Released On 11 March 2024
Meet the Expert: Steph Peltier
In this edition of our Meet the Expert series, we talk to Steph Peltier who is delivering our headline event this Stress Awareness Month. You can join 'The Stress Detox' with Steph on Tuesday 16th April 2024 at 6pm, either online or in person, where will be kindly hosted by Penningtons Manches Cooper at 125 Wood Street, London EC2V 7AW.
WLC: Steph, you’re known as the Happiness Activator, what a brilliant title! Please tell us about your background and how found your way to this area of expertise?
SP: I had a bump in my personal life in 2015 and did the only thing I knew how to do, ignore the painful emotions and push through. And I did for a while until I found myself completely burnt out and depressed. It was a real shock because I never thought I’d be a candidate for depression.
But what struck me the most was the realisation that I’d never truly been happy before even though I had everything to be. I was always very stressed, anxious, constantly bothered by negative thoughts and an underlying low self-esteem that relentlessly pushed me to over achieve.
I had fallen into the trap of “I’ll be happy when” (I get a promotion, I get married, I buy a house, I am on holiday …). But the goal post kept on moving, Happiness became a destination and I was not enjoying the journey at all.
Being very cynical and rational, I decided to study the Science of Happiness, a new cutting-edge scientific approach to Happiness. Within 3 weeks of studying, understanding the science and practising the tools I was learning, I noticed an incredible shift in my mindset, my emotions and even my physical energy.
The Science of Happiness changed my life so easily that I immediately decided to make it my mission in life to help people live a happier, more fulfilling and successful life. I am currently working a lot with the subconscious mind through hypnotherapy because it is fast,effective and very easy for my clients.
WLC: What topics and issues do clients talk to you about most at the moment, that affect their happiness?
SP: People come to me for all sorts of issues, from anxiety, burnout, general life dissatisfaction to auto-immune problems, procrastination, relationship issues, you name it!
What I find though is that the root cause of most problems is a dysregulated nervous system, a brain that is on alert, stuck on survival mode, playing a broken record of negative thoughts and beliefs in the background of their life and preventing them from thriving physically, emotionally and mentally.
WLC: What basic principles do you recommend to help improve happiness and mental health?
SP: The only purpose of your brain is to keep you alive and to do so it is programmed to identify threats and dangers. Better be safe than sorry, when in doubt, it will make things look much worse than they are. And if you are still alive right now, your zone of comfort is good enough (even if the situation you are in is really uncomfortable), it will try everything to prevent you from creating change or pushing the boundaries.
The brain by default is your worst enemy! But it can also become your best asset if you take little action everyday to reprogram it for thriving.
WLC: How do you look after your own wellbeing?
SP: I have a simple 15-minute daily happiness routine. The idea is everyday to do something that nourishes your mind, your heart and your body.
I change it regularly but at the moment:
Mind:
I start my day positive journaling for a minute or so : recognizing 1 thing I am grateful for or happy about and setting an intention for the day (what is truly important to me today - it hardly ever is work!)
I meditate for 8-10 minutes, usually regulating my nervous system and visualising my desires.
Heart:
I plan something fun everyday to nourish myself, my heart. It could be coffee with a friend, reading a book, or playing the ukulele for 5 minutes after dinner.
Body:
Finally, I make sure I do something for my body : walk my dog, exercise for 20 minutes, eat lots of greens, drink more water, do 20 jumping jacks if nothing else.
WLC: Please tell us one surprising thing about yourself?
SP: I love tattoos and fast cars!
I have 6 tattoos including a really big one and another one in the pipeline (my daughters are not impressed nor approving). I did a Porsche race on ice, on a frozen lake in Sweden, back in 2020, it was one of the funnest experiences of my life.
Above all, I must finish by saying that I totally thrive on helping people. I am a very sensitive person