Personal Story: When Disconnection Becomes a Deeper Connection
Zuzana Taylor • 19 October 2026
My morning walk is a small ritual to protect—a pause in the day, a chance to be with myself before the messages, plans, and responsibilities begin.
But that morning, my mind was already elsewhere. I was recording a message connected to my work with a client when my phone stopped working. I tried again, determined to finish what I had started. When I listened back, the recording was distorted and slow. My first thought was to try once more.
Then I noticed where I was: on a busy road, absorbed in my phone instead of the walk I had set aside for myself.
Sometimes we imagine connection as reaching out, replying, staying available, or completing one more task. Those things can matter. But in that moment, I began to wonder whether I was losing one kind of connection while trying to make another.
So I put the phone aside and turned toward the quieter path through the woods and the park. I let myself return to the reason I had gone out: to breathe, to notice, and to listen.
And then I saw a woodpecker.
I watched it work its way through the tree, absorbed in what it was doing. Around it, the world continued: birds moved through the branches, a squirrel bounced nearby, people passed by. The woodpecker seemed in no hurry to be anywhere else. It was simply there, doing what it came to do.
I became so interested that others slowed down to see what I was watching. For a moment, we shared the discovery. A small, unexpected connection grew out of my willingness to stop and pay attention.
That morning reminded me that disconnection isn’t always a loss. Sometimes, when technology interrupts our plans—or we choose to step away from it—we become available to something more immediate and real. The interruption brought me back to the walk, to the quiet, to the bird, and to myself.
We can create so much pressure in our minds about what must be done and when. But our bodies often offer subtle reminders to pause before we push too far. For me, the struggling phone became one of those reminders: this is your time; come back to the moment.
Perhaps connection is not always about holding on. Sometimes it’s about letting go of the expected connection long enough to discover another one—fresh, truthful, and happening right here.
And when we’re not sure how to begin, we can pause for a couple of minutes and breathe.
Sometimes, we need a moment to pause. Not to figure everything out. Not to find a solution. Not to make ourselves feel differently. Just a moment to notice where we are, how we feel, and what might be happening inside us. I’ve been thinking a lot about this through my own journey with sensitivity, my experience of perimenopause, and the work I do with women. For much of my life, I knew I was sensitive. I noticed things others didn’t. I felt things deeply. I sometimes needed more time, space and quiet than the people around me. I never really wanted to get rid of my sensitivity. Somewhere inside, I always knew it was a strength, even when it didn’t always feel that way. But over the years, I’ve learned that understanding your sensitivity and knowing how to look after yourself as a sensitive person are two very different things. And that understanding didn’t come all at once.
I have always loved trees, plants, animals, and the natural world. Nature has never felt separate from me. It has always felt like a relationship — a connection with something alive that surrounds us and reminds us that we are part of something much bigger. Recently, during the heatwave here in the UK, I found myself once again feeling such gratitude for the trees around me. The shade they provide. The coolness they bring. The way their presence changes the feeling of a space. The sense of calm and regulation they offer simply by being there. There is something about sitting beneath a tree, surrounded by greenery, that allows the body to soften. The nervous system seems to recognise the safety of nature — the slower rhythms, the movement of leaves, the quiet presence of something living. In a world that often feels busy, loud, and overstimulating, trees create spaces where we can pause, breathe, and reconnect with ourselves. In a city like London, where temperatures can rise quickly, trees are not just beautiful. They are living beings that support life around them. They offer shelter to birds, homes to insects, cooling for our homes, protection for the soil, and help with water when heavy rain comes.
One of the most common things I hear from women is: "I don't feel like myself." Sometimes they call it anxiety. Sometimes it's feeling overwhelmed by things that never used to bother them. Sometimes it's a constant sense of unease, a loss of confidence, overthinking, worry about health, worry about the future, or simply feeling emotionally unsettled. And often, they're carrying it silently. Trying to get on with life. Hoping it will pass. Wondering what's wrong with them. The truth is, there is nothing wrong with them. What they're experiencing is incredibly common during perimenopause and menopause, yet it's something that still isn't talked about enough .
Burnout. It’s a word we hear often, but unless you’ve experienced it, it’s hard to truly understand just how overwhelming it can be. It’s more than just feeling tired—it’s a deep, all-consuming exhaustion that no amount of sleep seems to fix. I know this feeling all too well. And if you’re here, you might be going through it too. The good news? Burnout isn’t the end of the road. It’s a signal—your mind and body telling you that something needs to change. The first step to recovery starts with recognizing this and giving yourself permission to pause.
We live in a society where it’s very easy to present polished and edited versions of ourselves — that ‘perfect’ shot on Instagram or gushing post on Facebook — only showing the best parts of our lives. To be truly authentic, we need to go past that superficial level and look within ourselves to find our true self. This is how people connect with people and how they connect with your business. It’s about connecting with your thoughts, beliefs, values and goals and allowing these to come through in how you lead your life. Questions to ask yourself to connect with your authentic self: What are my true desires? What are my real values? What are my beliefs? What do I want to achieve? Am I being my true self? Being authentic in business is about building loyalty and trust. People want to feel they are being told the truth and see the real people behind the business. They will buy into a product if they feel their values align. By opening up to people, you create greater connections with your ideal clients, so they get to know you better, then start to like you and trust you. People buy from businesses they trust. And, as a consumer, by choosing and being loyal to authentic businesses, people are also saying something about their personal authenticity.
Mindset is everything for business owners. The success mindset is a certain way of thinking; it’s about the way you approach challenges and mistakes. It builds confidence, resilience, enthusiasm and positive outlook on business and life in general. Mindset development leads to learning skills that allow you to work better and feel happier in all areas of your life. A negative self-destructive mindset can lead to self-doubt and low confidence, reflected in your performance and business. This usually leads to failure. Perhaps you are reading this because you want to improve things. Now is the time for you to change and develop your new success mindset. By reprogramming your negative thoughts, making changes and creating new habits, you will start seeing a positive effect, make progress and train your mind to succeed by developing the success mindset.
Before I had my two children, I was a very independent and ambitious woman with a vibrancy for living my best life. A creative and curious dreamer, as a child, I grew up in the beautiful country of Slovakia with the belief that I could do anything I dreamed of, a belief system nurtured by my parents. I was determined to work towards having flexibility and freedom to be my own boss and have my own business one day, that would fulfil my ambition to be successful and have everything I dreamed of. After studying psychology and a career working in London companies in business and marketing, I got married to the best man in the world, we bought a house and started a family. I was getting closer to my dream.
Being a mum already feels like a full-time job. When I wanted to start my own business a few years ago it felt almost impossible to have any time for a business and myself. However, having my own business had been a dream for a long time and I was determined to make it a reality. I quickly realised that being a mum adds to our skills; we are organised, flexible, patient and used to waking up earlier; this worked in my favour. I still had to make sure that I managed time to create balance between work and family. Here are my top five tips: 1. Be realistic about time Time is limited with family responsibilities. It helps to be realistic how much time you can locate to your business and yourself every day. Plan ahead — work with people in your household as a team. Discuss every evening what plans you have for the next day and synchronise diaries and tasks. Having family organised allows you to focus on yourself and your business. 2. To-do list Weekly planning to focus on three main things Every morning, think of three tasks for the day Make a list of monthly tasks 3. Prioritise A to-do list can be overwhelming so go through it and categorise; urgent and important, non-urgent but important, urgent but not important and non-urgent and not important. 4. Routine Waking up early before the children gives you a block of time to exercise or work on a particularly important task. Equally, if you are a ‘night person’, then that is also a time for such activities. Kids love routines; it gives them sense of security knowing what’s happening and what to expect. Allow for days off for quality time with family and friends and yourself. Rest, relax and recharge. Turn off your phone giving you space to reconnect with yourself. 5. Do not be afraid to ask for help: Learned to delegate Get help around the house and consider childcare Involve children in helping with house chores A virtual assistant or coach might be helpful for your business and keeping you on track Connect with likeminded people to discuss any problems and share experience Remember to Celebrate This is an especially important part and acknowledges what you have done or achieved, either by gratitude or a weekly treat. It will take time to implement these tips and for them to become routine. Be consistent and do not give up. Work smart, not hard, and be organised.
I am sharing with you a story I have told hardly anyone that relates back to WHY I do the work that I do today. If you really intend to transform your business, that you need to get started working on your mindset now... Why? I will share my personal story that started my mindset transformation. I haven’t shared this story with many people yet, but I think it should be heard. “We often think that starting a small business is a big deal, it’s stressful and we are not good enough, no money, no time and so on…Can you relate to this? Before we even start looking into it, we scare ourselves away just by thinking like that, we end up giving up. I believe, and I apply it with my clients that doing something you love should be fun and rewarding process. Yes, it takes courage, requires self-discipline, responsibility, it is hard sometimes, it’s challenging and exciting but fulfilling at the same time. It gives you that satisfying feeling of doing something for yourself and moving somewhere. And that was the reason for me to have my own business. Whenever I was thinking about starting my business, I used to say to myself… WHEN I have more time…, WHEN my children go to school…, WHEN I finish my course…, WHEN I have a website…, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN… Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I used to do this. I wanted it so much, but with WHEN I was just buying some time simply because I was scared to take that first step. Looking back now I know that there is never right time to for anything, it’s all about making that decision and going for it! I used to WAIT and WAIT and there was always something in my way or something happening that would not allow me to do what I dream of. I really believed that the right time will come. I got so tired of waiting, so one day I decided that no matter what will come in my way I will deal with it as and when it comes. I was determined to do whatever it takes to start the process of my own dream. And that’s when I turned my thinking around and made that shift in my mindset. I was determined to give it my all. Everything I have! This was a huge transformation towards my own personal and business success. I realised that I cannot predict what life will bring and I shouldn’t let that hold me back from following my dreams, from doing what I love. START WHERE YOU ARE and START NOW! NOW is the right time.” I know it's easy to put things off... and to tell yourself that you'll get to it later. But in this case, I really want you to avoid that temptation. You are here for a reason! In fact, if you're not absolutely eager to get started rocking with your Mindset Development and changing your life forever, then you are missing on a huge opportunity to make changes in your business and life in general. So, please do yourself a favour and start making those changes NOW! I know you can, Zuzana x
In LOVE with ME! The transformational power of loving yourself well. WHY am I talking about self-love? BECAUSE, that’s where LOVE starts. It starts with loving yourself. YOU first! Does it sound selfish? It may, but, if you cannot love myself, how can you love others, what you do and everything around you? The way you treat yourself sets standards how others treat you. Whether it is in business and/or personal life. Self-love unconditional Self-love is an ongoing, expanding learning process – a self-love journey. The more you learn and give, the more you get. As you learn to love yourself, you learn to love others and you get love in return in all forms. WATCH and be aware While practising self-love, you become more confident and accepting yourself and situations you find yourself in. Spring is a time for new beginnings, and is a reminder of how beautiful change can be. Now is a great time to learn and practise self-love. What is Self-love to me? Ask yourself this simple question. Write down whatever pops into your mind first. There is no right or wrong - just simple observation of what you feel and need to know in this moment. 20 self-love thoughts Choosing myself, recognising what is best for me. If it means leaving the party before everybody else, because I feel tired and I know I have children at home that might wake up the minute I get into my bed or wake up early in the morning. Or I am just simply done and happy to go home. Learning to set boundaries and being able to say ‘NO’ Saying what is truth to me, about how I feel and what I am going through Loving my body the way it is at this moment. It is easy to see and judge the parts and bits that we think are not ‘perfect’ or how they used to be. Everything is exactly how it should be at this moment. I learned to love every part of my body how it is and looks now. Loving the way I choose to dress and look every day according to how I feel. What my needs are and what the situation is. As opposed to what is trendy right now and how others dress. Listening to my body’s needs, seeing the warning signals to help me avoid pain, discomfort and suffering. Supplying my body with nourishment, balanced and healthy food Giving my body on the physical level what it is designed to do, movement, challenge it to keep it strong, relaxation and stretch. Making time to do what I love, having ME time and not feeling guilty about it. Learning from my falls and mistakes and using them to learn, move on and grow. Not comparing myself to others, as we are all on our own journey. Learning to get motivated and inspired. Not blaming others for current problems, instead finding ways how to heal those wounds and changing my limiting believes. Following my intuition, my gut feeling. Staying in my integrity, meaning being who I truly am. Going back to it in times when I feel lost. Allowing myself to dream BIG. All achievements start with a dream. Identifying my dreams and desires and making time to connect. Letting go of everything that no longer serves me. Feeding my brain and soul. Spending quality time connecting with myself, reading books and self-development. Practicing yoga, kindness, meditations, mindfulness, going to nature … Being aware that everything is energy. Where and how I spend my energy and how to gain energy. Trusting the journey I am taking and enjoy being in the NOW. Finally, loving and accepting myself for who I am, I have shared 20 things about self-love, there are more and more to learn. Perhaps write your own? It is an exciting journey of many benefits. Start falling in love with YOU today! What is the first thing you are going to do to love yourself even more? Zuzana x