Podcast
Project Joyful
Hosted by Tracy Tutty · EN
This podcast is dedicated to the art of joyful living. More than being happy, rediscover that soul filled joy moment by moment.
Fall back in love with your work or find work that feeds your soul.
27episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
When What Used to Work Stops Working
Mar 1400:13:28Tap to summarizeThere’s a season in leadership that almost nobody names.It’s not burnout. It’s not failure. It’s not a loss of edge.Everything still works.You’re still capable. Still respected. Still producing at a high level.And yet something about the way you’ve been operating no longer feels expansive.In this episode of Project Joyful, we explore the quiet identity shift that happens when the strategies that built your success no longer feel like the way forward. Not because they stopped working. But because you’ve mastered them.This is the corridor between identities.The space where:• You notice yourself thinking, “Why does it always have to be me?”• You tighten back up and carry it anyway.• You open your laptop on Sunday to “get ahead,” even though part of you wants to close it.• You wonder if easing up means losing your edge.We unpack:How identity is reinforced in the doingWhy you may be reinforcing a previous version of yourself without realising itThe hidden cost of always being the wayshower in the roomThe subtle resentment that builds when responsibility becomes reflexWhy closing the laptop on Sunday is identity trainingHow to build toward Friday completion without destabilising your standardsThis episode is not about doing less.It’s about expanding your range.When what used to work stops feeling expansive, it’s rarely because you’re losing your edge.It’s usually because you’re ready to lead differently.🎧 Listen if:You feel slightly “off” but can’t explain whyYou’re questioning the way you’ve always ledYou’re tired of being the automatic answer in every roomYou’re ready for leadership that feels steady, not bracedNext week: The Restoration Gap — what happens physiologically when you never fully step out of reinforcement mode, and why recovery is the missing piece in identity evolution.
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The New Standard
Mar 700:17:02Tap to summarizeCoherent Leadership, Cortisol and Sustainable SuccessThere is a version of leadership that looks exceptional from the outside and feels quietly expensive on the inside.If you are composed, capable and the one who doesn’t wobble, yet sometimes you’re awake at 3:07am feeling wired and tired, this episode will land.In Episode 224 of Project Joyful, we explore Coherent Leadership and why leadership that is not biologically aligned becomes quietly unsustainable over time.This is not a conversation about burnout.It is not about doing less.It is about rhythm.Episode Insight“You can appear calm while your chemistry is preparing for threat.”“Cortisol is not just a stress hormone. It is an anticipation hormone.”“Leadership that isn’t biologically coherent is unsustainable.”This episode reframes the invisible cost of being unflappable and introduces a new standard for high performing women in leadership. We unpack what dysregulated cortisol actually means, how hypervigilance shifts sleep and recovery, and why proving you can handle it feels very different in the body from inhabiting your capability.If you have ever wondered why you can carry immense responsibility during the day yet struggle to power down at night, this conversation will give you language and clarity.What You’ll Hear In This Episode• Why high performing women often experience 2am to 4am waking• What dysregulated cortisol really means, including timing, intensity and rhythm integrity• Why cortisol functions as an anticipation hormone• How your brain strengthens the circuits it uses most often and why readiness can become baseline• The difference between appearing composed and being coherent• Why leadership that is not biologically aligned becomes unsustainable• What Coherent Leadership looks like in meetings, delegation and recovery• The powerful shift from proving you can handle it to handling from assumed capacityFull Transcript[insert transcript here]Ready to Go Deeper?If something in this episode felt uncomfortably accurate, not dramatic, not urgent, just quietly precise, that is worth paying attention to.This is not about fixing yourself. It is about refining your rhythm.Notice your 3:07am moments. Notice where you are rehearsing. Notice where you are proving. Notice where you are already capable.And if you want to explore what Coherent Leadership looks like at an identity level, I invite you to reach out.You can send me a message on Instagram or LinkedIn and tell me what landed. Start the conversation with the word “STANDARD” and let’s talk about what sustainability actually requires at your level.Leadership that lasts is not louder.It is aligned.
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Tulsi - The Adaptogen for Modern Stress
Feb 2800:21:18Tap to summarizeCortisol is not the bad boy it’s being made out to be.It isn’t just about stress. It’s about anticipation.In this first Herbal Ally episode of 2026, Tracy explores Tulsi, also known as Holy Basil, through the lens of Western Herbal Medicine. This is medicine first. Then leadership.Modern stress is rarely dramatic. It is anticipatory. It is cognitive. It is ongoing. Your mind predicts what might happen next, and your body prepares accordingly. Over time, that subtle activation influences cortisol rhythm, metabolism, inflammation, oxidative stress, and clearer thinking.In this episode, Tracy unpacks:• Why cortisol functions as an anticipatory hormone• How Tulsi supports stress resilience without sedation• The relationship between stress and metabolic steadiness• Inflammation and why it is part of repair, not the enemy• What oxidative stress actually means inside your body• How Tulsi’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions work• What research says about Tulsi and cognitive performance• When Tulsi is the right herbal ally for high-responsibility women• How Tracy prepares Tulsi as a therapeutic tea• Important cautions and clinical considerationsTulsi has a long medicinal history and a growing body of research supporting its relevance today. It is gently warming, aromatic, clarifying, and steadying. A herbal ally for women whose nervous systems are running just ahead of them.If you feel slightly wired even when nothing is technically wrong, this conversation will resonate.Tulsi can support your biology.And you get to reshape the pattern.🌿 How Tracy Uses TulsiA heaped tablespoon of dried Tulsi leafA mug of boiling waterSteeped covered for 3-5 minutes to preserve the aromatic oilsSimple. Potent. Intentional.⚖️ Important NoteTulsi is generally well tolerated, but context matters. Avoid during pregnancy. If you are trying to conceive, managing blood sugar conditions, or taking medication that influences glucose or blood pressure, consult a qualified health practitioner before regular use.✨ Work With TracyIf your system is asking for deeper recalibration, Revitalise is Tracy’s one-on-one immersive experience designed to support nervous system coherence, identity refinement, and sustainable clarity in leadership.Find out more about Revitalise at: https://www.tracytutty.co.nz/Revitalise🎧 Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred platform.
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Why Leadership Capacity Isn’t a Time Problem
Feb 2100:14:13Tap to summarizeSome days leadership feels straightforward. Other days, the same role, the same workload, feels harder to carry.In this episode of Project Joyful, Tracy explores why that difference isn’t about time, motivation, or discipline, and why creating more space in your calendar doesn’t always bring the relief you expect.This is a conversation about leadership capacity at the level it actually lives: in the nervous system. Not as something to fix or optimise, but as something to understand and recalibrate.Inside this episode, Tracy unpacks:Why exhaustion often persists even after you’ve slowed down or taken time offHow leadership can feel harder on some days without anything “changing” externallyThe subtle ways responsibility is held in the body, not just the diaryWhy rest can feel restless for capable, high-performing womenWhat leadership feels like when capacity expands from the insideThis episode is for women who are already capable, respected, and successful, and who sense that the way they’re holding leadership is costing more than it needs to, even though everything looks fine on paper.If this conversation gives you language for something you’ve been feeling but couldn’t quite name, that awareness alone is meaningful.Work With TracyTracy’s one-to-one coaching programme, Revitalise, is designed for women ready for leadership to feel different in their body, not just better managed.You’ll find details here: https://www.tracytutty.co.nz/RevitaliseSubscribe & ShareIf this episode resonated, please subscribe, rate, and share Project Joyful with someone who would appreciate this conversation.
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Regulation Is the New Authority in Leadership
Feb 1400:19:32Tap to summarizeThere’s a quiet shift happening in leadership, and a lot of people are missing it, not because it’s complex, but because it’s subtle. In this episode of Project Joyful, Tracy explores why regulation, not suppression, is becoming the real marker of authority in modern leadership.For years, leadership rewarded appearing calm under pressure, compartmentalising emotion, and pushing through internal strain to keep things moving. Many high-performing leaders built their careers by becoming the safe pair of hands, the one who didn’t get stressed, or at least didn’t show it. But biology has always been part of the picture, whether we acknowledged it or not.In this grounded, science-informed conversation, Tracy breaks down how nervous systems shape influence, why teams subconsciously orient to the state of the leader, and how appearing calm can quietly create vigilance rather than trust. This episode explores the difference between performative calm and true regulation, the organisational cost of sustained nervous system alertness, and why things can be “working” while still feeling heavier than they should.This isn’t a conversation about wellness trends or mindset hacks. It’s an exploration of leadership through a biological lens, and what changes when leaders stop overriding their systems and start working with them.If you’re a leader who carries a lot, if things are working on the surface but some days still feel harder than they ought to, or if you’re sensing there’s a more sustainable way to hold authority without losing your edge, this episode is for you.In this episode, you’ll hear about:Why regulation is becoming the new authority in leadershipHow appearing calm differs from being regulatedThe nervous system science behind leadership influence and co-regulationWhy teams subconsciously align to the leader’s internal stateHow vigilance can masquerade as high performanceThe organisational cost of sustained internal overrideWhat leadership looks like when biology is no longer ignoredUpcoming Live Experience: Biology of LeadershipTracy is hosting a live experience called Biology of Leadership on 18–20 February, where this conversation is taken out of theory and into application, exploring how leadership is shaped, stabilised, or strained at the level of the nervous system.🔗 Learn more and register here:https://www.tracytutty.co.nz/LeadershipBiology
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Why High Performers Lead from Stress Without Realising It
Feb 700:16:52Tap to summarizeHigh performers don’t deny stress. They manage it well.They carry responsibility, stay prepared, and keep delivering results.But what if stress isn’t just something you handle, but something that’s quietly shaping how you lead.In this episode of Project Joyful, Tracy explores why so many capable, respected leaders unknowingly lead from stress, not because they’re overwhelmed or coping poorly, but because their biology learned that vigilance, preparedness, and control were what kept them safe.This is not a conversation about burnout or fixing yourself. It’s about understanding the unseen biological patterns that influence the experience of leadership in the body, and what changes when safety is created internally rather than managed through effort.In this episode, you’ll hear about:Why stress often feels like competence, focus, and responsibility for high performersHow leadership becomes carried in the nervous system, not just the calendarThe difference between strategic preparation and fear-based over-controlWhy rest doesn’t always restore, even when you take time offHow cortisol is increasingly understood as an anticipation hormone, not just a stress hormoneWhat the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has to do with leadership staminaWhy slowing down can feel uncomfortable when vigilance has been your safety strategyWhat shifts when leadership no longer needs stress to access clarity, authority, and impactA different way to think about leadershipLeadership doesn’t lose its edge when your body no longer needs to stay on guard.It sharpens.When safety is created internally, attention becomes cleaner, decisions land faster, and rest starts to actually work. You still get access to that surge of clarity and energy when something matters, but you no longer need to live in stress to reach it.If you’ve ever sensed that leadership feels heavier than it should, even when things are going well on paper, this episode will likely put language to something you’ve felt for a long time.Continue the conversationIf this episode resonated, Tracy is hosting a free three-day live experience called Biology of Leadership, where she explores what leadership does to the body, and how the body quietly shapes leadership in return.You can learn more and save your seat at:👉 https://www.tracytutty.co.nz/LeadershipBiology
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Why you don't need to sort your life out
May 7, 2022Tap to summarizeIt's easy to fall back into the story that things would be so much better if we only sorted our life out. But what does it actually mean to have life sorted out? And why do we have to wait for that moment to feel joy and ease? In this episode, I am unpacking some insights that came from a conversation with a client on this subject. We set aside the idea of "sorting out life" and learn to reflect on life as the mirror it is. I talk about the nudge theory and how you can use it to create your best life without turning your life upside down. Check out our show notes for more information. Lets keep this conversation going on instagram.
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