Mostly Regulated

In this episode of Mostly Regulated, host Dylan Sulzer, founder of Not Just A Teacher Education, explores empathy and perspective and why seeing comes before caring.Rather than treating empathy as a moral trait or something people should simply have, Dylan unpacks what empathy actually is, how it develops and why it has natural limits. You’ll hear why lived experience plays such a powerful role in our ability to empathise, why young people often struggle to access empathy in the way adults expect and how perspective-taking becomes the foundation that empathy can build on over time.Drawing on lived experience from classrooms, parenting, leadership and everyday relationships, this episode looks at how misunderstandings often arise not from a lack of care, but from different internal rulebooks shaped by development, stress and context.The episode also features a reflective discussion with Shaye from the Not Just A Teacher Education community, highlighting how two people can view the same questions in completely different ways and what that teaches us about relationships, leadership and emotional intelligence.Blending real stories, accessible neuroscience and grounded reflection, this episode invites you to slow down, widen your perspective and reconsider what empathy actually requires.If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “Why don’t they get it?” or “Why does this feel so hard to connect around?”, this episode offers a calmer, more human way forward.

In this episode of Mostly Regulated, host Dylan Sulzer, founder of Not Just A Teacher Education, unpacks the truth about self-regulation. Not the social media version of calm, but the evidence-based, deeply human process that shapes how we manage stress, emotions, behaviour and connection in everyday life.You’ll hear what happens in the brain and nervous system when you become overwhelmed, why emotions feel contagious through mirror neurons and how dysregulation shows up in relationships, classrooms, workplaces and families. Dylan breaks down how self-regulation develops across childhood, adolescence and adulthood, what each stage actually needs, and why co-regulation is one of the most powerful tools for parents, teachers and leaders.We’ll explore:Why self regulation is not about “staying calm”, but about steering your nervous system when your stress response activates.How the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and stress hormones like cortisol shape emotional reactions.Why mirror neurons make other people’s emotions so infectious, especially in families, teams and classrooms.What children, teens, young adults and adults need at different developmental stages to regulate well.How parents, educators and leaders influence emotional safety through their own regulation.Practical tools and simple rituals that support emotional regulation.How reframing your internal story can shift emotional triggers and reduce stress long term.Why finding joy in simple, accessible moments is one of the most underrated mental health strategies we have.Blending relatable stories, neuroscience you can actually understand and everyday strategies you can use immediately, Dylan reveals why self-regulation is not an innate talent, but a learnable emotional intelligence skill that improves wellbeing, performance and relationships.If you’ve ever thought, “Why do I react like this” or “I wish I could catch myself sooner”, this episode is your roadmap back to clarity, steadiness and emotional control.

In this episode of Mostly Regulated, host Dylan Sulzer, founder of Not Just A Teacher Education, unpacks what self-awareness actually is, how it develops and why it shapes every part of our emotional world far more than we realise.You’ll hear how self-awareness shows up in childhood, how it shifts through adolescence, and how the brain rewires itself over time to help us understand who we are. We explore the neuroscience behind it, from the prefrontal cortex and default mode network to the emotional systems that shape our thoughts, reactions and identity.We’ll unpack:• Why self-awareness is more than a trend or “era” and how it really works in the brain• How your early strengths and experiences influence the way you see yourself• The identity shifts that happen in adolescence and early adulthood• The Three Pillars that anchor who you are when life gets messy• The difference between self-awareness in young people and adults, and why strengths come first• Simple practices you can use today to build clarity, regulation and emotional stabilityWith honest storytelling, reflections from Dylan’s own journey and neuroscience you can actually understand, this episode breaks self-awareness down in a way that feels practical and deeply human.If you’ve ever wondered why you feel the way you do, or you want to understand yourself with more clarity and kindness, this episode is for you.

In this first episode of Mostly Regulated, host Dylan Sulzer, founder of Not Just A Teacher Education, breaks down what emotional intelligence really is, where it came from and why the world needs it more than ever.You'll hear how five-year-olds define emotional intelligence, to how Aristotle, Darwin and modern neuroscientists all connect on this topic and learn what the data says about why it matters for students, teachers, parents and workplaces today.We’ll unpack:Why emotional intelligence isn’t about being “nice,” but about being aware.The backstory behind emotional intelligence and its rise into mainstream literature.What Australian and global research tells us about the impact of emotional intelligence.Why employers are already calling emotional intelligence a top-ten skill for the next decade.With warmth, humour and neuroscience you can actually understand, Dylan reveals why emotional intelligence is fundamental to our human infrastructure.If you’ve ever thought, “I wish I’d handled that better,” this episode is for you.