The Gerry van der Walt Podcast

In this episode, I talk about why you already know exactly what's holding you back - and why you keep avoiding it anyway. It's time to stop negotiating with the version of yourself that's been keeping you stuck.

The final piece in the geography series. Returning home after intense travel with new awareness about the difference between facilitating other people's experiences and actually living your own. About making peace with change and choosing your own rhythm.View the whole Geography series here: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/tag/geography/

From the Mara River after witnessing incredible wildlife crossings, I explore how to find lightness and wonder even while carrying the weight of difficult choices. Sometimes joy and complexity can occupy the same coordinates.View the whole Geography series here: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/tag/geography/

After 23 years as a safari and expedition guide, I share the raw truth about fear of change and why the anticipation of difficult decisions is almost always worse than the decisions themselves. View the whole Geography series here: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/tag/geography/

We take complex situations and make them binary, which means we miss all the nuance. In this episode I talk about the the space where most of life actually happens.You can read my latest newsletter here: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts

After twenty-three years of guiding, I share the raw truth about what it costs to live other people's adventures while missing your own life. This deeply personal reflection explores what I call the "geography of missing" - all the spaces where I should have been but wasn't - and examines the weight of constantly being outside my own existence.From missed family moments to my decision to finally step back from scheduled guiding, I explore the emotional reality of a life spent creating magic for others while my own relationships learned to exist without me. It's honest, uncomfortable, and necessary - especially for anyone who travels for work or has ever felt like a visitor in their own life.A raw look at the cost of following your passion when that passion takes you away from everyone you love.Red the newsletter here: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts/some-honest-thoughts-from-borneoRead the blog post here: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/the-geography-of-missing/View the whole Geography series here: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/tag/geography/

You can't control your anxious thoughts any more than you can control your heartbeat, but you can control how you respond to them. Instead of being a dictator demanding your anxiety disappear, become a collaborator who works with it as information rather than an enemy. The shift from fighting your thoughts to managing your response is what moves you from suffering to actual peace with yourself.Read the full newsletter here: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts/stop-fighting-battles-you-can-never-winVisit my website here: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/

When you keep your problems locked in your head, they grow and distort because they never face reality - your mind isn't meant to store unprocessed pain, and problems that live only in your thoughts can't be solved. This is why talking works, whether through therapy, journaling, or friends - not because others have magic answers, but because translating internal chaos into words forces clarity and makes overwhelming feelings take concrete shape. Most people suffer in silence thinking nobody cares, but this belief is often just fear disguised as strength.Read the newsletter here: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts/your-silence-is-slowly-killing-youVisit my website: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/

In this episode, I explore what might be the most fundamental misunderstanding about human fulfillment: our obsession with happiness. I argue that happiness is fool's gold that makes you fragile and dependent on circumstances, while peace operates from a completely different paradigm - it's not something you achieve, but something you recognize that's already present. The key insight is that peace makes you unshakeable, not because nothing can hurt you, but because you can be hurt without being destroyed.Read the full newsletter: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts/stop-chasing-happiness-and-start-finding-peaceVisit my website here:https://gerryvanderwalt.com/

We've forgotten the essential rhythm between effort and rest, mistaking constant availability for dedication when it's really just fear. Without clear boundaries, work invades every corner of life while our bodies and relationships crumble. True performers understand that weekends aren't optional—they're the counterbalance that makes sustained excellence possible. When we respect this boundary, we can fully engage in work knowing rest awaits, and fully surrender to rest knowing when to return. It takes courage to set these limits in a culture obsessed with productivity, but remember: neither work nor rest finds its full power without the other.Read the full newsletter here: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts/work-rest-and-new-contentVisit my website here: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/

High IQ doesn't guarantee happiness. In fact, brilliant people often live the loneliest lives.This episode breaks down how overdependence on pure intellect - while ignoring emotional and social skills - creates massive blind spots. These gaps wreck relationships, tank careers, and even damage your health.I'll share insights on three types of intelligence (IQ, EQ, SQ) and why the smartest person in the room often stays trapped. From workplace disasters to relationship failures to physical breakdowns - we'll see how your greatest asset becomes your worst enemy.Read the full newsletter here: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts/are-you-smart-enough-to-realize-that-being-smart-isn-t-enoughVisit my website: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/

In this episode I share some new blog posts that has some great value. You can link to the newsletter and the blog below:Newsletter: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts/landscapes-insights-and-what-s-nextBlog: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/insights/

Just because you don't believe in gravity doesn't mean it won't kill you when you step off a cliff.This morning, I woke up feeling like sh*t. Low. Not physically. Mentally. That heavy cloud that sits on your chest. The one that makes getting out of bed feel like crawling through mud. Maybe you know it. Maybe you pretend you don't.And right there, in that space between recognizing the feeling and deciding what to do with it, lives today's conversation.Read the newsletter here: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts/when-things-don-t-exist-until-they-destroy-you

In this episode, I explore our deeply ingrained habit of avoiding self-reflection and the transformative power of sitting with our own uncomfortable thoughts. Through personal experiences like facing a complete whiteout in Svalbard and coaching exercises where clients confront their unfiltered minds, I discuss how we've become addicted to distractions that keep us from truly meeting ourselves. You can read this newsletter here: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts/what-are-you-actually-avoiding

In this episode, I explore the vital space between achievements—the emotional void that follows our greatest triumphs. Drawing from my Arctic expedition experiences, I discuss why this post-accomplishment crash isn't failure but a necessary part of growth. I share insights on navigating this empty period, emphasizing that avoiding life's peaks to escape the valleys leads to mere existence, not living. This episode offers practical advice for honoring the void while preparing for your next summit, encouraging listeners to embrace both the heights and depths of a fully-lived life.You can read this newsletter here: https://gerryvanderwalt.kit.com/posts/the-necessary-fall-why-we-all-need-both-peaks-and-valleysMy website: https://gerryvanderwalt.com/

Welcome to Monday!We are the only mammal on the planet that gets born without a purpose or exact plan as to what we're supposed to do with our life.It's up to you to find your life task and making stories is a great way to taste some of what life has to offer and the things that excite you!View the video of this episode here: https://youtu.be/hMtDCjLzfqw

Welcome to Monday!Whether you're trying to 'fix' something and work on self care or you have goals you're chasing, it's important to make sure you maintain focus and not get distracted which, in today's world, can be quite a challenge!Simplifying, not adding more, is the only way to go.You can find the video of this podcast here: https://youtu.be/b2yUSbr3YKY

Welcome to Monday!Conversation around work-life balance can make us quite anxious as it often feels like a very challenging thing to navigate.By being aware of the three elements that you need to juggle - work, relationships and you - things might be a little easier to navigate.Clarity, communication, goals and understanding. In this episode I chat about these things and how you can deploy them to help you make sense of the different seasons we all naturally go through.Stay safe.And don’t forget to be awesome.G.

Welcome to Monday!We all want to be better, do better and feel better and there are a lot of protocols and exercises you can deploy as a part of you self development and self care journey.But sometimes, when you're doing the one thing you know and do well, you might need to look at what else you can, and should, do in order to be better.You can find this video of the podcast by clicking here.

When you start down the road of self development and self care it can be difficult to keep going and keep staying on track. During times like these, try and imagine what that goal would FEEL like and then reverser engineer your actions from there. Chase the feeling!