Playing the game of life (on expert mode)
2MINJULY 12, 2025
[ FROM THE NOTEBOOK ]
How to hack your nervous system like it’s 1999 and you’ve got all the cheat codes.
fig 8.1—PLAYING THE GAME OF LIFE (ON EXPERT MODE)You wake up feeling great — full of energy and ready to take on the day.
Like a video game character with all your ❤️s topped up.
When your ❤️s are full, everything feels possible: you’re motivated, creative, ready to connect with people, and even tackle that task you’ve been putting off since May.
But then… life starts chipping away at your ❤️s.
You spill coffee on your shirt.
A surprise bill shows up.
You remember a meeting you didn’t plan for.
Even the microwave beeping gets under your skin.
Each little thing takes a bit of your energy — like your ❤️s are slowly being chipped away.
By noon, you're down to one lonely ❤️.
Here’s how you can learn to recharge:
🧠 Learn how your nervous system works
🏆 Master your zones: stress 🔴, calm 🟢, and flow 🔵
❤️ Get your energy — and your heart — back to full
fig 8.2🧠 Your Nervous System’s Capacity Meter
Your nervous system runs on three core modes:
fig 8.3Red: Go 🚀 Mode
You’re lit up. Energized. Focused. The room could be on fire and you’d still meet that deadline.
This is your sympathetic nervous system at work. It’s a great place to visit when you need a burst of juice. But stay too long and you’ll fry the circuits.
Red Zone Hacks:
Use short, sharp breathwork (4-4-4) to stay locked in.
Block tasks into power sprints.
Move between tasks. Shake it out. Walk it off.
fig 8.4
fig 8.5Blue: Recovery 🔋 Mode
This is the nervous system's nap lounge. Soft lighting. Slower breathing. A playlist called “Walking on a Dream.”
It’s also where creativity starts to climb back out of the hole.
Blue Zone Hacks:
Toss in 10-minute NSDR breaks between Zoom calls or classes.
Try micro-rests: 3 deep breaths before switching tabs.
Touch a tree. No seriously. Go outside.
fig 8.6Green: Flow ♾️ Mode
Where presence lives. Where you remember who the hell you are.
This is the land of high HRV (heart rate variability — a sign your body is relaxed and resilient), more connection with mind and body, solid vagal tone (meaning your nervous system is balanced and calm), and not checking your email during dinner.
Green Zone Hacks:
Gratitude journaling, even if it’s just “my socks match today.”
Make something. A playlist. A meal. A kind gesture.
Connect: one real convo > 100 scrolls.
fig 8.7🏆 Playing the Game of Life on Expert Mode
Actionable Steps:
🛑 Feeling Lethargic or Burnt? Try breathwork or cold exposure for a quick boost.
🔵 Need to Downregulate? Use NSDR or light yoga—no intense poses needed.
🟢 Low Creative Capacity? Blend rest and active focus to recharge without burnout.
Quotes for Inspiration
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
— Viktor Frankl
"Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence."
— Alan Watts
fig 8.8
fig 8.9