Start-here.life

27/08/2026

DOPAMINE NATION! A book I read a while ago.

This is what we have become! Wanting everything right NOW!

This is so sad 😢

When I was younger if I couldn’t afford something I saved up.

I had to wait a week for the next episode to drop of my favourite series.

If I wanted to buy something I had to physically go to a shop!

I had to use my imagination to entertain myself.

Going back in time further… there were no pregnancy tests.. you just had to wait and see. There were no scans and pictures you had to imagine.

The chip shop arrived in a van once a week! So did the library… you had to read the book in time to return it not leave it next to the bed for months!

There was no choice at the cinema you just went to see what was showing.

When you were hungry you had to wait for dinner and you couldn’t miss it because of your social life, or you didn’t get fed 🤣. Everyone ate together at the table.

If you wanted to know something you looked it up in a book!

If you wanted sweets you had to wait until pocket money day!

The waiting made that ‘thing’ better for the wait!

The excitement lived in that gap, the anticipation!

The joy was in the journey!

What are we teaching our kids?!

This is not life coaching as such although maybe it is !

Just thoughts 💭

What did you have to wait for in the past that was better because you did ??

11/08/2026

Should you hold on or let go?

This is a question that only you know the answer to.

Whether it’s a relationship, job, friendship, commitment…. sometimes it’s worth the extra effort to hold on until it gets better again.

Sometimes it’s not.

I think the answer lies somewhere inside of you..

Ask yourself:

Am I escaping because I don’t want to put the hard yards in?

Why don’t I want to?

If I did what is the best outcome I can hope for?

How likely is that to happen?

What can I do to get this back on track?

If I leave this, am I prepared for the fall out?

What can I do to minimise the impact on myself and others?

Is it my responsibility to minimise it for others?

Am I staying put because of fear, worry, anxiety and because it’s easier ?

Explore these questions… dog deep. Don’t act out of impulse and remember your first responsibility is to you.. 😌

Start here Life and Sober Coaching Unlock the power inside you and create a better future Invest in yourself – it’s never too late to rewrite your story reach out today Hi, I’m Alex Brown I’m an Alnwick-based Life and Sober Coach, passionate about helping people live happier lives through cl...

29/07/2026

Are you writing the ending before you have begun ?

Crystal Ball reading is something we can all do sometimes.

Truthfully you don’t know what is going to happen ever.

You don’t know what someone else thinks or feels unless you are a mind reader.

If you are going to make it up in your head then make it up to the good.. it helps.

Imagine the best outcome not the worst.

If the worst happens deal with it when and if it happens.

Spending energy and time on negativity is such a waste… it’s easier said than done right ?

Make a list of all the possible outcomes and pick the best outcome.. now focus 🧘 on that.

Our brains are naturally drawn to negativity you have to actively work to focus on the positive.

The good news is the more you do it the more it happens naturally and without effort like magic ✨.

Try it .. see what happens.

24/07/2026

IT ONLY TAKES ONE ☝️ ⭐

This is a mantra of hope & one that holds so much wisdom.

⭐ One Moment

⭐ One person

⭐ One chance meeting

⭐ One book

⭐ One Comment

I could go on… my point is that no matter how lost you feel or how down you are or how stuck it only takes ONE, can change the whole trajectory of your life!

For me this has been 100% true.

One advert on Facebook and I enrolled on a self development course. This led to a Diploma in coaching. This led to a change in career. This led to changing my entire life… (short version!)

It’s much better to remind yourself of this than sit in negativity thinking nothing will change.

If nothing changes then you change!

⭐ IT ONLY TAKES ONE ⭐ feels light not heavy.

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21/07/2026

If misery lies between expectation and reality then joy also lies here !

It occurred to me that if the above is true then so is the opposite…

Take for example you hate your job / school.

Sunday night you get that familiar feeling of churning in your stomach… anxiety at the thought of tomorrow.

You wake up Monday morning and it’s snowed heavily over night …

You can’t get to school or work.

It’s a gift 🎁… you get to breathe peacefully for another day!

Here is another lesson …

Sometimes our expectations are miscalculated.

Sometimes life surprises us.

Maybe the way to be is to expect something positive, you can avoid that anxiety and just expect that the next day will not be anywhere near as bad as you expected. It might be great

On a final note… if you don’t like where you are change the view.

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20/07/2026

LIVE AND LET LIVE 🙏

The year is 2026 yet some people still have a very fixed mindset about how others should live!

Absolutely EVERYONE is entitled to live how they choose in a way that makes them happy.

Why is it that others express criticism and judgement when people live in an unconventional way? Who dictates what is classed as a conventional way to live?

I have recently been listening to clients and realised there are so many ‘ways’ to live. I myself am not a ‘run of the mill’ person.

Today let go of judgement of others, holding onto criticism is a waste if energy.

Similarly DO NOT get bogged down in others opinions of you or your perceived opinions…this is also a waste of your energy and something you can’t control.

Live your life in a way that works for you. Be happy. Be healthy and live in peace 🫶.

Let others do the same.. you do you. Life is simpler that way & so much more enjoyable!

18/07/2026

Take off the mask …

Do you feel like you have been wearing a mask that’s too tight ?

Have you built an identity that no longer serves you?

Masks are worn in the corporate space… your work persona

Around your customers and clients

With your partner / kids / parents

As a student

At school

In your community

Sometimes some or all !

Then … Something subtle shifts a quiet discomfort like recognising you are performing a role.

Or a traumatic event that causes an explosion 💥

The identity you built was a strategy to survive in a world that asked you to be something that you weren’t.

Maybe you wanted to be quiet but the world asked you to keep pushing hard.

You cannot hold it together it’s exhausting … you have been abandoning yourself for so long.
The shell cracks and you begin to find yourself.
The part that’s been quiet for so so long is starting to speak up ..

This can happen at any age, sadly for some it never happens.

I want to say that:

You are allowed to let go of the identity that no longer serves you.

It can be hard, it takes courage but the reward is everything … it’s peace

You might be stuck in the middle feeling like you don’t know who you are .. you are still
discovering that.

Turn towards the discomfort that’s where the answers lie …

Ask yourself:

Who would I be if I stopped performing?

Allow the old to fall away, feel uncomfortable, surrender…

This journey is one to enjoy 🫶

YOU are enough. YOU are home 🏠

@

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15/07/2026

Suffering happens in the space between expectation and reality.

What does that mean?

It means that for example.. we go out for a birthday meal and the food is poor, our expectation was the food would be good. We took time to choose the restaurant, we looked forward to it but the reality is it didn’t meet our expectation.

Now comes the suffering… not because of the food quality but because we expected something that in our opinion wasn’t delivered.

However, how you feel about it is within your control. Maybe it was a great evening because you connected with family and friends. Maybe the wine was good. Maybe the weather was good. Maybe the service was good?

You could choose to dwell on the poor food or on the positive side. Change your expectations for the evening and look at it as a whole not just one part.

In this way suffering is massively reduced. Now you reflect on the evening with fond memories and next time don’t expect anything then everything you get is a bonus 🙂.

14/07/2026

What happens when you have been stuck in fight/flight mode for a long time?

I’ve heard people say that when they go on holiday it takes them a full week to relax so a 2 week break is needed.

When we are all systems go for a long time your nervous system gets stuck in this way of being & doing. Stopping and relaxing is therefore hard to do.

This is one of the reasons that daily meditation is so important.

If you are used to calming yourself daily then relaxation comes naturally.

Your holiday can start on day 1 not 7!

Similarly if you are constantly ‘masking’ and not being yourself it takes its toll and again it’s hard to return to being yourself.

Masking zaps your energy, it’s exhausting.

Put down the mask, put down the job, put down the expectation, put down the control and just simply BE.

Breath, be yourself, feel safe, feel calm.

DON’T rely on other unhealthy habits like escaping into social media, alcohol, food. All of these things will help you in the SHORT TERM but will NOT recharge you, they will further deplete you.

Breathing is the answer always 🫶

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13/07/2026

Breath of Life

USE YOUR BREATH 🫶

You can use your breath to change any situation or thought you are stuck in.

You can face pain, sorrow, stress, anxiety anything you are faced with that is difficult.

When I had 3 biopsies taken of my left breast and clips put in, I used my breath to calm myself. I felt little pain and remained calm throughout.

The consultant commented on it and said he had never seen anyone stay so calm.

I had practiced meditation for a long time when my cancer diagnosis came along.

Using my breath helped me more than anything throughout all my treatment and beyond.

I will continue to keep ‘banging on about it’ because meditation has changed my life 🙏

Breathing is something we all do 24/7 yet most of us pay little attention to it. The body is incredible it knows how to breathe 🧘‍♀️ but in times of stress our breath changes pace … you have the power to change it back … take it !

If you want to know more and just have an informal chat reach out 💚

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