2026 - Space, The Final Frontier.
WHY SPACE, NOT FREEDOM, IS WHAT MOST PEOPLE ARE REALLY SEEKING
People talk about freedom a lot. What I notice, both in my own life and in the work I do with clients, is that freedom has become something abstract.
In NLP (Neuro linguistic programming) terms, it has been nominalised. It has been turned into a thing, something separate.
Something to reach, earn, or finally arrive at. The moment freedom becomes something other than you or a way of being, it stops being embodied and starts being chased.
That is where the problem begins.
When freedom is treated as a destination, it no longer lives in how you show up. It becomes conditional. Conditional on money, lifestyle, geography, responsibilities, or timing.
This is why so many people can change their external circumstances again and again, earn more, work less, remove obligations, and still not feel free. They have changed the structure of their life without changing the internal experience they are living from.
What I want to invite people into, particularly as we move into 2026, is something far more accessible and far more honest. I want to invite you into the experience of space.
I was reminded of this recently while listening to episode 142 of the Try Life On podcast with Maurice Philogene. (FYI the podcast is about Great Dads, the space conversation is a small part of the conversation)
What struck me was not just the conversation around freedom, but the underlying inference that many people have no stable reference point for freedom at all.
They may long for it, talk about it, or build their lives around the idea of it, but they have never truly embodied it in a sustained way.
Space, however, is different.
Most people may not be able to say they have felt free, at least not in adulthood, but almost everyone knows what space feels like. Space between thoughts, space to breathe, space before responding, space in a room, space around an important decision.
Space is felt, it is real. It does not require your life to look a certain way before it becomes available.
This is why space matters so much in the work I do with Recoded Resilience. At its core, Recoded Resilience is about creating internal space, because space builds capacity.
It is the space between stimulus and response that allows us to act from alignment rather than habit, reactivity, or conditioning.
When something happens externally, the presence or absence of inner space determines how we meet it.
When we are aligned, that space becomes available through multiple intelligences working together.
Through somatic intelligence, we regulate the body and slow the nervous system.
Through emotional intelligence, we acknowledge what we feel without being overtaken by it.
Through cognitive intelligence, we pause the mind long enough to regain perspective.
Through intuitive intelligence, we check in with the gut before moving forward.
And through what I describe as spiritual or systemic intelligence, we recognise the wider systems and relationships at play and the impact of our choices beyond ourselves.
This is not about becoming passive or detached. It is about creating enough inner space to respond consciously.
When that space is embodied, resilience is no longer something you force. It becomes a natural expression of how you relate to life.
What follows is important.
When internal space is present, the external world begins to reorganise around it.
You may find yourself clearing physical clutter, restructuring how you work, creating clearer boundaries, or choosing environments that support rather than drain you.
That might mean changing your workspace, your routines, your home, your reading or watching habits, relationships, or even where you live.
These changes are not what create freedom. They are reflections of space that already exists internally.
Without inner space, external change simply recreates the same patterns in a new setting. With inner space, your environment begins to mirror your alignment.
So my wish for you in 2026 is not freedom as an idea or aspiration. It is the inspirational lived experience of space.
There is an important link here to inspiration. The word inspire comes from the Latin inspirare, meaning to breathe into.
Inspiration was never meant to be motivational noise or mental stimulation. It was about breath, life force, and inner movement. When you create space, you quite literally give yourself room to breathe again.
Enough space in your body to pause before reacting.
Enough space in your mind to choose rather than default.
Enough emotional space to respond without suppression or overwhelm.
Enough space in your life to sense alignment rather than constant pressure.
From that place, what people call freedom emerges naturally. Not as something you chase, but as something you recognise in how you live, work, and relate.
Start with space, everything else follows.
My name’s Earl – The Resilience Guy
Resilience isn’t a grind; it’s a system.
I specialise in working with entrepreneurs and leaders to optimise not just their businesses, but themselves. By integrating recoded resilience as a framework, I guide individuals to lead from a place of inspiration, alignment, and…
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