12/19/2025
You don’t need more willpower. You need less chaos in your system.
When you're bugging out and your nervous system is cooked, your brain lies to you: “This is huge. This is forever. You can’t handle it.”
Then you do what anyone would do—avoid it, numb it, or spin.
Here’s what I do to shut down the drama, get objective, and take the next obvious step.
The 15-Minute Problem Solver (try this today)
Step 1) Write the problem in ONE sentence
Not a novel. Not a backstory. One sentence.
Example:
“I’m anxious every afternoon and I keep reaching for a quick fix.”
Step 2) Separate Facts vs Stories/BS
Draw a line down a page.
Facts: what’s objectively true.
Stories/BS: what your brain is predicting, assuming, catastrophizing.
This is where 70% of the “weight” disappears.
Step 3) Stabilize your chemistry first
Because you can’t “mindset” your way through a dysregulated body.
Do this exact mini-protocol:
Drink a full glass of water right now.
10 slow breaths: inhale 4 seconds, exhale 6 seconds.
Stand up and walk for 3 minutes (pacing around the room counts).
You’re not fixing the whole problem yet — you’re turning down the alarm.
Step 4) Choose the Next Obvious Action (NOA)
Not “solve my life.” Not “get it all together.”
The NOA is the smallest step that creates momentum in the right direction.
Examples:
Text the dentist and book the appointment.
Open the bank app and look (no judgment).
Message your prescriber with one clear question.
Throw away the crap food you keep “accidentally” eating.
If your NOA takes longer than 10 minutes, it’s too big. Shrink it.
Step 5) Lock in a 24-hour micro-win
Set a timer. Pick one win you can complete today.
My go-to “infrastructure wins”:
20-minute walk (no phone)
Write 5 lines in a journal: “What’s working / What’s not / What’s next”
Prep tomorrow
Early sleep window (even 30 minutes earlier)
These are boring. That’s why they work.
The rule that changes everything.....
If you’re overwhelmed, don’t add pressure. Add structure.
Pressure makes people crack. Structure makes people move.
If you want, comment with the one sentence version of what you’re dealing with right now — and I’ll reply with what I think your “Next Obvious Action” is. (No shame. No tough-guy recovery. Just solutions.)
