixing.
This locks in the learning without spiraling into perfection.
How That One Night Translated Everywhere Else
That single moment at Project Empathy became a template for me:
Leadership MetroWest: Now there are panels, podiums, rooms of leaders. I don't wait to feel confident; I use the protocol, run the rep, and let confidence catch up.
Sudbury Chamber of Commerce Parade: A live, unscripted commentary in front of hundreds of people? The same body sensations showed up, the same anchors worked. Within minutes, my voice settled, my language got playful, and the self-trust circuit strengthened again.
Patterns matter more than moments. And, one turned into many.
Self-trust isn't the absence of fear; it's the ability to face it.
It's the resilience of showing up again and again until your nervous system learns: I can rely on myself here.
Common Detours that Quiet Self-Trust
Even with practice, some traps can quietly undermine self-trust. They look helpful at first, but keep us stuck in the long run.
Crowdsourcing Your Intuition: Advice is helpful, but over-consulting tells your brain, 'Others know better than I do.' True self-trust begins when you turn inward first, then use advice as support, not a substitute.
Perfection as safety: I believed that if I nailed every detail, I could avoid discomfort. But perfection doesn't prevent nerves; it amplifies them. Something unexpected will always happen, and real trust grows when you can handle imperfection, rather than avoiding it.
Adrenaline as a Plan: I once believed I did my best work under pressure. But living on last-minute adrenaline trains your nervous system to associate panic with performance. Over time, it makes calm effort feel impossible. Self-trust grows through steady reps, not chaos.
These detours offer short-term relief but block long-term growth. Instead, trade them for small, repeatable "trust reps." They don't look flashy, but they're what builds the muscle.
If You're Neurodivergent, This Matters Even More
Many of us grew up being told, directly or indirectly, that our ways of sensing, deciding, or expressing were "too much," "too scattered," or "wrong." That wires the alarm system to overvalue other people's templates and undervalue our own. Self-trust reclaims authorship: I can design a process that works for my brain, and it still counts.
One of the biggest misconceptions about self-trust is that it means doing everything without support. That's not how our brains, or our businesses, work.
Especially for those of us who are neurodivergent, external scaffolds aren't a crutch. They're a strategy.
Think of it this way: when you're learning to climb, the harness doesn't mean you don't trust yourself. It gives you enough safety to practice. Over time, the muscles build, the movements get smoother, and you rely less on the harness, but without it, you might never have climbed at all.
That's what external scaffolds do for self-trust.
Some entrepreneurial examples could be:
Timers: they help keep your sense of time on track so your brain doesn't have to hold it all.
Checklists: can create visible proof that you've done what you said you would, reducing the mental load of memory.
First-line cards: will give your nervous system something solid to reach for in moments of activation, so you're never starting from blank.
Tactile anchors: when your feet are planted, breath elongated, pen in hand you can ground your body and send calming feedback to your insula, reminding yourself: I am here, I am steady, I can begin.
External structure frees up internal trust.
The scaffolds carry the executive-function load, so your nervous system has the space to practice self-trust reps. Over time, those reps wire in, and you build the internal circuit that says, 'I can rely on myself.'
From the Podium to Your Business
The same circuit that steadies me on stage also powers the everyday decisions of running a creative business.
Pricing & Proposals: Just like speaking the first line, you pick a number, send it, and let the act become your evidence. Confidence follows.
Boundaries: Every "no" or "yes" is a podium moment. Your body might react, but delivering your answer clearly adds another rep of trust.
Launching: Publishing a Version 1 of your idea is like taking your first step. The nerves fire, the doubts pile up, and you do it anyway. Over time, your system learns: I can stand here, imperfect and in motion, and still be okay.
Self-trust is the infrastructure of creative business.
It's not something you wait to feel before acting; it's something you grow each time you step up, take a breath, and deliver your line.
In the end, whether it's standing behind a microphone, sending a proposal, or saying a straightforward "no," the mechanics are the same. Self-trust is not a gift that some people are born with; it's a circuit we strengthen through practice. Each time you regulate enough to act, you give your nervous system new evidence: I can do this. I can rely on myself here.
Volume, not intensity, builds the circuit.
The podium may have been my training ground, but the same circuitry shows up in every corner of creative business and life. What begins as a shaky first step becomes a pattern, and patterns are what reshape the brain.
Plant your feet.
Take a breath.
Begin.
Let the circuit catch up.
Photo Credit: https://damianosphotography.com/
My questions for you this week :
How do you typically respond when your amygdala sounds the alarm? Do you pause, push through, or pull back?
How have you seen perfectionism, over-consulting, or adrenaline keep you from trusting yourself?
✨ If this resonated with you, it’s because self-trust isn’t just a concept, it’s a practice. And sometimes, it takes another person to help you see the patterns you’re running, the strengths you already carry, and the next small step you can take with confidence.
I work with heart-centered and creative entrepreneurs who are tired of waiting until they feel “ready.” Together, we can map your ideas, create scaffolds that fit your brain, and rewire your self-trust circuit so you can design a business that feels both steady and sustainable.
Your next podium moment doesn’t have to be on stage. It could be sending a proposal, raising your rates, setting a boundary, or finally launching that idea. Whatever it looks like, I can help you find your footing and take the step.
A MindSweep Mapping Session uses the power of visual thinking (inspired by the Idea Mapping method) to help you move from mental clutter to confident action.
Whether you’re a visionary thinker, a neurodivergent entrepreneur, or a heart-centered business owner, this process is your map to clarity.
🧠Your brain. Your business. Mapped.
👉 Book your free MindSweep Chat: www.chickbookcreative.com/mind-sweep
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Jamie’s Second Brain Corner:
[1] Project Empathy at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts.
[2] Weekly MindSweep No. 92 | Curated Conversation | Failure - Project Empathy
[4] Sudbury Chamber of Commerce 4th of July Parade
[5] Hebbian Theory
MONDAY: 8 am - Curated Conversation - Zoom
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What I’m reading
Awakening the Brain
Author: Charlotte A Tomaino, Ph.D.
Thank you to Angela Capinera from Your Mind In Bloom LLC for this recommendation!
Exploring the powerful link between the spiritual and the physical, Awakening the Brain teaches you to awaken and develop your own spiritual mind.
An awakened brain allows you to live from the optimal brain state, discover your broadest range of skills, and unleash the growth and potential that too often lies dormant.
Drawing from her unique background as a neuropsychologist and former nun, Charlotte Tomaino explores the impact of belief and spirituality on the actual function and structure of the brain. Through effective, hands-on exercises, Tomaino gives us the tools to expand our consciousness, raise our awareness, and fully use the power of the brain to create the life we desire.
As a clinical neuropsychologist, Tomaino has helped hundreds of patients develop practical solutions for the loss of brain function due to trauma.
Find it where you browse for books.
Collaborations!
Join us Friday, September 5th, at the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce for this two-hour interactive business community experience.
We'll discuss ways to cultivate business through Sales, Marketing, and Communication methods that support relationship building, showing up authentically, and connecting deeper with colleagues and the people you serve.
9-11 am - Open discussion, community support, brainstorming ideas
Join me in meeting business owners in our community. You'll leave with new tools to help you make connections and build your business!
Free; Registration is required: REGISTRATION.
Mindful Connections
Connecting like-hearted entrepreneurs to build relationships, offering support, understanding their passions, and sharing their names in rooms of opportunity.
Join us Thursdays, 12-1 pm EST.
12:00 - Take 5—a guided meditation with Terri Hamilton of Positively Terri to ground your week with peace and focus.
12:05-1 pm Round-table Share
Who you are
The gifts you bring to the world
Who you serve
The answer to a Curated question to spark conversation,
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