Life on Planet Earth can often feel challenging. Whether you’re facing health issues, conflict in relationships, or career blocks, there is plenty to cause us stress. Even if it’s not personal stress, we only have to turn on the TV, radio, or internet to find ourselves bombarded with news of war, natural disaster and crime. So, unless you plan on becoming a hermit on a desert island, your best option is to learn some tools for navigating the clickety-clack.
The particular incident of clickety-clack that showed up in my life and led to this journey, was a health crisis. I thought I was happily dealing with the physical and mental stress of working as a business strategy consultant in London, back in 2002. I assumed my increasing fatigue, recurrent throat infections and the odd dose of ‘flu were all perfectly normal. In fact, they were supposed to have been gentle nudges from my body to remind me I wasn’t taking proper care of it. When I ignored those nudges, things went horribly wrong… And also, horribly right.
You see, the clickety-clack isn’t what we think. So, I would love to share three important discoveries I made about navigating the clickety-clack…
Navigating the Clickety-Clack TV Series
I was privileged to be one of the experts, alongside Dr John Demartini, Marie Diamond and Joe Vitale, invited to share my story on the 2025 TV series, Navigating the Clickety-Clack: How to Live a Peace-Filled Life in a Seemingly Toxic World.
The video to the left is the trailer for the series. You can join the online launch party on 12th February 2025 by registering at this link.
I also have a free gift for you to download below. It shares the collective wisdom of all the amazing experts from the series, plus my simple 3-step guide to navigating the clickety-clack of life.
My first discovery…
This is the first discovery that changed my life. The clickety-clack isn’t a threat: It’s an invitation, an opportunity. I’m not saying the experience feels good, or that you should ignore those feelings. But if you actually wish to get to the other side of your challenge, your first step is to make this very important reframe. So, let me say it again: The clickety-clack is an invitation.
Whenever we are first hit with a challenge, it can feel overwhelming. We may feel fear, anxiety, helplessness, powerlessness, dread, shame… The list goes on. The emotions will be different person to person, situation to situation. They will also vary in intensity.
As we feel these emotions, a couple of things are likely to happen: The nervous system will step in and do its job of keeping us safe. It will signal the danger response to the body and we may experience physical sensations: nausea, panic, shut down, for example.
At some point in all of this, the mind is also going to jump in and add its story to make sense of the situation. Now, the mind is reading the emotions and the physical sensations and it will tell us that the clickety-clack is a threat.
In some instances, this evaluation may be correct. If someone is pointing a gun at your head, yes, that is a threat. But in other situations, the threat assessment may be less helpful. If your partner left their dirty dishes in the sink for the umpteenth time after you’ve repeatedly told them how annoying you find this… Not so much of a threat. Interestingly, though, both situations can raise the same experience in the body.
Why? Simply, whatever we are calling the “clickety-clack” or a challenge, is basically a trigger to the nervous system. It is some sort of trauma response. Now, this might be a severe trauma, or a minor trauma. And you might not be that comfortable with the word trauma.
So, another way of putting this… You are carrying some baggage that you don’t need any more. The clickety-clack is a nudge to remind you that you can let the baggage go now. Then, you will feel lighter, more joyful and peaceful once again. Life will feel easier.
Example: How did this apply to my situation?
Let me continue with my story. You might be wondering how an illness can be an invitation. My particular illness, chronic fatigue syndrome, is particularly interesting in this regard. You see, a lot of people have dismissed the illness as being “made up” by lazy people who want a bit of attention. I’m happy to say that people who actually knew me also knew that I just didn’t have the personality type to behave that way. Sadly, some people who didn’t know me did treat me as though I could just “get over it” if I wished to.
The first invitation
In fact, CFS is very physical and very real and it does require some physical support. So, where is the “invitation” in all of this? Well, on a physical level, I was being invited to learn that my body needs sleep. It needs healthy food. Exercise is also a strong requirement, along with daylight… Basically, all the things that I wasn’t giving it by following the lifestyle that went with my job at the time. So, invitation one: Learn to love my body.
The second invitation
Then, we go back to the “why?” question. When I was being asked to work 80 hours per week, why did I agree to that? Was it because I was getting paid overtime? No. Was it because I loved my job? Not really: I mean, I liked my job, but it was still just a job. Was someone else forcing me to do this? No. And, as one therapist actually asked me: was anyone going to die if I said “no”? Answer: No. So, what was driving me?
The desire to achieve. That sounds like a good thing, and it can be. But only when driven from love, not from fear. As I eventually came to know myself, I realised that my desire to achieve was driven by a deep, deep, cavernous pit of worthlessness. I didn’t recognise this in myself, or have the language to say it, but deep down, I didn’t feel worthy to “just be here”. I needed to prove I deserved to be on this planet. Hard work and achievement was the tool I had learned to use in order to serve that purpose. So, invitation two: Learn that I am worthy.
Guess what?
When I had learned my lessons, I found recovery. Not because the illness was “made up”. I recovered because I explored and came to understand the lessons I was being invited to learn. In learning them, my entire outlook and approach to life changed. Could I simply be in remission and have the illness recur, as some have suggested? Only if I unlearn the lessons. In fact, I know many people who have fully recovered from CFS and they will all tell you the same story. Once they explored, learned their personal lessons, they fundamentally changed and that change is what brought about complete recovery.
Is this the end of my personal clickety-clack? Of course not! We are designed to constantly grow and evolve. So, as my life continues, my invitations to grow will keep showing up. I simply view them through a different lens now. Instead of feeling threatened and trapped, I utilise the tool that came with my second revelation…
My second discovery about navigating the clickety-clack…
My second great discovery was very simple: Resistance is futile!
None of us desires to experience physical, mental or emotional pain. But the longer we try to ignore the problem, the more it persists. As the saying goes: what you resist, persists.
Now, part of the temptation to resist does come from a desire to avoid the discomfort of really facing whatever is happening. But part of this temptation also comes from a fear that if we accept the situation, we will remain stuck there.
The key to understanding this step lies in understanding the difference between victimhood and personal responsibility. If, by acceptance, you mean, “That’s just how it is and there’s nothing I can do about it,” then, yes you will remain stuck. Happily, it’s very simple to get unstuck. How? Just choose a different belief.
Again, reframe: Instead of, “there’s nothing I can do,” reframe to, “I’m not sure what the answer is right now, but I’m going to look for it.”
As I shared in my TV interview, most of the time I had no idea how I was going to recover from CFS. I simply held a stubborn belief that I would find a way, and I showed up as best I could on that quest every day. Some days I showed up powerfully and moved forwards. Other days, I experienced a lot of physical pain, very dark emotions and felt stuck. Ironically, leaning in to feeling the darkness ended up allowing me to let it go.
So, my second discovery: Take a lesson from Mother Nature and learn how to move with the flow, no matter how uncomfortable it feels. The discomfort passes, and it passes more swiftly when you face it fully.
My Story: Keeping it real while navigating the clickety-clack!
Now, I (probably) don’t know you personally, but I’m going to take a guess that you might be reacting to this second discovery. I’m making that guess based on my own experience. I remember people telling me over and over that I needed to stop resisting. Sometimes I would be thinking (and saying), “but I’m not resisting!”
Other times, my response would have been somewhat angrier. You see, we need to glance back at the issue of trauma. If your nervous system (like mine) has become very used to being on edge all of the time, then it doesn’t always feel easy to accept our situation. Neither does it feel easy to step away from the sensation that life is unfair and things are being done to us and we’re helpless in the face of all of this.
Well, what are you to do about that challenge?
So, although the concept of reframing, accepting, letting go, etc., is very simple, the reality can take some practice. Which is why people like me pop up to offer you tools, guidance and support! I’m sure you’re not an idiot and you have probably already been given some of this advice. Even if you haven’t, you’re quite likely sitting there thinking something along the lines of, “well that’s all very well in theory, but…”
Now, for others, you might find it simple to learn how to reframe, to accept, and to just do this stuff. Plenty of self-help gurus make it seem easy. Maybe it is for some. But if you’re not someone who finds this “easy” or natural, you may be accidentally finding yourself navigating the clickety-clack on an additional layer – the response to the original trigger. I have also learned that we can resolve all of this. But it takes time, patience, practice, and you’ll benefit from becoming acquainted with your nervous system so you can support yourself with compassion as you go.
That’s an area for deeper exploration later, but for now, let’s take a look at the third key to navigating the clickety-clack with ease and grace…
My third discovery to support this process…
So, having come to understand that the clickety-clack is actually an invitation for you, intended to (ultimately) help you, and having accepted your situation, it’s now time for some Calm, Compassionate Enquiry.
As you accept your situation, that means accepting the events unfolding, the emotions arising within you, and any memories of past experiences that were similar in nature. You can now begin asking questions.
What could you learn from this situation? Are you being invited to let go of an emotion, or a belief system? Or are you being invited to bring in something new? Maybe it’s a combination of both.
Now, it might feel tempting to think the lesson is something like, “I’m a really stupid person”. (That is a direct quote from a client who was really struggling with navigating the clickety-clack. Also a perfectly understandable response, given her life experiences). As I say, that may be an answer, but it’s not a compassionate answer. So, it won’t be the answer you’re seeking.
Believe it or not, the Universe does not wish you to suffer. It does wish you to grow. Your soul wishes to grow. Although most of us forget that when we incarnate here. And memory loss makes life very uncomfortable! Getting back on track: If growth is what you are here for, and suffering is not desirable, then there is really only one way of peacefully navigating the clickety-clack. Moving through it, learning the lesson(s) and growing from the experience.
When that process doesn’t fully complete, although you may manage to distract from or somehow divert the current issue, you’re really only “kicking the can down the road”. It is going to return and keep returning until you accept the invitation to learn and grow…sorry!
What is your next path?
Now, I have given you a lot to digest on this page. And, it’s fair to say that some of it may not taste so great at first. So, where is your internal SatNav guiding you now?
Do you believe my story and believe that if I can navigate through a chronic illness, you can navigate through whatever you are facing? If so, then how can I support you?
I invite you to download the Navigating the Clickety-Clack Guide as a starting point. That will share a little more information, some practical first steps, and potential next steps… And it’s free!
Or possibly you’re wondering if this is the right road for you to follow. In which case, you’re welcome to use this link to return to the other potential paths and explore some of those too.
And, if you’re ready to begin that practice of Calm, Compassionate Enquiry right away, then I invite you to begin exploring the Kolorlan System. This is designed to help you explore the thought patterns, emotions and beliefs you carry. With that awareness, you can then choose which to keep and which to let go. Whatever clickety-clack you are facing is going to be triggering the areas that are ready for release. So, the Kolorlan System will then allow you to gently let go in a way that is creative, fun and relaxing.
