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I ran a marathon seven months pregnant.
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She is a religious Jewish mother who basically decided one day she was going to run a marathon and somehow turned into one of Israel's most elite athletes.
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I ran 327, but I was like, do you think in a million years I could ever run a sob three-hour marathon?
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Less than three years later, I was the national champion of Israel and I had to run a 242.
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That race made me realize that I could really take this to the next level, and Israel invited me to represent them, and that was where it got started.
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There's something so powerful about doing hard things.
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And when you are willing to do what it takes, get up early, go to that workout you didn't want to do to push yourself a little bit past that breaking point, that is the most incredible feeling.
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Welcome back to Tribe Intribulations.
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I am Julia Makowski, and I am so happy you are here.
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Today, I am joined with Bidi Deutsch.
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Those who don't know who she is, her story might sound a little crazy.
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She is a religious Jewish mother who basically decided one day she was going to run a marathon and somehow turned into one of Israel's most elite athletes.
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She's a religious Jewish mother who basically decided one day she was going to run a marathon and somehow turned into one of Israel's most elite athletes.
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But what I find most interesting about BD isn't actually how fast she can run.
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It's that she entered a world that doesn't necessarily look like hers and never decided that she had to change in order to fit in.
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She runs in a skirt.
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She covers her hair.
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She's a mother.
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She's religious and incredibly ambitious.
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And I want to talk about what happens when all of those identities combine.
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Because I think sometimes, especially as religious women, we're given a subtle message of choosing one part of ourselves instead of another.
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So, BD, let's start from the beginning.
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Nice to meet you.
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Thank you.
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That was such a beautiful introduction.
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I appreciated it.
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Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Okay.
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Tell me a little bit about yourself.
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I'm actually not going to focus on the running, if that's okay with you.
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I'm a therapist by trade and a coach, and I do a ton of work outside of the podcast.
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And one of the things that is most important to me is making Yiddishkeit accessible to people and making sure mental health is always at the forefront.
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So I want to start with who you were before you ran.
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Um, well, I've always been, you know, an athletic person and into sports and loved moving.
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And just, I would say a doer, like, you know, very, um, go-getter.
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I have my dream.
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If you asked me when I was in fourth grade, even what is your dream?
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It was really to share the beauty of Judaism with the world.
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Um, I can remember from a really young age wanting to, you know, shh.
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share what I had appreciated so much about Yiddishkeit with people who weren't as connected.
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And I started working as a babysitter on all these Kiruv Shabbatons gateways back in the day.
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And when I was in ninth grade, I literally would rollerblade around Central Park and hand out Rosh Hashanah cards to people I thought looked Jewish.
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And ultimately, my husband and I actually ended up working on a college campus for two years in Tucson, Arizona.
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And I was involved full time in outreach for about 10 years.
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And I got married when I was 19 and gave birth to five kids in seven years.
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And they're a big part of my life.
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Thank God.
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And yeah, that's kind of who I am.
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What made you decide, you know, one day I'm going to just like go for it.
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I'm going to try something a little different and I'm going to run.
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So I don't think it was like so much as a goal one day.
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It was kind of like after having given birth to four kids in six years, I felt really out of shape.
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I always was a person who liked to exercise, but I found that over those six years, I had pretty much dropped to the point.
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lowest thing on my priority list.
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And then and so I felt like I hadn't moved for six years.
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And I wanted to start exercising.
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And every day I would be like, you know, tomorrow, like, every day, it's like tomorrow, I'm going to sign up for
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the gym, or even the like, the thought of having to make it to a class on time was so scary, because I was never like, exactly my mornings were always chaotic.
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And so I'm like, you know what,
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What am I going to do that's going to be really so scary that it's going to force me to actually get out the door and train for?
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What can I do?
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And I said, I'll sign up for a marathon.
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Like, that has got to be it.
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That's like literally zero to 60 in 60 seconds.
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Wow.
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Okay.
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But I've always been a bit of an extreme person.
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I don't have a lot of, like, I don't, I'm a little bit impulsive.
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I don't think about things so thoroughly.
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And I'm not scared of big goals.
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Like, they just don't scare me that much.
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So I was like, yeah, like, let's try this, you know?
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Okay, so then what goes from my first marathon to I want to represent Israel?
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There's a lot in between there, I'm assuming.
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Yeah.
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People think, oh, right when you started running, you knew you were good, and that is not the case.
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I gave myself four months to train for that first marathon.
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I was literally running really slowly in the beginning, but I was enjoying it.
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I was enjoying every second of the process, and it was my secret.
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I didn't tell anyone that I was doing this.
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I lived in Harnoff at the time.
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It was not very...
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accepted or common for like women to be doing races or running but i was just like doing my thing fine um after i but after i ran that marathon i remember thinking and i ran a decent time for a first marathon i ran 327 but i was like do you think in a million years i could ever run a sub three hour marathon and then literally within three years i was less than three years later i was the national champion of israel and i had to run a 242
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And that race was kind of what, you know, made me realize that I could really take this to the next level.
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And, you know, Israel invited me to represent them.
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And so that was kind of where it got started.
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Do you think that your identity shifted from, okay, I just had four kids in six years and now I am going to be someone completely different?
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Was there something that like went, okay, I'm not the same person I was when I got married.
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Obviously, we all shift.
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We all grow.
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We all change.
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But do you think there was something that you're like, I need something for myself?
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Well, I did.
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Funny also, I had a baby in between.
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I ran a marathon seven months pregnant.
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So I had five kids.
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I did see that.
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Honestly, I don't.
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I think that my I don't think my identity shifted, but I do think that I did start paying attention to.
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Yes, I'm doing this for me.
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And I.
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It's something that makes me a better human and a better mother and a better wife.
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And I need to keep doing this, like to stay sane and that I don't ever want to stop doing this.
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And I also became like really curious about, you know, what is my potential and how far can I take this?
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You know, a lot of women hold ourselves back because we're afraid we're not going to be able to accomplish everything that is set out in front of us.
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Being a good mother, a good wife, someone in business, someone who's an athlete, all of these different roles that we play.
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What was one of the things that you had to sort of say to yourself in order to go, I want this at a higher level.
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I want this so that my kids can see me do this.
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I want this because I just want this.
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Yeah.
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I still think there are areas that I hold myself back in, not athletically.
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It's easy for me to set really big goals as an athlete.
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And I've also failed a bunch of times.
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I'm really not like I always want to keep pushing myself that way.
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The things that like I feel like I don't pursue as much is like, you know, building my brand, investing in becoming a bigger, you know, having a bigger platform, social media, speaking, all the things like there are big things I want to do, but I'm
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It's I I don't know if it's an excuse or a reality.
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There's always like certain limitations, like how much time in the day you have and how much time can you give to other people when you want to be
present as a mother?
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But going back to your question.
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Yeah, there is.
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I think that.
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Sometimes it does feel a little bit selfish that it's like, I want to do this for myself.
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You know, I think what you're saying is what every mother feels every day of their life, that we all feel selfish in moments.
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Right.
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Everyone says, like, self-care, we're going to do self-care.
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Like and then the reality hits and your kids need X, Y and Z.
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And you're like, what the heck is self-care at the end of the day?
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It's funny because I think that's the first time I've ever even said that out loud.
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I would never really usually admit that.
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First of all, because I think I'm generally a very positive person, so it's hard to let the doubts come up.
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I push them out of my brain.
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They don't exist, right?
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But I think saying that was helpful to say because...
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If it is selfish, like the parts of me that feel selfish is like when I make a decision, like I want to go altitude train for a month and leave my family for a month.
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That is a really hard decision to make.
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And I don't always know what if it is the right decision.
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I don't make it very often, but like it's weighing on my mind right now because I could have that opportunity.
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And it's just like, well, maybe that is really too selfish, you know?
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What is the litmus test for you when you're making these big decisions?
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Because by the way, that's a decision.
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That's a big decision.
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But there are decisions like that every single day for every person out there.
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So how do you sort of go through that process of understanding, okay, this is for me.
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It's important.
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This will achieve X, Y, and Z.
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My kids will be okay or they won't like,
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What goes through your head when making these big choices?
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I wish I could say I have this clear system.
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I said I'm not necessarily always the most thought out person.
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But no, I think it's really important for me to obviously discuss it with
my spouse.
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And he is going to be the one to carry the brunt of the burden if I'm gone.
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And also my own Rav and mentor.
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And to kind of assess, OK, the
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how is this going to help me towards the goal I'm trying to achieve?
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And is this the right timing for my family?
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I think when people talk about, you know, balancing the work life balance or whatever, I don't necessarily feel like it's balanced all the time.
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I think that we have seasons of life and I think that there are,
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times where I'm more present with my family and pull back on my training.
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And there's times where I'm like, well, I'm all in on the training and maybe a bit less available to my kids.
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And that's, I think, how many high-powered women who are trying to create something, do it.
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And I think that kids really need quality of presence and, yes, quantity also, but you can build up a really strong relationship by being there a lot of the time.
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And if there are times when you're not there, they still...
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feel you and know that you weren't like an absentee mom, you know?
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Right.
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I think I went through this also when I was navigating.
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Do I start a podcast?
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I already have a business.
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I already am a therapist.
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I'm already doing 50 things.
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And I realized that it's important for my kids to see me want something and do it.
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Actually, okay.
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They were born into the fact that I was working as a therapist.
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They were born into the fact that I am there for them and drive them to and fro and all these things.
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And look at a goal and go, I want that.
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And you can want something new later on is a huge gift you're giving your kids because you're showing them ambition is legitimate and you don't have to hold yourself back.
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And you could still be a good parent.
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Yeah.
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And I mean, it's funny because, you know, I sometimes find it cliche, like when people say, like, you're doing it for your kids.
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But the way you phrased it really resonated with me.
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And I think, yeah, I see it happening because I see my kids are getting
older, right?
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My daughter is 16 and a half.
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And she's training now.
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And she has a lot of things that she's working towards.
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And I know that she knows that.
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She sees from me what it means to want a goal and to invest in it and go after it and pursue it and not give up and be tenacious.
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And your actions speak so much louder than any preaching you can do, right, with your kids.
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Like, whatever we model is what they will see.
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Whatever we, me doves we want them to have, whatever kind of values we want them to have, will not happen unless we live them.
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And I have seen that so clearly.
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So, yeah, to me, I'm happy that my kids see it.
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In a world where, if I'm telling you the truth,
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I sometimes feel stifled by the rules within our community where we talk about modesty.
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And I know that you run in a skirt and you cover your hair and you cover your elbows and you do all the things.
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Do you ever feel like, what am I doing?
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I am at this like elite level.
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I, I know who I am as a person, but at the same time,
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I'm not I don't fit into a world necessarily that appreciates this, but I am setting an example for on a global stage for modesty.
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Do you feel the pressure of that?
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I don't feel pressure so much.
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I feel more internal pressure to make it meaningful for myself.
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Yeah.
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because it is a choice I make for myself and my relationship with God.
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And I think that there are times where I'm just like, I don't know, it's like, does it really matter?
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And obviously I have a reputation to uphold and obviously I believe in modesty and I want to be able to encourage women.
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And there are many, I care very much about our community and the values, but then I have to really constantly relearn and re
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and ask questions for myself and reinvestigate.
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It has to be meaningful for me.
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And like that to me is the pressure that I should never just be doing it just because the world expects me to do it or that's the norms or standards of our community.
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I'm doing it because I chose it and it's meaningful.
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It's so interesting because...
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Modesty is more than just a dress code.
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And I think that people forget that within our world, that modesty is behavior.
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And on the one hand...
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I feel like sometimes we're supposed to be a little bit reserved, held back.
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And on the other hand, here you are.
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You're on a global stage showing off your capabilities and Hashem's gifts for you.
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Do you ever feel like the balance of that?
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It's hard because you're like, on one hand, I want to be this elite athlete.
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On the other hand, we're almost put in a box sometimes where we're like, OK, maybe you should just take a side where you're supposed to be made small, where, you know, we're not supposed to be a center of attention kind of thing.
219
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If you've ever read Miriam Cosman's book where she talks about masculine and femininity, she talks a lot about how in this generation the light of the women is going to be coming out more.
220
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And I see that more and more that I think that we have so much power.
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And when you understand your power and you hold it in the right way and you really respect yourself, then you can...
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I mean, I speak to mixed audiences, but I'm very comfortable with myself and I'm very comfortable.
223
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I feel that holding those two ideas is very essential.
224
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It's like modesty is a reflection, you know,
225
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In essence, humility.
226
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And what is humility?
227
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It's not saying I don't have something to offer.
228
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It's saying I have so much to offer, but it's all a gift from God.
229
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And that, to me, is exactly what it is.
230
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When you go and perform at the highest level, but you say, this is not me.
231
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This was not my hours of work.
232
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This was 100 percent because Hashem gave this to me.
233
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And then I could use this raw talent that he's given me.
234
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to bring more light into the world is the greatest opportunity and gift.
235
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And when people feel like they have to sit at home and stifle themselves and deny their talents because it's not modest, it's actually, I think, the exact opposite.
236
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If you have a gift, you're obligated to figure out a way to use it in the appropriate way and to bring that beauty out
into the world because Hashem gave it to you.
237
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And every single one of us have a gift.
238
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Every single one of us have something unique.
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I truly believe that, and I'm passionate about everything,
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encouraging people to find their passions and run with them.
241
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Literally and figuratively.
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Yeah.
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It's hard because, you know, I live in the from community.
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I love the from community.
245
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But obviously there's questions and it's not easy and there's so much there and
246
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And I think what you're saying about recognizing where our gifts come from takes those questions out of it.
247
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It really does.
248
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I think for me, I'm like, I don't really need to have the answers because I know Hashem has my back.
249
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Like, I know that it's whatever is supposed to be will be because that's the life I'm choosing to live.
250
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I'm choosing to believe that Hashem has my back, that he's giving me these talents.
251
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He's giving me these gifts.
252
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And...
253
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Being able to honor him by using my talents is a gift I never realized I needed to have until later on.
254
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Yeah, I think a lot of times it takes, you know, a journey to get to that point and to realize that you have something unique and that you want to share it with the world and that you want to develop it, you know.
255
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And that's why I say even as mothers, like, don't don't just because, you know, sometimes we get caught up in that hamster wheel.
256
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And I was in that wheel.
257
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I was like surviving.
258
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But it's sad when we lose parts of ourself to motherhood because I think that our kids deserve our fullest self, you know, and they deserve us being happy and fulfilled.
259
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I actually think the more time I spend doing the things that fill me up, the better mother I truly am.
260
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I am so much more patient and I'm more focused and want to be with my kids rather than I'm just like going through the motions of life of like, OK, from here to here, I got you carpool.
261
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Then we're going to take this and I have to make dinner.
262
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Like, I actually find that I have more time and energy to give now when I'm more busy than when I wasn't.
263
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What do they say?
264
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Like, give a
busy person a task if you want it to get done.
265
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Yeah.
266
00:19:00.994 --> 00:19:07.738
No, my mom, actually, interestingly, she wrote a book on helping women return to the workforce after taking off time to raise kids.
267
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She was Harvard MBA.
268
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She was high-powered career.
269
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She took off seven years completely, had that huge gap in her resume, and then got back into, like, recruiting.
270
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And she helped many women.
271
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And she always says the work expands to fill the time.
272
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And that, you know, when you're a stay-at-home mom, you will be the busiest person in the
273
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That's what you're doing.
274
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And then when you go back to work, you will find time to—you will make it work.
275
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And I especially agree with that point.
276
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When you're fulfilled and when you're filled up, you have more patience and more energy and more happiness.
277
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And your kids will feel it.
278
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Yeah, I totally agree.
279
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You've been through some challenges when it comes to training and qualifying for—
280
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the Olympics and navigating that and having Shabbos as an issue and all of these things.
281
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Do you ever get frustrated with Hashem and go, how?
282
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Like, I'm doing everything you want for me.
283
00:20:02.985 --> 00:20:05.187
And I'm like trying my best.
284
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Can't you throw me a bone?
285
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Yeah, totally.
286
00:20:07.909 --> 00:20:08.950
It's not just been Shabbos.
287
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It's been like a lot of like, you know, injuries and setbacks and so many challenges.
288
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At the end of the day, I'm like, if you made me this fast, like, can you just make me a little bit faster?
289
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You know, why are you making me work so hard?
290
00:20:19.173 --> 00:20:21.654
And I think I've spent like the last four years.
291
00:20:22.735 --> 00:20:26.476
Um, I just like trying to get back to the level that I was at.
292
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And like, I haven't set a new personal best of PR in four years.
293
00:20:29.877 --> 00:20:33.799
And that's a really, really humbling feeling.
294
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And.
295
00:20:36.310 --> 00:20:37.131
It is really hard.
296
00:20:37.511 --> 00:20:39.053
And I do have a deep relationship with Hashem.
297
00:20:39.093 --> 00:20:42.536
And I think that when you have a real relationship with God, you can be angry with Him.
298
00:20:42.897 --> 00:20:43.797
And sometimes I am.
299
00:20:43.857 --> 00:20:44.999
And sometimes I question it.
300
00:20:45.019 --> 00:20:46.240
But I also do feel...
301
00:20:47.503 --> 00:20:54.788
deeply that every single part of our journey is designed to help us, you know, grow into the person we're meant to be.
302
00:20:54.808 --> 00:20:56.229
And there's a reason I have to go through this.
303
00:20:56.249 --> 00:21:03.173
So it's like, this is just shaping me and developing me and helping me become stronger and teaching me things about myself that I didn't know before.
304
00:21:03.193 --> 00:21:04.614
And, um,
305
00:21:06.775 --> 00:21:16.704
It's not I sometimes say like, you know, if you had told me at the beginning of my elite career how hard I would have to struggle, I probably would have said this is not for me.
306
00:21:16.944 --> 00:21:17.144
Right.
307
00:21:17.164 --> 00:21:18.846
Like, I don't want to go down this path.
308
00:21:18.886 --> 00:21:22.469
I don't want to put myself again and again in these painful situations.
309
00:21:22.769 --> 00:21:28.434
And when you want something so badly and then, you know, come up short so many times, it's really hard.
310
00:21:30.696 --> 00:21:34.638
But there's a lot of beauty, I think, in a journey of struggle.
311
00:21:34.758 --> 00:21:42.601
And I know, you know, I've come also to really appreciate the impact that I'm making regardless of results.
312
00:21:42.641 --> 00:21:55.106
And I think that in itself was such a huge lesson that I needed to internalize as a human because, you know, throughout high school, I was a straight A valedictorian type A girl who always succeeded in everything she did.
313
00:21:55.246 --> 00:21:59.508
And I think I measured myself so much by my accomplishments and without
314
00:22:00.348 --> 00:22:02.209
realizing it because, you know, I was always fine.
315
00:22:02.229 --> 00:22:02.930
Everything's always great.
316
00:22:02.950 --> 00:22:06.452
Like, but yes, like these things mattered a lot to me.
317
00:22:06.592 --> 00:22:10.854
And when you're in the elite world at the end of the day, it's all about your times.
318
00:22:10.954 --> 00:22:11.915
Every second matters.
319
00:22:12.115 --> 00:22:13.496
And either you hit the time or you don't.
320
00:22:13.616 --> 00:22:19.840
And I had to step back from that and say that I embrace myself wholeheartedly as a person.
321
00:22:21.387 --> 00:22:22.148
no matter what.
322
00:22:22.769 --> 00:22:35.246
And that takes a lot of, you know, internal work and just a lot of, I've been humbled, but I also feel like,
323
00:22:36.395 --> 00:22:40.917
Once I released myself from that, I can really enjoy the journey even more.
324
00:22:41.237 --> 00:22:51.941
One of the things that initially stopped me from starting the podcast was how demanding editing and figuring out what exactly to post.
325
00:22:52.282 --> 00:22:59.465
Luckily for me, I found Shortform Media, and they took all of the questions out of the process.
326
00:23:00.025 --> 00:23:00.305
So...
327
00:23:00.985 --> 00:23:09.146
If you're looking for someone to help you edit or make you go viral, don't forget short form media.
328
00:23:10.167 --> 00:23:13.387
You know, I think everybody goes through struggles.
329
00:23:14.087 --> 00:23:17.088
You're doing it on a pretty public page.
330
00:23:17.268 --> 00:23:19.368
I've also done it on a pretty public page.
331
00:23:20.248 --> 00:23:21.749
Lots of struggle, lots of fun.
332
00:23:22.829 --> 00:23:29.010
There's beauty in sharing and there's fear and scary things that come out.
333
00:23:30.010 --> 00:23:40.084
What are some of the things that you feel like, I know I'm sharing for a purpose, but at the same time, like, what if I don't do as well?
334
00:23:40.144 --> 00:23:43.429
What if I don't hit my PRs in four years or all these things?
335
00:23:43.489 --> 00:23:46.994
What goes through your head when you're going, do I even post this?
336
00:23:48.064 --> 00:23:50.505
Well, I think also the first time you do is a lot scarier.
337
00:23:50.685 --> 00:23:56.407
And then as like, I remember the first time I shared that, and I didn't realize I was kind of naive.
338
00:23:56.427 --> 00:23:59.928
I was like speaking to a journalist and I kind of shared that I have this dream to be in the Olympics.
339
00:23:59.948 --> 00:24:08.450
And then the next day I saw it plastered on the cover of the weekend edition of that news in Israel, like, Biti Deutsch, Chalom Liot be Olimpiada.
340
00:24:08.470 --> 00:24:10.411
And I was like, oh my gosh, I just shared this dream with the whole world.
341
00:24:10.431 --> 00:24:11.451
This is so freaking scary.
342
00:24:11.811 --> 00:24:12.552
So it is scary.
343
00:24:12.772 --> 00:24:15.873
But then the more I've done it, the more I also realized that,
344
00:24:17.613 --> 00:24:22.620
it's empowering for so many people when you put your dreams out there because you know what?
345
00:24:22.840 --> 00:24:24.302
Who cares the most about your success?
346
00:24:24.382 --> 00:24:24.623
You.
347
00:24:25.203 --> 00:24:30.871
No one's really going to judge you if you don't make it or not because no one really even understands what you've had to go through.
348
00:24:31.051 --> 00:24:31.131
And
349
00:24:32.111 --> 00:24:34.473
We, at the end of the day, care more than anyone else cares.
350
00:24:35.153 --> 00:24:46.922
So if you can release yourself from caring, from defining yourself by hitting the goal and realizing that the most beautiful thing in life is to try.
351
00:24:47.662 --> 00:24:49.563
And if you never, if you don't try, you'll never know.
352
00:24:49.603 --> 00:24:59.771
And if you want to truly live and love to the fullest, you have to be willing to like put yourself out there and try hard and invest and care and care deeply.
353
00:24:59.831 --> 00:25:08.197
The thing that I really, I don't, I think it's a problem when people say, oh, you know, like I tried, but like, oh, I didn't really care that much.
354
00:25:08.397 --> 00:25:11.779
No, like wear your emotions on your sleeve.
355
00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:13.360
Like you cared and that's okay.
356
00:25:13.520 --> 00:25:14.401
And it's good to care.
357
00:25:14.421 --> 00:25:15.662
It's so beautiful to care.
358
00:25:16.704 --> 00:25:26.750
it's like a lot of times we put up this armor in front of ourselves where we're like, in order to protect ourselves, I'm gonna say, I don't care, I don't care, I don't care.
359
00:25:27.270 --> 00:25:28.611
We all care.
360
00:25:28.971 --> 00:25:30.692
We all care what people think.
361
00:25:30.732 --> 00:25:33.213
We all care about being successful.
362
00:25:33.253 --> 00:25:35.594
We all care about being all of these things.
363
00:25:37.161 --> 00:25:47.552
But at the end of the day, if we start being open about saying, I do care and I want you to like me and I want to not feel judged and I want to be the best and I want to do these things.
364
00:25:48.113 --> 00:25:49.934
Hashem helped me get there.
365
00:25:50.695 --> 00:25:52.797
That's very different than I don't care.
366
00:25:53.038 --> 00:25:53.498
I don't care.
367
00:25:53.678 --> 00:25:54.039
I don't care.
368
00:25:54.099 --> 00:25:57.122
And it changes your outlook completely when you're able to.
369
00:25:58.223 --> 00:26:01.565
connect to another human being and say, I really want this.
370
00:26:02.125 --> 00:26:07.488
Putting that goal out there, having that plastered, it gives you a finish line.
371
00:26:07.848 --> 00:26:08.848
You're a marathon runner.
372
00:26:08.888 --> 00:26:09.729
It gives you a finish line.
373
00:26:09.929 --> 00:26:12.070
If you didn't have a finish line, you'd just be running in circles.
374
00:26:13.178 --> 00:26:13.298
Yeah.
375
00:26:13.338 --> 00:26:15.179
And I think that desire is really beautiful.
376
00:26:15.199 --> 00:26:21.742
You know, like I always say, which like, there's nothing that stands in the way of your willpower.
377
00:26:21.822 --> 00:26:23.883
Ratzon is your will, it's your desire.
378
00:26:24.384 --> 00:26:31.687
And your desire, if the deeper, the greater it is, the more power it has to create and build something, you know?
379
00:26:32.167 --> 00:26:33.308
So I think that's beautiful.
380
00:26:34.165 --> 00:26:35.588
You know, there is a...
381
00:26:36.149 --> 00:26:38.854
I was a high school athlete.
382
00:26:39.074 --> 00:26:39.735
I love...
383
00:26:40.136 --> 00:26:41.719
I still coach boys basketball.
384
00:26:41.739 --> 00:26:42.721
Like, I love...
385
00:26:44.385 --> 00:26:55.073
Sports and that aspect of my life is still really big because my kids are working towards being elite ballplayers.
386
00:26:55.434 --> 00:26:59.156
And we are on many teams and doing all these things.
387
00:26:59.677 --> 00:27:00.998
What's something amazing?
388
00:27:01.018 --> 00:27:02.519
Yeah, it's a lot of investment on the parents.
389
00:27:02.539 --> 00:27:05.241
So much money and so much time.
390
00:27:05.281 --> 00:27:07.683
And in America,
we all think like our kids are going to the NBA.
391
00:27:07.863 --> 00:27:08.363
No, they're not.
392
00:27:08.744 --> 00:27:10.044
My kid is not going to the NBA.
393
00:27:10.124 --> 00:27:10.584
I know that.
394
00:27:10.965 --> 00:27:15.007
But I do also understand that it's good for their brains.
395
00:27:15.227 --> 00:27:19.369
It's good for them to have a goal, for them to feel confident.
396
00:27:19.989 --> 00:27:29.814
What are some things that you feel imparting to the next generation that you've lived through when it comes to athleticism?
397
00:27:31.935 --> 00:27:33.776
One bad performance doesn't define you.
398
00:27:34.456 --> 00:27:36.998
And I know it can really be mentally tough to get back up.
399
00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:40.942
after a bad race or, you know, a bad pass in a game.
400
00:27:40.962 --> 00:27:47.167
But I think that you become so much more resilient when you learn how to move past it.
401
00:27:47.567 --> 00:27:54.132
And I think also that there's something so powerful about doing hard things.
402
00:27:55.367 --> 00:28:02.352
And when you are willing to, you know, whatever it is, do what it takes, get up early, go to that workout you didn't want to do.
403
00:28:02.812 --> 00:28:11.278
But when every day when you choose to push yourself a little bit past that breaking point, that is the most incredible feeling.
404
00:28:11.398 --> 00:28:15.120
And you have to train yourself sometimes to appreciate it.
405
00:28:16.081 --> 00:28:24.623
And every time I know for myself, like every time I get I have to get back in shape after, you know, I have a little break or whatever and the paces feel so hard and my brain is like, I just want to quit now.
406
00:28:24.683 --> 00:28:25.843
It's like it just doesn't feel comfortable.
407
00:28:26.243 --> 00:28:27.824
And I can stretch myself a little bit longer.
408
00:28:27.924 --> 00:28:33.245
Like at the end, I am beaming because there is nothing better in the world than knowing that you didn't give in.
409
00:28:33.445 --> 00:28:34.985
And those moments are defining moments.
410
00:28:35.005 --> 00:28:36.106
They're character building moments.
411
00:28:36.146 --> 00:28:38.646
They will come with you for the rest of your life.
412
00:28:38.666 --> 00:28:45.188
So there is so much power in sport and the workouts and the training that can really help you become a better human being.
413
00:28:46.008 --> 00:28:49.091
I said that you have to learn how to lose.
414
00:28:49.752 --> 00:28:51.773
That's also part of all of this.
415
00:28:52.094 --> 00:28:52.454
Yeah.
416
00:28:52.794 --> 00:29:01.782
That there's a skill in losing to that being gracious, understanding that your body didn't fail you.
417
00:29:02.763 --> 00:29:12.612
You are more than your medals or trophies and you are blessed because you have this talent and it's
418
00:29:13.452 --> 00:29:16.433
Literally, my kids will come to me like, we've learned how to lose, Mom.
419
00:29:16.533 --> 00:29:18.934
We do like to win, but we know how to lose.
420
00:29:19.014 --> 00:29:19.455
I promise.
421
00:29:19.555 --> 00:29:20.495
I totally agree with you.
422
00:29:20.555 --> 00:29:21.876
It's a very important skill.
423
00:29:22.196 --> 00:29:23.136
And it's hard.
424
00:29:23.236 --> 00:29:27.738
You see kids like stomp off courts and be down on themselves.
425
00:29:28.078 --> 00:29:28.518
It's normal.
426
00:29:28.678 --> 00:29:29.919
You're allowed to feel disappointed.
427
00:29:29.959 --> 00:29:30.999
You're allowed to feel sad.
428
00:29:31.019 --> 00:29:31.860
You're allowed to feel hurt.
429
00:29:32.300 --> 00:29:35.901
But you're also allowed to feel like, wow, I did finish the game.
430
00:29:36.381 --> 00:29:37.102
Wow, I made...
431
00:29:37.942 --> 00:29:41.245
X amount of shots or I ran the marathon or I did whatever.
432
00:29:41.745 --> 00:29:42.766
Maybe it wasn't my best game.
433
00:29:42.966 --> 00:29:43.967
And we all have off days.
434
00:29:44.607 --> 00:29:44.787
Right.
435
00:29:45.147 --> 00:29:48.230
And yes, that skill of learning to forgive ourselves.
436
00:29:48.750 --> 00:29:49.450
It's so important.
437
00:29:49.771 --> 00:29:50.831
So important.
438
00:29:52.558 --> 00:30:03.384
One of the things that I really wanted to talk to you about, which I am going to give a trigger warning to our listeners and viewers, is a discussion about body image.
439
00:30:04.424 --> 00:30:10.447
I actually recorded a solo podcast on this exact topic and I never released it.
440
00:30:11.088 --> 00:30:11.348
Why?
441
00:30:11.768 --> 00:30:14.429
I never released it because I wasn't ready to...
442
00:30:16.191 --> 00:30:25.277
say the things out loud that I have to tell you more people struggle with than we even remotely know.
443
00:30:26.980 --> 00:30:40.274
As somebody who has struggled with disordered eating myself, I really feel that because we're scared to talk about it, it's a silent epidemic.
444
00:30:41.475 --> 00:30:45.880
There are so many women within our community, and men actually...
445
00:30:46.600 --> 00:30:48.501
who struggle with body image.
446
00:30:48.561 --> 00:30:51.322
I fluctuated weight because I was unhealthy.
447
00:30:51.342 --> 00:30:55.183
I had medical issues between 250 pounds to 120 pounds.
448
00:30:55.203 --> 00:31:01.465
And I actually said that I felt more confident at 250 pounds than I did at 120 because I let go of what was the norm.
449
00:31:01.545 --> 00:31:01.745
And I,
450
00:31:14.525 --> 00:31:27.011
I think that you're in a completely different place where your weight and how you look at yourself is so ingrained in the training.
451
00:31:27.031 --> 00:31:27.691
100%.
452
00:31:27.871 --> 00:31:32.253
That this is an extreme level.
453
00:31:32.353 --> 00:31:40.937
Not because your eating is extreme, but because there's a lot of pressure to maintain a certain physique in order to compete at a certain level.
454
00:31:41.158 --> 00:31:41.718
Absolutely.
455
00:31:41.918 --> 00:31:42.118
Yeah.
456
00:31:44.300 --> 00:31:55.455
When you are dealing with training while also knowing that you suffer from disordered eating, how do we balance that?
457
00:31:55.976 --> 00:31:57.257
How are you navigating this?
458
00:31:57.278 --> 00:31:57.378
Yeah.
459
00:31:59.065 --> 00:32:07.510
Okay, so yeah, I think that really, if I had to, you know, I struggled a little bit with anorexia, eating disorder, disordered eating in high school.
460
00:32:07.850 --> 00:32:08.811
It wasn't extreme.
461
00:32:09.532 --> 00:32:13.334
I don't think I processed it 100%, but like somehow miraculously it lifted.
462
00:32:13.454 --> 00:32:14.214
I got married.
463
00:32:14.294 --> 00:32:14.975
I had kids.
464
00:32:15.015 --> 00:32:15.875
Everything's good.
465
00:32:15.955 --> 00:32:18.597
I'm never, no thoughts crossing my mind.
466
00:32:18.657 --> 00:32:19.438
It's all behind me.
467
00:32:20.843 --> 00:32:23.844
Um, then I started, you know, running.
468
00:32:24.424 --> 00:32:28.445
I, I, I, yeah, and I, I started running because I wanted to lose a little bit of the baby weight.
469
00:32:28.465 --> 00:32:29.506
I wanted to get in shape, whatever.
470
00:32:29.526 --> 00:32:32.586
I wasn't very focused on what I was eating, but it happened so naturally.
471
00:32:32.646 --> 00:32:33.507
And I was getting compliments.
472
00:32:33.587 --> 00:32:33.847
Wow.
473
00:32:33.867 --> 00:32:34.407
You look amazing.
474
00:32:34.467 --> 00:32:41.169
I was not, I wouldn't say I was, I really wasn't fat to begin with, but then I was like really skinny because when you start running, you just lose the weight.
475
00:32:41.249 --> 00:32:43.009
And then I got even more serious, you know?
476
00:32:43.149 --> 00:32:46.230
And I remember my, my husband who was always really supportive.
477
00:32:46.250 --> 00:32:49.111
He's like, you know, like elite athletes, like if you want to get even, you know,
478
00:32:49.651 --> 00:32:58.001
more, if you want to get even more serious, like you focus a little bit on what you're eating, because like the less you weigh, the faster you run.
479
00:32:58.021 --> 00:33:00.323
Like he was very well intentioned in saying that.
480
00:33:00.343 --> 00:33:02.646
And I wasn't really thinking too deeply in it.
481
00:33:02.746 --> 00:33:05.910
And I was such a busy mom, I literally did not have time to fuel myself.
482
00:33:05.950 --> 00:33:09.814
So again, like the first big marathon, the first fast marathon I ran the 242, like,
483
00:33:10.755 --> 00:33:12.176
I was at the lowest weight I've ever been.
484
00:33:12.456 --> 00:33:14.898
And I just, but it happened so naturally.
485
00:33:14.918 --> 00:33:15.639
I didn't think about it.
486
00:33:15.739 --> 00:33:17.721
And then I was getting, I was training.
487
00:33:17.961 --> 00:33:18.961
Now I'm an elite athlete.
488
00:33:19.001 --> 00:33:20.042
I'm sponsored by Israel.
489
00:33:20.343 --> 00:33:27.388
And I start, and you know, the more you run actually, the less of a like stimulus that is to your body.
490
00:33:27.448 --> 00:33:29.550
So you're actually burning less calories, right?
491
00:33:29.570 --> 00:33:32.492
So at this point, I, my body's more efficient than it used to be.
492
00:33:32.552 --> 00:33:37.256
So it was like, I was really hyper-focused on everything I'm eating to be doing the right thing.
493
00:33:37.316 --> 00:33:39.517
And then it just creeps into your head all the time.
494
00:33:40.598 --> 00:33:44.903
And then it became this like, okay, but I'm hungry and I can't really eat what I want to eat.
495
00:33:44.923 --> 00:33:46.465
And I can never eat the things I crave.
496
00:33:46.505 --> 00:33:49.349
And I want, I love chocolate and sugar and I just want to eat it all the time.
497
00:33:49.429 --> 00:33:57.298
And it would like, it spiraled into, you know, real disordered eating and obsessive thoughts and addictive habits that I just couldn't break.
498
00:33:57.379 --> 00:33:59.501
And I think I spent four years.
499
00:34:01.409 --> 00:34:08.779
Seesawing back and forth, you know, and always believing, like, always wanting to really get out of it, but then also being really scared.
500
00:34:09.139 --> 00:34:13.104
Like, if I let go of this, then I won't be able to, like, be the weight I need to be.
501
00:34:13.144 --> 00:34:17.870
And I did, you know, I worked with a nutritionist that really had a negative effect on me because...
502
00:34:18.711 --> 00:34:21.312
He, you know, he accomplished what he wanted to accomplish.
503
00:34:21.332 --> 00:34:30.314
I wanted to lose two kilo in a month and I did that, but it was so extreme that and when you restrict yourself so much, you end up craving even more.
504
00:34:31.234 --> 00:34:33.395
And I didn't believe that, but it's really true.
505
00:34:34.275 --> 00:34:35.775
And, you know, it triggered a lot.
506
00:34:37.256 --> 00:34:40.977
So I had to find the right nutritionist who was so
507
00:34:42.097 --> 00:35:05.172
supportive and just so understanding and like I feel like she's my food therapist she's a nutritionist and she's 100 not a therapist but she really helped me in that regard of like really reminding me that you don't need to be a specific weight like that's not holding me back in my training right now and it was my coach also constant reassurance from my coach that like it's not my weight that is holding me back in my training and I happen to be an athlete that's
508
00:35:06.060 --> 00:35:07.562
more built than your typical runner.
509
00:35:07.622 --> 00:35:09.004
I build muscle like that.
510
00:35:09.064 --> 00:35:13.149
Like, yes, I have insane muscles everywhere.
511
00:35:13.209 --> 00:35:15.772
And it's just like I do I do way more than I am.
512
00:35:15.792 --> 00:35:16.192
I'm short.
513
00:35:16.813 --> 00:35:18.475
So it weighed on my mind.
514
00:35:18.535 --> 00:35:23.421
But then I think, you know, realizing at a certain point that like,
515
00:35:25.112 --> 00:35:27.253
I don't want this to be defining
my life.
516
00:35:27.553 --> 00:35:35.076
And I worked with my nutritionist and I worked with a somatic coach and I did work with a therapist for a year and that was great.
517
00:35:35.096 --> 00:35:36.457
But also I think at a certain point, like...
518
00:35:37.512 --> 00:35:40.374
I can you can talk yourself through everything, but like you need to feel it.
519
00:35:40.674 --> 00:35:41.594
And I'm not a feeler.
520
00:35:41.775 --> 00:35:42.935
I'm a thinker.
521
00:35:43.135 --> 00:35:43.756
It's funny.
522
00:35:43.816 --> 00:35:50.680
I do therapy and I do coaching because I always say that therapy asks the right questions to get you to the right answers.
523
00:35:50.980 --> 00:35:58.525
Coaching helps you put a plan in place, because if you don't have a plan in place, like it's just thoughts ruminating again.
524
00:35:58.945 --> 00:36:03.568
And especially for somebody who's suffering from disordered eating or an eating disorder,
525
00:36:04.508 --> 00:36:08.169
There's already ruminating thoughts over and over and over again.
526
00:36:08.389 --> 00:36:13.550
And this idea, somebody who's dealt with it and still dealing.
527
00:36:13.770 --> 00:36:15.651
Honestly, I'm still dealing with it.
528
00:36:16.211 --> 00:36:18.392
You're it never fully turns off.
529
00:36:18.572 --> 00:36:23.713
And I think that that's something important to say out loud that.
530
00:36:24.870 --> 00:36:26.411
Your brain doesn't turn off.
531
00:36:26.471 --> 00:36:28.953
Those habits that you had don't turn off.
532
00:36:28.993 --> 00:36:31.155
You just know how to control them better.
533
00:36:31.175 --> 00:36:38.300
And you know the difference between what is good for you and what is not as good for you.
534
00:36:39.841 --> 00:36:42.243
But that doesn't calm the voices.
535
00:36:42.883 --> 00:36:48.491
Honestly, I really do feel like certain things turned off for me, which is an amazing feeling.
536
00:36:48.611 --> 00:36:53.438
I mean, it's never—I would say you never know and whatever.
537
00:36:53.538 --> 00:36:55.722
There could be triggers, but I feel so—
538
00:36:58.241 --> 00:37:02.045
Just in a different mindset, like a different headspace, like a different person.
539
00:37:02.265 --> 00:37:02.625
Okay.
540
00:37:02.645 --> 00:37:04.887
So I'm going to, I would push back a little bit.
541
00:37:05.267 --> 00:37:07.630
I mean, like, that's so beautiful and so wonderful.
542
00:37:07.730 --> 00:37:11.733
And I hope this continues for the rest of your life, Amir Tashem.
543
00:37:12.774 --> 00:37:17.919
But in reality, any type of addictive personality, there's relapses.
544
00:37:18.379 --> 00:37:19.120
That's how it works.
545
00:37:19.160 --> 00:37:19.821
That's life.
546
00:37:19.841 --> 00:37:21.242
It's true.
547
00:37:21.402 --> 00:37:22.183
I would believe you that.
548
00:37:22.903 --> 00:37:25.905
And we work really hard to shift the mindset.
549
00:37:25.925 --> 00:37:31.307
And the fact that you already have that is a bracha, like really so amazing.
550
00:37:31.427 --> 00:37:33.728
And I'm so impressed and inspired.
551
00:37:35.469 --> 00:37:42.853
If you were looking back at yourself when suffering during that time period, what would you tell yourself now?
552
00:37:43.977 --> 00:37:54.647
I felt so much shame, which is why it was so important for me to sometimes speak about it because I could see so many people living in their own shame.
553
00:37:54.727 --> 00:37:58.910
And I think I felt so much shame because it was like I held myself to a certain extent.
554
00:37:58.970 --> 00:38:00.692
Everyone assumes you're so disciplined.
555
00:38:01.112 --> 00:38:02.814
You do everything you're supposed to do running.
556
00:38:02.934 --> 00:38:04.495
Why can't you just get a grip on this?
557
00:38:04.715 --> 00:38:05.957
Why can't you just get over it?
558
00:38:06.997 --> 00:38:08.559
Like how come you're not disciplined and you're eating?
559
00:38:08.899 --> 00:38:10.360
All this judgment to myself.
560
00:38:11.345 --> 00:38:19.034
So the thing I would say is that, you know, you're beautiful the way you are.
561
00:38:19.054 --> 00:38:20.816
And humans aren't perfect.
562
00:38:20.896 --> 00:38:23.078
We're complex emotional beings.
563
00:38:23.559 --> 00:38:27.203
And if you're feeling something, let yourself feel something.
564
00:38:27.223 --> 00:38:27.583
Yeah.
565
00:38:27.963 --> 00:38:33.946
Do you think I used to think that emotional eating was like I never I'm like, I don't have emotional eating because like I didn't picture myself.
566
00:38:33.966 --> 00:38:39.709
I'm not the type of person that goes and sits down with a bag of chips when they're feeling sadder, buys a carton of ice cream and eats out of control.
567
00:38:39.769 --> 00:38:40.549
No, that's not me.
568
00:38:41.350 --> 00:38:42.450
But I did have emotional.
569
00:38:42.470 --> 00:38:48.533
I did struggle with emotional eating because why was I resorting to chewing and spitting out chocolate all the time?
570
00:38:48.713 --> 00:38:52.275
Because I was clearly holding in emotions that I wasn't feeling.
571
00:38:52.295 --> 00:38:55.496
And it's just now like I also feel so much less.
572
00:38:57.765 --> 00:39:07.432
what's the word like tension around these type of foods are like, I think it's just like, if I want to have a piece of chocolate, enjoy it.
573
00:39:07.552 --> 00:39:07.932
I don't know.
574
00:39:08.153 --> 00:39:09.033
I'm not scared of it.
575
00:39:09.514 --> 00:39:11.155
You know, I hear that.
576
00:39:11.595 --> 00:39:16.819
And sometimes it does come back to like, well, maybe you're not, then it will haunt me the voice like, well, you're not being serious enough in your training.
577
00:39:17.479 --> 00:39:21.402
Buckle down now and put on the put on that, you know, plan, you know,
578
00:39:22.720 --> 00:39:30.084
For me, I really believe that we control a lot of our outcome based on our mind.
579
00:39:30.744 --> 00:39:31.025
Right.
580
00:39:31.965 -->
00:39:39.129
So when you say to yourself, I changed my mindset, so now I can overcome it.
581
00:39:39.589 --> 00:39:42.491
I think our mind is stronger than any physical part of our body.
582
00:39:43.351 --> 00:39:46.593
So if you are convincing yourself that.
583
00:39:46.893 --> 00:40:08.101
on on either end of the spectrum you're able to do it meaning if i want to convince myself that eating six does six donuts alone in my car which is something i have done okay yeah i think that's i would do that too right like i can convince myself that that's okay and that's normal but then the other voice in my head will come in and go oh
584
00:40:08.821 --> 00:40:11.385
Julia, like we know that's not the right thing to do.
585
00:40:12.707 --> 00:40:14.110
But what is the right thing to do?
586
00:40:14.711 --> 00:40:18.236
It's so hard to manage those emotions when you're in it.
587
00:40:18.777 --> 00:40:18.977
Yeah.
588
00:40:19.521 --> 00:40:26.444
When you're out of it, when you're not having these ruminating thoughts and you're not, you're able to go, oh, this makes sense.
589
00:40:26.464 --> 00:40:29.125
Like I can have one donut and not have six.
590
00:40:29.885 --> 00:40:30.505
That's normal.
591
00:40:30.525 --> 00:40:32.286
Like I'm like, I love a good donut.
592
00:40:32.526 --> 00:40:36.868
But now I don't binge six of them in one sitting.
593
00:40:37.348 --> 00:40:40.649
I can space them out, which is a beautiful thing.
594
00:40:40.709 --> 00:40:42.450
But it takes time and training.
595
00:40:43.186 --> 00:40:56.114
I think the most validating thing for me in my journey was seeing that it was actually possible to get to like no longer, like people would always say, if you stop restricting yourself, you won't crave as much.
596
00:40:56.194 --> 00:41:00.537
And seeing that happen was so wild because I really didn't believe it.
597
00:41:00.557 --> 00:41:02.278
I thought I would always be craving.
598
00:41:02.358 --> 00:41:02.779
And it's like.
599
00:41:03.739 --> 00:41:32.029
I'm not I don't know I could eat a piece of dessert I might not even want it most of the time I will want it but then I won't also feel like well now I need to have like more or like it wasn't enough I just want more it's like I don't know there's way less shifts energy around it right it shifts off the like almost this like devil on the shoulder kind of person who's like no eat more of this or don't eat more of this because you're like oh okay I had it now move on with my day it's not a constant focal point in your life
600
00:41:32.369 --> 00:41:33.529
And that is so freeing.
601
00:41:33.809 --> 00:41:47.154
And I wish that to every single person who might be struggling with obsessive, addictive thoughts that you'd be able to release it and experience true freedom and healing in your life.
602
00:41:48.434 --> 00:41:58.757
I mean, I mean, because really there is nothing like now, even when the voices come and they do come, trust me, they come for me, at least.
603
00:42:00.338 --> 00:42:01.518
I'm just not interested.
604
00:42:02.279 --> 00:42:07.804
And it's such a weird thing to say, like, that you can say you're not interested in something that's a mental health issue.
605
00:42:07.864 --> 00:42:08.244
It's not.
606
00:42:09.565 --> 00:42:13.128
But it doesn't define me where it once did.
607
00:42:13.389 --> 00:42:14.510
Yeah.
608
00:42:14.590 --> 00:42:15.070
I get that.
609
00:42:15.531 --> 00:42:16.952
I'm just like, you know what?
610
00:42:17.372 --> 00:42:17.873
It's okay.
611
00:42:17.893 --> 00:42:22.477
And I've been through more things than I wish on anybody ever in their life.
612
00:42:23.057 --> 00:42:28.342
And I think that mind over matter is a real, real thing.
613
00:42:28.622 --> 00:42:29.503
It's – I can –
614
00:42:31.025 --> 00:42:36.348
When you're getting to your 20 something mile, what are you telling yourself at that point?
615
00:42:36.868 --> 00:42:49.055
Cause that's what you're in right now when you're dealing with- Yeah, I mean, I've always been a mind over matter person, but in those miles, I have a lot of mantras and it's like, I will do anything it takes to get to the finish line.
616
00:42:50.516 --> 00:42:52.957
You know, I just say it's it's just pain.
617
00:42:52.997 --> 00:42:55.037
It's just a figment of my imagination.
618
00:42:55.657 --> 00:42:58.018
Like it's not really it's what you tell yourself.
619
00:42:58.038 --> 00:43:01.359
And I'm not going to let you trick me into thinking I need to stop right now because I don't.
620
00:43:01.559 --> 00:43:02.019
I'm fine.
621
00:43:02.339 --> 00:43:04.439
So it's the same thing when it comes to the eating.
622
00:43:05.160 --> 00:43:12.421
I'm not going to let you trick me into thinking that I I won't be as elite if I don't if I eat this.
623
00:43:12.861 --> 00:43:13.221
Right.
624
00:43:13.622 --> 00:43:15.122
It's the same idea.
625
00:43:15.902 --> 00:43:30.010
I think that I think the one thing that I see like that really saddens me is how much pressure there is in our community to look a certain way, to be a certain size, to have a certain body.
626
00:43:30.030 --> 00:43:32.331
It's just like, aren't we supposed to be better than that?
627
00:43:32.531 --> 00:43:35.412
Why has it all come down to this extreme superficialness?
628
00:43:35.573 --> 00:43:37.814
And I think social media is not helping.
629
00:43:38.814 --> 00:43:39.455
And I.
630
00:43:40.536 --> 00:43:41.497
It's hard for me to see that.
631
00:43:41.577 --> 00:43:47.266
I don't think that that was what my struggle was about because, like I said, it's very connected to the elite performance.
632
00:43:47.326 --> 00:43:48.147
And I know it's a lot.
633
00:43:48.187 --> 00:43:49.149
It's very common for athletes.
634
00:43:49.169 --> 00:43:52.113
But I see that so many young women are suffering from that.
635
00:43:52.273 --> 00:43:53.095
And it's sad.
636
00:43:53.682 --> 00:43:53.882
Right.
637
00:43:53.902 --> 00:44:00.048
Well,
you're not getting read to the right boys if you don't look a certain way or you don't like we do have.
638
00:44:00.929 --> 00:44:02.570
Think about a resume, right?
639
00:44:03.231 --> 00:44:05.653
The first thing somebody asks is, what do they look like?
640
00:44:05.993 --> 00:44:06.834
And let's be honest.
641
00:44:07.114 --> 00:44:07.815
That's normal.
642
00:44:08.175 --> 00:44:08.936
It is normal.
643
00:44:09.156 --> 00:44:10.057
Think about a dating app.
644
00:44:10.117 --> 00:44:13.940
If the person doesn't have a picture on their dating app, like I'm not.
645
00:44:14.080 --> 00:44:14.901
I wouldn't go out with them.
646
00:44:15.081 --> 00:44:18.084
Now, I haven't been on a dating app because I've been married for so long.
647
00:44:18.104 --> 00:44:19.045
They didn't have dating apps.
648
00:44:19.505 --> 00:44:19.666
But.
649
00:44:20.346 --> 00:44:21.787
Those are normal things.
650
00:44:21.987 --> 00:44:29.190
And we do look at people differently based on how they look, how they dress, all of these things.
651
00:44:29.750 --> 00:44:33.452
But I do think that it's hyper-focused within our community.
652
00:44:33.552 --> 00:44:36.273
I think the obsession over weight is a bit out of control.
653
00:44:36.874 --> 00:44:38.896
Yeah, it's 100% about community.
654
00:44:39.016 --> 00:44:45.423
And the interesting thing, this is the thing that really gets me, is that it's worse in the more from community.
655
00:44:45.923 --> 00:44:53.911
And I'm like, the girls, and I see this so much when you have seminary girls and you host them, and you have all the girls from the community.
656
00:44:54.532 --> 00:44:59.475
Very Basiaco schools are so worried about what they're eating and they're like so careful not to take too much.
657
00:44:59.515 --> 00:45:01.036
And also they have no personality.
658
00:45:01.056 --> 00:45:03.757
Sorry, I just made a huge generalization, but they're so quiet.
659
00:45:03.817 --> 00:45:05.178
And I don't know.
660
00:45:05.278 --> 00:45:06.959
They don't know how to express themselves necessarily.
661
00:45:06.979 --> 00:45:08.840
And they all want to do the same cookie cutter thing.
662
00:45:08.960 --> 00:45:13.002
And I went to very Basiaco seminary, so I'm not trying to say anything negative.
663
00:45:13.022 --> 00:45:14.563
It's just generally this is what I see.
664
00:45:14.603 --> 00:45:16.644
And then I'll have the girls from more—
665
00:45:17.144 --> 00:45:30.917
modern Orthodox seminaries, and they're just colorful, and they have personality, and they're enjoying themselves, and they're living their best life because they're not worried about who they're going to get to the next year, which is like, why are we rushing girls to get married so quickly?
666
00:45:31.177 --> 00:45:32.318
Not that I didn't get married at 19.
667
00:45:32.338 --> 00:45:36.202
This is a very side rant that I've never said, and I hate saying rants, but...
668
00:45:36.882 --> 00:45:38.443
Well, I think it's an important one, actually.
669
00:45:38.463 --> 00:45:38.963
It's true.
670
00:45:39.764 --> 00:45:46.967
Listen, I am in the modern Orthodox world, but a lot of my family is in the Bayside-Aquiv world, and we were just discussing seminaries, actually.
671
00:45:47.768 --> 00:45:52.590
And they're like, well, if I want my husband to be like this, I need to go to this type of seminary.
672
00:45:53.110 --> 00:46:00.094
And I looked at this person who's really a child at this time, and I said, yeah, but what do you want to be?
673
00:46:00.434 --> 00:46:01.795
Not who do you want to marry.
674
00:46:02.415 --> 00:46:02.955
Exactly.
675
00:46:02.975 --> 00:46:05.356
The girls haven't thought about it.
676
00:46:05.496 --> 00:46:09.136
No, because remember, we're still in our formative years.
677
00:46:09.316 --> 00:46:11.517
Our frontal lobe hasn't even formed when we get married.
678
00:46:11.537 --> 00:46:14.197
I got married at 20 and we didn't I didn't know.
679
00:46:14.277 --> 00:46:15.538
And yes, I grew with my husband.
680
00:46:15.558 --> 00:46:16.658
And by the way, it worked out.
681
00:46:16.698 --> 00:46:17.358
Thank God.
682
00:46:17.898 --> 00:46:22.779
But we need to be focusing in on who we are as people.
683
00:46:23.139 --> 00:46:26.500
And the more confident we are, the more colorful we can be.
684
00:46:27.080 --> 00:46:27.681
Absolutely.
685
00:46:27.961 --> 00:46:35.206
And the more honest we are about maybe the pitfalls within our community, there are, there's beauty.
686
00:46:35.366 --> 00:46:44.873
There's so much beauty and so much amazing things that we have, but there are issues and there are things that hold us back.
687
00:46:45.573 --> 00:46:52.899
So I think that if anybody is coming and listening to this podcast to remember that you are perfect,
688
00:46:54.401 --> 00:47:00.929
You might make mistakes and you might look at yourself in a way that isn't perfect.
689
00:47:01.930 --> 00:47:06.516
But come back to the fact that Hashem made you in his image and he is perfect.
690
00:47:07.288 --> 00:47:09.189
That's what I told my daughter before Yom Kippur.
691
00:47:09.229 --> 00:47:11.571
I said, when she was asking me, give a Devar Torah on Yom Kippur.
692
00:47:11.591 --> 00:47:17.396
I said, Yom Kippur is the day that you get to connect to your purest, truest essence.
693
00:47:17.456 --> 00:47:19.217
And it's so pure and it's so holy.
694
00:47:19.677 --> 00:47:21.198
And it's what you want to be every single day.
695
00:47:21.218 --> 00:47:23.780
It just gets covered up and distracted.
696
00:47:23.820 --> 00:47:25.722
And I'm like, it's the washing machine for your soul.
697
00:47:25.742 --> 00:47:29.825
And you're going back to that and hold on to it and cling to it and realize that that's the true you.
698
00:47:30.305 --> 00:47:30.946
I love that.
699
00:47:31.366 --> 00:47:33.187
Can we do a little rapid fire to end this?
700
00:47:33.208 --> 00:47:34.048
Yeah, of course.
701
00:47:34.068 --> 00:47:34.629
Okay.
702
00:47:34.829 --> 00:47:36.150
Running alone or running with someone?
703
00:47:37.352 --> 00:47:37.712
Someone.
704
00:47:38.653 --> 00:47:39.714
Morning run or evening run?
705
00:47:40.494 --> 00:47:40.854
Morning.
706
00:47:43.156 --> 00:47:44.677
The mile you hate the most.
707
00:47:45.713 --> 00:47:47.114
Like 18 is pretty bad.
708
00:47:47.695 --> 00:47:49.797
The best feelings, starting line or finish line?
709
00:47:50.577 --> 00:47:51.178
Finish line.
710
00:47:52.139 --> 00:47:53.760
Music, podcast, or silence?
711
00:47:54.260 --> 00:47:54.761
Silence.
712
00:47:55.381 --> 00:47:55.882
Really?
713
00:47:55.902 --> 00:47:57.103
Yeah, I spent a lot of time.
714
00:47:57.123 --> 00:48:01.106
I said running with someone because I spent most of my time running by myself in silence.
715
00:48:01.487 --> 00:48:03.148
But I like a good run with someone.
716
00:48:03.749 --> 00:48:04.569
Oh, my God.
717
00:48:04.669 --> 00:48:05.570
That is a lot of thoughts.
718
00:48:05.590 --> 00:48:07.171
Yeah, I like my thoughts.
719
00:48:07.592 --> 00:48:09.614
Most overrated thing runners obsess about?
720
00:48:11.197 --> 00:48:12.118
I don't know everything.
721
00:48:12.218 --> 00:48:14.279
I'm not one of those, but they obsess about everything.
722
00:48:14.299 --> 00:48:14.980
It's ridiculous.
723
00:48:15.620 --> 00:48:17.121
One thing your kids make fun of you for.
724
00:48:17.141 --> 00:48:22.205
I think they just make fun of me for being on Instagram.
725
00:48:22.965 --> 00:48:24.706
Oh, I've been there all the time.
726
00:48:24.907 --> 00:48:25.207
Yeah.
727
00:48:25.527 --> 00:48:28.029
Who's tougher, marathon runners or Jewish mothers?
728
00:48:28.589 --> 00:48:29.250
Jewish mothers.
729
00:48:30.290 --> 00:48:33.413
If you could never race again, who would you be?
730
00:48:34.493 --> 00:48:36.695
If I could never race again, who would I be?
731
00:48:37.894 --> 00:48:44.603
Um, a passionate, um, you know, change maker for the Jewish people.
732
00:48:46.406 --> 00:48:53.576
I used to think I couldn't, but now I know I can public speak in Hebrew.
733
00:48:55.574 --> 00:48:56.236
insane.
734
00:48:56.658 --> 00:48:57.300
Good for you.
735
00:48:58.583 --> 00:49:00.730
You've accomplished something honestly incredible.
736
00:49:00.870 --> 00:49:05.585
And I am so grateful that you've shared your gift with the world, but also that you came here to share it with me.
737
00:49:06.006 --> 00:49:07.330
So thank you, Beattie, for coming.
738
00:49:07.370 --> 00:49:08.433
I really appreciate it.
739
00:49:08.554 --> 00:49:08.975
Thank you.