Capacity Before Crisis: Why the Next Chapter of My Work Starts Earlier
Over the next few weeks you might notice some subtle changes moving into 2026 at The Unbreakable Farmer
For a long time, I’ve been known as a voice in mental health, particularly in rural, regional and remote communities.
And that will never change.
The bush, small towns, and communities that carry pressure quietly will always be central to who I am and why I do this work. They shaped my story. They shaped my recovery. And they continue to shape my purpose.
But over the past few years, something has become clearer to me.
Most of the harm I see, whether it’s burnout, breakdown, isolation, or mental health crisis, doesn’t come out of nowhere. It builds slowly. Quietly. Often invisibly. Long before anyone reaches out for help.
And too often, we only start caring once things are already broken.
That realisation has led me to the next chapter of my work, not a rebrand, not a departure, but an evolution.
I now describe what I do as Capacity Before Crisis.
What does that mean?
It means shifting the focus earlier.
Before people shut down.
Before leaders are overwhelmed.
Before communities are stretched too thin.
Before silence becomes dangerous.
Mental health will always sit at the heart of my work. But I’ve come to understand that mental health outcomes are deeply influenced by leadership, culture, systems, and the permission people feel to speak early.
In rural and regional Australia, I’ve seen this play out time and time again. People are strong. Capable. Resilient. But they’re often carrying far more than anyone realises and they wait too long to say something.
The same patterns exist in workplaces, organisations and leadership teams.
Different setting. Same human behaviour.
Why the shift now?
Because if we truly want to improve mental health outcomes, we can’t just talk about crisis response.
We have to talk about:
How pressure is managed day to day
How leaders model behaviour under load
How safe people feel to speak up early
How culture either catches people or lets them fall
This isn’t about moving away from community work. It’s about strengthening it.
Rural, regional and remote communities will always be a key focus of my work. But the next chapter is also about helping leaders, organisations and systems build the capacity to support people before they reach breaking point.
Because communities don’t exist in isolation.
People move between work, family, leadership and community every day.
If we build capacity in one place, it flows into the others.
What this looks like in practice
It means my work now sits across:
Mental health and wellbeing
Leadership under pressure
Communication and culture
Capacity building before crisis
Sometimes that’s in a paddock.
Sometimes it’s in a boardroom.
Often it’s somewhere in between.
The lens remains the same grounded, human, real.
The impact simply goes further upstream.
Why this matters
I have a complicated relationship with the word “resilience”.
For a long time, resilience was something I thought I just had to keep finding more of. Push harder. Hold on longer. Keep going.
What I’ve learned is that resilience is not the starting point.
It’s the outcome of having capacity, connection and support around you.
When we build capacity early, resilience follows naturally.
When we don’t, we end up responding to crisis instead of preventing it.
The road ahead
This next chapter is about helping people, leaders and communities:
Recognise pressure earlier
Have better conversations sooner
Lead with awareness, not just endurance
Build environments where help-seeking is normal, not a last resort
The work is still deeply personal.
It’s still grounded in lived experience.
And it’s still committed to rural, regional and remote Australia.
It’s just starting earlier where the real change happens.
Capacity before crisis.
If this resonates and you’d like to explore how this approach could support your community, workplace or leadership team, I’d love to have a conversation.
👉 Via My Website
👉 Or follow along on LinkedIn for more reflections on leadership, capacity and wellbeing