956 | Staying Heart-Wired When Life Gets Hard

In today’s episode, Marsha explores what it truly means to stay Heart-Wired when life feels heavy, uncertain, or emotionally demanding. Recorded during the holidays, this conversation meets listeners in the reality that leadership, visibility, and openness don’t pause just because things are hard — and neither does the nervous system’s instinct to protect.

Marsha breaks down the difference between being hard wired (armored, shut down, surviving) and heart wired (regulated, open, emotionally present), and why most people default to protection when things feel unpredictable. Drawing from neuroscience, lived experience, and real world examples, she explains how staying open isn’t about bypassing pain, but about building capacity, self trust, and sustainable leadership.

This episode is an invitation to stop armoring up, reconnect with your heart as a source of intelligence and safety, and lead yourself forward even when it would feel easier to shut down.

Highlights[00:45] Why staying heart wired is hardest exactly when you need it most

[01:20] The science of heart to brain communication and why thinking harder doesn’t help

[02:15] Why slowing down, breathing, and listening create more clarity than force

[03:10] Hard wired vs heart wired: survival mode versus regulated leadership

[04:05] Why numbing out and armoring up feel easier but cost you more long term

[05:10] The subconscious need for predictability and why hard seasons trigger shutdown

[06:05] Common fear stories that surface under stress: “I’m too much” and “If they see me, they’ll leave”

[07:10] How armoring kills creativity, connection, and support

[08:00] Regulating through breath and anchoring back into the heart

[08:55] Vulnerability as expansion, not weakness

[09:50] Turning discomfort, criticism, and visibility into leadership fuel

[11:05] Why belief is the foundation required for what you’re building next

[13:00] Your heart as a superpower meant to be used when things are hard

Marsha Vanwynsberghe — NLP Storytelling Trainer, OUTSPOKEN NLP Coaching Certification, Author, Speaker, and Podcaster

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