OUR BRAINS ARE STILL WIRED FOR SURVIVAL, NOT THE WORLD WE’RE LIVING IN TODAY
By Nicole Fuge
Lately, I’ve been feeling stretched, heavy, and constantly ‘on’. Like my brain never gets a moment to breathe.
That’s why Jodi Wilson’s new book A Brain That Breathes immediately resonated with me. She shows how women can declutter their minds, reclaim quiet moments, and spark creativity.
From the gentle focus of “soft fascination” to the magic of unstructured leisure, Jodi shares practical ways to ease overwhelm. Here, we talk about enoughness, intentional ‘not-doing,’ and how to finally give our minds the space they crave.
Modern life moves faster than our brains were designed for. What are the biggest mismatches between our evolutionary wiring and the way we live today?
The brain is an organ of instinct, not logic, and we have a scarcity mindset so the brain essentially is driven to consume. This was a survival mechanism 10,000 years ago when food was scarce and warmth and shelter wasn’t guaranteed.
But in 2026 we’re living with abundance and almost everything is immediate. The brain is delighted by this because it loves anything new. Our phones make this easy so essentially we’re gorging on information; constantly filling our brain with images, videos, facts, conversations etc. But, and this is a big ‘but’, we’re not doing the good work of decluttering; we’re just piling more on what already exists in our head. This is why we feel overwhelmed and it’s informing increasing rates of exhaustion, burnout and mental illness.
Free time (genuine, unstructured time) is central to your book. Why is leisure so vital for a happy, healthy and productive brain?
Because we weren’t designed to constantly be striving and moving towards the next thing. We were designed for a life with short bursts of high-intensity stress and then lots of space to rest, wander, connect and be. But, we’re living in late stage capitalism and we’ve been taught (trained!) to be busy.
We collectively believe that productivity equals success and rest equals laziness but what this fails to acknowledge is our biology: if we want to be productive, we need to respect and revere leisure time, spare time, free time… breathing space.
You write about “enoughness”. How do we shift from constant striving to a mindset that supports clarity, calm and creativity?
Enoughness is an Indigenous economic concept: take what you need, leave the rest. It’s counter-cultural in 2026 because we’re essentially living in a world that expects us to ‘be better’ and ‘do better’.
Enoughness encourages us to flip the narrative and ask ourselves: what’s enough for me right now? It can be a lens for your decision making and ultimately allows you to live more sustainably.
You explore “soft fascination”. What is it, and why does this gentle kind of attention restore our focus so effectively?
Soft fascination, also known as 'mindfulness without the meditation'. It’s the mental state we slip into when we are in nature, where our attention isn’t harnessed by sensory stimuli but gently fascinated by them: the sway of a tree, the falling of a leaf, the ebbing tide.
It’s like downtime for our brain, which is why it is such a powerful practice for everyone, but especially those who are engaged in hours of focused, hard attention (on a screen) on a regular basis.
Nature doesn’t require direct attention but allows us to move through it with a lightness of being, which creates the opportunity for both self-reflection and mental reprieve. The results? Mental decluttering, clearer thoughts, more aha moments. If you want bright ideas and mental clarity, you need a daily dose of soft fascination.
Much of modern self-care is commercialised and performative. So what does the brain actually need when we’re stressed, depleted or overwhelmed?
It needs to do nothing. It’s really hard to value ‘nothing’ but I think it helps to recognise it as a proven antidote to stress.
‘Nothing’ may be sitting and staring out the window, sipping a cup of tea as you wander around your garden, lying with your legs up the wall for 10 minutes, taking a nap. The truth is that no one is making any money when we choose to rest and do less, but it’s the proven antidote to stress; it is basic human care, and we all need that.
You’ve lived with anxiety for much of your life. What have you learned about supporting a brain that is sensitive, busy or easily overstimulated?
I’ve learnt that I need to prioritise everyday habits that bolster my energy and clear my head: I walk early every morning with my dog, I eat well and go to bed early, I rest when I feel weary, I honour the ebb and flow of my energy levels throughout my cycle, I read books and tend to my garden when I feel overwhelmed, I choose the easy option if I’ve had a particularly busy day.
Intentional ‘not-doing’ is such a powerful concept. How can we practically create space for rest without stepping away from our responsibilities?
Learn to value them so they become as important as a work email or a grocery shop. I think many of us presume that the answer to our overwhelm is really complicated but it’s actually quite simple: small moments of downtime often. It may be five minutes here, 15 minutes there. You’ve got this time in your day but what do many of us do in these spare minutes? We scroll, which fills the brain and doesn’t let it breathe.
What small, evidence-based everyday habits genuinely help the brain stay clear, creative and productive? Especially for women carrying a heavy mental load?
Exercise, handwriting a list, creating firm boundaries with your phone, establishing a bedtime routine so you’re settled before sleep (and more likely to sleep better), creating (and protecting) pockets of breathing space in your day, reading a book (five minutes of reading in the morning improves focus and attention for the day).
If readers changed just one thing after reading A Brain That Breathes, what practice would make the greatest difference to their long-term wellbeing?
Turn down the volume of the world (and social media) and listen to your body and your brain. When you do this, you get to know yourself and you’re more aware of what you need. I think this is how you live well.
A Brain That Breathes by Jodi Wilson (Murdoch Books) RRP $34.99.
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