Every so often, we read something that stops us in the best way.
That happened to me recently while reading a post from Jamie Smart (author, speaker, coach and consultant. He shared a quote from Sydney Banks that carries a simple weight.

“There is quite a difference between beliefs and True Knowledge.
A belief is only a temporary assumption whereas True Knowledge is what puts life into otherwise lifeless wishes.”

There is something in that worth sitting with.

Most of us walk around with a pocketful of ideas about who we are. Our own private theories. Our reasons. Our explanations. Our stories.

I am lazy.
I am a comfort eater.
I have an addictive personality.

These theories feel familiar. They feel personal. They feel true. And because they feel true, we live as if they are.

But what if the whole pile is simply made of thought? Useful sometimes, limiting at other times, and not the deep truth of who we are at all.

Psychology has its own set of theories, too. Some helpful. Some not. I was reminded of research by Professor Marilyn Bowman (Individual Differences in Post-traumatic Distress: Problems with the DSM-IV Model), who found that life events themselves do not guarantee emotional distress. People respond differently to the same circumstances, and the real difference seems to be the mind, not the moment.

Which brings me back to something Jamie said and something I have seen again and again.

There is something more fundamental than beliefs.
Something quieter.
Something underneath the noise.

Call it knowing.
Call it true knowledge.
Call it the place inside that is untouched by circumstance.

This came alive for me years ago in the simplest way.

I once asked a friend who teaches swimming what it is like to work with someone who has never been in deep water before. Someone who has no idea how to float.
I asked him, “Do you ever doubt that they can float?”
He smiled and said, “Never.”

It reminded me of teaching my four daughters how to ride a bike. There was simply no doubt in my mind that they could do it. Not because I was hoping. Not because I was cheering them on. I just knew.

That is the capital K in knowing.

Great teachers have this quality. They see the potential before the student does. They see the swimmer already floating. They see the child already riding. They see the health and capability long before it shows up in behaviour.

Skilled coaches have the same kind of knowing.
Not a belief. Not a technique. Not a theory.

A coach who understands the innocent nature of thought sees the person in front of them as healthy at their core. They see the unbrokenness. They see the natural capacity for insight and resilience. They know that wisdom sits quietly in everyone, waiting for a chance to be heard.

This knowing matters.
People feel it.
You felt it when someone believed in you wholeheartedly.

And when a coach stands in that place, something remarkable happens. The client begins to sense their own capability. They start to feel less trapped by their thinking. They begin to realise that the noise in their mind is just the noise in their mind. And they discover that clarity can return without effort.

You have touched that space many times yourself. Those moments when your mind clears for no reason. Those times when a fresh idea comes through out of nowhere. Those moments of quiet certainty that do not require proof.

That is what I point people toward.

Not a technique.
Not a belief they have to adopt.
Not a story about who they are.

But the simple truth is that their mind can settle, new thoughts can arise, and resilience lives beneath every experience.

If you have been trying hard to change something and blaming yourself for not succeeding, consider this: maybe there is nothing wrong with you. Maybe you have simply been listening to old beliefs instead of noticing that quieter knowing.

And if something in this speaks to you, even faintly, I would love to explore it with you. Not as a fix. Not as a program. Simply as a conversation that helps you reconnect with what has always been there.

Your health is not somewhere out ahead of you.
It is already built in.

Sometimes all you need is someone who knows you can float.

Much love,

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Here are two YouTube videos that pair beautifully with my blog. They offer insight into true knowing, inner health, and the natural capacity we all carry.

Reflective Coaching Question

Before we ever work together, people often ask what a conversation with me sounds like. It is usually quieter than they expect. Less about fixing. More about seeing. The right question, asked at the right moment, can open a door that was already there.

Here is one you can sit with:

“If you set aside every belief you have about yourself for a moment, what becomes possible when you look from the part of you that already knows you can float or ride?”

Take your time with it. There is nothing to figure out.
Just notice what shows up in the space that question creates.

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