"Step toward a better you. Step into self-investment." This mantra was the stepping stone that transformed my life from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

The Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment defined self-investment as a commitment to learning and development to enhance one's skills and capability, fostering personal and professional growth. Let's plunge into a saga of self-investment and transformation in the essence of a story.
 
 “We believe that self-investment is a game changer. It's the key to unlocking your potential and transforming your future. It's not just about financial growth, but personal growth and fulfilling your dreams," says Shane Perry, entrepreneur and small business loan provider at Max Funding.
 
I still vividly recall those days, looking at my life cycle spinning around like a hamster wheel - work, eat, and sleep. My day-to-day routine was secure, stable and unchanging; even an inkling of uncertainty was conspicuously absent. But living this structured life casts a shroud over the potential spark within me. I was comfortable, yet unsatisfied. I yearned for a challenge, a catalyst that would stimulate my growth, personally and professionally.
 
Throughout this time, I found solace in an incredibly profound quote: "The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday." These words hit me like a gust of fresh wind, pushing me towards the edge of my comfort zone. They became the beacon guiding me on the path of transformation - self-investment.
 
Unlike popular opinion, this path did not involve a monetary commitment. Still, it required a more personal commitment of persistent effort, undivided focus, and endless patience towards personal growth and self-improvement.

Fast forward to today, I've developed this same transformative opportunity through programs like 'Life Reloaded', 'Superior Thinker’s Toolbox', and 'Future Ready Leaders Toolkit' at my initiative, Blue Chip Minds. These programs are carefully designed to help individuals and teams build mental complexity – just as it helped me.
 
Self-investment doesn't require an extravagant leap. Embark slowly and consistently—like a drop causing ripples in a calm water body, as does your continuous self-investment effort. The more you invest, the wider the growth and impact.
 
People often associate investments with instant gains. However, self-investment is a marathon, not a sprint—transformations don't happen overnight. They require patience, resilience, and the will to step out of your comfort zone, explore, and be curious about your capabilities.
 
Does it feel uneasy? It should, and that's perfectly okay. Any form of investment involves risks and uncertainties. However, remember, it's always possible to learn, change, and grow. The fruits of these efforts enrich and equip you with skills that propel you in your profession and unfold a better version of you.
 
What if you fall along the way? Ah! But what if you fly?

The very essence of self-investment lies in challenging your doubts and fears. Invest in nurturing your mindset, honing your skills, fuelling your creativity, and cherishing your well-being.
 
At Blue Chip Minds, we believe, and help you believe, in your potential to be exceptional—through our programs, workshops, and self-development modules. We guide you along the path so you can one day reminisce and share your story of transformation with the world.
 
So, how about you start today? Unleash your potential, invest in yourself, and watch the magic unfold.
 
Contact us for more information.

And remember that the biggest investment you can make is in yourself.

​Written and contributed by Stephen Gibb

Around nine months ago, my daughter Willow developed a fear of elevators. Each time we walked towards one, Willow would become hyper-vigilant. Her breath would quicken, and she would cling tightly to me. If I resisted, Willow would begin to cry and become incredibly distressed.

Willow and I live on the top floor of an apartment block. It was upsetting to see her in distress every time we would leave or return home together. My reassurances that elevators held nothing to fear didn’t help. And, while I did my best to convince her, infants don’t care about calming breathing techniques or cognitive reframing when in floods of tears. These tools are, however, very beneficial for adults — more on that later.

On one swelteringly hot day, when the elevator was out of order, Willow and I were forced to climb down and then back up four flights of stairs. Willow complained of sore legs and tiredness every step of the way (other than when I was carrying her of course), which made what happened next even more surprising.

Every day afterwards, Willow asked to use the stairs rather than the elevator, even volunteering to climb all four flights unassisted. Willow had found a way to avoid the uncomfortable feelings brought on by the elevator and was undeterred by the extra effort, discomfort and inconvenience involved.

I, however, wasn’t a fan of Willows labour-intensive plan. I believed she would outgrow her fear and, in what now seems like an act of torture, subjected her to many more stressful rides in the elevator. That was until I understood the underlying cause of her distress.

Fear primarily refers to an experience in which we are faced with an immediate or expected threat to our life or wellbeing. This is called a rational or appropriate fear and is typical and even helpful in dangerous situations. It serves a protective purpose, activating the automatic “fight-or-flight” response to keep us safe.

Another category of fear exists, namely irrational or inappropriate fear. These are fears of something that poses little or no actual danger. Although irrational fears can become so severe that they interfere with everyday life. When they do, they’re called phobias. When confronted with the thing feared, the terror is automatic and overwhelming. The experience can be so nerve-wracking that you will go to great lengths to avoid it — inconveniencing yourself or even changing your lifestyle. This is what was happening to Willow.

As it turns out, Willow didn’t feel threatened by the elevator at all. In fact, the elevator was only a trigger for Willows phobia and experience of anxiety. Willow was anxious about the elevator doors separating her from her dad, and the potential of becoming lost.

Anxiety is a natural part of life and, at normal levels, helps us to function at our best. It’s what motivates us to plan for the future. In this sense, it’s a good thing. It’s that nagging feeling that encourages us to study for that test practice harder for that game or be at our very best in that presentation. However, some people experience such intense anxiety that it is no longer helpful or useful. They may become so overwhelmed and distracted by anxiety that they fail their test, fumble the ball, or spend the whole presentation stumbling over their words and staring at the floor. Anxiety can be incredibly challenging to control and at its worst completely debilitating.

The difference between fear and anxiety is exceptionally nuanced. The perceived threats (physical or imagined) are processed in the same parts of our brain and cause us to experience many similar symptoms and feelings when they occur. However, being able to spot the difference is critical in being able to handle the situation and alleviate the discomfort.

Because Willow never feared the elevator, my attempts to convince her that it was safe were destined to fail. When Willow offered to take the stairs, it wasn’t to avoid using the elevator, it was to dodge the stimulus of the anxiety associated with becoming lost. Willow had stumbled upon a way to suppress the anxiety through avoidance. However, she wasn’t addressing the underlying phobia, meaning there could be numerous other triggers that could cause distress in the future.

Stress, the bodies response to fear and anxiety, is a rapidly increasing challenge of modern society. From an evolutionarily perspective, stress was designed to help us focus on the present moment and by preparing the body to move. It was intended for short irregular applications to help us escape from something or capture something else. Today, however, many of us live in a state of perpetual stress, or, to give it its clinical name, chronic stress. Over time, repeated activation of the stress response takes a toll on the body. It can cause high blood pressure, the formation of artery-clogging deposits, changes in the brain that may lead to depression and addiction and even obesity.

It appears that benign irrational fears can, in fact, be as life-threatening as their rational equivalents. It is critical, therefore, to take steps to lessen stress in life to maintain a clean bill of health.

I am adept at findings ways to relieve the discomfort of stress, and like Willow, will accept sacrifices to do so. These can be as trivial as leaving the house early to avoid busy public transport or as significant as giving up a personal ambition for fear of failure. Regretfully, this behaviour has deprived me of our meaningful opportunities to learn, grow and lead a liberated more vibrant life.

Most people know when something in their life isn’t working. However, they lack the tools to understand what’s wrong and what remedial steps to take. Fear, or more specifically, anxiety, can be a great indicator of what’s not working. It can also be the catalyst and impetus to step outside of our comfort zone to address the root cause and develop as an individual.

The way I permanently address anxiety and alleviate stress is to eliminate the uncertainty associated with the underlying fear. For Willow, that is a work in progress. I’ve been teaching her what to do if we become separated, not just by the elevator but anywhere. However, the solution to becoming lost goes beyond just knowing how to find each other again. It includes reassuring Willow that I am there for her, that she can rely on me and when she is a little older, that she’ll be capable of independence. This is a tougher nut to crack, but we will get there.

Working through uncertainty is a cognitive process of gathering information that invalidates your fear or increases your comprehension of the imagined situation and how to handle it. Providing your brain with the understanding, you can overcome the fear serves to turn down the volume on the anxiety. The more certainty you can develop around fear, the quieter the anxiety and the resultant stress becomes.

Managing uncertainty can take time, and unsurprisingly, anxiety and stress doesn’t disappear while we are trying to develop certainty. It’s beneficial, therefore, to have some tools that can help release the pressure when it all gets too much. The tools below were shared by Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman from Stanford University on a recent Thrive Global post. They act on the core nervous system to shift us from “fight-or-flight” into the “rest-and-digest” state, and in doing so, calm us down.

1. Use Panoramic Vision

The focus of the eyes is closely linked to felt levels of stress. Engaging panoramic vision (looking straight ahead and allowing the peripheral vision to expand), can positively impact stress levels.
When feeling stressed or experiencing a build-up of anxiety. Lifting the gaze away from the screen and looking ahead can have a profoundly positive affect. Or better still, increase the impact by getting outside into nature and viewing the horizon; bonus points for a sunrise or sunset.

2. Exhale Emphasised Breathing/Physiological Sighs

One of the most common things people say when someone is stressed is to take a deep breath. However, studies show that it’s actually the exhale that plays the most significant role in the calming the nervous system. Inhale focused breathing (any breathing technique in which the inhale is longer) increases agitation and stress in the body; which can be valuable under certain circumstances. Exhale emphasised breathing, where the exhale is longer, allows the nervous system to be reset to base levels.

Completing two to five rounds of a physiological sigh — double inhale (breath in, pause, breath in again) and long sigh out the mouth — will be impactful in lowering stress levels.

3. Take Action

Often times when stress arises, the last thing I feel like is doing is moving. I have even found myself in a state of paralysis in exceptional circumstances. Other times I have attempted to suppress the overwhelming feeling of stress because I’m not sure how to handle it. These reactions are counterintuitive to our physiology.

Rising levels of stress are the nervous systems way of encouraging forward movement to take action towards confronting a challenge or problem. Doing so provides the rewarded of a release of dopamine — a feel-good chemical in the brain that is part of the body’s reward system. This dopamine hit suppressed the internal chemicals responsible for the feeling of stress and strengthens the “take action” circuit of the brain. Making it easier to take action the next time stress takes hold.

I can achieve a similar outcome by taking action on something wholly disassociated from the source of the stress. Just succeeding at making a cup of coffee, putting on a load of washing on or making the bed can also stimulate a release of dopamine in moments of heightened distress.

So, what can we learn from Willow, a three-year-old little girl with a fear of becoming lost?

1. All fear, including anxiety-inducing irrational fear, can be life-threatening. What life-threatening anxiety and suffering are you choosing to live with?

2. It’s easier for us to find avoidant workarounds rather than facing our fears. What are the workarounds masking your fears, and inhibiting your growth opportunities?

3. Irrational fear and the resultant feeling of anxiety can be overcome by eliminating uncertainty. What steps will you take to bring certainty to the context of an existing fear?

Just before I published this article, I spoke to some close friends. I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing by putting a story about my beloved daughter on the internet. One piece of feedback was so thought-provoking; I thought it worth sharing.

“…maybe change this line, because it is only when it comes to lifts, the line below implies she has it in all situations?

So, what can we learn from Willow, a three-year-old girl with a fear of becoming lost?

I don’t know if you want to label her. All kids look for their parents”

The same concern had crossed my mind. Willows situation is primarily concerning elevators, but there have been other instances too, and most kids do worry about becoming lost. But, I think this is an excellent illustration of a large part of the problem. We are societally scared to label and confront our fears. Instead, we put on a brave face, muddle through and die a little more inside each day.
​
I don’t want that for my daughter or for anyone else. It is my hope that the research I did to write this will allow me to help Willow overcome her fear and that in reading it, others will be inspired to do the same.

In March 2020, life started to feel a little funky, and not in the cool hip, bluesy kind of way, more of a holy almighty what has just happened to the world as I knew it kind of panic funk, and I’m certain I wasn’t the only one feeling this heavy uneasy feeling.

Retrospect is a wonderful thing and six months on, I am grateful for all the knowledge and practices I had leading up to the occurrence of this global funk. I was able to navigate out of it, with a quick journey up to a higher perspective, noticing what was contributing to my personal experience of what was going on in the world, taking stock of what I could control, and then taking decisive action and maintaining practices that would allow me to weather this unrelenting onslaught of confusion.

There are many tools and ideas that I called on during this time, but the one I believe that served me the most was an idea I was introduced to in 2004 as part of a Leadership program I had attended.

The idea was simple; I could either choose to approach life from one of two narratives, that of a person who has mastery over their life or one who has adopted a victim mentality. I recall having to list all the traits of a victim and a master. Upon reflection, I promptly decided that Mastering my life was where it was all a. So began the long and never-ending path to Mastery of Self, I began doing my best to model my life on being a person who took full responsibility for their outcomes, I began reflecting and adapting behaviours along the way. This was a game changer for me, I was letting go of allowing external forces such as relationships, the economy, managers or any situation outside of my control define who I was and how I felt, I was determined to dive into the depths of my being to see what I was really made of, oh and for what it’s worth, I am still doing that!

Years later I would come across two other frameworks that expanded on these Victim / Master narratives. I was introduced to two new roles that keep us in a state of Funk and two additional roles that would allow me to show up as a better human to those I was sharing life with, move beyond the ongoing cycle of uncertainty and victim hood. Enter ‘The Drama Triangle’ (Stephen Karpmen) and ‘The Empowerment Dynamic’ (David Emerald). These ideas took me from looking at how I showed up for myself in life and introduced me to the roles I (and you) play in every human interaction and in every situation. I now had a detailed brief of the games we all unwittingly play together. The ongoing narratives we shift between that keeps us, and as we are experiencing on a global scale, the world in the funk of Drama and the roles we can choose to step into, to finally lift that funk.

The three roles in Karpman’s Drama Triangle are Victim, Rescuer & Persecutor.

1. Victim – This is when we feel life is happening to us and we react as opposed to respond in situations.  If you don’t think you ever play this role… perhaps think about the last time you complained! Complaining is the language of a victim! (My uber eats was delivered cold) We will know we are playing the victim card when we say things like, this is hard, I am powerless, I’m not OK, this sucks. We would be feeling helpless, frustrated and unheard. Heck we may even be looking for validation or approval, give up, feel drained and even distance ourselves from others.
   
2. Rescuer – Oh, we all love this role, and I know I have been guilty of stepping into this role a lot in the past. This is when we are the one coming in and saving the day for the victim. We love telling other people what to do. This desire to step in and help unintentionally perpetuates helplessness. In this role we think we have to save others from harm or failure or fix their problems. (hello spouses). When we put on our rescuer cape we may be telling ourselves, if I do good, I will be worthy. Or we may feel sorry for the person we are trying to ‘save’. We have a distorted belief that we are in some way better or more advanced than the person we want to help. Oh, and what keeps the rescuer rescuing? Society! We all love a good Samaritan story, yet some wise dude from about 2,020 years ago encouraged us not feed people fish (Rescue), but to teach them how to fish (support).
   
3. Persecutor – We will find ourselves in this role when we put people, ideas or new information down. We step into this role when we think we know best; we have the answers and other people don’t have a clue (shout out to anyone who has said something negative about a politician or activist without ever being in their shoes). You will know you are persecuting when you attempt to dominate others to get your point across, thinking your way or what you know is the only way to help them get ahead. You think that in this situation you know best, you know exactly what’s going on and you need to be the one to call things out. You know those times when you have lashed out when your point of view wasn’t accepted, or you criticised someone for not taking your advice, or judged someone’s lifestyle choices – that’s you pulling up your persecutor socks. 
   

Freeing yourself from the Funk, requires a shift from reacting in a situation to choosing to pause and consciously respond to life’s events. When you practice responding, you take yourself out of the situation and are better equipped to observe your behaviours. David Emerald ‘s book “The Empowerment Dynamic” provides alternatives to playing in the dysfunctional Drama Triangle. You can move from showing up as a Victim, Persecutor or Rescuer to interacting in a positive and empowering way.  With curiosity and compassion, you can move from being a rescuer to a supporter, from a persecutor to a challenger and from being a Victim of Circumstances to Self-Authoring and creating your life.

Using the wisdom of Buckminster Fuller you can switch out the Drama roles by creating new mental models that would look like this.

You will notice a clear difference between the roles, the roles trapped in drama keep everyone stagnant, angry, anxious and frustrated. While the empowering roles facilitate growth, and physical, mental and emotional well being.

 It takes moments to read about these roles, however it takes a lifetime of application to master the empowering behaviours that will free you from the funk.
 
As you reflect on life right now, this perpetual funk that most find themselves in, ask yourself, am I keeping myself here, am I dancing around with my friends and family in Drama or are we empowering ourselves and those we care about to take responsibility and self-author our way to greater agency?

I want to leave you with this quote by Jim Rohn as food for thought and to inspire you to no longer being the victim to what is happening in the world we share, but to choose to take responsibility and create circumstances that turn the Funk into Funky (in a bluesy kind of way)

Let's dance!

Georgia

The Life Reloaded and Future Ready Leadership programs run by Blue Chip Minds dive deep into these models and much more to help you to stop dabbling in Drama and begin to reclaim your personal agency.