OM DENNE EPISODE
The neuroscience of why heartbreak physically hurts — and how to rewire a brain stuck in survival mode. In this episode of Pulling Threads, Leslie Mathews welcomes her first-ever male guest, mental health creator and coach Collin Patrick, for an honest conversation about overthinking, emotional regulation, and rebuilding a life after everything falls apart.
After a near-fatal motorcycle accident left him bedridden for months — during the same stretch his marriage ended — Collin turned a season of grief and recovery into a deep dive into neuroscience. Together, he and Leslie unpack why your brain keeps steering you back toward familiar pain, why feeling stuck is a pattern problem (not a motivation problem), and what real emotional regulation actually looks like day to day. They also get candid about men and anger, the pressure of “be the man of the house,” and the difference between leading and simply managing the people you love.
WHAT WE COVER
• How overthinking becomes a learned habit that quietly shapes your identity
• Why heartbreak registers in the brain like a physical injury — and what that means for healing • The pull of “familiar pain over unknown peace” and why we repeat relationship patterns • Clarity over solutions: what most self-help gets wrong
• What anger is often masking for men — and the emotions underneath it
• How small, daily wins compound into real, lasting change
CHAPTERS
00:00 Welcome — meeting Collin Patrick
01:15 The motorcycle accident that changed everything
05:00 Hitting rock bottom and facing himself
08:00 How healing led him to neuroscience
10:30 Your brain is doing exactly what it was programmed to do
13:00 Why self-awareness matters more than quick fixes
16:30 Trauma bonds and the chemistry of attachment
20:00 The neuroscience of heartbreak and emotional pain
24:30 Why survival mode disconnects you from yourself
27:00 Familiar pain vs. unknown peace
31:00 Small daily choices that rewire the brain
38:00 Why lasting change comes from tiny wins
43:00 Reacting vs. responding with intention
47:00 Healing your identity instead of chasing motivation
53:00 Confidence is built through evidence, not affirmations
59:00 Reprogramming your brain for happiness
1:03:00 How Collin helps people transform their lives
1:06:00 Where to find Collin and his resources
CONNECT WITH LESLIE — THE LOOM LIFE
Coaching & podcast: https://theloomlife.com
Therapy (Florida clients): https://loomlifetherapy.com
Leslie Ellen Mathews: https://leslieellenmathews.com
Instagram: @the.loom.life · TikTok: @leslieellenmathews
CONNECT WITH COLLIN PATRICK
Instagram / TikTok / Threads: @Collin.Patrick.Health
Still Moving Journal: https://collinpatrickhealth.gumroad.com/l/stillmovingjournal
1:1 coaching: booking link in Collin’s Instagram bio
WORK WITH LESLIE
If this conversation resonated and you’re ready to understand your own patterns and rebuild from a steadier place, Leslie offers 1:1 coaching. Book a free discovery call: https://theloomlife.com/discovery-call
A NOTE ON SUPPORT
This episode touches on grief, trauma, addiction, and the aftermath of hard relationships. If you’re struggling, you don’t have to navigate it alone. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7. Outside the U.S., findahelpline.com lists free, confidential support in your country.
Keywords: neuroscience of heartbreak, why heartbreak hurts, survival mode nervous system, overthinking, emotional regulation, healing after a toxic relationship, trauma bonds, men’s mental health, nervous system regulation, how men heal after a breakup
#MentalHealthPodcast #Neuroscience #HealingJourney #MensMentalHealth #PullingThreads
VIS NOTER 🔗
UDSKRIFT 🔗
Kind: captions
Language: en
00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:07.829
Welcome everyone. Today on Polling
00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:11.270
Threads, we welcome Colin Patrick. He is
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a neuroscience junkie like myself, I
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think. Right, Colin?
00:00:16.080 --> 00:00:17.990
>> Indeed.
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>> And he is the author of a book coming
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out called Reprogramming Your Brain for
00:00:22.720 --> 00:00:25.109
Happiness: How to Escape Survival Mode
00:00:25.119 --> 00:00:27.269
and Train Your Mind for Peace, Purpose,
00:00:27.279 --> 00:00:30.070
and Growth. Colin is based in Southern
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California, one of my favorite places.
00:00:32.480 --> 00:00:34.470
He's the voice behind a fast growing
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community at Colin Patrick Health where
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he posts content every day on Instagram,
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Facebook, and Tik Tok and threads. So,
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we're going to get into all of this, but
00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:50.790
just briefly, Colin went through a very
00:00:50.800 --> 00:00:52.709
big life
00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:55.590
journey, I'll call it, after a near
00:00:55.600 --> 00:00:58.950
fatal motorcycle accident. And then
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during that same stretch, his marriage
00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:05.189
ended and he raised his young daughter.
00:01:05.199 --> 00:01:06.630
So, we're going to talk about grief,
00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:09.190
addiction, recovery, and kind of like a
00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:12.789
slow build of getting your life back.
00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:15.109
So, welcome to Pulling Threads, Colin.
00:01:15.119 --> 00:01:16.710
>> Thank you. Excited to be here.
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>> You are our first male guest on the
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show.
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>> I know it's a big deal. My assistant was
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like, "We have a man." And I was like,
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"Oh my god." However, I did recently,
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two months ago, I started a series for
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men. So, I guess this is really timely.
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I realized that so many people, women
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were looking for resources for their
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husbands or their boyfriends, but also
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men going through divorce started
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reaching out and saying, "Why aren't you
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making any content for us?" So, this is
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timely and good. I love getting all
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perspectives of everything going on in
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mental health, neuroscience, and I like,
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you know, your story is full of triumph
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over tragedy. And so I'm excited to hear
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how you got where you are and how you're
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helping people now. Sure.
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>> So, if you wouldn't mind just share with
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us
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>> what happened on the day of your
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accident and like where you were coming
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for from in that point in your life.
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What did life look like then?
00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:22.150
>> Sure. So, I would say leading up to the
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accident, life was good. You know, it
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felt mundane a bit, but you know, some
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people enjoy that part of life where
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they have a routine and a schedule and
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things are going. It was a normal day.
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This is how it always happens with
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accidents. I had gone to see a friend of
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mine. We were going out to eat on my
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return journey home. And again, this is
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how it always happens. I was about five
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or half a mile away from home. on my
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motorcycle. Of course, someone made a
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U-turn without really being super
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cautious of oncoming traffic. About
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halfway through his U-turn, he must have
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seen me or realized that he was crossing
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the WL line, panicked, stopped his car,
00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:08.869
and essentially took up two lanes of
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escape, if you will.
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>> Yeah.
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>> So, I was basically left with a choice.
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Either I can hit in between his driver's
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side door and his passenger door in the
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front and the back or I can go to the
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ground and hope that nothing too crazy
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happens. Well, unfortunately
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in going to the ground in an effort to
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in my mind I'm going to use my wheels to
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bounce off and not take too much impact.
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The angle that I hit his car spun me
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around and obviously because I was on a
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motorcycle I was in a seated position.
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My right leg made contact with his
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bumper and the doctors considered it a
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grade six impact trauma. So basically
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from my knee down to about midshin, the
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bone had nowhere to go except into each
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other. So it required two major
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surgeries. I spent about a month with
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metal sticking out of my leg to keep my
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leg in place. And then after that was
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removed and I had complete
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reconstruction of my right leg which
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left me bedridden for about three and a
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half months. Leading up to that
00:04:16.320 --> 00:04:21.030
accident, you know, I had lived a life
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that was full and enjoyable, but I
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operated really out of a place of
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frustration and anger and fear. And
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that's what my life was for a lot of my
00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:34.870
early 20s and then leading into my 30s
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was I would find small happy moments,
00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:40.390
but most of the time I was upset about
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my position in life or my financial
00:04:43.280 --> 00:04:44.469
situation. Yeah.
00:04:44.479 --> 00:04:47.510
>> And instead of really owning that and
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taking that on myself to say, you know,
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how can I be better about this? I used
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it as an opportunity to let everyone
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around me in my life know how unhappy I
00:04:57.199 --> 00:04:59.590
was. So, friends,
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>> you know, my ex-wife, co-workers. So, I
00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:05.510
was really operating out of a place of
00:05:05.520 --> 00:05:07.990
just frustration and anger. And I didn't
00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:10.070
see it. Obviously, when you're in it,
00:05:10.080 --> 00:05:11.590
you know, you're not really taking, you
00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:13.350
know, acknowledgement of behaving that
00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:16.230
way after this accident and being stuck
00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:17.670
in bed and seeing the way that it was
00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.150
affecting my daughter and my friends and
00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:23.430
family. That was a, you know, driving
00:05:23.440 --> 00:05:26.790
force behind, oh, wait, hold on. I've
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been living this way for a very long
00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:30.710
time and up to this point it has not
00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:32.870
really been that great for me.
00:05:32.880 --> 00:05:34.710
>> So, so in that sort of transition
00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:37.110
period, if you will, I really had an
00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:41.189
opportunity to do a deep self-discovery.
00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:43.350
You know, I'm in bed, nothing I can do.
00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:45.430
I can't get up and walk and go outside.
00:05:45.440 --> 00:05:47.510
So, I spent a lot of that time in my
00:05:47.520 --> 00:05:50.469
head thinking back on, you know, the
00:05:50.479 --> 00:05:53.270
last 10 years of my life. And for lack
00:05:53.280 --> 00:05:55.830
of a better word, accepting, hey, this
00:05:55.840 --> 00:05:59.590
is how I have been operating and I can't
00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:01.189
continue to operate this way.
00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:03.590
>> Yeah. Yeah. Can't get away from yourself
00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:05.189
when you're stuck in bed for that long.
00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:05.590
Right.
00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:06.309
>> Exactly.
00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:07.990
>> And people come and visit for a while,
00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:09.749
but then they they're like, "Okay, we
00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:11.749
have lives. We have to keep moving and
00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:13.350
keep doing stuff." I think that was the
00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:15.670
hardest part for me was
00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:17.590
>> understanding, you know, obviously the
00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:19.270
world doesn't revolve around me, but
00:06:19.280 --> 00:06:20.710
there were times where I was in bed and
00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:23.029
I'm like, man, I'd really like to have a
00:06:23.039 --> 00:06:24.629
friend or have a visitor and I'm like,
00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:27.189
they have jobs and they have lives that
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they need to go and do, you know?
00:06:28.880 --> 00:06:30.469
>> Yeah. They can't sit here for three and
00:06:30.479 --> 00:06:32.950
a half months while I'm recovering.
00:06:32.960 --> 00:06:34.870
>> I think that is really hard. And I think
00:06:34.880 --> 00:06:36.309
that when you're recovering from
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something, I don't know, it is natural
00:06:38.960 --> 00:06:41.830
to be like very self-focused
00:06:41.840 --> 00:06:44.710
and then you realize, wow, everyone
00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:46.870
else's life is going on and I've had to
00:06:46.880 --> 00:06:49.110
press pause. Like, but it sounds like
00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:51.590
you took it as an opportunity.
00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:53.990
>> Yeah, absolutely. I It was this moment
00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:57.749
of I have three and a half months in
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:00.150
bed, 3 months after, you know, getting
00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:02.469
out of bed in rehab and things. How can
00:07:02.479 --> 00:07:05.270
I use this time in a way that's
00:07:05.280 --> 00:07:09.110
meaningful beyond, you know, learning
00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:11.430
how to play guitar or, you know,
00:07:11.440 --> 00:07:13.909
starting a new thing, like how can I
00:07:13.919 --> 00:07:16.150
really use this time to create the next
00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:18.469
10 years of my life that are meaningful
00:07:18.479 --> 00:07:20.390
and that will actually help propel me
00:07:20.400 --> 00:07:23.110
into sort of being the person that I
00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:25.110
always felt that I was supposed to be,
00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.110
but not really allowing myself to get
00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:28.390
there, you know?
00:07:28.400 --> 00:07:31.430
>> Yeah. Yeah. Did you have any
00:07:31.440 --> 00:07:34.710
understanding or acknowledgement of like
00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:37.110
neuroscience, mental health, any of this
00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:39.589
stuff before the accident?
00:07:39.599 --> 00:07:42.550
>> So, I have I wouldn't say struggled, but
00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:43.990
I have been aware of my own mental
00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.070
health and then the mental health of
00:07:46.080 --> 00:07:48.710
family members and friends through loss
00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:50.550
and addiction, sort of how that was
00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:51.990
affecting them.
00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:54.150
>> It's always been interesting to me. You
00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:55.749
know, I've been in therapy and some
00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:57.670
friends of mine are therapists, so I've
00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:00.150
always been in that world. And I you
00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:02.150
know I tell people all the time for a
00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:04.629
lot of my life I felt
00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:07.510
called to be of service to others in a
00:08:07.520 --> 00:08:08.869
way that
00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:11.749
>> I have had a lot of life experiences but
00:08:11.759 --> 00:08:13.909
I never
00:08:13.919 --> 00:08:16.790
allowed myself to step into that role. I
00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:19.189
always felt like why me? There's tons of
00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:20.550
people out there that are helping other
00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:23.510
people. Why me? Only after this accident
00:08:23.520 --> 00:08:26.550
did I really say, you know what, I have
00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:29.270
felt called to do this for so long and
00:08:29.280 --> 00:08:31.909
I'm now in a place in my life where I've
00:08:31.919 --> 00:08:35.430
had this incident happen and I really,
00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:37.350
you know, during the accident, obviously
00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:38.949
everything happens very quickly, but for
00:08:38.959 --> 00:08:42.149
you it slows down. I did have a moment
00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:44.149
sliding on the ground where I thought,
00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:47.030
"Oh my gosh, this might be it. I might
00:08:47.040 --> 00:08:49.350
not see my friends. I might not see my
00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:51.110
daughter. I might not make it through
00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:54.070
this. And in that moment, I thought to
00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:56.790
myself, why did I never step into
00:08:56.800 --> 00:08:58.790
something that I felt so compelled to
00:08:58.800 --> 00:09:01.190
do? So, after the accident,
00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:03.990
>> it was a moment of, okay, I'm done
00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:06.630
wasting time. I'm done not stepping into
00:09:06.640 --> 00:09:09.350
who I feel I'm supposed to be. And that
00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:11.750
was really what the deep dive into the
00:09:11.760 --> 00:09:14.389
neuroscience side of it was is let me
00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:16.389
understand myself, what my brain is
00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:18.230
doing, what my body is doing during this
00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:21.430
time of recovery and then through that
00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:24.150
be able to help others that may be in
00:09:24.160 --> 00:09:26.710
the same position that may feel like
00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:29.269
this is just what my life is. It's never
00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:31.190
going to get better. This is just how I
00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:33.990
operate. I'm too old to make changes.
00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.750
And then through that deep dive into
00:09:35.760 --> 00:09:38.470
neuroscience, I was like, "Wow, hold on.
00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:42.230
There is something here beyond my own
00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:45.910
life experience. There is, you know,
00:09:45.920 --> 00:09:47.269
things that I have learned through
00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:49.350
studying neuroscience and having all of
00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:51.030
that free time to sit there and study
00:09:51.040 --> 00:09:53.430
neuroscience that I think
00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:55.030
>> wow this could be really beneficial for
00:09:55.040 --> 00:09:56.389
others who
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>> may feel stuck and then just feel like
00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:02.550
my brain is fighting me. My brain just
00:10:02.560 --> 00:10:03.829
worked this way. Mh.
00:10:03.839 --> 00:10:06.470
>> And it was an opportunity to say,
00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:08.470
>> yeah, you may feel that your brain is
00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:10.389
fighting you, but
00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:12.310
>> the honest truth is it's doing what it
00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:14.550
was programmed to do. And it may be
00:10:14.560 --> 00:10:16.949
terrible right now, but it is doing
00:10:16.959 --> 00:10:18.949
exactly what it was designed to do,
00:10:18.959 --> 00:10:21.910
>> right? But there is hope, right? Like
00:10:21.920 --> 00:10:24.550
that's I think the missing piece for so
00:10:24.560 --> 00:10:28.470
many people. I hear all the time, I've
00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:29.990
been doing this for years. This is what
00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:33.590
I do. This is how I am. This is how my
00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:36.550
mom was. This is how my dad was. This is
00:10:36.560 --> 00:10:40.389
how my family is. And
00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:43.110
it's frustrating as a person who
00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:44.870
understands neuroscience, who
00:10:44.880 --> 00:10:46.310
understands mental health, who
00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:49.990
understands that you can reprogram it.
00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:52.150
In a way, it's like it is a choice, but
00:10:52.160 --> 00:10:54.870
it's a hard choice because the choice
00:10:54.880 --> 00:10:56.949
involves changing your brain and
00:10:56.959 --> 00:11:00.069
changing your pathways. And so you don't
00:11:00.079 --> 00:11:02.230
want to put blame on people and say you
00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:03.750
have a choice because it's more than
00:11:03.760 --> 00:11:05.990
mind. It's more than just mindset. Like
00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:09.750
mindset work is fine, but for someone
00:11:09.760 --> 00:11:11.990
who
00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:14.550
has what you're describing,
00:11:14.560 --> 00:11:17.590
>> it takes more than just mindset work.
00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:19.829
Unfortunately, it's very hard. You're
00:11:19.839 --> 00:11:21.509
right. Like those things, those
00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:23.509
protective mechanisms that were put in
00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.069
place very early on. I do something
00:11:26.079 --> 00:11:27.750
called internal family systems. You
00:11:27.760 --> 00:11:30.630
probably know what that is. Parts work.
00:11:30.640 --> 00:11:34.069
And our parts are the programs, right?
00:11:34.079 --> 00:11:37.110
The parts are the thing, the protectors.
00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:40.550
And man, like they are really good at
00:11:40.560 --> 00:11:43.430
their job. And if you're protectors,
00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:46.550
like have decided that their job is to
00:11:46.560 --> 00:11:49.829
keep you small, keep you not taking any
00:11:49.839 --> 00:11:53.269
risk, like keeping you scared. They're
00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:54.550
so good at their job.
00:11:54.560 --> 00:11:56.870
>> Absolutely. And it's it's tough to stand
00:11:56.880 --> 00:11:58.389
up to them. They've been a part of your
00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:00.470
life for so long. It's tough to say,
00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:00.870
>> "Yeah,
00:12:00.880 --> 00:12:01.509
>> hey,
00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:03.910
>> they make you feel safe, too." Even when
00:12:03.920 --> 00:12:06.710
they're making you feel bad about
00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:09.269
yourself, they're doing that to keep you
00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:12.550
safe. And there are other parts of you
00:12:12.560 --> 00:12:15.750
that respond to that and feel safe.
00:12:15.760 --> 00:12:20.629
>> So, it's really, really tough work. Not,
00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:22.790
you know, I love the fact that you've
00:12:22.800 --> 00:12:24.389
written a book. I'm writing a book. I'm
00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:26.470
writing two books. I think books and
00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:28.550
podcasts and all of this information is
00:12:28.560 --> 00:12:31.190
so important, but at the end of the day,
00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:33.269
like it's really, really hard work. We
00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:35.430
don't want everyone to have to go
00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:39.030
through a terrible accident to get to
00:12:39.040 --> 00:12:42.150
the point of finding a different path
00:12:42.160 --> 00:12:44.389
forward. And so that's the work you're
00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:46.550
doing, the work I'm doing. I want to
00:12:46.560 --> 00:12:49.590
talk about clarity over solutions and
00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:51.910
what that means to you. And I want to
00:12:51.920 --> 00:12:54.629
talk about like what you think I'm going
00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:57.670
to say self-help gets wrong for a lot of
00:12:57.680 --> 00:12:59.670
people who are in the situation you were
00:12:59.680 --> 00:13:00.310
in.
00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:02.949
>> Sure. So for me and I think this is a
00:13:02.959 --> 00:13:05.990
big part of the work that I'm doing now
00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:07.750
or at least like what I'm trying to
00:13:07.760 --> 00:13:12.310
provide is is you know clarity not over
00:13:12.320 --> 00:13:15.030
solution but versus I mean there are so
00:13:15.040 --> 00:13:18.949
many people online and on YouTube that
00:13:18.959 --> 00:13:22.949
are offering solution to these problems
00:13:22.959 --> 00:13:26.150
without necessarily explaining
00:13:26.160 --> 00:13:28.230
the root of them or where they come from
00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:30.629
in the body and in the brain. So, it's
00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:33.269
very easy to say to someone, just make
00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:35.509
the choice to be radically happy today.
00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:38.389
Just get up and be radically happy.
00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:42.629
Sure, that is an option for them. But if
00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.910
they're not understanding where that is
00:13:45.920 --> 00:13:47.990
coming from in their mind or in their
00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:50.470
body, it's really hard to shut that part
00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:52.790
down to say, "Okay, I'm just I'm happy
00:13:52.800 --> 00:13:55.910
today." you know it's I mean you can it
00:13:55.920 --> 00:13:58.310
you know but you know through longevity
00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:00.230
of it is really tough. So the reason
00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:02.629
that I started posting the content that
00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:06.710
I am posting is to give people you know
00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:09.829
clarity on hey these are the chemicals
00:14:09.839 --> 00:14:11.750
or these are the mechanisms of your
00:14:11.760 --> 00:14:14.069
brain. These are the things that you
00:14:14.079 --> 00:14:16.150
know have been built in you since you
00:14:16.160 --> 00:14:17.829
were a child and through all of your
00:14:17.839 --> 00:14:19.670
life experiences have gotten stronger
00:14:19.680 --> 00:14:23.269
and stronger. So, you know, rather than
00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:26.230
say, "These are the 10 steps that you
00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:30.150
can take to knock this off," in my mind,
00:14:30.160 --> 00:14:33.030
it felt more beneficial to say, "Hey,
00:14:33.040 --> 00:14:36.389
this is potentially the reason that this
00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:38.389
is happening to you. These are the
00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:41.430
mechanisms that your brain is using to
00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:44.389
do this for you or to you without, you
00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:45.990
know, you being aware."
00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:49.509
>> Yeah. and then putting a name to it
00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.389
giving some clarity on you know this is
00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:54.949
what's happening I think it has allowed
00:14:54.959 --> 00:14:57.269
people to at least in the people that
00:14:57.279 --> 00:14:59.110
I've you know worked with and spoken to
00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:05.189
say oh okay I understand now it's not
00:15:05.199 --> 00:15:09.509
I'm just depressed or I'm just anxious
00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:13.350
there's a backend to this that is
00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:15.670
>> at sometimes beyond your control it's
00:15:15.680 --> 00:15:17.110
working in the background in your
00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:19.590
subconscious and it like I said before
00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:21.509
it has been ingrained in you through all
00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:24.629
of these life experiences then
00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:27.750
>> once you have gained the clarity and
00:15:27.760 --> 00:15:30.389
you're able to name where it's coming
00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:33.269
from then you can step in and have a
00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:35.590
better chance I guess in my opinion of
00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:37.829
finding that solution cuz you know
00:15:37.839 --> 00:15:39.590
there's tons of mental health and
00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:42.470
mindset coaches that are pushing you
00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:44.230
know solution which is great I mean I
00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:46.870
think there are a lot of people who may
00:15:46.880 --> 00:15:48.629
be able to take that and internalize it
00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:51.189
and do the work with those solutions.
00:15:51.199 --> 00:15:53.189
But I think there is another group of
00:15:53.199 --> 00:15:55.670
people who need a better understanding
00:15:55.680 --> 00:15:58.870
of themselves and how these things are
00:15:58.880 --> 00:16:01.430
happening so they're able to say, "Oh,
00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:03.269
okay. Now I get it.
00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:03.590
>> Yeah.
00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:04.790
>> Now I can take the step."
00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:08.310
>> Yep. Yeah. I mean, in an ideal world as
00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:12.629
a therapist and a coach, my role is
00:16:12.639 --> 00:16:15.189
first to educate. So, psycho education,
00:16:15.199 --> 00:16:18.550
neuroscience education, this is why
00:16:18.560 --> 00:16:21.030
you're feeling what you're feeling or
00:16:21.040 --> 00:16:23.509
this is why, you know, if you have a
00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:25.990
trauma bond, it's actually a chemical
00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.870
issue. It's like an addiction. You know,
00:16:28.880 --> 00:16:31.430
I know that I had something like a
00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:34.629
trauma bond. And when the therapist said
00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:37.749
it and she said the word craving, I was
00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:38.870
like,
00:16:38.880 --> 00:16:41.509
>> "Yeah, like, okay, that's what it was
00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:43.990
and she's like, "Okay, it's a craving.
00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:46.790
It's as strong as heroin." Like, so
00:16:46.800 --> 00:16:48.629
don't sh stop shaming yourself,
00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:49.430
>> right?
00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:52.550
>> For falling into the trap of going back
00:16:52.560 --> 00:16:55.110
or being unsure if you made the right
00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:57.829
decision in this relationship. Like
00:16:57.839 --> 00:16:59.749
>> this is something you have to overcome.
00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:01.910
Like someone would need to overcome an
00:17:01.920 --> 00:17:05.189
addiction because it is chemically the
00:17:05.199 --> 00:17:08.789
same thing. For me, that conversation
00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:11.510
happened many years ago. But when it
00:17:11.520 --> 00:17:14.390
happened, because I've always been a
00:17:14.400 --> 00:17:17.590
neuroscience junkie, I was like, "Oh."
00:17:17.600 --> 00:17:19.669
And the next time the craving came, I
00:17:19.679 --> 00:17:21.350
was like, "Oh, I'm not actually craving
00:17:21.360 --> 00:17:23.590
him. I don't actually want him. It's
00:17:23.600 --> 00:17:27.029
just the cycle that has happened." And
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:29.190
now I just need to break the cycle.
00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:31.830
>> And it was just that easy for me once I
00:17:31.840 --> 00:17:32.870
understood it.
00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:34.710
>> So awareness is everything. Yeah.
00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:37.750
>> And that is true for so many aspects of
00:17:37.760 --> 00:17:39.830
mental health. But you're right, like
00:17:39.840 --> 00:17:44.150
not everyone is out there educating. And
00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:45.990
then there's another piece of like where
00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:47.990
did it come from, which as a therapist
00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.590
we do a lot of that work. Okay. So
00:17:51.600 --> 00:17:54.470
you have the the trauma bond, this
00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:56.470
person, but what really early
00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:59.029
relationships and attachment issues and
00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:02.230
other young parts are contributing to
00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:03.990
why you're looking for this relationship
00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:04.950
because I don't want you to be in
00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:06.870
another one just like it. So there are a
00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:10.070
lot of layers, but awareness in my
00:18:10.080 --> 00:18:13.990
opinion is probably the most important
00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.190
first step
00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:16.549
>> to getting people
00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:17.190
>> Yeah.
00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:18.549
>> Yeah. Yeah.
00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:19.510
>> It was interesting.
00:18:19.520 --> 00:18:21.270
>> So go ahead.
00:18:21.280 --> 00:18:24.070
>> Through doing this
00:18:24.080 --> 00:18:26.630
study and deep dive into these things,
00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:29.990
it actually gave me incredible insight.
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.350
You know, I have been through therapy
00:18:31.360 --> 00:18:32.950
and I have and you know, have worked
00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:34.950
with therapists, but doing this had
00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:38.390
given me insight into my own like why I
00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:40.070
was searching certain relationships, why
00:18:40.080 --> 00:18:42.710
I felt certain way about certain people.
00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.630
And reaching that understanding, I
00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:47.190
started to feel like, oh my gosh, this
00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:50.470
is like groundbreaking for myself. And I
00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:52.150
think that's like what propelled. I'm
00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:53.750
like, I need to help other people have
00:18:53.760 --> 00:18:55.029
these groundbreaking moments,
00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:56.710
>> right? Everyone should know this, right?
00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:57.270
Exactly.
00:18:57.280 --> 00:19:01.029
>> Yes. Yes. I still feel that way. I have
00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:03.110
so I have a a guest episode a Tuesday on
00:19:03.120 --> 00:19:05.110
the podcast, but my Thursday episodes
00:19:05.120 --> 00:19:07.830
are typically like inspired by something
00:19:07.840 --> 00:19:11.029
I am going through. And so
00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:13.909
I have my own therapist. I'm like you. I
00:19:13.919 --> 00:19:15.750
like to go looking for the answer. So I
00:19:15.760 --> 00:19:18.549
like doing deep I love doing a deep dive
00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:21.669
and whatever I'm going through. I've
00:19:21.679 --> 00:19:23.190
been doing a lot of work on abundance
00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:25.669
for myself lately and block money blocks
00:19:25.679 --> 00:19:28.310
and things. And when I find something
00:19:28.320 --> 00:19:31.190
and I'm like, "Oh my gosh,
00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:32.630
>> yes, this is it, right?"
00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:34.470
>> I'm gonna turn on the camera and I'm
00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:36.150
gonna do an episode about it and share
00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:38.470
it because I'm I want to Oh my god, this
00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:40.070
is probably affecting lots of people,
00:19:40.080 --> 00:19:40.549
>> right?
00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:42.630
>> So, I love that. I think
00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:45.110
>> I think like the curiosity,
00:19:45.120 --> 00:19:46.710
>> it's not just the curiosity, it's the
00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:50.549
curiosity and the desire to inform, the
00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:53.669
desire to with others. And we can
00:19:53.679 --> 00:19:55.830
improve our own lives. But wow, I I
00:19:55.840 --> 00:19:58.390
remember if I could help thousands of
00:19:58.400 --> 00:19:59.110
other people.
00:19:59.120 --> 00:19:59.830
>> Absolutely.
00:19:59.840 --> 00:20:01.190
>> So
00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:05.350
>> that's great. So with you, you
00:20:05.360 --> 00:20:08.470
also went through a relationship break
00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:10.950
around this same time. And so I'm sure
00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:13.430
you've done a lot of work around the
00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:16.870
neuroscience of heartbreak. And I think
00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:19.190
for me personally, I'm very embodied
00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:21.110
now. I wasn't before. I do a lot of
00:20:21.120 --> 00:20:22.870
meditation and a lot of mindfulness
00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:26.150
work. So, I've come to be really hyper
00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:29.430
aware of when something's happening that
00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:31.590
feels emotionally triggering because I
00:20:31.600 --> 00:20:35.110
feel it in my body first. And it's
00:20:35.120 --> 00:20:39.350
funny, I never realized heartbreak was
00:20:39.360 --> 00:20:41.350
called heartbreak because it really does
00:20:41.360 --> 00:20:42.390
hurt in your chest.
00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:43.110
>> Yeah.
00:20:43.120 --> 00:20:45.909
>> Because I was not in my body until much
00:20:45.919 --> 00:20:48.470
later in life when I got my nervous
00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:52.310
system under control. So, why does it
00:20:52.320 --> 00:20:57.110
physically hurt? And why does the brain
00:20:57.120 --> 00:21:00.310
prefer like a familiar pain
00:21:00.320 --> 00:21:02.390
over what we're going to call like an
00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:06.789
unknown piece? Because we know for
00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:10.310
ourselves and others like we typically
00:21:10.320 --> 00:21:12.710
repeat the same relationship over and
00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:15.990
over again until we do the work.
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:19.029
>> Yeah. So, you know, in my deep diving in
00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:20.870
my studies, and this was truly
00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:22.390
mind-blowing to me. This was something
00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:24.070
that I was unaware of obviously until I
00:21:24.080 --> 00:21:26.789
started doing this work, is the regions
00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:30.710
of your brain that light up or that you
00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:33.750
know receive these signals when you go
00:21:33.760 --> 00:21:36.310
through heartbreak. It's the same region
00:21:36.320 --> 00:21:38.789
of the brain that is triggered when you
00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:41.830
break a bone or have something actually
00:21:41.840 --> 00:21:44.310
physically painful. So when people are
00:21:44.320 --> 00:21:48.230
saying, "My chest hurts. I can feel it
00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:50.789
in my body going through this breakup."
00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:53.190
It's, "Yeah, you definitely can because
00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:55.430
your brain doesn't have the ability to
00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:58.230
differentiate. This is an emotional
00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:00.710
problem versus a physical problem. It
00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:03.110
feels it the same way that it would a
00:22:03.120 --> 00:22:05.669
broken bone, which is really like the
00:22:05.679 --> 00:22:08.310
basis for a lot of the work that I help
00:22:08.320 --> 00:22:10.470
people with is letting them know like
00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:12.230
you're going to heal this the same way
00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:14.390
that we would heal a broken bone. It's
00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:17.830
going to take time to sit and let your
00:22:17.840 --> 00:22:20.549
body heal this the way that it would
00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:24.230
heal an actual physical wound. Now, does
00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:26.070
everyone want to hear that? No. Because
00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:28.549
no one wants to sit and be in pain. But
00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:30.630
it's the truth. And it it sounds like a
00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:32.630
cliche, but at the end of the day, it's
00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:34.870
the reality of how your body, your
00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:36.789
nervous system, your mind is going to
00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:38.549
heal and process through this
00:22:38.559 --> 00:22:42.310
heartbreak. Your brain is feeling it or
00:22:42.320 --> 00:22:45.029
is responding to it like you just broke
00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:47.510
a bone. And like you said, they call it
00:22:47.520 --> 00:22:49.750
heartbreak for a reason. It feels like
00:22:49.760 --> 00:22:52.149
something is broken inside of you when
00:22:52.159 --> 00:22:56.149
you go through it. Um, when I found that
00:22:56.159 --> 00:22:58.950
through my research, it really opened my
00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:01.669
eyes to, oh my gosh, I can't believe,
00:23:01.679 --> 00:23:03.669
and obviously your brain is incredibly
00:23:03.679 --> 00:23:07.190
powerful, but knowing that if I was to
00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:09.909
break my arm or if I was to go through
00:23:09.919 --> 00:23:12.470
heartbreak, that part of my brain is
00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:15.430
doing the same exact thing. There's
00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:17.270
really no difference between how it's
00:23:17.280 --> 00:23:18.950
receiving that signal.
00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:22.230
>> Yeah. which for a lot of people because
00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.470
I see on threads and Instagram sometimes
00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:27.909
of people being like, "Why does my chest
00:23:27.919 --> 00:23:30.789
hurt? Why is it tight? I feel like I
00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:33.750
can't breathe. Everything hurts." It's
00:23:33.760 --> 00:23:35.350
because your brain is telling you
00:23:35.360 --> 00:23:37.750
something is broken. That's, you know,
00:23:37.760 --> 00:23:40.470
that's the reality of the situation. And
00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:42.310
like I said, it's unfortunate because
00:23:42.320 --> 00:23:44.789
everyone wants the secret sauce to how
00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:47.110
do I just get over this? How do I heal
00:23:47.120 --> 00:23:49.750
from this? And I always say, you're
00:23:49.760 --> 00:23:51.350
going to heal from this the same way you
00:23:51.360 --> 00:23:53.909
would a broken bone. Now, obviously, you
00:23:53.919 --> 00:23:56.070
can't put a cast on your heart. You
00:23:56.080 --> 00:23:58.710
can't wrap it up and have it be reset.
00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:00.470
But the time that it takes to heal
00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:02.549
something broken in you is the time that
00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:04.630
it takes to heal your broken heart
00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:05.990
>> on your side.
00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:07.830
>> I don't see anything here.
00:24:07.840 --> 00:24:10.710
>> Sorry. Oh, I am so sorry. I was getting
00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:13.750
a call inside of
00:24:13.760 --> 00:24:14.470
Sorry. It's
00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:17.110
>> okay. Google inside of my Let me close
00:24:17.120 --> 00:24:19.430
that account. I don't know why my Gmail
00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:23.510
account got a phone call. That's weird.
00:24:23.520 --> 00:24:25.350
It's never happened to me before. I'm
00:24:25.360 --> 00:24:27.669
going to close it. Sorry. I think it
00:24:27.679 --> 00:24:29.830
started right before you said that, so I
00:24:29.840 --> 00:24:31.909
can cut that part out. Sorry about that.
00:24:31.919 --> 00:24:34.549
>> I think most people don't realize those
00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:37.190
things. And
00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:40.630
I also think that we live in a state of
00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:43.029
certain body sensations all the time
00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:45.510
when we haven't done any work and we
00:24:45.520 --> 00:24:48.390
haven't processed and we're just used to
00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:53.269
it. I'm sure my chest had tightness and
00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:56.549
pain before and I had a lot of
00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:59.590
migraines. I always had jaw tension. My
00:24:59.600 --> 00:25:01.510
scapula was always hurting. had all of
00:25:01.520 --> 00:25:04.149
these aches and pains
00:25:04.159 --> 00:25:06.950
a long time, like my whole adult life,
00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:08.710
and they just came and went, and I
00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:10.870
thought it was just part of how my body
00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:13.909
worked. But in reality, when I started
00:25:13.919 --> 00:25:18.470
doing therapy and meditation and all of
00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:21.430
the other things that I do to help my
00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:23.990
nervous system stay regulated, a lot of
00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:25.909
those things went away. Almost all of
00:25:25.919 --> 00:25:28.549
them. in even an autoimmune disease has
00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:31.590
been in remission for years because of
00:25:31.600 --> 00:25:36.789
>> work. So I think that probably I was
00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:40.470
having all of these symptoms of
00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:42.630
different emotional responses before,
00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:45.350
but I was in what we call survival mode.
00:25:45.360 --> 00:25:47.669
So my body was in a constant state of
00:25:47.679 --> 00:25:50.789
being on fire. And then once it calmed
00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:53.669
down, now I'm at a point where if
00:25:53.679 --> 00:25:55.909
something happens and I get chest pain,
00:25:55.919 --> 00:25:58.710
I'm immediately like,
00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:00.549
what's my body afraid of right now?
00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:02.870
What's going on? What am I feeling?
00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:06.630
Something feels off before I even feel
00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:08.149
whatever it is I'm about to feel,
00:26:08.159 --> 00:26:09.430
>> right?
00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:11.590
>> I think it's very hard for people who
00:26:11.600 --> 00:26:14.310
aren't in the place I'm in now to
00:26:14.320 --> 00:26:16.470
understand what I'm saying because they
00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:19.909
haven't experienced it. But I do know
00:26:19.919 --> 00:26:23.830
like I was in a fog before.
00:26:23.840 --> 00:26:25.830
So all those things were happen but I
00:26:25.840 --> 00:26:28.390
was almost like numbed by
00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:30.870
>> the intensity of everything.
00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:35.029
>> So when we talk about the brain kind of
00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:38.549
preferring familiar pain versus unknown
00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:42.149
peace, I had to get used to
00:26:42.159 --> 00:26:44.310
not being on fire all the time. Talk
00:26:44.320 --> 00:26:45.909
about like how that shows up in
00:26:45.919 --> 00:26:47.990
relationships. If you're used to being
00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:49.990
in what we'll call an unhealthy
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:51.750
situation or an unhealthy relationship
00:26:51.760 --> 00:26:54.470
and you go out looking for new a new
00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:57.029
healthy relationship, our brain does
00:26:57.039 --> 00:27:00.070
some tricky things to keep pointing us
00:27:00.080 --> 00:27:02.070
back towards what we're used to,
00:27:02.080 --> 00:27:04.870
>> right? I think I hate to say it's
00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:06.549
interesting, but I think it really is
00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:09.029
interesting how and this sort of goes
00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:11.269
back to our own survival instincts just
00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:13.590
as human beings is doing something
00:27:13.600 --> 00:27:16.630
that's unfamiliar or something that your
00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:18.549
nervous system and your body are not
00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:21.430
used to is a risk and at the end of the
00:27:21.440 --> 00:27:23.350
day your brain is running that threat
00:27:23.360 --> 00:27:26.149
detection constantly. So something that
00:27:26.159 --> 00:27:28.390
doesn't feel familiar or doesn't feel
00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:30.870
like something that you are able to
00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:33.750
handle or have handled in the past, your
00:27:33.760 --> 00:27:36.230
brain is going to try to have you avoid
00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:39.590
it. So when it comes to toxic
00:27:39.600 --> 00:27:42.470
relationships or these pushpull dynamics
00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:45.110
in relationships, your brain has grown
00:27:45.120 --> 00:27:48.870
accustomed to that sort of reward system
00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:49.990
of
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:53.110
>> things are really bad. Oh my gosh, we
00:27:53.120 --> 00:27:55.590
fixed it. we're back to normal. Things
00:27:55.600 --> 00:27:57.909
are really bad. Oh my gosh, we fixed it
00:27:57.919 --> 00:28:00.070
again. There's that sort of like
00:28:00.080 --> 00:28:02.789
intermittent gratification or reward
00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:05.909
system that happens where that sort of
00:28:05.919 --> 00:28:08.070
becomes your norm and that's what your
00:28:08.080 --> 00:28:11.029
brain starts to look for or how it wants
00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:13.830
to operate in these relationships.
00:28:13.840 --> 00:28:16.149
That's why a lot of times in what I've
00:28:16.159 --> 00:28:19.190
seen when people finally do find
00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:21.510
themselves in a healthy relationship,
00:28:21.520 --> 00:28:24.149
there's almost a self- sabotage that
00:28:24.159 --> 00:28:27.669
happens because it feels so unnatural to
00:28:27.679 --> 00:28:30.549
someone who has grown accustomed to push
00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:34.070
pull or a certain level of excitement. I
00:28:34.080 --> 00:28:36.389
hate to use that word, but in the
00:28:36.399 --> 00:28:39.430
relationship of tensions are really high
00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:41.430
and now we've found common ground.
00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:43.590
tensions are really high. Now we found
00:28:43.600 --> 00:28:46.389
common ground again. Your body starts,
00:28:46.399 --> 00:28:47.750
for lack of a better word, is what we
00:28:47.760 --> 00:28:50.149
were saying earlier, become addicted not
00:28:50.159 --> 00:28:52.870
to the fight, but to the relief
00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:54.630
>> after the fight.
00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:56.870
>> Yes. I think that's what people get
00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:58.870
confused about. That's a really good
00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:01.190
point. You're not craving the argument
00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:04.070
or the meanness or the fight, whatever.
00:29:04.080 --> 00:29:05.990
You're craving the dopamine hit you get
00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:07.750
when everything is better.
00:29:07.760 --> 00:29:09.990
>> That's exactly it. And I think that's
00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:11.669
probably why a lot of people find
00:29:11.679 --> 00:29:13.590
themselves repeating these patterns in
00:29:13.600 --> 00:29:15.830
relationships is again to the point that
00:29:15.840 --> 00:29:17.750
we were making earlier, there's almost a
00:29:17.760 --> 00:29:21.190
craving for that relief. So when you're
00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:22.789
in a relationship that is not
00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:25.350
necessarily providing those highs and
00:29:25.360 --> 00:29:28.549
lows and you know the spike in cortisol
00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:30.230
versus the dopamine that comes with the
00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:34.149
relief of okay, it's over. you're not
00:29:34.159 --> 00:29:37.510
really understanding how do I operate in
00:29:37.520 --> 00:29:40.310
this place? I'm not receiving the highs
00:29:40.320 --> 00:29:42.310
and lows that I'm used to or that I'm
00:29:42.320 --> 00:29:45.510
wanting. And typically, people will find
00:29:45.520 --> 00:29:49.830
themselves feeling like, is this boring?
00:29:49.840 --> 00:29:51.990
Is this relationship not what I'm
00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:52.630
looking for?
00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:53.430
>> It's boring.
00:29:53.440 --> 00:29:55.110
>> Right. But really, what it is,
00:29:55.120 --> 00:29:57.269
>> it's not exciting. There's no thrill.
00:29:57.279 --> 00:29:58.310
>> Right. Exactly.
00:29:58.320 --> 00:29:59.590
>> There's no chemistry.
00:29:59.600 --> 00:30:01.430
>> Right. I think that's the really tricky
00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:05.029
part is people equating those highs and
00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:09.190
lows to chemistry. Wow, we're really in
00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:11.590
love. We fight so passionately for each
00:30:11.600 --> 00:30:14.470
other and we always find a way to make
00:30:14.480 --> 00:30:15.750
up for it.
00:30:15.760 --> 00:30:19.269
>> Is that chemistry or is that
00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:21.909
unfortunately a really toxic behavior
00:30:21.919 --> 00:30:23.750
that you have found yourself slipping
00:30:23.760 --> 00:30:26.950
into because it feels passion driven or
00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:29.669
it feels like there's our connection. We
00:30:29.679 --> 00:30:31.750
care about each other so much. We're
00:30:31.760 --> 00:30:34.149
always able to make it better.
00:30:34.159 --> 00:30:35.590
>> Another thing that I think is worth
00:30:35.600 --> 00:30:38.470
noting is that in the beginning of
00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:40.149
relationships where there are a lot of
00:30:40.159 --> 00:30:44.389
highs and really bad lows over time,
00:30:44.399 --> 00:30:45.830
the highs don't even have to be that
00:30:45.840 --> 00:30:50.149
high to give you the dopamine. So
00:30:50.159 --> 00:30:52.310
meaning when you're with someone maybe
00:30:52.320 --> 00:30:54.789
who does a lot of love bombing. So they
00:30:54.799 --> 00:30:57.430
do something that they shouldn't do or
00:30:57.440 --> 00:30:59.510
something that hurts you and that's the
00:30:59.520 --> 00:31:01.990
low and then they come back in the
00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:05.430
beginning with roses or a trip or
00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:07.669
grandiose statements and they're so
00:31:07.679 --> 00:31:09.909
loving and kind and that gives you the
00:31:09.919 --> 00:31:12.389
hit. It's relief. to relief because you
00:31:12.399 --> 00:31:15.430
were afraid of if you are anxious or
00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:16.470
anything like that, then you're afraid
00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:18.549
they're going to abandon you. And in the
00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:21.269
beginning, the high is high.
00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:25.430
But over time, anything where they're
00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:27.510
just nice to you, they're just normal
00:31:27.520 --> 00:31:29.110
gives you the dopamine hit because now
00:31:29.120 --> 00:31:31.190
you've been trained. Anything that's not
00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:34.549
mean, if you're using like a mean knife,
00:31:34.559 --> 00:31:36.149
anything that's not mean
00:31:36.159 --> 00:31:40.389
>> will give you that chemical hit. It
00:31:40.399 --> 00:31:42.230
doesn't even have to be anything
00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:44.950
extravagant or really anything at all,
00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:47.190
just not mean.
00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:51.990
>> And so over time, it really can become
00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:56.389
like these super low lows with abuse or
00:31:56.399 --> 00:31:59.350
toxic behavior, infidelity, all these
00:31:59.360 --> 00:32:01.830
things that could be happening. And in
00:32:01.840 --> 00:32:05.350
response, there's just them not being
00:32:05.360 --> 00:32:08.149
mean or not doing one of those things is
00:32:08.159 --> 00:32:11.029
enough to give you a dopamine hit, which
00:32:11.039 --> 00:32:13.029
causes a lot of these relationships to
00:32:13.039 --> 00:32:16.310
go on so long because now you're
00:32:16.320 --> 00:32:17.430
addicted to it.
00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:20.149
>> Yeah. So, what does it look like?
00:32:20.159 --> 00:32:21.190
>> Oh, go ahead. Sorry.
00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:23.350
>> Sorry. I was just going to say I think
00:32:23.360 --> 00:32:26.310
that you using the word trained is so
00:32:26.320 --> 00:32:28.789
powerful because that's the reality of
00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:31.269
the situation. You are essentially being
00:32:31.279 --> 00:32:34.070
trained to
00:32:34.080 --> 00:32:36.230
>> expect the lows. So when you don't have
00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:39.509
them, it's ah this is great that this
00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:41.590
there's no low right now, you know?
00:32:41.600 --> 00:32:46.070
>> Yeah. Yeah. And in reality, you deserve
00:32:46.080 --> 00:32:47.509
so much better.
00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:50.310
>> Like Yeah. And but that's not something
00:32:50.320 --> 00:32:52.230
you're even striving for at this point.
00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:56.149
When people start doing the work and
00:32:56.159 --> 00:32:58.470
these old versions of yourself no longer
00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:01.830
fit into the relationship or even your
00:33:01.840 --> 00:33:04.870
body or your plan in life, where does
00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:07.750
the new version come from and how does
00:33:07.760 --> 00:33:11.590
it keep going when it's used to all this
00:33:11.600 --> 00:33:12.950
other stuff?
00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:18.389
>> Yeah, I think for me that new version
00:33:18.399 --> 00:33:21.590
was always in waiting. That's how I
00:33:21.600 --> 00:33:24.070
people that I'm working with is that
00:33:24.080 --> 00:33:26.950
person was always there waiting to come
00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:29.269
out of you. And it's those moments where
00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:31.990
you you're sitting alone and you're
00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:34.310
thinking to yourself, I know that there
00:33:34.320 --> 00:33:36.950
is better out there. I know that I can
00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:40.070
be better. I know that I can do more.
00:33:40.080 --> 00:33:43.430
That's that new you trying to break
00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:47.190
through and say, "Yes, you can be more.
00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:49.590
You can do better. You can grow. You can
00:33:49.600 --> 00:33:53.110
learn." I think it comes and again this
00:33:53.120 --> 00:33:55.350
is something that happens is you you
00:33:55.360 --> 00:33:58.870
have to mourn the loss of the person
00:33:58.880 --> 00:34:00.789
that you were because you've maybe grown
00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:03.190
up with this person and you've gotten
00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:05.430
used to the way that you operate, your
00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:07.509
behaviors, your hobbies, the things that
00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:10.230
maybe keep you stuck. You become so
00:34:10.240 --> 00:34:13.589
comfortable with that that stepping into
00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:15.750
this new reality or stepping into this
00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:19.510
new person feels so scary because you
00:34:19.520 --> 00:34:22.950
start to say to yourself, can I not do
00:34:22.960 --> 00:34:25.510
this thing? Can I not talk to this
00:34:25.520 --> 00:34:28.149
person or can I not behave this way?
00:34:28.159 --> 00:34:30.790
Because you know talking about the
00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:34.149
unfamiliar versus the familiar you've
00:34:34.159 --> 00:34:37.430
become so used to it that doing anything
00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:39.990
beyond that almost feels like an
00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:43.750
insurmountable task and I think that's a
00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:45.349
big struggle at least something that I
00:34:45.359 --> 00:34:50.230
faced is in my recognition of I can no
00:34:50.240 --> 00:34:53.669
longer be this person something has to
00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:56.629
change you start to almost feel okay
00:34:56.639 --> 00:34:59.670
here's the hundred steps that I need to
00:34:59.680 --> 00:35:02.310
take to get to this new person and it
00:35:02.320 --> 00:35:03.990
becomes overwhelming and you start to
00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:05.829
feel like there's no way I can do all of
00:35:05.839 --> 00:35:08.230
these things to be this new person. When
00:35:08.240 --> 00:35:11.109
you break it down, you start to
00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:14.150
understand you can and this is something
00:35:14.160 --> 00:35:16.710
big that I work on is you can take very
00:35:16.720 --> 00:35:21.030
small wins every day and have them lead
00:35:21.040 --> 00:35:23.829
you to this finish line, if you will,
00:35:23.839 --> 00:35:25.109
even though there's no real finish line,
00:35:25.119 --> 00:35:25.829
but
00:35:25.839 --> 00:35:28.069
>> the end It's never finished.
00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:30.390
>> Yeah. The end sort of goal of where
00:35:30.400 --> 00:35:33.510
you're hoping to get. For me, it again,
00:35:33.520 --> 00:35:37.109
I think it always lived somewhere in me.
00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:42.790
And there was such a block put up by
00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:47.030
imposttor syndrome or fear of really
00:35:47.040 --> 00:35:50.550
being perceived for trying or the
00:35:50.560 --> 00:35:52.950
embarrassment that may come from taking
00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:55.190
a risk to be the person that I want to
00:35:55.200 --> 00:35:58.069
be and having people around me maybe see
00:35:58.079 --> 00:36:00.710
me fail and then shrinking back into
00:36:00.720 --> 00:36:02.630
myself and saying, "I knew I shouldn't
00:36:02.640 --> 00:36:04.870
have done that. I knew that wasn't going
00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:07.190
to work." And now I'm back in that
00:36:07.200 --> 00:36:09.750
cycle. I think it takes real courage to
00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:12.470
allow yourself to open the door for this
00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:15.190
person that probably for years has been
00:36:15.200 --> 00:36:17.510
begging to be let out so you can step
00:36:17.520 --> 00:36:19.829
into your truth and into yourself. It's
00:36:19.839 --> 00:36:22.870
a courageous thing that needs to happen.
00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:25.430
But I think even when you crack that
00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:28.710
door open and you just let that person
00:36:28.720 --> 00:36:31.750
take one step out, it gives you this
00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:35.270
feeling of, "Oh, wait. I think I might
00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:37.829
be able to do this. I think that it
00:36:37.839 --> 00:36:39.750
really is time to take these steps and
00:36:39.760 --> 00:36:43.430
to become this person. I think the
00:36:43.440 --> 00:36:46.630
mistake that people make, and I hate
00:36:46.640 --> 00:36:48.550
speaking for others, so the mistake that
00:36:48.560 --> 00:36:51.430
I made, like I said, is thinking that I
00:36:51.440 --> 00:36:54.310
needed to do it all at once or it wasn't
00:36:54.320 --> 00:36:56.230
worth it or it wasn't going to work.
00:36:56.240 --> 00:36:59.750
>> Yep. these small winds that you're
00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:02.310
starting to say, I used to sit on the
00:37:02.320 --> 00:37:05.030
couch all day and just watch Netflix and
00:37:05.040 --> 00:37:06.950
wonder why my life wasn't what I wanted
00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:09.349
it to be. This past week, I've watched
00:37:09.359 --> 00:37:13.109
Netflix for 30 minutes a day instead of
00:37:13.119 --> 00:37:17.270
6 hours. Okay, I'm seeing results. I'm
00:37:17.280 --> 00:37:19.190
feeling more motivated. I've done more
00:37:19.200 --> 00:37:20.790
work
00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:22.870
in my business or I've been able to
00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:24.630
connect deeper with friends because I'm
00:37:24.640 --> 00:37:27.430
not locked into the TV or if people have
00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:28.790
health goals.
00:37:28.800 --> 00:37:31.510
>> I never take walks. I give myself the
00:37:31.520 --> 00:37:33.589
excuse of, "Oh, it's too hot or my legs
00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:35.670
hurt or I'm too busy." And then you
00:37:35.680 --> 00:37:39.030
start taking 10, 15, 20 minute walks.
00:37:39.040 --> 00:37:40.710
You start stacking that up and realizing
00:37:40.720 --> 00:37:43.190
number one, I kind of enjoy walking.
00:37:43.200 --> 00:37:45.829
It's nice outside. I like the sunshine.
00:37:45.839 --> 00:37:49.109
And also you're building these winds of
00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:52.630
>> I can get out and walk. I can feel good
00:37:52.640 --> 00:37:55.190
about taking these steps and being this
00:37:55.200 --> 00:37:58.950
new person that compounds over time
00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:02.550
until I think one day you wake up and
00:38:02.560 --> 00:38:06.870
you realize, oh my gosh, that old me
00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:09.510
could never even compete with the me
00:38:09.520 --> 00:38:11.670
that I am now through taking these small
00:38:11.680 --> 00:38:13.270
actions every single day.
00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:15.190
>> It doesn't all have to happen at once.
00:38:15.200 --> 00:38:18.550
You're so right and it's so important. I
00:38:18.560 --> 00:38:21.670
think that a few things are important to
00:38:21.680 --> 00:38:24.470
point out that you were highlight like
00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:26.950
what you were saying when you said like
00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:29.670
you're never done with the work for some
00:38:29.680 --> 00:38:31.190
people
00:38:31.200 --> 00:38:33.670
and I hear this so much and it bothers
00:38:33.680 --> 00:38:35.910
me. I think it trigger it triggers
00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:38.390
something in me but it also makes me sad
00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:40.470
because I think it's why people give up
00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:42.550
sometimes. I hear people say you're not
00:38:42.560 --> 00:38:44.870
healed or they're not healed. We're
00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:47.510
never going to be 100%
00:38:47.520 --> 00:38:49.670
healed, right? We're here to do a lot of
00:38:49.680 --> 00:38:51.910
work and there are a lot of layers. And
00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:54.310
yes, when we peel back one layer and we
00:38:54.320 --> 00:38:56.950
overcome something or we learn to live
00:38:56.960 --> 00:38:59.990
with something or we grieve so we can
00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:02.630
move on, whatever it is, there is
00:39:02.640 --> 00:39:04.230
something else underneath that to work
00:39:04.240 --> 00:39:06.230
on that's never done.
00:39:06.240 --> 00:39:08.310
>> But I don't want people to hear that and
00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:10.950
be discouraged. I would love it if you
00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:14.390
would explain because I'm sure that you
00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:16.950
have experienced this. Why is it worth
00:39:16.960 --> 00:39:19.829
it? Because for men especially that I
00:39:19.839 --> 00:39:23.109
work with, I
00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:25.670
hear a lot of frustration
00:39:25.680 --> 00:39:28.710
when they do overcome something or let's
00:39:28.720 --> 00:39:30.870
say we get a part settled down in their
00:39:30.880 --> 00:39:33.190
system and then the next week they come
00:39:33.200 --> 00:39:35.030
back and they're like, "Well, now this
00:39:35.040 --> 00:39:37.349
happened. I thought I was done. I
00:39:37.359 --> 00:39:39.190
thought I was over this. I thought I was
00:39:39.200 --> 00:39:41.589
better. I thought I was healed. How can
00:39:41.599 --> 00:39:43.270
people
00:39:43.280 --> 00:39:45.270
better understand
00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:47.510
and learn to live with like this? Like
00:39:47.520 --> 00:39:51.109
it's a process and it's ongoing.
00:39:51.119 --> 00:39:54.150
>> But I think for me, I'm going to give my
00:39:54.160 --> 00:39:56.710
word for it. I think because I live in
00:39:56.720 --> 00:40:00.230
gratitude now, immense gratitude, that
00:40:00.240 --> 00:40:03.270
even if something terrible happens or I
00:40:03.280 --> 00:40:05.270
face a new challenge or an old challenge
00:40:05.280 --> 00:40:08.710
comes back today, I'm so grateful that
00:40:08.720 --> 00:40:10.550
my life is so much better than when I
00:40:10.560 --> 00:40:12.470
was living in survival mode.
00:40:12.480 --> 00:40:14.230
>> What's your perspective on this? That's
00:40:14.240 --> 00:40:17.270
my perspective. Like it's the gratitude
00:40:17.280 --> 00:40:19.349
that makes it all worth it and helps me
00:40:19.359 --> 00:40:22.069
be stay positive. What is it for you? I
00:40:22.079 --> 00:40:26.150
think for me it's an acknowledgment of
00:40:26.160 --> 00:40:31.190
where I am now versus where I was. I
00:40:31.200 --> 00:40:33.510
think it's really easy, like you were
00:40:33.520 --> 00:40:35.270
saying, for people to say, "I thought I
00:40:35.280 --> 00:40:38.230
was healed. I thought I was over this."
00:40:38.240 --> 00:40:40.550
Like you said, it's a constant battle.
00:40:40.560 --> 00:40:43.190
It's a constant journey. For me, when
00:40:43.200 --> 00:40:46.069
I'm able to take a moment and say,
00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:48.790
"Okay, this is a challenge that I have
00:40:48.800 --> 00:40:51.270
faced before. I thought I was over it,
00:40:51.280 --> 00:40:52.950
but it's still triggering something in
00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:58.630
me. But the old me would have spiraled
00:40:58.640 --> 00:41:02.309
or gone running and not really been
00:41:02.319 --> 00:41:04.390
willing to face it or attempt to face it
00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:07.109
or attempt to maybe understand what the
00:41:07.119 --> 00:41:10.230
challenge is. When I have those moments,
00:41:10.240 --> 00:41:12.470
it for me it's really beneficial to sit
00:41:12.480 --> 00:41:15.829
and say, "Yes, this is a challenge. Yes,
00:41:15.839 --> 00:41:17.910
it's still triggering me. I thought that
00:41:17.920 --> 00:41:19.910
I was in a place where maybe I was past
00:41:19.920 --> 00:41:22.550
it. Number one, clearly I'm not past it.
00:41:22.560 --> 00:41:26.069
So there's still work to do. But also
00:41:26.079 --> 00:41:28.790
the old me would have handled this
00:41:28.800 --> 00:41:31.430
entirely differently. So there is
00:41:31.440 --> 00:41:34.870
healing and growth that has happened for
00:41:34.880 --> 00:41:38.950
me. I really attach my mind to that to
00:41:38.960 --> 00:41:41.190
say again obviously there's no finish
00:41:41.200 --> 00:41:44.870
line but to say okay you have I'm so
00:41:44.880 --> 00:41:49.190
sorry you have taken these steps to get
00:41:49.200 --> 00:41:53.750
past a point of spiral or get past a
00:41:53.760 --> 00:41:57.750
point of being buried by this emotion.
00:41:57.760 --> 00:41:59.190
Now you're at a place where you're
00:41:59.200 --> 00:42:02.470
willing to stand up to it to face it
00:42:02.480 --> 00:42:06.309
head on. So the acknowledgement of even
00:42:06.319 --> 00:42:08.069
small
00:42:08.079 --> 00:42:11.589
bits of growth or small bits of healing
00:42:11.599 --> 00:42:14.230
has helped me personally continue that
00:42:14.240 --> 00:42:17.670
journey because I think if I would not
00:42:17.680 --> 00:42:20.230
acknowledge it and just sit in the place
00:42:20.240 --> 00:42:23.510
of why is this still triggering me? Why
00:42:23.520 --> 00:42:26.230
is this still making me feel this way?
00:42:26.240 --> 00:42:29.510
Then you get into that thinking of I
00:42:29.520 --> 00:42:32.069
must not be healed. the work that I'm
00:42:32.079 --> 00:42:34.309
doing must not be worth it because I'm
00:42:34.319 --> 00:42:36.630
still being triggered. There's still
00:42:36.640 --> 00:42:38.790
layers underneath of this that are still
00:42:38.800 --> 00:42:40.790
hurting me. And then you're stuck in
00:42:40.800 --> 00:42:42.790
that place of I've done all this work
00:42:42.800 --> 00:42:45.270
for nothing. I'm still being upset by
00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:47.030
this or it's still affecting me in this
00:42:47.040 --> 00:42:49.510
way. For me, when I can take a second to
00:42:49.520 --> 00:42:52.950
say I am being affected by it, but not
00:42:52.960 --> 00:42:55.430
in the same way that I would have been
00:42:55.440 --> 00:42:58.150
six months ago, a year ago, it's the
00:42:58.160 --> 00:43:00.550
acknowledgement of those little steps,
00:43:00.560 --> 00:43:04.230
the little bits of growth that help keep
00:43:04.240 --> 00:43:07.030
me on the journey of, okay, maybe this
00:43:07.040 --> 00:43:09.910
is five steps away from where I was, and
00:43:09.920 --> 00:43:11.670
maybe in six months now, I'll be 10
00:43:11.680 --> 00:43:14.150
steps away from where I was. But if I
00:43:14.160 --> 00:43:15.990
continue to take these steps and do this
00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:17.109
work,
00:43:17.119 --> 00:43:19.670
>> there's going to be a time where I feel,
00:43:19.680 --> 00:43:21.829
>> okay, maybe it triggers me a little bit,
00:43:21.839 --> 00:43:25.190
but I'm okay. I'm fine. I can keep
00:43:25.200 --> 00:43:26.069
moving on.
00:43:26.079 --> 00:43:29.430
>> Yeah. Yeah. That's all good. And I think
00:43:29.440 --> 00:43:31.349
we live in this time of like instant
00:43:31.359 --> 00:43:33.430
gratification. If we need something, we
00:43:33.440 --> 00:43:35.270
just get on our phone and Amazon
00:43:35.280 --> 00:43:35.910
delivers it,
00:43:35.920 --> 00:43:40.230
>> right? So, it's really hard to not get
00:43:40.240 --> 00:43:43.430
fixed right away. If you have pain, you
00:43:43.440 --> 00:43:45.349
pop a pill or you go to the doctor and
00:43:45.359 --> 00:43:47.910
they make it feel better. This kind of
00:43:47.920 --> 00:43:52.390
work isn't like that. And it's all
00:43:52.400 --> 00:43:54.230
layered on top of each other and it does
00:43:54.240 --> 00:43:55.829
come back. Especially when we talk about
00:43:55.839 --> 00:44:00.630
grief. And I think I'm going to probe a
00:44:00.640 --> 00:44:02.309
little bit more about men in particular
00:44:02.319 --> 00:44:06.390
since you're my first male guest. I just
00:44:06.400 --> 00:44:09.349
did a podcast episode a few weeks ago
00:44:09.359 --> 00:44:11.750
and I was specifically when I started
00:44:11.760 --> 00:44:13.109
doing the research for the episode
00:44:13.119 --> 00:44:15.589
targeting anger in men who are going
00:44:15.599 --> 00:44:17.750
through divorce. That was the purpose of
00:44:17.760 --> 00:44:19.589
doing the research. But once I got in
00:44:19.599 --> 00:44:23.109
and started doing that work,
00:44:23.119 --> 00:44:26.230
I started realizing, oh, because I
00:44:26.240 --> 00:44:28.470
already knew men were really only giving
00:44:28.480 --> 00:44:30.710
themselves permission to feel certain
00:44:30.720 --> 00:44:33.670
emotions. I knew that, but I wasn't
00:44:33.680 --> 00:44:35.589
thinking about it in terms of a lot of
00:44:35.599 --> 00:44:38.870
my other clients who are struggling, and
00:44:38.880 --> 00:44:40.870
they're specifically struggling, they
00:44:40.880 --> 00:44:44.230
say, with anger. But in that research, I
00:44:44.240 --> 00:44:47.750
found that many times the real emotions
00:44:47.760 --> 00:44:50.069
that they're feeling underneath the
00:44:50.079 --> 00:44:53.910
anger are things like hopelessness,
00:44:53.920 --> 00:44:55.430
loneliness,
00:44:55.440 --> 00:44:59.430
sadness, which are emotions that and
00:44:59.440 --> 00:45:01.190
fear. Fear was the big one. Like fear
00:45:01.200 --> 00:45:04.230
that I'll never have another connection.
00:45:04.240 --> 00:45:08.150
So I realized quickly, okay, this is not
00:45:08.160 --> 00:45:12.550
just related to divorce. This spans a
00:45:12.560 --> 00:45:16.309
lot of issues for men. And the anger is
00:45:16.319 --> 00:45:19.030
one of the only emotions that young boys
00:45:19.040 --> 00:45:21.990
and young men are taught it's okay to
00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:25.670
feel. So the anger is actually masking
00:45:25.680 --> 00:45:28.069
something else underneath. So my
00:45:28.079 --> 00:45:31.030
question is, what do you think about
00:45:31.040 --> 00:45:35.430
that idea? And what kind of pain do you
00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:38.630
think men are giving themselves
00:45:38.640 --> 00:45:41.349
permission to feel versus the pain that
00:45:41.359 --> 00:45:44.470
they need permission to feel?
00:45:44.480 --> 00:45:47.109
>> Wow, that's really that's a good one.
00:45:47.119 --> 00:45:48.550
That is definitely a good one. I think
00:45:48.560 --> 00:45:51.190
for me personally, as I mentioned in the
00:45:51.200 --> 00:45:53.270
beginning of this, for a lot of my life
00:45:53.280 --> 00:45:54.550
was operating out of this place of
00:45:54.560 --> 00:45:57.670
frustration or anger. And when I really
00:45:57.680 --> 00:45:59.190
to what you just said, when I really
00:45:59.200 --> 00:46:02.630
looked at it, it came down to I'm
00:46:02.640 --> 00:46:04.950
unhappy with
00:46:04.960 --> 00:46:07.910
how I'm showing up
00:46:07.920 --> 00:46:11.910
in relationships, but also at my job,
00:46:11.920 --> 00:46:16.390
financially, feeling like I should be or
00:46:16.400 --> 00:46:19.349
could be doing so much more in these
00:46:19.359 --> 00:46:23.510
areas of my life. And instead of being
00:46:23.520 --> 00:46:26.230
honest with myself and saying, "I feel
00:46:26.240 --> 00:46:30.870
hopeless at this dead-end job or I'm
00:46:30.880 --> 00:46:36.150
afraid that my partner is not going to
00:46:36.160 --> 00:46:38.870
see maybe the value that I'm attempting
00:46:38.880 --> 00:46:41.510
to bring if I'm not bringing it in a way
00:46:41.520 --> 00:46:44.470
that she's able to receive it." sadness
00:46:44.480 --> 00:46:47.750
in like how did I number one become this
00:46:47.760 --> 00:46:52.069
person but also how do I not be this
00:46:52.079 --> 00:46:54.390
person anymore? For me there was a lot
00:46:54.400 --> 00:46:59.990
of anger in I want to be more. I know I
00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:03.910
can be more but life's circumstances and
00:47:03.920 --> 00:47:06.630
the place that I'm in now or makes it
00:47:06.640 --> 00:47:10.790
feel like I can't get past this. Whether
00:47:10.800 --> 00:47:14.069
it's I'm at a job just to pay the bills
00:47:14.079 --> 00:47:15.910
and I'm not able to show up fully at
00:47:15.920 --> 00:47:19.510
home or I'm at a job, I'm showing up
00:47:19.520 --> 00:47:22.390
fully at home and I'm not showing up for
00:47:22.400 --> 00:47:24.230
myself in ways that maybe I need to be
00:47:24.240 --> 00:47:27.190
showing up for myself. All of that sort
00:47:27.200 --> 00:47:29.349
of gets internalized and becomes this
00:47:29.359 --> 00:47:33.670
frustration of why is my life not
00:47:33.680 --> 00:47:37.750
working the way I planned it to? And I
00:47:37.760 --> 00:47:39.910
think that's a big thing for me
00:47:39.920 --> 00:47:44.230
specifically is setting expectations of
00:47:44.240 --> 00:47:47.990
if I do ABC the outcome should be this.
00:47:48.000 --> 00:47:50.550
If I do one, two, three correctly, the
00:47:50.560 --> 00:47:52.950
outcome should be this. Sort of
00:47:52.960 --> 00:47:55.750
fantasizing or romanticizing. If I take
00:47:55.760 --> 00:47:57.270
these steps, this is the way that life
00:47:57.280 --> 00:47:59.190
should go. And then when life doesn't go
00:47:59.200 --> 00:48:01.910
that way, it created in me this feeling
00:48:01.920 --> 00:48:04.470
of but I've done everything right or I
00:48:04.480 --> 00:48:06.470
thought I was doing everything right.
00:48:06.480 --> 00:48:10.150
and now I'm nothing is going the way
00:48:10.160 --> 00:48:12.390
that I anticipated it would or nothing
00:48:12.400 --> 00:48:15.109
is going the way that I thought that it
00:48:15.119 --> 00:48:18.069
would turn out. And then instead of
00:48:18.079 --> 00:48:20.309
being sad, which I think is the reality
00:48:20.319 --> 00:48:22.790
of at least setting up expectations is
00:48:22.800 --> 00:48:23.910
not
00:48:23.920 --> 00:48:27.109
>> getting to that goal line of those
00:48:27.119 --> 00:48:27.829
expectations,
00:48:27.839 --> 00:48:28.630
>> right?
00:48:28.640 --> 00:48:31.190
>> It's sad. It makes you feel like,
00:48:31.200 --> 00:48:35.030
>> am I worthless? Have I not done things
00:48:35.040 --> 00:48:37.349
that needed to be done to get me to this
00:48:37.359 --> 00:48:41.109
place? And like you said, typically
00:48:41.119 --> 00:48:43.510
growing up, I think the world is a
00:48:43.520 --> 00:48:45.270
little bit better about it now. I was a
00:48:45.280 --> 00:48:48.470
'9s kid who grew up my with a single
00:48:48.480 --> 00:48:51.270
mom, but my dad was a bluecollar dad. So
00:48:51.280 --> 00:48:55.109
very much like men don't cry, you get
00:48:55.119 --> 00:48:57.910
up, you go to work, you come home, you
00:48:57.920 --> 00:48:59.910
pay the bills, that's how you handle
00:48:59.920 --> 00:49:02.230
being a man. Obviously, I think now, you
00:49:02.240 --> 00:49:03.670
know, we're starting to get into a place
00:49:03.680 --> 00:49:05.670
with parenting where we're a little bit
00:49:05.680 --> 00:49:07.349
more emotionally in tune with our kids
00:49:07.359 --> 00:49:10.390
and ourselves, but for me,
00:49:10.400 --> 00:49:12.950
>> I never there were moments where I could
00:49:12.960 --> 00:49:15.750
feel very deeply with the safety of my
00:49:15.760 --> 00:49:19.670
mom, but that was very quickly shut down
00:49:19.680 --> 00:49:22.309
in being reminded because people used to
00:49:22.319 --> 00:49:23.829
always say this to me and I think it was
00:49:23.839 --> 00:49:26.069
probably so detrimental, but you're the
00:49:26.079 --> 00:49:27.670
man of the house. Growing up with a
00:49:27.680 --> 00:49:29.109
single mom, people always used to say,
00:49:29.119 --> 00:49:31.589
"Oh, yeah. you, okay? It's your job to
00:49:31.599 --> 00:49:32.950
take care of your mom. You're the man of
00:49:32.960 --> 00:49:35.430
the house now. So, even being eight,
00:49:35.440 --> 00:49:36.470
nine, 10 years old,
00:49:36.480 --> 00:49:37.829
>> so detrimental.
00:49:37.839 --> 00:49:41.589
>> I would take on these emotions of,
00:49:41.599 --> 00:49:43.670
>> okay, don't cry. Don't let your mom see
00:49:43.680 --> 00:49:45.430
you cry because if she sees you cry,
00:49:45.440 --> 00:49:47.030
it's going to make her sad and she has
00:49:47.040 --> 00:49:48.710
enough to worry about so you don't be
00:49:48.720 --> 00:49:51.349
sad. So, these emotions then turned into
00:49:51.359 --> 00:49:53.349
anger because as I get older, I started
00:49:53.359 --> 00:49:56.390
to feel like, why can't I be sad? I need
00:49:56.400 --> 00:49:59.030
to be sad. And then it makes me angry.
00:49:59.040 --> 00:50:00.870
And then when I'm getting angry, then
00:50:00.880 --> 00:50:04.870
that became my baseline. You're a man
00:50:04.880 --> 00:50:08.150
who's angry at life because life has
00:50:08.160 --> 00:50:10.870
been unfair to those that you love. And
00:50:10.880 --> 00:50:12.790
that was the baseline of operation. And
00:50:12.800 --> 00:50:15.109
I think that may, you know, I hate to
00:50:15.119 --> 00:50:17.589
speak for men everywhere, but I think a
00:50:17.599 --> 00:50:20.790
large part of men operate from that
00:50:20.800 --> 00:50:23.990
baseline of I'm angry at life because
00:50:24.000 --> 00:50:27.349
life has been unfair either to me or the
00:50:27.359 --> 00:50:29.910
people I care about. And as a man, I
00:50:29.920 --> 00:50:31.589
should be able to do something about it,
00:50:31.599 --> 00:50:34.230
but I can't. And I think that leaves us
00:50:34.240 --> 00:50:37.430
feeling powerless. And in a society that
00:50:37.440 --> 00:50:40.230
teaches men to be powerful, to take
00:50:40.240 --> 00:50:42.710
control, be a leader. In the moments
00:50:42.720 --> 00:50:44.470
that you feel like you're not doing
00:50:44.480 --> 00:50:47.190
those things, that perpetuates that
00:50:47.200 --> 00:50:49.670
anger, sadness, hopelessness, and
00:50:49.680 --> 00:50:53.270
frustration of am I missing the mark of
00:50:53.280 --> 00:50:56.390
being a man? And then in turn, you you
00:50:56.400 --> 00:50:59.829
get harder about it. you you become a
00:50:59.839 --> 00:51:03.670
man who at least for me I created this
00:51:03.680 --> 00:51:07.910
character of what a man is and the only
00:51:07.920 --> 00:51:10.630
way that I could operate as a man was to
00:51:10.640 --> 00:51:13.510
be this character and it took a lot of
00:51:13.520 --> 00:51:18.549
work for me to understand that I'm not a
00:51:18.559 --> 00:51:22.630
character. I'm not a person in a movie
00:51:22.640 --> 00:51:26.309
and this isn't how I have to operate to
00:51:26.319 --> 00:51:28.390
be a man in society, especially
00:51:28.400 --> 00:51:31.109
nowadays. Um, but that took a lot to
00:51:31.119 --> 00:51:32.309
understand like,
00:51:32.319 --> 00:51:32.710
>> yeah,
00:51:32.720 --> 00:51:35.670
>> I don't need to be angry and powerful
00:51:35.680 --> 00:51:39.109
all the time. I'm allowed to be soft and
00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:40.230
vulnerable
00:51:40.240 --> 00:51:42.870
>> and you need to be in order to thrive.
00:51:42.880 --> 00:51:44.549
What did that look like? What did the
00:51:44.559 --> 00:51:46.230
character look like for you?
00:51:46.240 --> 00:51:49.109
>> Oh boy. So, I mean, you can see, maybe
00:51:49.119 --> 00:51:51.910
not. I'm pretty heavily tattooed. I work
00:51:51.920 --> 00:51:55.430
in, you know, a bluecollar career. You
00:51:55.440 --> 00:51:57.109
know, I drive a big truck. I ride
00:51:57.119 --> 00:51:59.829
motorcycles, listen to country music,
00:51:59.839 --> 00:52:02.549
enjoy having beers with the boys. So,
00:52:02.559 --> 00:52:04.630
it's like really this stereotypical
00:52:04.640 --> 00:52:08.549
architect of what a man is. But
00:52:08.559 --> 00:52:10.309
emotionally,
00:52:10.319 --> 00:52:15.109
I closed myself off to deep connection
00:52:15.119 --> 00:52:16.390
with people,
00:52:16.400 --> 00:52:19.190
>> whether that be romantic relationships,
00:52:19.200 --> 00:52:22.549
friendships, co-workers. I never allowed
00:52:22.559 --> 00:52:28.069
myself to say or to be soft in that way
00:52:28.079 --> 00:52:30.390
where bonds are formed in a deep and
00:52:30.400 --> 00:52:33.829
meaningful way. Because to me, like I
00:52:33.839 --> 00:52:36.150
said before, a man wakes up. This is how
00:52:36.160 --> 00:52:38.630
I used to feel. man wakes up, goes to
00:52:38.640 --> 00:52:40.870
work, says, "Hey, what's up?" to your
00:52:40.880 --> 00:52:43.589
friends. Nothing beyond that. Hey, hope
00:52:43.599 --> 00:52:45.109
you're doing good. Hope the family's get
00:52:45.119 --> 00:52:47.109
into the truck, drive home, make sure
00:52:47.119 --> 00:52:49.030
the bills are paid, make sure there's
00:52:49.040 --> 00:52:51.750
food on the table. But beyond that,
00:52:51.760 --> 00:52:55.349
there was no deep and meaningful
00:52:55.359 --> 00:52:58.390
connection romantically and platonically
00:52:58.400 --> 00:53:01.670
because I was so worried about being
00:53:01.680 --> 00:53:05.510
tough and being powerful and taking
00:53:05.520 --> 00:53:08.710
charge. And I think I made the mistake
00:53:08.720 --> 00:53:13.109
of taking charge does not mean leading
00:53:13.119 --> 00:53:16.630
in a meaningful way because I can make
00:53:16.640 --> 00:53:18.630
all the decisions. I can pay all the
00:53:18.640 --> 00:53:22.069
bills. I can say this is what's for
00:53:22.079 --> 00:53:25.030
dinner. This weekend we're going here.
00:53:25.040 --> 00:53:28.710
But if there's no connection behind it,
00:53:28.720 --> 00:53:30.710
if there's no vulnerability behind that
00:53:30.720 --> 00:53:34.630
or want to be a unit, I'm just a b I'm
00:53:34.640 --> 00:53:37.589
just the boss. I'm just making rules
00:53:37.599 --> 00:53:40.069
that everyone has to follow because that
00:53:40.079 --> 00:53:41.990
means that I'm in charge. And I think
00:53:42.000 --> 00:53:45.349
that's for me personally where I have
00:53:45.359 --> 00:53:47.030
gone wrong in a lot of my romantic
00:53:47.040 --> 00:53:50.309
relationships is I'm not or I wasn't
00:53:50.319 --> 00:53:54.470
leading. I was just the manager if you
00:53:54.480 --> 00:53:56.950
will. I was just the boss making rules.
00:53:56.960 --> 00:53:59.270
>> Right. What's the difference between
00:53:59.280 --> 00:54:02.230
leading and managing? I think leading
00:54:02.240 --> 00:54:06.230
for me personally comes with
00:54:06.240 --> 00:54:07.750
connectivity
00:54:07.760 --> 00:54:12.710
and vulnerability and moments of
00:54:12.720 --> 00:54:14.390
understanding
00:54:14.400 --> 00:54:17.109
your partner's needs on the other side
00:54:17.119 --> 00:54:20.710
of that leadership. So there are moments
00:54:20.720 --> 00:54:21.430
and safety.
00:54:21.440 --> 00:54:24.150
>> Exactly. in a true this is such like a
00:54:24.160 --> 00:54:27.270
buzzword now but like holding space for
00:54:27.280 --> 00:54:28.470
that person
00:54:28.480 --> 00:54:31.589
>> because it's really easy to come home
00:54:31.599 --> 00:54:35.109
say this and that your partner says hey
00:54:35.119 --> 00:54:37.030
I need this from you
00:54:37.040 --> 00:54:39.990
>> and halfheartedly giving it to them just
00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:43.349
to keep the peace as opposed to truly
00:54:43.359 --> 00:54:46.150
and meaningfully holding this place of
00:54:46.160 --> 00:54:49.190
understanding and
00:54:49.200 --> 00:54:52.069
knowing them on a deeper level to
00:54:52.079 --> 00:54:55.990
understand do you need me to be just
00:54:56.000 --> 00:54:58.630
your ear and shoulder right now do you
00:54:58.640 --> 00:55:00.230
need solution
00:55:00.240 --> 00:55:02.549
>> or do you just need to vent it out
00:55:02.559 --> 00:55:05.349
>> I think that's a really tough area for a
00:55:05.359 --> 00:55:07.829
lot of men because we are so solution
00:55:07.839 --> 00:55:10.549
driven to understand that
00:55:10.559 --> 00:55:11.910
>> I think right now I probably just need
00:55:11.920 --> 00:55:13.270
to listen
00:55:13.280 --> 00:55:15.430
>> I don't think I need to say
00:55:15.440 --> 00:55:18.069
>> well let's fix it this is how we can fix
00:55:18.079 --> 00:55:20.150
it let's go and make it better you know
00:55:20.160 --> 00:55:21.349
I think
00:55:21.359 --> 00:55:24.870
that it for me personally and for
00:55:24.880 --> 00:55:26.710
probably a lot of men that I know in my
00:55:26.720 --> 00:55:29.750
life, not everything needs solution. Not
00:55:29.760 --> 00:55:32.230
everything needs to be fixed. That was a
00:55:32.240 --> 00:55:32.870
really tough
00:55:32.880 --> 00:55:35.030
>> and most women don't want you to fix.
00:55:35.040 --> 00:55:37.109
Most of us don't. But they do appreciate
00:55:37.119 --> 00:55:38.069
if you ask,
00:55:38.079 --> 00:55:38.950
>> sure,
00:55:38.960 --> 00:55:40.950
>> what do you want? And I think that's the
00:55:40.960 --> 00:55:43.510
key and that feeling of safety. It's
00:55:43.520 --> 00:55:45.270
safe and you're going to hold space for
00:55:45.280 --> 00:55:48.710
me in a safe way, whatever that is. But
00:55:48.720 --> 00:55:51.430
I also think that where a lot of men
00:55:51.440 --> 00:55:54.710
could greatly improve, especially that
00:55:54.720 --> 00:55:57.829
scenario you just described, is setting
00:55:57.839 --> 00:55:59.829
their own boundary and knowing what they
00:55:59.839 --> 00:56:01.910
need and taking the space for themselves
00:56:01.920 --> 00:56:03.190
first,
00:56:03.200 --> 00:56:09.030
>> but expressing it. We get we get lost in
00:56:09.040 --> 00:56:11.109
relationships when we don't say what we
00:56:11.119 --> 00:56:15.750
need. So, if you're this safe man,
00:56:15.760 --> 00:56:17.190
you've got to take care of yourself just
00:56:17.200 --> 00:56:18.549
like women have to take care of
00:56:18.559 --> 00:56:21.829
themselves first. But you have to tell
00:56:21.839 --> 00:56:23.990
somebody what you're doing and why so it
00:56:24.000 --> 00:56:25.430
doesn't feel like rejection or
00:56:25.440 --> 00:56:29.670
abandonment or not caring. It's, hey,
00:56:29.680 --> 00:56:31.109
I'm going to go sit in the backyard for
00:56:31.119 --> 00:56:33.349
a minute and get some sun. I need to
00:56:33.359 --> 00:56:35.589
unwind. I can't wait to hear about your
00:56:35.599 --> 00:56:38.789
day, but I need to do this first. Okay.
00:56:38.799 --> 00:56:41.270
Most women would be like, "Okay, that's
00:56:41.280 --> 00:56:43.109
great. I can't wait till you come back
00:56:43.119 --> 00:56:45.990
inside. Go take care of yourself so you
00:56:46.000 --> 00:56:48.870
can show up for me and hold space for
00:56:48.880 --> 00:56:50.230
me. That's what I need."
00:56:50.240 --> 00:56:50.870
>> Yeah.
00:56:50.880 --> 00:56:55.030
>> But instead, it's the walking in and the
00:56:55.040 --> 00:56:57.589
I can't take it. I can't I don't want to
00:56:57.599 --> 00:56:59.670
hear about your day. Half-heartedly
00:56:59.680 --> 00:57:03.349
listening, you know, just not showing up
00:57:03.359 --> 00:57:06.309
and making that safe container for
00:57:06.319 --> 00:57:07.829
connection. So,
00:57:07.839 --> 00:57:10.309
>> yeah. Absolutely. I know I myself was
00:57:10.319 --> 00:57:12.230
definitely guilty of that
00:57:12.240 --> 00:57:14.950
>> through most of my life in
00:57:14.960 --> 00:57:15.430
>> Yeah.
00:57:15.440 --> 00:57:18.069
>> showing up coming home from work
00:57:18.079 --> 00:57:20.870
frustrated, tired from the day. And
00:57:20.880 --> 00:57:21.990
instead of sort of
00:57:22.000 --> 00:57:22.390
>> Yeah.
00:57:22.400 --> 00:57:24.069
>> Like you're saying,
00:57:24.079 --> 00:57:25.990
>> just being transparent and saying, "Hey,
00:57:26.000 --> 00:57:28.069
I've had a really tough day. I just need
00:57:28.079 --> 00:57:31.270
five minutes to unwind." I would jump
00:57:31.280 --> 00:57:33.270
into
00:57:33.280 --> 00:57:36.630
again being the leader provider, but not
00:57:36.640 --> 00:57:39.190
in a meaningful way. Just I've had a
00:57:39.200 --> 00:57:40.309
rough day.
00:57:40.319 --> 00:57:41.670
>> Let me go into the kitchen and start
00:57:41.680 --> 00:57:44.150
making dinner. And then through that
00:57:44.160 --> 00:57:47.030
resentment would build of I never have
00:57:47.040 --> 00:57:49.190
space or time for myself. But the
00:57:49.200 --> 00:57:52.870
reality was I wasn't voicing that. I was
00:57:52.880 --> 00:57:55.510
letting my frustration or using my
00:57:55.520 --> 00:57:58.230
frustration as a means of communication
00:57:58.240 --> 00:58:01.750
so that my partners would know, oh, he
00:58:01.760 --> 00:58:03.510
must have had a long day. Let me give
00:58:03.520 --> 00:58:04.309
him a break.
00:58:04.319 --> 00:58:04.870
>> Right?
00:58:04.880 --> 00:58:07.190
>> But then that on both sides creates this
00:58:07.200 --> 00:58:09.430
resentment of he comes home angry every
00:58:09.440 --> 00:58:12.230
day. She never understands why I'm so
00:58:12.240 --> 00:58:13.990
angry. And there was no clear
00:58:14.000 --> 00:58:16.230
communication of, hey, I just need five
00:58:16.240 --> 00:58:18.309
minutes. Like you said, I cannot wait to
00:58:18.319 --> 00:58:19.990
hear about your day. I just need to
00:58:20.000 --> 00:58:21.430
unwind for a second and then I'm going
00:58:21.440 --> 00:58:22.789
to come back in and be the best me that
00:58:22.799 --> 00:58:24.150
I can be for you.
00:58:24.160 --> 00:58:26.710
>> I was definitely guilty of not giving
00:58:26.720 --> 00:58:30.230
myself that space to regulate
00:58:30.240 --> 00:58:32.710
>> and then in turn now the whole house is
00:58:32.720 --> 00:58:34.710
disregulated. Now no one knows
00:58:34.720 --> 00:58:35.109
>> right
00:58:35.119 --> 00:58:36.309
>> where to step and what to do.
00:58:36.319 --> 00:58:39.430
>> Everyone's on eggshells and Yeah. Yeah.
00:58:39.440 --> 00:58:42.309
Well, first someone who's listening,
00:58:42.319 --> 00:58:45.030
tell us about like the way that you work
00:58:45.040 --> 00:58:47.109
with people now, what you're offering
00:58:47.119 --> 00:58:50.390
people online and in if anything in
00:58:50.400 --> 00:58:54.309
person and yeah, how you are making a
00:58:54.319 --> 00:58:55.829
difference in the people's lives that
00:58:55.839 --> 00:58:57.510
you're touching right now.
00:58:57.520 --> 00:59:00.390
>> Yeah. So I every day either once or
00:59:00.400 --> 00:59:03.030
three times a day I'll post a
00:59:03.040 --> 00:59:04.630
neurosciencebacked
00:59:04.640 --> 00:59:07.510
video essentially explaining for me
00:59:07.520 --> 00:59:09.190
things that either I have gone through
00:59:09.200 --> 00:59:11.510
or that I have seen friends go through
00:59:11.520 --> 00:59:16.069
based around heartbreak divorce loss
00:59:16.079 --> 00:59:17.910
whether that's death in the family or
00:59:17.920 --> 00:59:20.390
loss of a friendship and the grief that
00:59:20.400 --> 00:59:23.829
comes with that and I have found that
00:59:23.839 --> 00:59:27.349
more often than not people didn't really
00:59:27.359 --> 00:59:29.589
understand how that was affecting their
00:59:29.599 --> 00:59:32.309
everyday life. And through posting this
00:59:32.319 --> 00:59:35.030
content and doing I do one-on-one
00:59:35.040 --> 00:59:36.870
coaching. There's a Calendarly link in
00:59:36.880 --> 00:59:39.109
my bio. But like I said in the
00:59:39.119 --> 00:59:41.990
beginning, giving a name or giving
00:59:42.000 --> 00:59:44.950
clarity to what's happening I think has
00:59:44.960 --> 00:59:46.950
helped people
00:59:46.960 --> 00:59:48.549
not feel like there's something wrong
00:59:48.559 --> 00:59:52.630
with them. It has started to illuminate
00:59:52.640 --> 00:59:56.309
that this is a natural function. Uh, I
00:59:56.319 --> 00:59:58.230
was working with someone who, you know,
00:59:58.240 --> 00:59:59.670
was unfortunately going through a
00:59:59.680 --> 01:00:02.950
separation later in life and they were
01:00:02.960 --> 01:00:06.950
unsure of why they kept feeling
01:00:06.960 --> 01:00:08.870
stuck or like wanting to reach out to
01:00:08.880 --> 01:00:10.390
this person after they had been in no
01:00:10.400 --> 01:00:12.630
contact for so long. And like we were
01:00:12.640 --> 01:00:15.030
saying earlier, explaining, hey, you're
01:00:15.040 --> 01:00:18.390
in chemical withdrawal. You have become
01:00:18.400 --> 01:00:22.390
addicted to this. And especially I think
01:00:22.400 --> 01:00:24.470
for a lot of people they become addicted
01:00:24.480 --> 01:00:27.910
to the narrative of the the solution the
01:00:27.920 --> 01:00:30.710
fix. You start to dream about
01:00:30.720 --> 01:00:32.549
>> if I say this thing they're going to
01:00:32.559 --> 01:00:34.069
come back. If I act this way they're
01:00:34.079 --> 01:00:35.990
going to come back. That in itself that
01:00:36.000 --> 01:00:38.870
loop becomes addictive because you get
01:00:38.880 --> 01:00:41.829
>> small hits of dopamine from the imagined
01:00:41.839 --> 01:00:43.190
fix.
01:00:43.200 --> 01:00:44.870
>> Right. The rumination.
01:00:44.880 --> 01:00:47.349
>> Exactly. Yeah. That yearning which is
01:00:47.359 --> 01:00:49.829
such like a buzz word online right now.
01:00:49.839 --> 01:00:51.670
bring back yearning but it's I mean
01:00:51.680 --> 01:00:53.750
everyone is yearning for something but
01:00:53.760 --> 01:00:54.390
>> something
01:00:54.400 --> 01:00:58.069
>> right so through my coaching that's
01:00:58.079 --> 01:01:00.470
really where I like to start is what are
01:01:00.480 --> 01:01:02.789
you going through what are the emotions
01:01:02.799 --> 01:01:04.630
that you continue to find yourself
01:01:04.640 --> 01:01:06.870
having time after time even if you've
01:01:06.880 --> 01:01:09.430
started to acknowledge hey this is why
01:01:09.440 --> 01:01:11.109
I'm having this emotion but you're
01:01:11.119 --> 01:01:13.910
having it over and over let's figure out
01:01:13.920 --> 01:01:16.549
why that's happening and then
01:01:16.559 --> 01:01:18.309
>> we're going to start to take real life
01:01:18.319 --> 01:01:21.270
steps not tricks, not get out of jail
01:01:21.280 --> 01:01:24.710
free cards from this. Real actionable
01:01:24.720 --> 01:01:28.470
steps to rewiring not only your brain
01:01:28.480 --> 01:01:30.549
because I think neuroplasticity is
01:01:30.559 --> 01:01:33.670
absolutely incredible, but also rewiring
01:01:33.680 --> 01:01:37.430
or retraining your nervous system around
01:01:37.440 --> 01:01:40.950
safety, connection, vulnerability, and
01:01:40.960 --> 01:01:44.150
also rejection. A lot of people deal
01:01:44.160 --> 01:01:46.150
with rejection sensitivity dysphoria
01:01:46.160 --> 01:01:49.190
where they're unwilling to take the step
01:01:49.200 --> 01:01:51.430
to maybe put themselves out there for a
01:01:51.440 --> 01:01:52.950
new relationship or a new friendship
01:01:52.960 --> 01:01:56.309
with the fear of if they say they don't
01:01:56.319 --> 01:01:58.950
like me or if they say we're just not
01:01:58.960 --> 01:02:01.109
connecting, it's going to be more
01:02:01.119 --> 01:02:02.870
painful than my heartbreak because it
01:02:02.880 --> 01:02:04.789
has just proved everything that my
01:02:04.799 --> 01:02:08.470
exartner said about me. So, I really I
01:02:08.480 --> 01:02:09.750
think one of my favorite things about
01:02:09.760 --> 01:02:13.109
the coaching is seeing someone go from
01:02:13.119 --> 01:02:16.309
point A to actionable step. Now, we're
01:02:16.319 --> 01:02:20.950
at GH and they are starting to get a
01:02:20.960 --> 01:02:22.230
little glimmer back. There's a little
01:02:22.240 --> 01:02:23.670
bit of hope that's coming back into
01:02:23.680 --> 01:02:25.030
their life and they're,
01:02:25.040 --> 01:02:27.109
>> hey, I went with my friends and I
01:02:27.119 --> 01:02:29.109
actually had a good laugh. It's tell
01:02:29.119 --> 01:02:30.710
that to your old self because you would
01:02:30.720 --> 01:02:33.030
have never believed it, you know?
01:02:33.040 --> 01:02:34.069
>> Yeah. Yeah.
01:02:34.079 --> 01:02:36.390
>> So, I have the book that I'm working on.
01:02:36.400 --> 01:02:40.309
I have a 30-day nervous system reset
01:02:40.319 --> 01:02:43.670
guide. It's, you know, daily prompts.
01:02:43.680 --> 01:02:46.150
It's neuroscience facts that you can
01:02:46.160 --> 01:02:48.549
read that go along with the prompts, but
01:02:48.559 --> 01:02:51.190
it's also a place where you can jot down
01:02:51.200 --> 01:02:53.750
a mini journal of where you're at on
01:02:53.760 --> 01:02:57.510
that day. So from day one to day 30,
01:02:57.520 --> 01:02:59.670
when I was writing this, my hope was
01:02:59.680 --> 01:03:01.910
that when you get to day 30, you do your
01:03:01.920 --> 01:03:04.630
journal entry, you can look back at day
01:03:04.640 --> 01:03:09.910
one and say, "Oh my gosh, I have maybe
01:03:09.920 --> 01:03:12.069
obviously not totally reset my nervous
01:03:12.079 --> 01:03:15.190
system, but I'm now not in a state of
01:03:15.200 --> 01:03:19.430
constant fight, constant survival. I
01:03:19.440 --> 01:03:21.190
have these small moments of hope
01:03:21.200 --> 01:03:23.510
>> that I'm able to acknowledge and really
01:03:23.520 --> 01:03:25.670
enjoy these moments of hope. Not just
01:03:25.680 --> 01:03:26.870
forced,
01:03:26.880 --> 01:03:28.950
>> oh, today was a good day. No, really
01:03:28.960 --> 01:03:29.750
enjoying,
01:03:29.760 --> 01:03:30.150
>> yeah,
01:03:30.160 --> 01:03:32.950
>> wow, my lunch today was great. I had a
01:03:32.960 --> 01:03:35.589
great drive home. I'm so looking forward
01:03:35.599 --> 01:03:37.829
to going and watching my favorite show
01:03:37.839 --> 01:03:39.829
and having a great night's sleep as
01:03:39.839 --> 01:03:43.190
opposed to my drive home was dragging.
01:03:43.200 --> 01:03:45.430
All I could do was think. Now I'm at
01:03:45.440 --> 01:03:47.589
home in the quiet and all I can do is
01:03:47.599 --> 01:03:49.589
think. And now I have to go to bed and
01:03:49.599 --> 01:03:51.349
all I can do is think, you know.
01:03:51.359 --> 01:03:51.910
>> Yeah.
01:03:51.920 --> 01:03:54.230
>> So that's really the big part of
01:03:54.240 --> 01:03:56.870
everything that I'm doing really. It
01:03:56.880 --> 01:04:00.069
started out in a selfish way for me to
01:04:00.079 --> 01:04:03.510
on a daily basis put these videos out so
01:04:03.520 --> 01:04:06.069
when I was having moments I could look
01:04:06.079 --> 01:04:08.230
back and say, "Okay, call, you know,
01:04:08.240 --> 01:04:09.349
this is where we're at today.
01:04:09.359 --> 01:04:09.990
>> It's all good."
01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:10.950
>> Right. Exactly.
01:04:10.960 --> 01:04:11.670
>> Yeah.
01:04:11.680 --> 01:04:12.630
>> So that's great.
01:04:12.640 --> 01:04:14.230
>> Yeah. Then through that obviously
01:04:14.240 --> 01:04:15.589
stepped into what I was saying earlier
01:04:15.599 --> 01:04:17.270
where I always felt called to be of
01:04:17.280 --> 01:04:20.470
service to people. I realized wait
01:04:20.480 --> 01:04:23.109
this is more beneficial for me in terms
01:04:23.119 --> 01:04:25.829
of understanding myself and helping
01:04:25.839 --> 01:04:28.870
people understand themselves which you
01:04:28.880 --> 01:04:31.029
know obviously when you go through a
01:04:31.039 --> 01:04:34.069
traumatic life event or a loss you're in
01:04:34.079 --> 01:04:35.829
this place of wanting to reinvent
01:04:35.839 --> 01:04:37.750
yourself. For me I don't necessarily
01:04:37.760 --> 01:04:39.990
think it was a reinvention. It was more
01:04:40.000 --> 01:04:42.309
stepping into purpose that I was always
01:04:42.319 --> 01:04:44.390
avoiding, you know, that I never really
01:04:44.400 --> 01:04:46.069
wanted to step into.
01:04:46.079 --> 01:04:46.870
>> Um,
01:04:46.880 --> 01:04:47.270
>> yeah.
01:04:47.280 --> 01:04:48.470
>> So, yeah, daily content
01:04:48.480 --> 01:04:50.710
>> also very it's a very common it's a very
01:04:50.720 --> 01:04:52.309
common challenge I think many people
01:04:52.319 --> 01:04:54.870
have and very relatable. So,
01:04:54.880 --> 01:04:56.710
>> I commend you for all the work and all
01:04:56.720 --> 01:04:59.829
the research and
01:04:59.839 --> 01:05:02.230
it's really brave to step in. It's brave
01:05:02.240 --> 01:05:04.630
to put it out there publicly
01:05:04.640 --> 01:05:06.630
and
01:05:06.640 --> 01:05:09.990
every step like you said is a step in
01:05:10.000 --> 01:05:11.589
the right direction as a step forward
01:05:11.599 --> 01:05:13.109
and you're teaching your nervous system
01:05:13.119 --> 01:05:15.750
that it's safe to take each step.
01:05:15.760 --> 01:05:16.150
>> Absolutely.
01:05:16.160 --> 01:05:18.230
>> Even if it feels small, you're telling
01:05:18.240 --> 01:05:21.190
your body, look, I did this.
01:05:21.200 --> 01:05:23.990
>> It felt a little scary, but I did it and
01:05:24.000 --> 01:05:25.910
I'm okay. I'm safe.
01:05:25.920 --> 01:05:26.549
>> Yeah.
01:05:26.559 --> 01:05:29.029
>> Such great work. And yeah, I'm going to
01:05:29.039 --> 01:05:31.670
have all of your contact information,
01:05:31.680 --> 01:05:35.349
your Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, all
01:05:35.359 --> 01:05:38.230
of it in the show notes on YouTube,
01:05:38.240 --> 01:05:41.029
Apple Podcast, and Spotify. And you'll
01:05:41.039 --> 01:05:43.430
be in my Instagram as well when we
01:05:43.440 --> 01:05:45.829
feature the episode, so people can find
01:05:45.839 --> 01:05:48.630
you in all of those places. Thank you so
01:05:48.640 --> 01:05:51.910
much. This was wonderful and just
01:05:51.920 --> 01:05:54.069
inspiring. I think that there are a lot
01:05:54.079 --> 01:05:57.670
of people out there like you where you
01:05:57.680 --> 01:06:01.510
were before who have potential to step
01:06:01.520 --> 01:06:03.829
into their purpose and have a huge
01:06:03.839 --> 01:06:07.349
impact on others. And we're all just
01:06:07.359 --> 01:06:10.870
waiting for those people to have the
01:06:10.880 --> 01:06:11.589
courage,
01:06:11.599 --> 01:06:12.390
>> right,
01:06:12.400 --> 01:06:16.069
>> and to step into those roles so you can
01:06:16.079 --> 01:06:17.990
be out there inspiring all of those
01:06:18.000 --> 01:06:21.029
people to to take the first step. So, I
01:06:21.039 --> 01:06:22.549
appreciate you very much.
01:06:22.559 --> 01:06:24.630
>> Thank you so much. It's an honor to be
01:06:24.640 --> 01:06:27.029
the first man on the podcast. So, that's
01:06:27.039 --> 01:06:28.549
that's incredible. So, thank you for
01:06:28.559 --> 01:06:29.270
that.
01:06:29.280 --> 01:06:31.109
>> Great. Well, I wish you all the best of
01:06:31.119 --> 01:06:33.910
luck and you have to let me know when
01:06:33.920 --> 01:06:35.829
your book is actually is out there and
01:06:35.839 --> 01:06:38.870
published so that I can put it out on
01:06:38.880 --> 01:06:40.789
all of our social media, too. So,
01:06:40.799 --> 01:06:41.430
>> absolutely.
01:06:41.440 --> 01:06:43.750
>> Thank you so much, Colin. For anybody
01:06:43.760 --> 01:06:45.670
who's listening, check out the show
01:06:45.680 --> 01:06:47.750
notes for all of Colin's contact
01:06:47.760 --> 01:06:50.309
information. Thank you for listening in
01:06:50.319 --> 01:06:53.029
this week and we'll see you or talk to
01:06:53.039 --> 01:06:56.440
you next week.