"This challenge helped me become more myself – a human being, not just a human doing – with less fear running the show"

The 7 Sacred States Challenge - From Human Doing to Human Being

Externally, people see a survivor-turned-leader: a senior RAF Wing Commander, trauma-informed leadership speaker and author who turned nine ACEs into a mission. Internally, my nervous system still behaved like it was on permanent active duty. I could talk about resilience on stage, then struggle to ask for help because I was terrified of rejection.

I joined The 7 Sacred States Challenge thinking it would be “a nice top-up.” Instead, it went straight to my inner operating system. Knowingness and Faith shifted me from “I hope it works out” to “I’m meant to be here.” I realised I’d been trying to manifest a better life while still doubting my right to take up space. Love and Stillness gave my body something it never had growing up in chaos: a felt sense of safety. Sitting in stillness without rushing to fill the silence took me back to nights as a child, crying in my room while the yelling echoed through the house. It showed me my mind isn’t the enemy; it’s just been overprotective. Non-Attachment, Devotion and Receiving turned my overachiever drive into something cleaner: do the work fully, then let go. I can be deeply committed without gripping outcomes.

This challenge helped me become more myself – a human being, not just a human doing – with less fear running the show.

✨ What state impacted you the most? Faith, amplified by Knowingness and Receiving. Faith allowed me to loosen my grip as I prepare to leave 23 years in the military and step deeper into my mission. Knowingness anchored that faith in identity, not achievement. Receiving was the behaviour shift: letting myself fully accept support, love and feedback without minimising or deflecting it.

✨ What did you notice in your mind, heart, or energy? Mind: Less catastrophising, more clarity. The background static of “what if?” turned down. Heart: Softer, more open. I moved from automatic self-criticism to genuine self-compassion. Energy: Less edgy, more grounded. I felt less like I was bracing for impact and more able to stand still and actually be present in the moment.

✨ What realisations, awakenings, or breakthroughs came through? My “always on” mode is not my personality; it’s an old survival response I can now thank and retire. Stillness isn’t empty; it’s where my best guidance lives. I don’t have to earn my worth through productivity, performance, or pain. The states work best together: Knowingness feeds Faith, Faith allows Non-Attachment, Non-Attachment opens Receiving, and Devotion keeps the whole practice alive.

✨ How did this challenge change the way you see yourself? I no longer see myself only as “the girl who survived nine ACEs.” I see myself as someone who can be strong and soft, strategic and surrendered – a leader who isn’t just managing life, but consciously aligning it. I trust myself more. I trust life more. And I trust that these seven states aren’t just a 7-day challenge, but a way of being I get to grow into, one magical moment at a time.

Thank you, Mindvalley and Vishen, for giving me not just tools, but a language and structure for the inner stance I’ve been searching for my entire life. I’m genuinely excited to read The Art of Becoming Unf*ckwithable in 2027 – and to keep rewriting my narrative so I can go from pages to stages and give the younger version of myself the belief that her voice is valuable.

Merry Christmas Mindvalley from mine to yours - Forever Grateful xx