Awake Athlete Podcast

Being aware that our thoughts are packets of potential is critical to succeeding in realizing our goals because how we water those seeds of potential weighs heavily on how our reality plays out. 

The truth is that most people in our modern society are fighting for their limitations which comes from a deep fear that they may be a great success. And although that seems contradictory to an athlete's character, self-sabotage fueled by fear of success is commonplace these days.

In this episode, I share a story of how I recognized fear of success within my own story and the signs and symptoms that parallel fear of success. Also, I touch upon how changes in the racing environment are not helping us let our yes be yes. 

Fear of success manifests in ways that we are not conscious of, behaviors and patterns that are sure signs of self-sabotage and fear of success. Typically it occurs when we are stepping into the unknown, but it is essential to remember that although the unknown can be scary, this realm is where the potential for our success exists.

The study referenced in this episode: Science has shown that mindfulness is linked to present moment focus which is the essence of the psychology of peak performance in sport (Jackson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1999; Ravizza, 2002).

Interested in joining other like-minded athletes on the path to mastery? Please check out YogiTriathlete's Patreon community:  www.patreon.com/yogitriathlete

I love being competitive, and meditation has been the thing that allows me to push my body harder while my awareness stays anchored into something I never expected.

At first, you may need to compel yourself into your meditation practice. Still, with consistent practice, you will realize the elements and benefits I discuss in this episode, especially regarding our relationship to pain.

All things are possible when we tap into the Awake Athlete within, but first, we need to know how to tap in. In this episode, I give recommendations for developing and deepening your practice. Also, I touch upon the misunderstanding that quieting the mind is a prerequisite to meditation.

I share the misery that brought me to my meditation cushion, the recipe I use for my daily practice, and how that looks over the course of a year. 

Everything is constantly changing, and if there is something in your life that is not changing, know that it is changing. It is just changing to be the same. Ugh!

It's essential for us to know our stories and the things we carry, especially when they are sucking our joy. And in changing our stories, positive talk alone doesn't work very well. So I offer some practical techniques that you can apply to make changes to recurring patterns that are no longer serving you. 

In this episode, I reflect on a relationship I discovered around swimming, a story that I think many athletes can relate to, and the circumstances that taught me that my unhelpful relationship with the pool was no longer worthy. So, I changed it. 

So happy to be back for another season and to hear and feel the shifts and changes I have experienced since recording episode one of season one. I hope you find the same as you continue expanding your mind through the 10,000-foot view of life. 

In this season opener, I address the very thing that keeps us from what we desire and the performances we know that we can execute. I talk about the base muscle for better performance in sport, and the remedy for all that holds us back, which may be simpler than you think. 

I hope you enjoy this season opener. 

If you are interested in joining us in the Awake Athlete community that I talk about in this episode please check out: patreon.com/yogitriathlete (awake athlete tier)

What we hold onto, holds onto us. 

Life is a passing show; when we attach to any of it, we will feel tension. Attachment breeds suffering, so it’s best to learn how to jive with the ever-changing tides of this ocean of motion called life.

When we are unwilling to leave the past in the past, we hold ourselves captive from the future possibilities. When we judge others on their behavior, cling too tightly to material things, and constrict around how things need to unfold, we are not free. 

In this season finale, I share how they catch monkeys in India and why the monkeys are not victims to their captives but captives to themselves. We can learn a lot from this story, and the intent as an awake athlete is to inquire often about our grip on life. 

Let's get one thing straight; the mind is a thought-producing machine. The meditation assignment is not stopping thoughts, so if your excuse for not meditating is your mind is too busy, excuse no more. 

To even know that we have a quiet mind is a thought. The truth is, the moments of quiet in the mind are unnoticeable. I share a few stories in this episode; the first was about my meditation teacher when he studied the effects of meditation on the brain at the university level. The results of one meditator's experience may surprise you. In the least, I believe it will make sense.

The second story is about an experience I had in meditation when I got tested. Armed to float in a pond of peace, I met feelings of anger and frustration instead. 

The Awake Athlete path grows narrow as we walk it, and the challenges get bigger, so if you know one thing, know this, you will be tested.

“I should be running faster,” “my family should get along better,” “he shouldn’t work so hard,” “I should be more fit” - sound familiar?

We should on ourselves and others, all the time. Our society is full of people shoulding on each other, and it’s time we shine a light on this strain of resistance that fuels feelings of anxiety, depression, and separation.

When we stop shoulding, we stop fighting the way things are, and we open space for positive change. Life is a boomerang game. What we throw out, we get back. If we are throwing out resistance, we are going to receive resistance. 

If we throw out acceptance, we will see more reasons to accept.

I share a technique I used with my family that we can apply to anyone or anything in our lives. My experience is that when we alleviate shoulding, we welcome ease and flow.

Ahimsa is doing the least amount of harm in any given situation. If we look at our world today, I think we can all agree that practicing ahimsa would benefit the whole, and don’t forget the whole includes you. 

When we bring awareness into our life as a way of life, we wake up to how we move through the world. When we see how we move through the world, we get a clear picture of where we stand in position to how we desire to stand in the world.

We shine a light on mental preferences that may create limitations in our experience and expose the truth around our relationships, including food. This is not a heavy episode because our connection to food is not emotional when we see things in truth. 

Enlightenment is seeing things as they are. There is nothing fancy about an enlightened viewpoint, but there is something quite powerful about seeing ourselves as we are right now without judgment. 

In this episode, I share a bit about my story of shifting to a plant-based diet and the fear that I faced leading into my first Ironman as a vegan athlete. The clarity I attained kicked up intense emotion for me as I identified disconnection in my life, and it allowed me to steady myself on the path to being the person I desire to be in this life.

You are perfect where you are now. The question is, are you awake to where you are now? Because that information is key to where you are going and who you desire to be.

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. " - Lao Tzu

It wouldn't be a season without an embarrassing story, and this one is around a time in my life when results stalking was a regular part of my race prep—a strategy I considered a necessary piece for my race day success.

Telling this story to a bunch of triathletes, especially back in my hay day of swimming with fists, would have been entirely acceptable. But, this story unfolded during my yoga teacher training, where the ego was under fire, and mine was acting up.

In response to my foolish tactics and defensiveness around them, my yoga teacher replied with a dismissive remark about how that part of me would fall away. This sent me over the edge and threatened my identity as an athlete striving to be better.

Years later, I can tell you that he was right, and I"m so grateful.

At points along the Awake Athlete path, we will face moments when we question our identity; we will see characteristics fall away, and we will realize that they are the parts we have outgrown. We never lose the essential components that make us great.

Awakening begins when we realize there is more to this life than what we see, taste, smell, touch, and hear. If we are dissatisfied with our reality, we can tune ourselves towards a new reality just like a musician tunes an instrument. If we are ready, we can let go of the Old World way of seeing to believing and open to the New World way of believing it to see it.

It is our essence to expand. Look at science; there are discoveries every day, all of which are born in the imagination first. We are co-creators in our reality, we have a say in how our life unfolds, and it has everything to do with our energy's resonance which governs our response to life. 

Awakening is about owning our impact globally, being a deliberate creator alongside the energy that holds planetary alignment, and constantly tuning ourselves. All it takes is unwavering dedication and utter detachment, which is the good news because, for athletes, this is what we do best. Set a goal, stay focused, achieve the goal. Rinse and repeat.