Annita Gibson

What started as selling my dad's old iPhone on eBay has turned into an unexpected life lesson. 📱🔒

The phone sold.
Then it got returned because it was locked.

I had no idea.

Since then it's been on extensive chats to Apple, Telstra, visits to stores, conflicting advice, referrals to different departments and more dead ends than I care to count.

Today's result?
Another dead end. 🤦‍♀️

So I found myself asking:
What is this trying to teach me?

A mobile phone is how we communicate, connect and access the world.

And here I am holding a device I can't access.

It made me wonder how many of us do the same thing to ourselves.
✨ Lock away our confidence. ✨ Silence our voice. ✨ Forget our joy. ✨ Lose access to the version of ourselves we know is still there.

Not lost.
Just forgotten.

Sometimes the thing we're frustrated by isn't the real lesson.

Sometimes it's showing us where we've lost connection with ourselves. 💛

And my dear dad's solution?
"Just smash it with a hammer." 🔨😂
At this point, I'm not ruling anything out.

MindsetShift SelfDiscovery WomenOver40 IdentityWork PersonalDevelopment TheTrustMethod

Have you ever been called something and thought…

“Wow. We are experiencing two completely different versions of me.” 😅

Recently, a complete stranger observed me as a micromanager.

I almost laughed.

Because while I have high standards and care deeply about growth, supporting people and doing things well…

Micromanager?

That’s never been an identity I’ve associated with.

And my all-time favourite? 👇

Being called aggressive… when really, I’m being assertive, confident and simply using my voice.

Funny how having boundaries, standards or certainty can feel threatening to some people.

It got me thinking… 💭

How many women have spent years shrinking themselves because they were labelled:

⚡ Too much
⚡ Intimidating
⚡ Aggressive
⚡ Difficult
⚡ Selfish
⚡ Emotional
⚡ Not enough

The truth?

People see us through the lens of their own experiences, fears, beliefs and expectations.

Sometimes what others think of you has very little to do with you at all.

That doesn’t mean feedback is useless.

Occasionally there’s wisdom hidden in discomfort.

But one of the most freeing things I’ve learnt is to pause and say:

“That’s interesting.” 👀

Not defensive.
Not agreement.
Just curiosity.

Because you do not need to pick up every opinion someone hands to you. 🤍

✨ What you think of me is none of my business.

I’m curious…

What’s a label or assumption someone has made about you that left you scratching your head?

Yesterday I threw myself a pity party. And I'm not even sorry about it. 🖤

Physical pain does something nobody talks about — it doesn't just hurt your body.

It pulls the floor out from under your emotions.
Logic, perspective, resilience — gone. Just survival mode.
And then comes the anger. 😤

But here's what I've learned — anger is almost never the real emotion.
It's the bouncer. Arms crossed at the door, protecting what's actually underneath:
The hurt. The fear. The vulnerability we're not ready to show.

I was in all of it yesterday. Work frustrations. Back pain so bad I overdid it on pain meds and ended up feeling sick on top of everything else.

Full. Funk. 😩

And still — even at the bottom of it — there's a part of me now that knows:
This turns around. It always does. 🌊

The tide goes out. Morning follows night. 🌅

When I want to point the finger at what's going wrong, I remember — three fingers always point back. At my beliefs. My attitudes. My emotions.

Not self-blame. Self-awareness. 🔍

Today, on the other side, I can ask:
👉 What was my body trying to tell me?
👉 What were those emotions pointing to beneath all that noise?

And from here? Appreciation. ✨
Real appreciation — for the lesson, and for the fact that I came through it again.

If you're in your own funk right now — feel what you need to.

The upswing is coming. It always does. 💛

Which emotion do you find hardest to sit with — and why?

8 weeks post-burn. 🔥

And this week… something shifted ✨

I finally made it to the burns unit at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital Burns Unit — 7 weeks after the accident.

And here’s the truth…

I had fallen through the cracks.

With third-degree burns, I should’ve been there weeks earlier.

There were delays. Resistance. A referral sent to the wrong place.

Time I can’t get back.

That part? Frustrating.

But I’m here now 💜
And now… we move forward.

No skin graft at this stage.
Just healing.

Slow, steady, intentional.

One millimetre at a time.

That’s how my skin will close.

So this isn’t a quick recovery…
it’s months, not weeks ⏳

Physically?

The pain was intense in the beginning.
Now… it’s manageable.

But what people don’t often ask is this—

How are you emotionally?

Because that’s where it’s been heavy.

Life paused.
Goals shifted.
My bodybuilding comp… not happening.

And the things that ground me — movement, hot yoga, routine — gone.

That takes a toll.

So maybe the better question isn’t,
“Are you in pain?”

It’s…

“How are you… really?” 💭

Healing isn’t just physical.

It’s mental. Emotional. Energetic.

And this is where my work holds me.

Mindset 🧠

Choosing my focus.
Pivoting when I need to.
Letting go of timelines.

Some days feel strong.
Some feel heavy.

Both are part of this.

I’m learning patience in a whole new way.

And I’m still moving forward…

Just differently ✨

One millimetre at a time 🤍