TL;DR:
Think your drive to fix, perfect, and push is just “how you are”? It might actually be Fight Mode—a hidden stress pattern hijacking your nervous system. In this post (and podcast series), we unpack how high performers get stuck in survival mode—and how to shift out of it.
Part 1: Fight Mode at Work – Perfectionism, Pressure & The High-Performer Stress Trap
I used to think I was just wired this way.
The one who triple-checked the work.
Jumped in to fix problems before anyone asked.
Held it all together—even when I was falling apart inside.
I wore “high performer” like a badge of honor.
Until I realized I wasn’t thriving.
I was surviving.
This is Part 1 of a 3-part series I’m calling "Survival Mode: The Patterns Behind Your Behavior"—inspired by the work I do every day helping people uncover the hidden stress patterns that silently run their lives and leadership. We’re kicking things off with a deep dive into Fight Mode, through the lens of modern work and perfectionism.
In this week’s episode of my podcast, Movement, Mind, & Meaning: Mind/Body Tools For Thriving Beyond Anxiety & Stress, I unpack how Fight Mode—one of our nervous system’s primal stress responses—gets internalized in high-performing professionals, especially in people-first companies.
Here’s what that looks like today:
The compulsion to fix everything immediately
Feeling unsafe when things feel out of control
Holding yourself and others to impossible standards
Staying busy so you don’t have to feel the discomfort
We think of these traits as admirable—being a “go-getter,” “detail-oriented,” “always on.” But underneath? These can be signs of a dysregulated nervous system trying to keep you safe.
The fight response was never designed for modern workplace stress. It was built to help us survive physical threats. But in today’s world, where the threats are emotional, interpersonal, and ongoing, we often don’t notice we’re still living from that same survival state.
In the episode, I share the science behind this pattern from a polyvagal perspective, plus the real reason so many leaders feel stuck in an anxious overdrive loop. And—most importantly—I walk you through ways to shift out of this state and back into a grounded, intentional version of yourself.
Because once you can name the pattern, you can change the pattern.
That’s the work.
And it doesn’t have to be complicated.
Small moments of real-time awareness and regulation—what I call Power Pauses—can help you stop living from survival mode and start leading from your true, aligned self.
🎧 Tune in now to Part 1 of the Survival Mode Series on the podcast:
👉 Fight Mode at Work: Perfectionism, Pressure & the High-Performer Stress Trap
Stay tuned for Part 2: Flight Mode: The Root of Procrastination
(Coming soon!)
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