In my keynotes and workshops I sometimes use this video of a professor holding a glass of water in front of a lecture theatre.

He didn’t ask the usual “Is it half full or half empty?” Instead, he posed a different question: “How heavy is this glass?”

The class tossed out guesses: 200 grams, 400 grams.

The professor smiled. “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. What matters is how long I hold it.”

Hold it for a minute? No problem.

Hold it for an hour? Your arm starts to ache.

Hold it all day? You’ll eventually collapse.

The glass doesn’t change. However, your ability to hold it does. This is what chronic stress feels like.

The Invisible Load of High Performers

I work with brilliant, high-capacity women and men: executives, founders, investors, entrepreneurs. They’re not overwhelmed because they’re incapable. They’re overwhelmed because they’ve been carrying too much for too long.

Stress. Responsibility. Expectations. Guilt. Performance pressure. It adds up.
And even the strongest arm gets tired.

The Science Is Clear: Stress Isn’t the Enemy

As a speaker, researcher and executive coach who blends neuroscience with biometric data from wearables like WHOOP, here’s what I want every high performer to know:

Stress isn’t the problem. Acute stress, short bursts of pressure, can sharpen your focus, boost performance and elevate your energy. Yes, research tells us that stress, in short bursts, can actually catalyse our performance. (Read that one again, because so many of us have been conditioned to believe that stress is “bad for us.” and that’s simply what the research tells us).

The problem is when you never put the glass down. Without deliberate recovery, your nervous system stays elevated. Without the real-time, science-backed tools to manage stress, your performance will be compromised.

When you’re stuck in chronic stress, your brain doesn’t reset. Your body doesn’t replenish. And you get stuck in a loop of always on. Your performance and wellbeing suffer.

This is chronic stress and it doesn’t just affect how you feel. It impacts sleep, cognition, hormones, immunity, relationships and decision-making skills.

Why “Being Resilient” Isn’t Enough

High-achievers are often praised for being resilient. Push through. Stay positive. Power on.

But here’s the truth: Resilience without recovery is just endurance in disguise. It’s not strength. It’s a slow system collapse, hidden behind high-functioning habits.

You can’t mindset your way out of a dysregulated nervous system. You can’t out-journal or “biohack” your way out of biological depletion.

When stress becomes chronic, it changes your brain, literally.

The hippocampus: the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning begins to shrink. Elevated cortisol levels can cause neurons in this region to die, which means your ability to process information, recall details, or even make strategic decisions becomes compromised.

At the same time, the amygdala: your brain’s emotional alarm system grows. This means your baseline reactivity increases. You become more sensitive to perceived threats. That’s why a casual comment from a colleague feels like a personal attack. Why you overreact to a Slack message. Why you send a short, snappy email and regret it immediately.

This isn’t a mindset issue. It’s a neurological one. And it’s why resilience alone isn’t the goal.

So What Do You Do Instead?

You build stress adaptability.

In my work with high-performing teams, I teach the Flourishing Formula™, which is my science-backed framework for sustainable peak-performance without sacrifice. It’s based on three pillars and the first pillar is vital for high-performance: it’s learning how to build your stress adaptability. I call it “learning to dance with stress.”

Build Stress Adaptability

In our ever-changing, digitally-intense worlds, stress is inevitable. Adaptability is what allows you to thrive with it.

Inside this pillar, we focus on three core components:

a) Reduce Micro-Stressors

These are the daily “invisible drains” that add up:

• Constant notifications and alerts
• Long work sessions without breaks
• Screen overload
• Sedentary days that starve your brain of key neurochemicals like BDNFs and endocannabinoids

Individually, these micro-stressors seem harmless. Collectively, they erode focus, fragment attention, and drain your capacity.

b) Increase Stress Tolerance

You build tolerance by choosing challenge over comfort.

This activates your anterior mid-cingulate cortex which is the brain’s willpower centre.

Simple ways to do this:

• Deliberate cold exposure
• Intense physical movement
• Learning a new language

We need to be more intentional than ever about electing to do “hard things” so that we can build our stress tolerance. Each time you do, you’re training your brain to hold pressure without snapping. You teach your brain and nervous system to stretch, not shatter, to expand, not explode,

c) Build Stress Resilience

This is your ability to bounce back fast. This allows you to respond, not react.
I teach evidence-based physiological tools to downshift your nervous system in real-time:

• Three physiological sighs (a double inhale followed by a longer exhale)
• Closing your eyes for 60 seconds to reset regions of your brain that fatigue under constant digital screen use (for example, your occipital lobe)
• Three chest pumps to stimulate the vagus nerve
• Walks (preferably outdoors in nature)
• Moments of real connection: laughter, touch, presence with other humans in real time

These aren’t just wellness hacks. They’re neurological resets that give you your edge back.

Remember, put the glass down

It’s not the weight of what you’re carrying. It’s how long you’ve been holding it… or how often you at least get to put it down.

You don’t need to quit, slow down, or shrink your ambition. But you do need to know when it’s time to reset. You need to learn how to dance with stress.

Put the glass down.

If you’re a high-performer ready to achieve spacious success without sacrificing your sanity, I’d love to connect. This is the work I live and breathe and I’ve got the (science-backed) tools to help you lead from your highest self.

Ready to go deeper?

If your leaders or teams are navigating exhaustion, burnout, or inconsistent performance, this is the conversation that changes everything.

I deliver science-backed keynotes and workshops and provide executive coaching to individuals and organisations who want to elevate performance without sacrificing wellbeing.

Let’s rewire the way high-performers work, for good and discover how to use stress to catalyse, not constrain performance.

Contact Emma at Tier One: em**@*********om.au Or call: 0433 059 111