I am a chronic rusher, chronically urgent, chronically in a hurry. And let me tell you, this takes a toll on the nervous system.

For almost five years, I worked for a wilderness therapy program in Alaska. We spent our days canoeing on the ocean and hiking through mountains, teaching young people how to live, move, and survive in the wild. The work demanded precision. We had to be off the water by dark, camp set up before nightfall. If you missed your time frames, things got difficult fast.

On the surface, this training made sense. It was practical, even lifesaving. But over time, I internalized something else entirely, a false sense of urgency that followed me home. I brought the wilderness pace into everyday life, where it didn’t belong.

I notice it in small moments.

Hurrying to the front door, arms full of bags, fumbling for my keys. I’m too impatient to set the bags down, too wound up to pause. By the time I get the door open, I’ve already shot my system into fight-or-flight. And what happens next is predictable: I step into my home dysregulated. Now I’m irritated by the mess on the counter, short with my wife, frustrated with the dog.

Nothing caused my agitation, I did that myself. I carried urgency like a torch into every room I entered.

It’s humbling to realize how often we do this: how many times a day we manufacture stress out of habit. We throw ourselves into fight-or-flight for no real reason at all. And in doing so, we make it harder to connect with the people we love and with our own bodies.

Noticing these patterns is one of the most transformative steps in nervous system work. It’s not about blaming yourself for being stressed. It’s about understanding that many of your stress responses are self-generated.

Start asking yourself:

When do I, without any external pressure, send myself into fight-or-flight?

When do I rush for no reason?

The more you can notice these subtle cues, the more you can reclaim your peace. You’ll find that slowing down, even slightly, changes everything, your relationships, your body, your mood, your capacity for love.

Heres your invitation: notice when you’re hurrying. Pause before you reach for the key. Set the bags down. Take a breath before you walk through the door.

You don’t have to earn rest. You don’t have to live like you’re being chased.

With love,

Christian

P.S. I’m hosting a live Q&A next week inside my community, Attunement Collective. I’ve been wanting to connect with you all more directly, and this is one way I’m making that happen.

It’s completely free to join, but since the event is hosted inside the community platform, you’ll need to become a member first.

We’ll be diving into questions around the nervous system, psychedelic medicine, mental health, spiritual growth, anxiety, and more—all the things I talk about here.

Tuesday, October 14th, 2025 — 6 PM MST​
​RSVP inside Attunement Collective​