Vision
The kind of life that would feel deeply right.
Your answer to one deeper question. Not impressive. Not safe. Right. Vision gives long-term meaning to short-term events, so every decision becomes legible.
A life that feels
aligned
with Compass Within
Define what matters, protect your direction, and act on it consistently. Vision, Targets, Objectives. One clear internal compass.
What kind of compass are you looking for?
The framework, in three layers.
Vision, Targets, and Objectives are not three layers of planning. They are three layers of meaning, each serving a distinct psychological role.
Targets
Distance you can believe in.
Targets translate Vision into nearer-term markers your nervous system can actually believe and act on. The mind cannot mobilise behind a future it does not believe is reachable.
12-month target ✓
Quarter milestone
Quarter milestone
This week's focus ✓
Daily check-in
Reflection
Objectives
Boundaries that protect direction from noise.
Objectives are not task lists. They are boundaries, defining what deserves your attention right now, and what does not. Constraint, paradoxically, creates freedom.
This week
✓Deep work, 9–11am, three days
✓One conversation that matters
✓Phone in another room after 8pm
✓Friday review · 30 min
Resilience
The framework holds when it matters most.
Pre-commitment, loss aversion, metacognition. Three control mechanisms grounded in behavioural science, each intervening at a different point in the breakdown sequence.
Drift, named early
✓Decision made before the moment
✓What you stand to lose, kept visible
✓You notice yourself drifting
Members are aligning their lives.
For the first time in years, my decisions have a centre of gravity. Things still go sideways, but I can feel where to return to.
A founder, Cape Town
I used to confuse activity with progress. Compass Within forced me to be honest about which direction my actions were actually pointing.
A coach, London
The Friday review is the most valuable 30 minutes of my week. It is the only thing that does not get displaced when life gets loud.
An operator, Cape Town
Explore the science.
Essays on the behavioural science behind the Compass Framework, written for intelligent non-specialists.
Frequently asked questions.
A behavioural-science-grounded framework that helps you define what matters, protect your direction under pressure, and act on it consistently. Three layers (Vision, Targets, Objectives) held together by a weekly review and three control mechanisms that keep the system intact when emotion and noise rise.
The initial Compass takes most people 60 to 90 minutes. The time it takes to be honest. After that, the daily and weekly rhythms are short: 2 to 3 minutes a day, 30 minutes on a Friday.
No. Productivity apps optimise the doing. Compass Within optimises the deciding. What matters, why, and what to protect when pressure arrives. The framework was designed to work upstream of behaviour, not on top of it.
Cognitive appraisal theory, present bias, dopamine reward loops, attentional residue, cognitive load, progress-based motivation, pre-commitment, loss aversion, and metacognition. Each maps to a specific layer or control in the framework. The Framework page walks through each.
People who already know they are capable of more than they are currently living. Three common contexts: high performers losing the thread, people in major transitions, and people building something meaningful. The "Is this for me?" page is where to start if you are not sure.
A coach is a partner. Compass Within is the system that makes the work between sessions hold. Many partners use both. The framework gives them visibility into what is actually happening day to day, and the coaching deepens because nothing is lost between conversations.
No commitment. You set up your Compass once and use it as part of an ongoing rhythm. Most people who stick with it do so because it becomes the most useful 30 minutes of their week, not because they signed up for anything.
We're opening access in cohorts. Join the waitlist to be notified when the next cohort opens. You can also start building your Compass now. It's free, and you keep what you build.
Find your compass.
Build the compass
before you need it.
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