BrainFirst Coaching Diagnostic

FAST → Bands → GRID → Depth

FULL FLOW

  1. FAST → name the pattern

  2. Bands → locate the source

  3. GRID → assess depth

  4. Type → decide intervention level

  5. Ask one precise question

Remember: this is not about solving: stay curious.
The next step is applying an intervention…this is not that.

Find where it’s coming from, how deep it runs, and what kind of change it actually needs.

🔹 STEP 1: FAST SNAPSHOT (What’s happening?)

Capture the pattern—don’t interpret yet.

F — Feeling:
What is the felt tone (body + emotion)?

A — Acting:
What is the person doing (or not doing)?

S — Seeing:
What are they picturing or perceiving?

T — Thinking:
What are they telling themselves?

🎯 FAST Questions (Use 1–2 max)

Feeling → “What are you noticing in your body right now?”

Acting → “What does that behavior help you avoid or get?”

Seeing → “What are you picturing happening?”

Thinking → “What are you telling yourself in that moment?”

🔹 STEP 2: BANDS MAPPING (Where is it generated?)

Identify the dominant source of the forecast

Band What to Listen For
Confirmation Question
Senses

External cues, environment, stimuli

“What are you noticing around you right now?”

StatesBody signals, physiology, affect spikes

“What’s happening in your body as this starts?”

SituationsContext-specific shifts, roles, rooms

“What changes about this situation compared to others?”

SelfIdentity statements (“I’m not the kind…”)

“Who do you believe you are in that moment?”

ShouldsRules, obligations, moral language

“What rule are you following here?”

🎯 Decision Rule

Body first? → States

Room/people change it? → Situations

“I am / I’m not” → Self

“Should / must” → Shoulds

🔹 STEP 3: GRID DEPTH READ (How deep is it?)

Assess effort + stability BEFORE intervening

G — Grip (How tight?)

Flexible → Negotiable → Moralized / identity-bound

R — Reach (How wide?)

One moment → One context → Cross-context

I — Investment (How effortful?)

Low → Moderate → High / ongoing compensation

D — Durability (Does it hold?)

Holds easily → Holds with effort → Collapses under stress

🔹 STEP 4: DEPTH HYPOTHESIS (What kind of change?)

Type

Description

Where change must occur

1ABehavioral adjustment within current modelBehavior / state regulation1BMeaning alignment (role, values, identity tension)Interpretation / role clarityType 2Generative model changeIdentity / rules / deep structure

🎯 Quick Classification Heuristic

  • Type 1A
    ✔ Local
    ✔ Works with effort
    ✔ No identity or moral rule

  • Type 1B
    ✔ Effort stays high
    ✔ Evidence doesn’t integrate
    ✔ Meaning / role tension present

  • Type 2
    ✔ Moralized (“should,” “kind of person”)
    ✔ Cross-context
    ✔ Resistant to evidence

🔹 STEP 5: NEXT MOVE (Coaching Direction)

If States (1A)

→ Regulate entry point
Question: “What helps you get through the first 30 seconds?”

If Situations (1A)

→ Reframe the scene
Question: “What is different about this room—and what is actually the same?”

If Self (1B)

→ Expand identity
Question: “What version of you is needed here that you may already have access to?”

If Shoulds (Type 2)

→ Examine the rule
Question: “Where did that rule come from—and is it still serving you here?”