Remember what it feels like
to be fully alive.
A reference companion to the FLAME session — the science, the practices, and the small, repeatable moves that change a working life.
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
— Viktor Frankl
The Performance Speedometer
Six states. Knowing where you are right now is the first move. Click any state to see the signals, the regulation tools, and where to shift next.
Signs you’re here
- Time distorts
- Effort feels effortless
- High clarity
- Intrinsic motivation
What to do
- Minimise distractions — notifications off, timer on
- Work in 90-minute blocks with intentional breaks
- Stay hydrated and move between sessions
Improvement in work performance and a 17% drop in cortisol when participants shifted to a “stress-is-enhancing” mindset.
Crum et al. · Rethinking Stress: The Role of Mindsets in Determining the Stress Response
The fastest way back to baseline.
Two patterns worth keeping in your back pocket. Follow the circle — it expands as you breathe in, contracts as you breathe out.
Coherent Breathing
For everyday calm and clarity
Sleep Breathing
The 4–7–8 pattern
When to use this
Name it to tame it. Or claim it.
A small linguistic shift changes the intensity of an emotion. The grammar matters.
Tame it
“I am feeling anxious.”
Naming a difficult emotion in the third-person frame reduces its intensity by roughly half. Use this when an emotion is hijacking you.
Claim it
“I am excited.”
The same grammar in the first-person amplifies a desirable emotion. Use this to channel energy you want more of.
Why positivity isn’t a luxury
Three categories of compounding benefit, well documented in the research.
Cognitive
- Expands attention
- Boosts creativity
- Enhances problem-solving
Emotional
- Builds resilience
- Elevates happiness
- Deepens empathy
Physical
- Strengthens immunity
- Protects the heart
- Increases longevity
Your energy is a budget. Watch where it goes.
Every day, you spend on the left column or earn on the right. Most performance issues are energy issues in disguise.
What drains
- Lack of sleep
- Unresolved conflict
- Indecision
- Fight / flight / freeze states
- Ultra-processed food
- Multi-tasking
- Overthinking
- Digital overload
What restores
- Quality sleep
- Real human connection
- Calm and stillness
- Flow state
- Nutritious food
- Sunlight and nature
- Meaningful work
- Movement and exercise
Six benefits of sleep — earned overnight
Sleep, practically
Aim for 7–8 hours
Not negotiable. Build the rest of your day around it.
Know your chronotype
Bear, lion, wolf, dolphin. Work with your biology, not against it.
The 3–2–1 wind-down
3 hours before bed: no food. 2 hours: no work. 1 hour: no screens.
Cut blue light at night
Dim the house after sunset. Your circadian rhythm reads light as a signal.
Mind social jet lag
Wildly different sleep times across weekdays and weekends costs you.
The strategic power nap
20 minutes, before 3pm. Used well, it’s a productivity multiplier.
Leaders who regularly pause to reflect are 23% more productive and make decisions 20% more aligned with long-term goals.
Di Stefano et al. · Harvard Business School Working Paper, 2014
Your brain is not reacting. It’s predicting.
Most of what you call “thinking” is your brain replaying old predictions from the past. To choose differently, you need a pattern interrupt.
Three tools to interrupt the pattern
Pause
Awareness of the present moment without judgement. The space Frankl talked about.
Reflect
Look back to strengthen learning and memory. The reviewed life is the one that compounds.
Gratitude
Notice what’s going well. Gratitude reduces negativity bias and increases fulfilment.
Start with Why. Then How. Then What.
Purpose is not a poster. It’s a question you ask before the next decision.
After Simon Sinek
Reflective Enquiry
- What matters most right now?
- What’s the story I’m telling myself — and is it true?
- Which value do I want to lead with in this moment?
People with a strong sense of purpose live longer and have a significantly lower risk of heart disease.
— Rush University & Harvard School of Public Health
Identity-based micro-habits.
You don’t rise to your goals — you fall to your systems. Choose an identity, then make the smallest move that’s consistent with it. Then the next one.
| Identity | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Phase 4 | Phase 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I am a runner | Put on running shoes | Walk to the letterbox | Jog to the end of the street | Run 1km | Run 5km |
| I am an early riser | Be home by 10pm | Devices off by 10pm | In bed by 10pm | Asleep by 10pm | Wake at 6am |
| I eat healthy food | One vegetable with dinner | Veggies with lunch and dinner | 5 servings daily | 9 servings daily | 9 veg + 3 fruit daily |
| I am a calm person | Breathe out | 1-min tactical calm | 3-min tactical calm | 5-min tactical calm | Daily meditation |
| I am a high performer | Monotask | Reduce distractions | 15 min flow zone daily | 30 min flow zone daily | 60 min flow zone daily |
Habit Stacking
Attach a new habit to a reliable existing one. The old habit becomes the trigger.
I will new habit.
Key takeaways.
If you remember nothing else, remember these.
Recognising your state is the first step in regulating it.
Use the Speedometer. Name it before you try to change it.
Micro-adjustments prevent overload.
One breath. One pause. A short walk. Small moves compound.
High performance is not the absence of stress.
It’s the skill of managing stress without it managing you.
Recovery is as important as action.
Sleep, calm, connection, nature. Earn them daily, not on holiday.
You can interrupt the prediction.
Pause. Reflect. Notice what’s working. Then choose.
Identity comes first. Behaviour follows.
Pick who you are becoming. Then take phase one.
Take it with you.
A printable one-page summary of every practice in this pack — for your desk, your wallet, or the back of your notebook.
FLAME · Quick Reference
- The Performance Speedometer
- Coherent breathing (4 / 6)
- Sleep breathing (4 / 7 / 8)
- Name to tame / claim
- The Energy Budget
- 3–2–1 wind-down
- Pause · Reflect · Gratitude
- Identity-based micro-habits