Unwrap Your Zone…
At this time of year, many of us begin to reflect not only on what we have done but on how we have felt while doing it.
We notice the patterns that supported us and the ones that quietly depleted us. Underneath these reflections is a deeper question: what helps us stay steady enough to meet the world with clarity rather than strain?
This is where the idea of a baseline becomes central.
Our baseline is the physiological starting point we return to throughout the day. When it is elevated, everything feels slightly harder.
In Book 1: Stop the Spiral, we introduce the foundations of this process. In Book 2: The Calm Habit, we go further into how we can train the body to return to baseline more consistently.
Research across neuroscience and behavioural regulation shows that capacity-building develops through repeated, manageable cues of safety.
The Resilience Ladder is one way to understand this process. The green zone reflects calm and connection. The yellow/amber zone marks alertness and activation. The red zone signals overwhelm or shutdown.
Resilience does not come from staying in green. It comes from knowing where we are and supporting ourselves to move back toward steadiness with intention rather than force.
This slow, consistent approach changes the way we meet the year ahead. Instead of reacting from urgency, we respond from alignment. Instead of overcorrecting, we build habits that help our bodies settle before tension accumulates.
Restoring your baseline:
Supports neural flexibility, helping us move between states more easily
Increases vagal tone, which is linked to emotional regulation
Reduces cognitive fatigue and widens access to creativity
Helps the body shift into repair, digestion, and recovery
Capacity builds through rhythm, not intensity. Small cues of safety, repeated across the day, begin to form the foundations of steadiness.
Micro-practice: Check Your Zone
Identify where you are on the Resilience Ladder. Green. Yellow/Amber. Red.
Soften your jaw and allow the lips to part gently.
Release the tongue from the roof of your mouth.
This gentle release provides a parasympathetic cue that supports the shift back toward balance.
Finally, commit to enjoying a break, whatever you are doing over the holidays. A huge personal thanks for your incredible support this year, from me to you.
