Flight Mode: Procrastination & Shiny Object Syndrome

Part 2 of 3 of the Survival Mode: The Sneaky Patterns Behind Your Behavior series!

Ever find yourself cleaning your junk drawer, scrolling Instagram, or jumping to a new idea instead of finishing what matters most?

You’re not lazy or flaky—you might be stuck in Flight Mode.

In this powerful episode of the Movement, Mind, & Meaning podcast, we explore how the Flight stress response shows up in the modern workplace.

Think procrastination, overthinking, avoidance, and shiny object syndrome—these aren’t personality flaws. They’re nervous system adaptations.

We break down:

• What Flight Mode is through the lens of Polyvagal Theory
• How nervous system dysregulation triggers task avoidance and distractibility
• Why high-performers and sensitive leaders are more prone to this hidden pattern
• How chronic workplace stress leads to burnout, ADHD-like symptoms, and lack of follow-through
• The connection between executive function shutdown and overwhelm
• Real-world workplace impacts: from "unfocused" teams to leaders stuck in planning mode
• You’ll also learn how to spot and shift this behavior with somatic tools like Power Pauses, and how to re-engage your grounded self for more clarity, confidence, and focus.

🎧 Listen now to uncover the deeper reason behind your procrastination—and learn how to shift from Flight Mode to forward momentum.

Curious if this is playing out for you or your team? Take the free Burnout Risk & Resilience Quiz Now! Get personalized insights into how stress may be quietly impacting your—and what to do instead. 👉 https://bit.ly/burnoutriskquiz

About Your Host, Megan Nolan: Helps People First, Purpose Driven Companies That Want To Build Emotionally Resilient Teams That Perform At Their Best Without Time Consuming Strategies By Using Practical Science-Based Strategies That Work In Just Minutes A Day

With 20+ years as a yoga instructor & personal trainer, she teaches mind-body tools to break free from stress and thrive with impact, freedom, and joy.

📚 Bestselling Author | 🎙 Podcast Host | 🌎 Stress & Resilience Coach

Check Out Her Website: https://www.megan-nolan.com/

Follow Her On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iammegannolan/

Missed Part 1? Catch up with: Fight Mode – Perfectionism, Pressure & the High-Performer Stress Trap Here: https://www.megan-nolan.com/podcasts/movement-mind-meaning-podcast/episodes/2149033670

#FlightMode, #WorkplaceStress, #NervousSystemHealth, #ProcrastinationHelp, #ShinyObjectSyndrome, #StressAtWork, #AvoidanceBehavior, #HighAchieverLife, #SensitiveLeader, #BurnoutPrevention, #ChronicStressRelief, #TraumaInformedLeadership, #PolyvagalTheory, #NervousSystemRegulation, #SomaticTools, #MindBodyConnection, #AnxietyAtWork, #PerformanceHabits, #MentalFitness, #ExecutiveFunctionSupport, #WorkplaceWellbeing, #MovementMindMeaning, #PowerPause, #SuccessStoppingHabits

Please find the show notes below. Since it is a transcription there may be spelling errors and/or weird grammar. Ignore that and enjoy!

Are you in flight mode at work, procrastinating all over the place like a shiny squirrel looking at all the objects, supposed to be doing one thing but not doing any of it?Well, if you are welcome, welcome, welcome to this episode where we are diving deep into flight mode at work as part of this three-part series called Survival Mode at Work. The patterns that are running your behavior in your life might be just stress reactions that you didn't even realize were stress reaction because you've been practicing them for so long that you think that maybe that's just how you are. And good news for you is that everything is changeable, right?And none of these patterns, none of these behaviors, none of these survival strategies or defense mechanisms, which is what they are, we'll talk more about in a minute, are permanent. These are things that you learned, ways to handle stress. And you've been practicing them for a while and you may be aware of them or maybe not. So I'm gonna highlight a few things and maybe you'll recognize yourself. Maybe not. So this is the Movement, Mind and Meaning podcast. Aloha. My name is Megan Nolan. I'm your 31 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:05,1000 host. So last week we talked about fight mode. OK, so just let's back it up a little bit here, Megan, before I get all shiny object on you. Hello. Case in point. So. We used to think that your nervous system had basically an on switch and an off 38 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:22,1000 switch, right?And the on switch being the stimulated, sympathetic state of the nervous system that is often called fight or flight. Those are actually two different things, so you can't be in fight or flight. You are either in fight or flight, right?And so last week we were talking about fight mode. Fight mode is when we run towards the issue, right?We go into action and we are handling it, right?It's like throwing buckets of water on the fire if we see a fire versus running away from the fire if we are afraid, right?And so fight mode we talked about last week. Make sure to go back and listen to that. And that's all about the high. Performer pressure trap, the 56 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:03,1000 anxious OverDrive, that go, go, go, go, 57 00:02:03,1000 --> 00:02:05,1000 go, trying constantly to take action, having control delegation issues. So go back and listen to that if you haven't already cause that one goes deeper into fight mode. So today we're talking about 62 00:02:15,1000 --> 00:02:18,960 flight mode. So this is another aspect of the sympathetic nervous system where we run away. We're in mobilization, like we're active, we're we're doing something and we're either going towards the issue in fight mode or running away from it in flight mode. So this is where we see more behaviors like 70 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:35,1000 procrastination. Have you ever done this where you're like, well, I really should start. You know, pulling together all the things for the project and you're like, well, maybe I should go on Instagram and just get a little inspiration. And and then maybe after I do that for a bit, I should go look for that old notebook where I'm pretty sure I made some notes. Or maybe I'll just clean up the drawer. Maybe I'll just go for a walk. And then all of a sudden you're like, oopsies, I did not do anything. And but at the same time when you were not doing the thing you were meant to do, say you were meant to work on a project. And instead of, you know, going towards the project and 88 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:13,1000 taking action on it, you're you're going 89 00:03:13,1000 --> 00:03:16,320 in the opposite direction. But while you are taking that walk or whatever it is, 91 00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:19,1000 you're like, shoot, I really should be 92 00:03:19,1000 --> 00:03:21,880 doing something about this. Oh man, why am I not doing anything about the project? And so you're not actually resting or recovering or doing anything that would be otherwise productive. You're over there stressing about the project while you're avoiding doing the project. Anything about that familiar to you?OK, so that's really procrastination. So this is the the flight mode response. So typically, you know, if we were running away from a situation, keep in mind your body reacts to situations and to perceived threats the same way as it would if there was an actual real threat in your environment or to your safety. As it does when there are loads of emails and you're like, Oh my God, I don't want to deal with that. It's too much. I'm overwhelmed. So the wiring is the same, right?So this is the sympathetic response. So we have fight, we have flight, we have freeze. We're going to talk about that next week. And then the opposite to this is the parasympathetic 118 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:19,1000 nervous system. So this is the rest and digest. You probably remember that from, you know, 7th grade biology. 121 00:04:26,1000 --> 00:04:28,960 And so rest and digest is where we settle. Where we're grounded, where our body comes back into healing mode, which is necessary for healing. So if we are in stress state most of the time or all the time, we we're not able to heal, we're not able to recover as quickly. Our immune function decreases. We're at risk for getting sick. We have sleep issues, we have digestive issues. We can be at risk for developing, you know, prediabetes, other other really serious big health related issues like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, like all of that is associated with stress. OK. And so the more that we can become aware of how stress might be showing U for you, the more we can recognize it as a 140 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:10,1000 rotective mechanism from your body, as a 141 00:05:10,1000 --> 00:05:13,920 signal from your system that you are in a. Sympathetic state, you are dysregulated. OK. So when we are regulated is when we are in that parasympathetic state where we are grounded, where you're centered, where you're able to rise to the challenge and then settle back down, where you're able to rest without collapsing. We want to be able to go up and down, right, without 151 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:34,1000 these peaks and valleys. And so that's 152 00:05:34,1000 --> 00:05:36,960 really what a resilient, regulated nervous system is. So what we're going to really look at is, OK. What does this mean, right? What does this mean as far as how you're showing up at work and stress levels and all of those things?And so think about it like have you ever done that thing where 160 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:54,1000 you just grabbed your phone and and you avoided looking at the emails or starting to do your taxes or calling your accountant or whatever it is like we all have things that we often times 165 00:06:05,1000 --> 00:06:08,360 are resistant around taking action on and we put it off, right. And some people do best with deadlines and. And you know, they they do things at the last minute. But the reality is, is that when we have this situation, what's happening in the workplace, right, that your nervous system is perceiving as stressful, like it's a big project or a long list of 175 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:33,1000 tasks that you've been given or having a conversation with your co-worker, whatever it is, is that we we innately will default to. These different survival strategies and that's what these are, right. So fundamentally we talked about sympathetic and parasympathetic. That is what the the natural and the what is the word I'm looking for the 185 00:06:57,1000 --> 00:06:59,760 consistently across the board. I'm sure there's probably one word for that. Universal. There we go. The universal wiring of the nervous system is right. And so that's where the polyvagal. Theory comes in and told us that in fact there's not just this on and off switch. There is fight, there's flight, there's freeze, there's fun, there's rest and digest, there's stay and play. There's these hybrid states that have multiple pieces of these different aspects of your nervous system. So all of this wiring is built in for for your survival. OK, for your survival. So there's all of these are naturally there, but when our when the situation at hand isn't something otentially threatening, like a bear or a car or whatever it is. It's still very stressful 205 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:45,1000 for your system. So it's still engages in these survival strategies because it's seeing it as a a threat, right. And so it's it says I gotta deal with this and it either deals with it in the the fight mode or the flight mode or freeze or fun or you know if you're regulated you're able to do it and then relax. And so again this is. It's really about empowering yourself with knowledge and learning about these different patterns. And that's what these are, right?Because they are survival mechanisms, they're protective patterns and they're they're neither good nor bad, right?They're they're parts of you that learned how to handle stress and how to deal with situations like this. So the beautiful thing is that they're self-protective. So this is a part of you that learned to do it this way. And so when we notice that we are engaging in this flight mode behavior of procrastination, we get to witness it, right?We get to notice it. And we're like, oh, well, I probably should be working on the roject. But here I am on Instagram and I've been scrolling so long, my arms are numb. And you just get to recognize it. You get to label it, cause what's happening is you're in a stressed state, right?And so notice it in 236 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:53,1000 your body. Feel how it feels in your body when you're like thinking about the project, but you're over on Instagram. Just notice how it feels in your body. 240 00:08:58,1000 --> 00:09:00,680 What's happening is because you're in a stressed state, you're active in your amygdala, which is the threat detection center, the fear center of the brain, survival center of the brain. And when we're in this stressed mode, you know what's not available to you?Well, 247 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:16,1000 the higher functioning CEO aspect of the 248 00:09:16,1000 --> 00:09:19,040 brain, the prefrontal cortex. This is decision making. This is clarity. This is perspective. This is taking aligned action. This is moving from a place of integrity. This is staying in your leadership energy, grounded with calm authority, ready to handle it. That's not available when we are in a stress state. So when and if you notice yourself engaging in these behaviors of procrastination, OK, so. Or the shiny object syndrome, which I like to call the shiny squirrel, which is basically bing bonging all over the place, like ping pong at the ping pong World Championships. And you're like, but I what about this?And maybe this and maybe I maybe, you know, it's like chickens, chickens. And I'm sure you've heard chickens on this podcast. There's so many in the backyard. If you ever hear weird sounds, that's what it is. I live in Maui and there's. Chickens and roosters. Anyways, they're they're really lovely animals, but they're not particularly smart and they just kind of all over the place. OK, so shiny object syndrome or procrastination. So if you notice yourself engaging in these 278 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,1000 behaviors, this is your body 279 00:10:19,1000 --> 00:10:22,600 engaging in flight mode. It's an avoidant behavior. You're mobilized and you're in action. You're doing something, but it's not necessarily the most productive forward momentum building action that you could be taking. Right. So we want to just notice it, notice the emotion, notice the sensations in your body, notice what you're feeling when you are ping ponging all over the place like a shiny squirrel. Notice that feeling. And for me it feels like kind of like tightly wound, I don't know, like tennis balls in the dryer sort of feeling. And so we wanna notice that as a signal. Because what we you may not realize is that these behaviors, these protective patterns that you now know are learned behaviors that you now know are survival strategies because you're encountering stress, are ones that you can shift, right?Because they're learned behaviors. But that comes through non-judgmental self-awareness, and it's really a practice in being 306 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:29,1000 present with what's happening. The kicker is here's the kicker. Lean in that a lot of times, because you've practiced these behaviors so much 310 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:41,1000 for potentially decades, no judgment, no shade, that a lot of times they happen without you even realizing it, meaning they operate below the level of your conscious awareness. But now you know they're there, so you can start to look for them, right?It's like we're shining a flashlight into a dark room because you know you dropped your keys in there and you're like, where are my keys? I need to turn on the flashlight and and you're shining a flashlight into the dark room and you're now you're shedding a little light on what might be happening when you are dealing with these patterns, right?And so again, 327 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:19,1000 they're not bad. They're defense 328 00:12:19,1000 --> 00:12:22,080 mechanisms. They are literally your body's way of protecting you and keeping you, quote, UN quote, alive and handling this stressful situation. 332 00:12:29,1000 --> 00:12:32,800 So what do we do, right?What do we do?We notice these behaviors and we can label them, right?Oh. I'm procrastinating again. Oop, I'm a shiny squirrel again. And what's happening 337 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:44,1000 there is whenever you label something, 338 00:12:44,1000 --> 00:12:47,120 whenever you name something, that actually shifts the brain activity back to the prefrontal cortex. So you become present, right?It's more of a grounding tool so that you can label it. You can label it, you can name it. OK, so this is where you get to notice the feelings, notice the overwhelm, notice that. Tennis ball in the washing machine sort of feeling and inside your body or however it presents to you. And then we want to use the power pause method, right?So you may or may not know I have created the power pause method which is really, really empowering you with tools to use in real time to reduce your stress and increase your energy. And that's what's really happening here, right is so when we. Recognize these patterns as such, right?Survival strategies. They're not bad. They're a part of you that has this practice, this behavior, you know, and and sometimes if they are, you know, well celebrated things like being a high performer, like being a, you know, a really driven action taker. These are sometimes things that we associate with and we, you know, we claim. As like, yeah, but I'm a I'm really driven, I'm a high performer. And so The thing is, is that those might be on the quote UN quote, you know, rewarded good side of the fence, if you will. I don't know where the fence came from, but you know, the office, I guess that would make more sense. Whereas on the other side, behaviours like procrastination and and shiny object syndrome might be labelled problematic, right?And so I don't want you to. Make these behaviors wrong in any way. They're not wrong. They are. They're learned behaviors. But the cool thing is, is that within them are these beautiful little assets. OK, so think about it like we don't want to make it wrong. And so procrastination is the ability to put something aside. And go and do something else to change your attention, to shift your focus and to go something else. Go do something else. But the key is, are we doing that mindfully, right?Are we doing that of like, you know what, I need a break right now. I'm going to leave this now and I'm going to mindfully shift gears and go over to this different. You know, I'm gonna go to yoga class or whatever. But when we're at yoga, we're not at yoga because we're like, I really don't wanna work on my project. We're at yoga because we're like, I know that when I take care of myself, when I rest, I'm able to show up more fully and do all the other things. So can you see the difference?Like you're not, you're not procrastinating by going to yoga. You have decided intentionally to put it down and then you're going to do something else that supports you so you can do the thing. OK versus. Or then I should say, and then with shiny object syndrome, the beautiful, the, the benefit inside that is, is being excited, right?Being curious, wanting to learn about all these new things, wanting to go out and try all these things. But we want to do it in a way that is intentional. And it's not just like, oh, I don't like the way things are going like with this, this, you know, launch strategy or whatever, or this e-mail provider. I'm going to go try this one. And then, oh, I don't know if 423 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:05,1000 this is working. I'm going to go try this 424 00:16:05,1000 --> 00:16:08,880 one. And so it's it's what we're missing here if we are doing it from this dysregulated state is that we are using it as an avoidance tool, right?We are avoiding the situation at hand 429 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:21,1000 rather than just being curious. So what I 430 00:16:21,1000 --> 00:16:24,320 want you to do is when you notice these behaviors, acknowledge them. And then get curious, like, where am I doing this from?Why am why am I doing this right now?Like, what do I really need?You knowAnd so oftentimes in the case of procrastination, it's that a need for a certain type of rest hasn't been fulfilled. Like, have you been? Nourishing your body?Are you learning creatively?Are you connecting spiritually? And so we just tend to be sort of seeking that out in an avoidance behavior. And then, for example, with the shiny objects, like are you wanting to have more of this creative need taken care of?Like, do you want to learn and explore these other things?And so that's really we want to look at these through the lens of compassionate curiosity. So those are the two foundational components of the power pause method is to really look through this lens of the heart, if you will, through this lens of tenderness and self-compassion and curiosity. So looking through the lens of compassionate curiosity and then non-judgmental self-awareness. Because The thing is, is that the natural wiring going back to your, you know, our universal wiring is that we all have what is called the negativity bias and that is the brain's hardwired survival mechanism to look for faults, flaws and problems. And so naturally we're going to look at things through that lens like. If you notice that, you know, well, yeah, I'm a bit of a shiny squirrel, Megan. And then your brain might be like, well, imagine how much time you've wasted doing that. Like, wow, that's that's kind of lame, you know? And so just witness it because we don't want to judge ourselves for judging ourselves. Hello. That is not the outcome of the power pause, right?It's really about what are we going to take from this, right?How are you going to cultivate this higher level of self-awareness, emotional intelligence, the ability to stay in control in a situation, recognition of these patterns, looking at how stress is showing up?And although it might be not as obvious as like I'm really bad and like punching or whatever or running from a scenario, this is stress. This is how stress is presenting in our modern day and in in our workplace. And So what we want to do, let's go back to the power pause method here is that the first step is to really just recognize, right?Recognize these behaviors. You might feel uncommitted, you might feel distractable, you might feel flaky, you might feel overwhelmed like it might be, or you may notice these. In other people. And that's the other thing to be aware of is that when you start to learn about these different patterns, you might be like, oh, well, that person knows that a lot. Don't. No, no, noRein it in their mind. And we want to just label these as the mind. This is my mind doing what minds do, and it is attempting to protect itself. OK, so we want to start with step one of the power pause method is to feel the feels. Right. And the feelings are the intellectual interpretation of the felt sense, the emotion in our body, right, in the way that it shows up. And so you might feel overwhelmed, you might feel distracted, you might feel stressed out, you might feel anxious. And so however this pattern is presenting to you, we want to start there, feel the feels, and we're going to just name it right and. As you develop this languaging around your feelings, which BTW is is an art and a skill and something that not many of us were taught, like we're familiar with our core feelings. Well, I'm pissed offWell, I'm sad. Well, I'm overwhelmed, you know. And so we want to just start to expand the repertoire. Learn the language of your body, right? I don't know about you, but I love learning. And so I was listening to something the other day and he was talking about how our. The language that we have around feelings is rather limited, and so it's really important for us to get curious about this. So feel the feels, right?Label it. I'm kind of hungry, you know, maybe I'm feeling a little bit worried, you know, whatever it is. OK, so when we we shift, when we shift to that level of nonjudgmental self-awareness and we name it, then. We allow already we're shifting brain activity. We are shifting brain activity. And so when the amygdala is not triggered, it reduces the signaling of the sympathetic system. So it's reducing the levels of adrenaline and cortisol because it's like, well, actually we're slowing down here. We're thinking about something because we're not in full outright survival mode anymore. If you're not fully engaged in that behavior, right, something has not has shifted, right?Because what you've done when you start to feel the feelings and notice it. You're bringing activity out of the brain and into the body and the the information that comes from the body is much more prevalent than the information that comes from the head down. So what we're doing here is we're shifting your awareness into your body and to experience what you're noticing in the moment. OK, so that's feel the feels. So when we do the second step, which is take a power pause, we're using your body to get grounded to. Orient yourself to the space around you and slow things down so that you shift out of that dysregulated stress state into a regulated state in your nervous system. So power pauses, literally little mindful moments that decrease your stress and increase your energy like that very quickly. You can do them. Let's do one now. Let's do them now. So when we have that the the flight mode, you might feel kind of this excess of this nervous energy of of like, well, what about this?Maybe I should do this. I don't know. That's kind of that that shiny object, right?Or the, you know, I need to go do something else because I really don't want to do that. Then we want just want to really shift gears so we feel the feel as we take a power pause so we can do a two-part inhale. Eyes open or closed. Do it with me. Hear me. Inhale twice. Exhale. Make a sound. Make it deep. OK. It can be loud and soundful. Not sure if that's a word. Or quiet. One more. And then once you've done it enough to notice a shift, and you'll notice a a settling, you might notice a yawn, you might notice a sigh, you might hear your stomach gurgle. Sometimes you burp, sometimes you fart. That's a signal of rest and digest. All good things, right?All good things. And so then once you've done it to notice a shift, we shift to Step 3. Decide who you're going to be. When you are in this regulated state, you access the higher wisdom within you, innately within you. You want to call it your soul, your future self, your higher self, your prefrontal cortex. I don't know what you want to call it. You can call it whatever you want, but it is the truth of who you are. So you're back online as your true self, and your true self knows how you should handle the situation in the way that is the most supportive to your vision. To your goals, to who you are, to how you want to live, to your values. Your true self has that all on record, on file, on lock, and it's like wants to educate you. It wants to guide you. But its voice is a little bit more subtle than the loud, obnoxious, critical, nasty dialogue of the mind. Which incessantly chatters along and is saying stuff like, yeah, you don't need to do it now, go do that. Why don't you go learn 800 AI tools instead of blah blah blah blah blah?No. So the true self has the wisdom, but we need to go deeper below the noise of the mind to the wisdom within. And so when you are tuned into true self, when you've noticed the patterns of mind, oh, there's my mind again, trying to get me to procrastinate. Thank you, mind. Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna take a power pause. You're gonna get back online as your true self. And then you're gonna say, who am I going back into the day as? You get to decide who you're gonna be. That's your level of agency and you get to decide. And a lot of people find like, uh, under pressure, I don't know. And so we want to make sure that you have some. Knowledge as to who and how you want to show up, right. And so this is where you can really tap into. We love to go deep inside the power pause movement into the vibe of your vision, developing power statements for yourself that are anchors for you that you can use in these moments so that you don't have to think of like, well, I'd like to be really confident and clear and I'd like to, you know, make sure that I'm showing up in a really inclusive sort of way. Like not letting the mind, you know, create too much of a story around it, but we. We use this energy to drop in and so you can finish your power pause and say to yourself, feel to yourself, I am a purposeful powerhouse. Feel free to use that. It's really powerful. That's what we are inside the power pause movement. OK, so you can just say to yourself, I am a purposeful powerhouse. And more important than the declaration, whether it's out loud or in your head, is the experience of it emotionally. Because that is the language of your nervous system, OK?And when you're in that state, that's the frequency that you're emitting from your heart, because you're feeling it in your heart. And this is your electromagnetic field, your aura, however you want to call it. You want to go science, you want to go spirituality. They're saying the same thing. It's the frequency emitted by you, by your nervous system, because it's always picking up on information as well as sending it out. So you've decided how you're going to go back into the day. Grounded, centered, powerful, anchored in your awareness, in your compassion, in your love, in your Aloha, like whatever it is for you. And you go from there. And from there you'll know like, you know what?I really, I I I want to work on that project, but I'm really tired and my body hurts and maybe I need, maybe I do need to go to yoga or maybe I'm going to do 30 minutes on the project and then go to yoga. Like it's you, you make empowered decisions here because we're not in the stress state. We have brought the prefrontal cortex back online. It's able to make these empowered, informed decisions and so that you are now regulated and then you are acting from that place and you have access to all of these tools. You have access to all of these little Nuggets and benefits that are inside these patterns, but you're using them in a much. Different, intentionally present way. OK, so that's what we want to do when we notice these patterns is feel the feels, take a power pause, decide who to be. And it really is coming from that place. And and and once you've decided who you want to be, you can ask yourself, OK, what is the aligned next step?What is in my highest good to do right now?And so that's really these. It's moment to moment. The reality is, you know, I wish we could just like take a power pause and update the whole system completely forever. Do I?I don't know. No, I don't. That would be kind of boring because what if you pick the wrong thing? Anyways, what I'm saying is, is that this is an ongoing practice and we get to come from this place of growth mindset and a willingness to continue to explore and. The effects of these power pauses. And every time you notice this and every time you give yourself that witnessing presence of oh, there's my mind doing the thing, doing the thing again and not getting annoyed, not getting judgmental, not getting critical about it, then we we we're doing this deep level of healing. You're tending to that part of you that learn that behavior that maybe is an outdated behavior that you're not so down with anymore. And you're like, I want to do it a different way now, but it's that that that willingness. To witness it. That's the compassionate curiosity. Not making it wrong, just really holding it, holding space for it, and in that doing so, we allow it to. Move, right. It diffuses. You'll notice that, you know, because we when we start to feel these feelings and then we go into the mind and we start to interpret them, we start to create these stories. That's when they're lasting. That's when sustained, sustained stress turns into chronic stress. And that's where we, you know, set the stage for all of these potential health issues and productivity, performance issues, etcetera, etcetera. And so it's really. It's a practice of self-awareness and a willingness to be curious and to continue to learn and grow. And so that is what I wanted to share with you about flight mode. And next week we're going into freeze mode. So freeze is rather than going into action, right?So fight and flight were mobilization modes, right?We're either running away from the situation, we're running head on into it, taking action, doing whatever. Freeze mode is a different aspect. Called the dorsal vagal shutdown and so this is immobilization. So what happens is we're operating in zone of regulation and then we get triggered or it gets too much and we go into go mode and we keep going and then you know either the situation resolves and we can navigate back down and we come back into this nice you know ventral vagal regulated state. But if it's too much, too long or we can't handle it and that's the next natural step is the body's like I can't do anything, I can't do it, I can't do it and that's shutdown. So we. We have an immobilization. So in survival mechanism, in survival terms out in the wild, this is when an animal would play dead. You know, if the bunny's been chased by the coyote and the coyote just wants to play and the bunny's like and goes limp, then it may not be as interested, right? And so our bodies do the same thing. And so next week we're talking about people pleasing and overthinking. I know. And again, come back because you know, you might be like, yeah, no, I'm a shiny squirrel all the way. You might be a people pleaser as well too. OK, so that one's is actually typically a little bit of a more of a fawn state, but it kind of is a little bit of a blurry line. So the fawn is, is that, oh, but how can I help you?What can I do? And so that's also dorsal, dorsal vagal. And so anyways, not to overwhelm you with the technical terms, but just to really know that these are normal things. And they are things that we can change thanks to the plasticity of your nervous system, meaning that you can change it. So I'd love to have you back next week. We're going deep into freeze mode. I'd love to share that with you. And so if you're noticing some of these things, both maybe in yourself or in your team, and you want to recognize, want to take a little closer look at like how stress might be presenting in your workplace, or if this is the case and you've noticed these behaviors for a while, this is really what sets the stage for chronic. Stress and therefore burnout. So I have a free quiz, the burnout risk and resilience quiz to share with you. It will be in the show notes. Would love for you to take that, take a look at it and get a sense for where you're you're at or your team is at and also some solutions that might help you moving forward. So thank you again. Until next time, thank you for showing up and learning and growing and and really doing such beautiful work in the world and being part of this beautiful community. I look forward to talking to you soon. Take good care. Bye bye.