Written by Laura Wood.
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the first Empowered Marketing webinar titled “Resilience in the Boardroom: Thriving Under Pressure” led by mental fitness coach and MindFit project founder, Sonya Braddock.
It was an inspiring session, full of practical advice on how to manage stress and build resilience – both in professional and personal situations.
Here, I will take a look at what I took away from the session.
What is resilience, really?
Sonya kicked things off by exploring the fundamentals of resilience.
She asked attendees for their thoughts and explained that while she uses the term “boardroom”, resilience applies far beyond corporate life – from job interviews and first days at work to personal life challenges like dates or day-to-day situations.
A key insight was how our brains often overreact to emotions, anxieties or stresses. This reaction comes from the brain’s alarm system, named the ‘amygdala’. When triggered by feelings of fear, nervousness or worry, our amygdala can hijack our response.
The good news? We can train it to respond calmly and pragmatically rather reacting emotionally.
Spotting stress patterns
A key part of the session was around recognising stress patterns.
Sonya highlighted three common behaviours we all feel or experience throughout our lifetime:
- Overthinking – worrying about a situation before it happens.
- Minimising – convincing yourself you’re not good enough.
- Perfectionism – the need to make sure everything is flawless.
Understanding these patterns is the first step to managing them. Once you notice them, you can start to take action.
Tools to reset your brain
Following this, Sonya shared practical exercises to train your brain, starting with box breathing.
The process is simple:
- Inhale for four counts
- Hold for four counts
- Exhale for four counts
- Hold for four counts
- And repeat…
Even a minute of this technique can help “reset” your remind.
However, when time is short, she suggested some micro-resets: moving your body, shaking off tension, or just taking a mindful pause. A mindful pause is all about observing your thoughts without judgement, recognising them as ideas and not facts, watching them just float by in your mind.
Reframing and the power of awareness
Reframing was another focus of the session.
By noticing a stress pattern and consciously choosing how to respond, we can turn potentially negative situations into positive, manageable experiences. Awareness, Sonya explained, isn’t a weakness – it’s a choice.
Following this, she explained that confidence and resilience work hand in hand. Confidence helps us move forward, where resilience allows us to bounce back when challenges arise. One way to aid this transition is by building a “brag bank”, where you jot down achievements, no matter how big or small, to reinforce self-belief and remind ourselves of our capabilities.
Practical strategies: before, during and after
Another powerful tool that Sonya highlighted was how to prepare for and recover from stressful “boardroom” moments:
- Before: Use power postures, mantras and visualisations to prime yourself.
- During: Take slow, intentional breaths and jot down short encouraging phrases like “you can do this.”
- After: Engage in release rituals such as walks or stretching, reflect on successes and areas for improvement, and note down gratitude’s.
The session ended with a guided visualisation that she involved the whole group with: she asked all attendees to close their eyes and imagine themselves standing tall on the edge of a cliff while a storm approaches. From there, she asked us to visualise ourselves remaining steadfast as the storm passed, and watch how we walk away feeling more resilient, confident and strong.
A truly powerful yet calming tool.
Key quotes that stuck
Sonya’s passion shone through by her use of quotes, which she may not have realised would have an impact on someone, but they are the main things I scribbled down as affirmations to myself.
Here is a selection of the ones I noted:
- “The power is in noticing and doing something about it.”
- “Choose how you want to show up.”
- “Put trust in your capability.”
- “Boundaries aren’t weakness, they’re leadership.”
- “Confidence is built on action.”
- “Remember, the storm doesn’t define you. The way you bounce back afterwards does.”
Key takeaways
Here are main takeaways I took from the session:
- You can train your amygdala to respond calmly under stress.
- Stress patterns appear as overthinking, minimising or perfectionism.
- Use resets – like breathing exercises or mindful pauses – to regain control.
- A ‘brag bank’ reinforces confidence and resilience.
- Emotions are information, reflecting on them creates space to respond wisely.
Attending the webinar was a powerful reminder that resilience is a skill we can develop with intention, practice and awareness. Small, consistent actions and conscious reflection can help us thrive under pressure, no matter the “boardroom” we’re facing.
