Episode #137: Betsy By Herself On Being the Homework

What happens after the brave thing? Not six months later. Not when the results are in. Immediately after. In this solo episode of The Discomfort Practice, Betsy reflects on what happened in the hours after launching the very first Embodied Leadership monthly Members' Lab in July 2026. The session itself was deeply moving, but not long after the room closed and her nervous system finally let go of months of holding, an old pattern came rushing in: the urge to burn it all down, disappear, and hide before anyone could reject something deeply personal. Something that truly matters to her. Rather than trying to fix or fight the thoughts, Betsy did what she teaches others to do: she observed them. Because sometimes we're not just teaching the work. We ARE the homework. And, as Betsy has found, in her work teaching embodied leadership, she most often IS the homework for things she passes on to others. In this episode, Betsy explores: Why old narratives often surface immediately after moments of courage The gap between what the body is experiencing and the story the mind creates How exhaustion can muddy the truth Why self-sabotage often arrives disguised as "being realistic" What it means to witness your patterns without becoming them A simple practice for noticing the story that appears after you do something brave If you've ever launched something, had a vulnerable conversation, taken a risk, or finally put yourself out into the world, only to immediately want to retreat, this episode is for you. Subscribe to The Discomfort Practice wherever you listen to podcasts. Work with Betsy Betsy is the founder of Embodied Leadership Lab, where she works with leaders, teams and organisations to develop embodied leadership, nervous system intelligence and capacity and more personally sustainable ways of leading in complexity. Check out Embodied Leadership Lab membership on Patreon Find out more about the work at www.embodiedleadershiplab.com  Subscribe to Betsy's Substack: @thebetsyreed