The Art and Science of Thriving

Michael Schiel
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Welcome to The Art and Science of Thriving, the podcast where high-achieving professionals unlock the secrets to living a fulfilling, balanced, and high-performing life. Through evidence-based insights in neuroscience, psychology, and high-performance strategies, we’ll explore how to achieve success without burnout, create clarity and purpose, and thrive in every area of your life.Michael Schiel, a high performance coach and transformation consultant, hosts the podcast. Michael helps overwhelmed people and teams find their purpose, achieve their goals, and reach peak performance while creating well-being, balance and fulfillment in their lives 

  1. 3d ago

    Episode 106: What This Year Taught You

    Is your year-end review really a report card in disguise?  Every November, many capable, conscientious people open their January goals list, count what they finished, and give themselves a harsh verdict.  If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone! In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I’ll show you how to review a demanding year so you learn the right lessons from it, before you design the next one. Why does this matter?  Because experience doesn’t automatically turn into learning. Your memory gives you an incomplete and often unfair picture of the year you actually lived. The unplanned work, the steady grind, and the progress that happened through other people quietly fade, while the unfinished goals stay vivid. In this episode, I dive into: Why the year you remember isn’t the year you lived, and how to rebuild an accurate record from evidence before you judge anything.How to separate what was yours, what was the system’s, and what was luck, so accountability lands where it belongs.The difference between reflection and rumination, and how to put the year under review without putting yourself on trial.How to recover the progress you’ve overlooked, especially the leadership wins that never made it onto a goal list.How to keep, change, or release your goals, and redirect your ambition rather than lowering it.I also walk you through a simple four-step protocol (Reconstruct, Reflect, Recalibrate, and Carry Forward) to turn this year’s experience into clear design principles for next year. Plus, I’ve created a free Year in Review Worksheet you can download from Invictus.coach/resources. Use it to work through each step and start your review this week.   Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

    Episode 106: What This Year Taught You

  2. Oct 1

    Episode #105: Wellbeing Under Pressure — How to protect your capacity to feel well and function well when life is genuinely full

    Are you doing everything you can to stay positive, focused, and supportive of the people around you—but the pressure just keeps piling up? You know the usual advice: sleep more, exercise, take breaks, set boundaries. But what happens when your workload is genuinely too heavy, resources are stretched, and there simply isn't enough time or capacity to do everything you're being asked to do? In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I tackle a question I hear constantly from overwhelmed leaders and professionals: How do you protect your well-being when you can't remove all the pressure? I'll explain why sustained pressure isn't always an attitude or resilience problem. Sometimes it's a demand-resource problem—and no amount of positive thinking or better coping skills can permanently compensate for a workload that has outgrown your capacity. You'll learn: Why “staying positive” isn't the same as wellbeing—and how pretending everything is fine can actually drain you further.How pressure changes your attention, thinking, patience, and ability to regulate your emotions—and the warning signs to watch for before you reach your limit.Why forced positivity and emotional masking can leave leaders more exhausted and less connected to their teams.How to create a minimum viable wellbeing floor—a small, realistic set of practices that protects your capacity during demanding periods.How to distinguish between something you need to cope with and something you actually need to change.The four-step CBRA protocol—Clarity, Boundaries, Rhythms, and Adjust—to help you turn the ideas into practical action.I'll also share a simple approach for having the conversations that overwhelmed leaders often avoid: making the workload and its trade-offs visible so you can ask, “Which priority would you like us to change?” And if you're leading others through a genuinely difficult season, I'll show you how to be honest about the pressure without becoming helpless, detached, or falsely positive. If you're ready to protect your ability to feel well and function well—even when the pressure is real—this episode will give you practical tools you can start using immediately. Plus, download the free Wellbeing Under Pressure Plan at Invictus.coach/resources and use the worksheet to map your demands, identify what's draining your capacity, establish your wellbeing floor, and decide what needs to change. Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

    Episode #105: Wellbeing Under Pressure — How to protect your capacity to feel well and function well when life is genuinely full

  3. Sep 7

    Episode 104: The Fall Reset — How to Refocus and Achieve What Still Matters This Year

    Have some of your goals quietly disappeared under the weight of work, unexpected demands and everyday life? You’re not alone—and the answer isn’t to push harder for the final months of the year. In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I share an evidence-based process for deciding what still deserves your limited time, energy and attention—and what you should consciously let go of. You’ll learn: Why falling behind on your goals is often a capacity and attention problem—not a motivation problem.Why some goals should be kept, others redesigned and some consciously released.How unfinished and unresolved goals continue to consume mental bandwidth.Why real prioritization requires deciding what you will not do.How small, deliberately protected pockets of control can help you make progress—even when you don’t control all the demands coming at you.I’ll also walk you through my five-step Fall Reset protocol: Pause, Assess, Reprioritize, Realign and establish a New Operating Rhythm. Plus, you can download the free Fall Reset Worksheet at Invictus.coach/resources to audit your capacity, reconsider your goals and create a realistic plan for what still matters this year. If you’re ready to stop reacting, let go of the guilt and deliberately refocus your attention, this episode will help you reset—without simply adding more to your already-full plate. Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

  4. Aug 3

    Episode #103: How to Stay Calm When Everything Is Falling Apart | Lessons from Special Operations with Matt Wheeler

    What can a career in special operations teach us about staying calm when life feels overwhelming? In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I sit down with retired U.S. Navy Chief Matt Wheeler, whose career in special operations and explosive ordnance disposal required him to make critical decisions under extraordinary pressure. Since leaving the military, Matt has navigated disability, mental health challenges, single parenthood, and the transition into business leadership—giving him a unique perspective on what it really takes to thrive. Together, we explore practical lessons that apply far beyond the military: how to stay focused when everything feels chaotic, why structure and habits matter, how great teams handle conflict, what leaders can do to build trust and accountability, and why purpose is often the key to overcoming adversity. Whether you're leading a team, balancing work and family, or simply trying to become a little more resilient, you'll find practical, evidence-based ideas you can apply immediately. In this episode, you'll learn: Why calm isn't something you're born with—it's something you train.How breaking overwhelming problems into smaller actions reduces stress.The habits and routines that create resilience under pressure.Practical leadership lessons for building high-performing teams.How purpose, service, and continual growth help us navigate life's toughest challenges.If you're looking for practical strategies to lead better, think more clearly, and thrive through adversity, this conversation is one you won't want to miss. Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

  5. Jul 20

    Episode #102: The Vacation Reset – How to Take Time Off That Actually Recovers You

    Do you come back from vacation feeling like you need another vacation? If so, you're not alone—and according to the research, it's probably not because you took too little time off. It's because most of us have been taught to vacation in ways that don't actually maximize recovery. In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I explore what decades of research from psychology and high-performance science tell us about how vacations really work—and why many of our assumptions are wrong. You'll discover:  Why taking one long vacation each year may be less effective than several shorter breaks  Why vacation benefits fade much faster than most people realize  How detaching from work, relaxing, and having meaningful conversations have a bigger impact than your destination  Why the days before you leave and the days after you return are just as important as the vacation itself  A practical, evidence-based protocol for planning vacations that leave you genuinely refreshed instead of exhausted Whether you're planning a summer holiday, a long weekend, or simply trying to avoid burnout, this episode will help you use the vacation days you already have in ways that improve your performance, well-being, and long-term resilience. Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

    Episode #102: The Vacation Reset – How to Take Time Off That Actually Recovers You

  6. Jul 1

    Episode #101: How to Take Breaks and Recover for Performance and Wellbeing

    Do you come back from vacation more tired than when you left?  You're not alone — and it's not a discipline problem. In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I break down what the actual research says about breaks, recovery, and vacations, because a lot of what gets repeated in the wellness world is either wrong or way overstated. Most high-achievers treat breaks as a reward you earn after the work is done — or worse, a sign you're not tough enough to push through. I want to flip that completely, using real research instead of the productivity-hack version of it. In this episode, I dive into: Four popular "rules" about breaks that the science doesn't actually support — including the 90-minute focus cycle, the willpower "tank" that supposedly drains, and whether the Pomodoro Technique's 25/5 split is really optimal.What actually works at every timescale — daily micro-breaks, weekly detachment, a monthly lighter week, and a genuinely surprising finding about vacations: several short trips beat one long one, every time.The single question you can ask about any break, at any timescale, to know whether it's actually working — or just relocating the thing that's straining you.A complete, periodized recovery protocol you can start building into your life this week, based on the same principles elite athletic programs use to turn hard effort into real, sustainable gains.Plus, I've created a free one-page recovery protocol you can download from Invictus.coach/resources — daily, weekly, monthly, and annual recovery, laid out so you can start using it right away. Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

    Episode #101: How to Take Breaks and Recover for Performance and Wellbeing

  7. Jun 22

    Episode 100: Short and Sweet - 3 Ways to Get Back into High Performance When You Are Overwhelmed

    What do you do when life gets overwhelming? Research from neuroscience, sport psychology, resilience science, and Special Forces performance points to a surprisingly simple answer: regulate, refocus, and re-engage. In this short, practical episode, Michael Schiel shares three evidence-based strategies to help you maintain your performance—or get back on track quickly—when stress, setbacks, and overwhelm show up. You'll learn how to: • Regulate your nervous system under pressure • Refocus on what you can control • Re-engage quickly when you've been knocked off track Because peak performers aren't people who never lose their balance. They're people who know how to regain it quickly. Breathe. Focus. Act. Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

  8. Jun 3

    Episode 99 How to Achieve Peak Performance in Anything

    Why do so many ambitious, capable people eventually end up overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, disengaged, or burned out — even when they are working hard and trying to succeed? In this episode of The Art and Science of Thriving, I unpack what modern neuroscience, psychology, sport psychology, behavioral science, and performance research actually say about sustainable peak performance. High performance is not simply about grinding harder, pushing endlessly, or relying on motivation. The evidence increasingly shows that sustainable peak performance is built through: ClarityRecoveryEmotional regulationAdaptive stressMeaningful goalsStrong systems and habitsThe ability to recover and adapt under pressure over time.In this episode, I walk you through the five major components that consistently show up across elite performers in sport, leadership, business, learning, and life: Clarity — including clarity of goals, meaning, purpose, and identity Homeostasis and Wellbeing — sleep, recovery, stress regulation, movement, nutrition, and relationships Learning and Adaptation — deliberate practice, feedback loops, progressive challenge, and recovery cycles Mental and Emotional Capacities — emotional regulation, attentional control, resilience, and psychological flexibility Habits and Behaviors — routines, environmental design, prioritization, consistency, boundaries, and recovery-protective systemsI also explore one of the biggest shifts in modern performance science:  The highest performers are often not the people who can tolerate the most stress. They are the people who can:  Regulate themselves most effectively Recover most effectively Adapt most effectively Sustain performance over long periods without breaking down physically, mentally, or emotionally.Later in the episode, I also briefly discuss how sustainable performance systems may need to look different for: Adults with ADHD and neurodiversity Post-menopausal womenThe science in this episode applies to anything in your life - sports, business, leadership, school, hobbies - you name it.  And if you want a good summary, check out invictus.coach/resources, where I will have an executive summary of the main concepts! Instantly Unlock Performance Now The "Thrive Hive" is a monthly membership to help teach, coach and support individuals, organizational teams and their leaders in reaching their full potential, and living a flourishing life with balance and well-being. You get access to group coaching, monthly education, webinars/livecasts and other events, topic-based support and tools, and access to a private community of other like-minded individuals. You can find out more or sign up clicking here!

    Episode 99 How to Achieve Peak Performance in Anything
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About

Welcome to The Art and Science of Thriving, the podcast where high-achieving professionals unlock the secrets to living a fulfilling, balanced, and high-performing life. Through evidence-based insights in neuroscience, psychology, and high-performance strategies, we’ll explore how to achieve success without burnout, create clarity and purpose, and thrive in every area of your life.Michael Schiel, a high performance coach and transformation consultant, hosts the podcast. Michael helps overwhelmed people and teams find their purpose, achieve their goals, and reach peak performance while creating well-being, balance and fulfillment in their lives 

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Schiel
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    106
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Art and Science of Thriving
  • Show Website
    The Art and Science of Thriving