Who are you listening to?

Who Are You Listening To?

Ever been driving, skipping through radio stations.. trying to find the one?

The one that hits you in the feels.
That lifts your mood.
(And hopefully doesn’t feature Kyle Sandilands).

You could just open your perfectly curated Spotify playlist — mine is currently a chaotic but glorious mix of Country, 90’s Hip Hop & Korean Pop (cheers to K-Pop Demon Hunters and Ella for that).

But the point is this: you’re always tuning into something.

The right vibrations change everything.
And it’s this fine-tuning that reminds us of one of Hardiness Expert, Paul Taylor’s frameworks:

The Gremlin & The Sage.

Both are always talking.
Both are always influencing what you do.

The Gremlin?
It’s the self-critic — a powerful little bastard that can pull you into its pit of low self-worth and hopelessness.
It feeds on inactivity.
It hates growth, momentum, and forward motion.

The Sage?
That’s your best self — drawn from stoicism, anchored in wisdom.
Resilient. Grounded. Driven.
It makes decisions based on your values.
It pushes you forward, backs you in, and thrives on progress.

Both voices are always present.
It’s who you choose to listen to that matters.

If you feed the Gremlin, you start tuning into a frequency that drags you away from where you want to go.
But if you acknowledge the Gremlin and choose the Sage — you’ll find a rhythm that aligns your activities with the person you want to become.

Here’s how it plays out.

It’s early. You’re tired. Stressed.
The alarm goes at 5:30am.
It’s another classic “Melbourne Day” — cold, grey, wet.

You’re trying to build a training routine.
Something that’s been a work in progress for years: stop-start-stop-start... long stop... start again.

You want to change your habits — but the resistance (and the Gremlin) are loud.

The Gremlin strikes first.

“You’ve failed before. What’s the point? You’ll never change.”

It’s a powerful hit — one that reaches straight into your self-belief.

Then, the Sage steps in.

“You’ve started before. You can start again. You’re strong because you keep showing up.”

The Sage reminds you that progress isn’t about perfection — it’s about persistence.
It highlights your values: to live strong, feel vibrant, and stay in the game.
And it extends a hand forward.

The stimulus: You’re tired.
The response: You get to choose.

Interested in getting strong, feeling great, and ageing well?
Choose who you listen to — then turn the volume up.