Control the things you can control.
This only works if your nervous system can hold the pressure., here's what to do instead.
I’m getting a lot of emails lately asking:
“How do I get through this?”
“How do I stay steady when everything feels heavy?”
“How do I not fall apart?”
There’s a high-performance mantra that gets thrown around in elite sport:
“Control the things you can control.”
It’s designed to focus your attention inward, on what’s still within reach when pressure rises:
Your effort
Your attitude
Your preparation
Your focus
Your response to setbacks
And for athletes, that can work. Because they train for pressure. Their nervous system knows what to do in intensity.
But here’s what we’re never taught:
Control without capacity isn’t regulation.
It’s survival.
When your body is already stretched thin, when your mind won’t stop looping, when the news is loud and your breath is shallow: “Focus on what you can control” can feel like another job.
In my work, we don’t grip harder. We come back to rhythm.
We practice returning to a system that can hold sensation, without spiralling.
To help you find this, I’m holding a Friday substack live today at 3pm (UK).
Join me for a 15-minute guided practice of breath, movement and awareness, designed for high-functioning humans who don’t always have an hour… but still need a way to stand down.
It’s free to attend live. Replays will be available for paid subscribers.
You’ll be on the floor, carpet works well or throw a blanket down.
Please arrive on time. The set-up is part of the rhythm, and we start together.
📲 Download the Substack app → Find me → Tap “Join Live”
No performance. No fixing. Just a few minutes to return to yourself.
More ways to SOOTHE
IN PERSON: Soothe Day Retreat – London – January 17, 2026
A full-day retreat designed to meet the high-functioning body that’s been quietly holding it all. Across two somatic workshops, you’ll move through guided breathwork, floor-based flow, and nervous system grounding practices that don’t just release tension, they restore capacity.
This isn’t about disconnecting.
It’s about building a rhythm your system can finally exhale into.
Includes 5 hours of teaching + a beautiful vegetarian lunch.
£235 – Limited spaces. Book here.
ONLINE: How to Settle a Busy Mind (Without Sitting Still)
Thursday 22nd January at 7 pm (UK) 60 minutes + Recording
Book here £33
A nervous-system-first masterclass for people who’ve tried to meditate… and felt more anxious after.
You don’t need to learn to sit still.
You need a way to move with your system…not against it.
Join me for a practical, body-first workshop to gently unwind the pace your mind is holding and offer your system a new rhythm, without needing to shut it down.
We’ll work through:
Breath and awareness tools designed for fast, high-capacity minds
Somatic movement sequences that meet tension where it actually lives
A new definition of “calm” that doesn’t require you to disappear to access it
The Soothe Programme: my signature 12-week somatic strategy for high-functioning people who feel “always on” return to a felt sense of safety — through rhythm, breath, and subtle movement. It’s not mindset work. It’s body-brain rewiring. Available as a private container or as a self-paced journey with live elements. if you feel a pull, let’s talk.
Stay human,
Nahid x
Somatic Educator + Nervous System Strategist
thehumanmethod.co.uk