When Life Feels Unsteady, Neuroscience Points Us Back to Rituals

In 2017, my life felt scattered in a way I didn’t yet have language for. I had just started my career, I was building a nonprofit, and I was carrying the pressure of keeping everything together while acting like I was fine.

From the outside, it looked like I had it all together. Internally, I felt overwhelmed and unsteady.

Most mornings, I woke up with anxiety already present in my body, thinking about everything that needed my attention before the day even began. At the time, I didn’t call it burnout, but looking back, that’s exactly what it was.

I knew something had to change, even if I didn’t yet know what that change needed to look like.

I started reading everything I could about personal development, searching for some sense of grounding. During that season, I came across The 5 AM Club and The Miracle Morning.

While they approach things differently, both emphasized the importance of intentional rituals, especially at the start of the day.

Back then, I thought of rituals as productivity tools or discipline strategies. What I didn’t understand yet was that their real value had much less to do with getting more done and much more to do with calming the nervous system.

Neuroscience helps explain why rituals are so powerful. When life feels unpredictable or overwhelming, repeated and intentional actions provide the brain with a sense of stability.

During periods of stress or major life change, rituals offer something familiar to return to, which helps regulate the nervous system and restore a sense of control.

That has been my experience. When work feels heavy, expectations increase, or uncertainty shows up, having something consistent to fall back on creates a sense of safety. It reminds the body that not everything is in flux, even when parts of life feel unsettled.

Even now, no matter what happened the day before, I know I can return to my morning routine and feel more grounded. For me, that usually looks like meditation, movement, and reading. Nothing extreme or rigid. Just simple practices that help me settle before the day begins.

For someone else, rituals might look very different. It could be making your favorite cup of coffee or tea, taking a few minutes to make your bed, or listening to a podcast on the way to work. The specific activity matters far less than the intention behind it.

Rituals don’t need to be spiritual or religious, although they can be. When I first began building daily rituals, it felt awkward and unnatural. Over time, though, I noticed how much steadier I felt and how stress from the previous day didn’t carry over as heavily into the next.

These practices didn’t remove life’s challenges, but they gave me something stable to return to during difficult seasons, including loss, transitions, and the ongoing pressures that come with ambition and responsibility.

If life feels heavy right now, you don’t necessarily need another system or productivity strategy. Sometimes what’s missing is something small and reliable that reminds your nervous system it doesn’t have to stay on high alert.

If you find yourself in an unsteady season, it may be worth asking: What’s one small thing I could return to each day that helps me feel grounded?

That question, more than any routine or rule, is often where change begins.

Want to go deeper?

I am offering the first chapter of my book Success Starts Within for free. It explores how inner alignment creates outer success, especially for high achievers navigating stress, burnout, and pressure: Click here to download the first chapter.

If you are a leader or organization navigating burnout or retention challenges, this is the work I teach through speaking and consulting.