3. Keep Going: The Game

If life is a game (and I think it might be), then I’m here to help you play it your way and get where you want to go.

Last time, I said I'd share my Emotional SatNav analogy with you. It's crucial for figuring out your next move in this game, so here goes:

We all have this highly advanced system built into us that runs on feelings. Let's call it your E-SatNav.

It works like this: your body constantly checks in with your emotions (feelings) to tell you if things are good or bad, safe or dangerous. Pleasure means keep going; pain means stop. Simple, right?

It's like your car's SatNav telling you which turn to take. Only instead of roads, your E-SatNav tells you how to act.

The word 'emotion' literally comes from the Latin word 'emovere' – to move. Feelings are meant to get you moving.

"Okay, Liz," you might be thinking, "but my emotions mostly make me feel anxious, angry, or overwhelmed — that doesn't sound like a helpful direction system. Is my E-SatNav broken?"

Nope. You're not broken, and neither is your E-SatNav (though a good therapist can help tune it up!). The issue is how your E-SatNav works out your starting position.

Your car SatNav uses satellites to pinpoint your location. Your E-SatNav? It uses your thoughts, feelings, and mood. Which means if you're feeling anxious about your new role (even though you're doing brilliantly), your E-SatNav might mistakenly think you're 'At Risk.'

That can trigger you to start scanning for danger, wrongly interpreting people who are actually intimidated by your success as doubters or critics. Suddenly you're in defensive mode, feeling like you need to fight to prove yourself. And that? That usually ends with you knee-deep in unnecessary drama.

But if you'd shifted your mindset to recognise you’re already successful, you'd have seen those same people as needing a bit of encouragement to step up themselves. One of my clients did exactly that, and now she’s thriving in her new role — and so are her colleagues.

Where you think you are mentally makes all the difference. That's why your attention is so critical.

Your E-SatNav also relies heavily on the 'map' you're using. If you're stuck on the "life is a struggle" map (which is pretty popular right now), your E-SatNav will keep steering you into frustration and overwhelm.

But you can change the map.

Instead of driving your life like you're about to be abandoned in the wilderness (which, sadly, is how a lot of us learned to feel as kids), you can install a new map — one that assumes good things are possible now.

Your E-SatNav is constantly nudging you towards happiness. The problem is you may have turned down the volume on that signal, tuning instead into "Misery FM."

I wrote about this in my book Unstuck: Change Your Life Story. The bottom line is this: your feelings are instructions. Pleasure means keep going. Pain means change something.

Here's where it gets tricky: thanks to entertainment, we now experience feelings without action. Fear in a cinema seat. Excitement from a book. Adrenaline from a video.

The problem? Your body still reacts as if those feelings are real. Your entertainment diet starts to reset your mood. Worse… Your actual feelings are seen as a passive by product of your life (which you are now spectating) instead of the call to action they are meant to be.

So when your E-SatNav shouts, "Return to the route!" don't just sit there feeling bad — take action.

If you're stuck in an anxious spiral about what your colleagues might be saying, pause. Ask yourself: "Is this feeling based on something real, or am I just overloaded with too much drama from my news feed or wired to expect to fail?"

It’s like that moment when you realise you’ve had one too many drinks or too many chocolates — you can choose to stop this crazy train of thoughts.

And yes, I get it — that's hard. We've become so uncomfortable with discomfort that we treat it like pain. But discomfort isn’t pain — it’s a sign you’re working, learning, growing.

I've started reminding myself of this during workouts. When those final reps feel hard, I say out loud: "I’m just uncomfortable, I’m fine." Otherwise, my old, ‘scared and over protected child’ thoughts kick in and I convince myself: ‘better stop before I hurt myself.’

The same goes for emotional struggles. I used to shield my kids from that discomfort, but I realised (thanks to my amazing partner) that letting them experience those moments builds resilience. Life doesn’t always act like a loving mother, and if we don’t build that strength, we can end up feeling crushed when things get hard.

So here's my advice: start tuning in. Pay attention to what you’re feeling and ask yourself if you have given your E-SatNav the wrong data. Are you mistaking discomfort for pain? Are you really where you think you are? Where are you going next?

Make ‘what is next’ a positive place / feeling you want.

‘Not Birmingham’ is not a destination, neither is ‘not embarrassed.’ Annoyingly your E-SatNav does not do ‘not’ so whatever you are thinking about you are pulled there. Just like your car goes where you are looking.

If this resonates — if it feels like we just had a conversation — I invite you to try it in real life - book a clarity call with me. Let's talk about where you are now and where you want to go.

Because life is a game, my friend. And you deserve to play it your way.