Stop Running Hot. Start Running Right.
Field Shift: Urgency Addict → Rhythm Keeper
Brian Setzer (Stray Cats) released two new songs to celebrate a comeback tour.
Three days later, he canceled all 21 dates.
Months at Mayo relearning basics. Hands that felt like they were wearing gloves. Signs of recovery. New music out.
Then one honest line: “I’ve been trying everything I can… but it is just not possible.”
Not failure. A system message.
You didn’t fail. Speed did.
“In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
— Isaiah 30:15
Your body says it first: the rules you’re using don’t produce meaning anymore.
The Pattern We’ve Been Living
Sunday night. The week ahead loads into view.
Your calendar is 72% booked and somehow nothing will land. The meeting that needs three deep breaths before you unmute. The decision you made last month that’s reopening. The win that felt hollow before you logged off.
You’re not imagining the compression. Your nervous system is tracking it.
Breath gets shallow. Time gets tight. Attention narrows to tunnel vision. Decisions multiply instead of resolve.
And somewhere underneath: Why does every victory feel like I’m grinding myself down?
You got exceptional at moving faster than the problem—and the problem learned to move like you.
This week offers a way to feel the alternative.
What October Revealed (A Month of Signals You Can Feel)
Rather than argue the point, try this as five short scenes. Notice what each one does in your body.
Oct 9 — The Pulse Check
New workforce data lands: burnout at a seven‑year high; nearly three in four workers report moderate to very high stress, with Gen Z the most affected.
Invitation: Is your breath high and thin—or low and slow?
Oct 24 — The Athlete’s Call
Stefanos Tsitsipas ends his season early: “My focus now is on recovery and healing, so I can come back stronger for 2026.”
Invitation: Remember the last time you stopped before you broke. What changed after you did?
Oct 28 — The Musician’s Message
Brian Setzer cancels his comeback run after releasing new songs. “It is just not possible.”
Invitation: Name one capacity you’ve tried to force lately. What would “not possible—right now” make room for?
Oct 29 — Rhythm vs. Ritual
A U.K. council defends a permanent four‑day week—saving ~£400,000 annually, lowering turnover by ~41%, boosting applicants by ~123%, and keeping 21/24 metrics steady or better—while central government expresses “disappointment.”
Invitation: Where in your week could you trade ritual busyness for rhythmic blocks—and measure the difference?
Oct 29 — Timing > Tallying
New sleep research: timing, efficiency, and regularity beat raw hours for long‑term cardiovascular health.
Invitation: What if your work followed the same rule—when and how you work outweighing how much?
Seen together, October whispers the same thing Setzer’s hands did: tempo is the lever.
Dojo: The 3‑Minute Field Shift
Round 1 — Urgency Mode (60s)
Pick one live situation that feels pressing.
Frame: “What’s broken? What needs fixing?”
Notice: Focus (hot spots), Body (jaw/shoulders/breath), Impulse (go faster).
Jot three lines: Most relevant / Body sensation / Impulse
Round 2 — Rhythm Mode (60s)
Same situation.
Frame: “What conditions would make the desired future inevitable?”
Notice: Focus (what opens), Body (more room), Impulse (change a rule / extend horizon / remove approval).
Jot three lines: Most relevant / Body sensation / Impulse
Round 3 — Compare (60s)
What became visible only in Round 2?
Which rule wants rewriting (who decides / what counts / by when / who approves)?
Which mode expanded you?
If a flicker appeared—time widened, pressure softened—you just got experiential proof.
Not philosophy. Physiology.
What Your Nervous System Just Demonstrated
HRV drops when you run hot. Lower variability = higher strain = worse decisions and riskier physiology.
Cortisol rhythms drift under chronic urgency. The chemistry stays “on” after the calendar says “off.”
Time perception compresses in sympathetic overdrive. Rhythm widens it; options return.
Attention tunnels under pressure; rhythm brings panoramic awareness back.
Two quick levers:
Cyclic sighing (double inhale, long exhale) improves mood more than mindfulness in randomized trials—with about five minutes of practice.
Longer‑exhale breathing boosts vagal tone (HF‑HRV) and lowers state anxiety within minutes.
You just felt the mechanism that October was pointing at.
Two Kinds of Time (You Already Know the Difference)
Chronos: identical hours, scarce and compressed—72% booked and nothing lands.
Kairos: ripe moments—time widens, the decision finally resolves.
Urgency traps you in chronos—racing a clock you can’t beat.
Rhythm trains access to kairos—timing over rushing.
The shift isn’t about working less. It’s about working at a human frequency that scales.
Field Shift Cheat Sheet — Urgency Addict → Rhythm Keeper
Chases speed → Chooses tempo
Meetings & updates pile up → Protected blocks, clear criteria, kill low‑leverage rituals
Optimizes inside inherited rules → Rewrites rules (who decides / what counts / by when)
Tracks hours → Tracks variability (sleep, HRV, attention field, recovery)
Defaults to real‑time → Defaults to async; real‑time for the few things that merit it
Resists constraints → Uses them (100‑80‑100: 100% output in 80% time)
Your Move This Week
Monday — Run the 3‑minute Dojo on your highest‑stakes situation. Circle one condition to rewrite.
All week — When you catch yourself speeding up, ask: “What rule am I obeying without noticing?”
Between meetings — Run the 2‑minute Rhythm Reset. Note what shifts.
Friday — ship one rule change:
Who decides → give the decision to the operator closest to the work
Time horizon → extend one key bet from quarter → year
Criteria → publish them; remove secret handshakes
Meeting load → retire one recurring ritual that exists only because it always has
Tell one partner you’re trying it. Notice what becomes visible.
The Closing Truth
Taoist text tells us about Cook Ding’s knife lasting nineteen years because he cut with the grain, not against it.
The mediocre cook’s knife lasted one month because he hacked.
Your body already knows which one you’ve been doing.
You didn’t lose your edge.
You’re upgrading the clock you use to wield it.
Stop printing anxiety on the earth with your movement.
Learn to distinguish chronos from kairos in your own nervous system.
Discover that speed and meaning are not the same thing.
You’re not broken. You’re in the wrong mode.
And the mode is changeable.
The shift begins when you notice what your body has been trying to tell you all along.
— Adam
P.S. If nothing shifted during the Dojo, that’s useful data—maybe this isn’t your moment.
If even a flicker appeared—time widened, pressure softened—that’s your nervous system saying there’s something here. From there, the question stops being “Is this possible?” and becomes “How do I practice until it’s reliable?”
"You got exceptional at moving faster than the problem—and the problem learned to move like you." Whoa! 😳