Building Psychological Strength

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I’ll cut to the chase: this week’s podcast episode is an absolute master class in Life Design. If there is one single bit of friction in your life or you have even the smallest hunch that you want to make a change in your life, this episode is for you. 

Today, we’re talking with my friend, Dave Dellanave. Normally, this would be where I put someone’s very official-sounding bio, but Dave is one of those people whose life and accomplishments don’t fit neatly into a polished paragraph.   

Dave is a world record holding deadlifter. He is an entrepreneur who has successfully sold one company and the founder of one of the most successful gyms in the country. He’s a skydiver with 1400 jumps and counting. He’s an olive oil importer, and a documentary film maker.  

He’s all of these things, and he has next to no credentials for any of them. Rather, he is the type of person who is continually asking himself whether the journey he’s on and the way he’s spending his time is aligned to who he is at his core.   

Yes, it may seem like Dave’s accomplishments make him a bad example for me to feature on this podcast. It all seems a bit untouchable. However, each and every one of these accomplishments came not from a big, sweeping achievement. Rather, they came from constant tinkering, adjusting, experimenting, and progress. 

Small, incremental improvements. Every. Single. Day. 

Every single one of us could be doing the same thing, and Dave is an example of what can happen when you commit to doing that. 

During this conversation, we hit on so many key points about Life Design: 

• The fact that many of the “rules” we all live our lives by are, in fact, assumptions, not rules at all. 
• That knowledge, in particular the type of knowledge you get from DOING something, is more valuable than a formal certification. 
• How very small improvements, small “PR’s” every day can add up to incredible progress over time. 
• And finally, what to do if you’re feeling stuck. He offers some great advice about where to start.  

You can learn more about Dave and purchase his incredible olive oil at www.dellanave.com . Also, watch for his upcoming documentary “From the Source!” 

We mentioned a number of resources during his episode: 

• “The Dip” by Seth Godin 
• “Atomic Habits” by James Clear 

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Think of a time when you faced something really difficult – a time when you had to cope with something. Get a clear picture of that time in your mind, and think about the emotions you experienced. 

Now let me ask you this: what was the approach you took for coping with that situation? 

Was your approach more pointed toward “making yourself feel better” by focusing on the emotions you were feeling? Or, did you focus more on the situation to try to change it or accept it? 

Today, we’re talking about 2 different types of coping that people use to move through adversity: emotion-focused coping and problem-focused or situation-focused coping. 

In this episode, not only do we unpack these 2 types of coping, but we dive into the nuance of what it means to cope in each way. Times when each type of coping works, and times when it doesn’t. 

Finally, we end with a couple of practical, straight-forward, yet very effective strategies you can use to support yourself when you’re going through something that is requiring all of your coping skills.  

We so hope you find value in this episode, and we’d love it if you would share it with someone else who might need support at this time. 

At the beginning of this episode, we mentioned a free resource. As school has begun for many families, a lot of you are feeling stretched thin. You might be feeling overwhelmed, nervous, or your perfectionism might be getting the best of you. Sign up at www.peakmindpsycholgy.com/support to get immediate access to three 3-6 minute interventions to help you return to balance, control, and ease.  
 

Want more? Click this link for a free gift from us: https://www.peakmindpsychology.com/support

Neuroplasticity. A concept we’ve all heard about. It’s a key driver of growth mindset, the creation of new habits, the reason why gratitude practices are so powerful, and the underlying factor that allows us to reinvent ourselves. 

How amazing is that?! 

But, there’s a darker side to neuroplasticity that we don’t typically hear about. A side that can dilute or even thwart some of the hard work you’re doing to develop yourself into the person you want to be. 

This is what we’re covering this week. 

Specifically, we dive into: 

• The ways in which neuroplasticity operates in our minds 
• The brain science behind neuroplasticity and what causes “rewirings” to occur 
• The little-known “dark side” of neuroplasticity that isn’t helpful to us  
• Why we’re asking you to stop watching the news! 
• Ways in which neuroplasticity might be operating in our daily lives and counteracting the hard work we’re doing to better ourselves 

Finally, we end with concrete ways you can begin to use neuroplasticity to your favor. To make your mind into your most valuable asset, rather than your biggest barrier. 

You won’t want to miss this episode. It can literally change your life! 

We also mentioned 2 new free resources we just released. First, check out our new Monday Mindset Minute episodes. These are 60-90 second episodes to give you something concrete to try in your life to build psychological strength. 

Second, we want to support you during a time that many of us are stretched to the max. You might be feeling overwhelmed, nervous, or your perfectionism might be getting the best of you. Sign up at www.peakmindpsycholgy.com/support to get immediate access to three 3-6 minute interventions to help you return to balance, control, and ease.  
 

Want more? Click this link for your free gift: https://www.peakmindpsychology.com/support

When you think about your day, what percent of it would you guess is being run by or influenced by habits? I bet the percent is a lot higher than you think! 

You see, so much of our behavior, the thoughts we have, and our emotions are ingrained in us to the point that they run nearly on autopilot. Sometimes these habits move us in the direction we want to go, but sometimes they don’t.  

Sometimes, our habits subtly nudge us away from the end goal we have in mind for ourselves, and we may not even realize the impact those small behaviors have on our ultimate outcomes. 

Because of this, today, we’re focusing on the compounding power of habits.  

Today we’re speaking with Will Moore. Will hit rock-bottom in his first year of college when he hit his mom and ended up in jail. Through a turn of events, Will found himself immersed in his first personal development book, and it occurred to him that he wasn’t at all on the path that would lead him to become the type of man he wanted to be.  

Through years of studying and experimentation, Will became the success he is today by focusing on the incremental and compounding nature of small, everyday habits in the areas of life that matter most. And he’s sharing that expertise with us today. 

In this episode, we talk about: 

• What habits are and what they aren’t  
• Some common misconceptions about habits 
• 5 core areas of your life that you develop habits around and why each one is so important to your ultimate outcome.  

Will is the founder of Moore Momentum, and he’s sharing his wisdom and expertise with us in this episode. Dig in, and ask yourself, are you truly on the path that will lead you to become the type of person you want to be? If not, it’s time to adjust course.  

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This is the second part of a special 2-part series of the podcast where we continue our deep dive into one of the most foundational principles of psychological strength. Specifically, the inner chatter of the committee in your mind. 

What is the committee in your mind? It’s the set of voices that chatter on a near-constant basis and have something to say and a judgement about every situation you find yourself in. It’s the set of mental patterns you’ve developed over time that leads you to over-function, be self-critical, and ignore your own needs. It’s the set of voices that leads you to suffer unnecessarily. 

It’s time to recognize them and begin to disobey them. 

During this first part of this series, we introduced you to a set of unhelpful committee members who show up involuntarily. If you missed that episode, you’ll want to go back and catch it.  

Now, we’d like to walk you through a set of more helpful committee members. These are members who will not show up uninvited. Rather, they need more of a formal invitation to speak. However, if you can summon them to the conversation, you’ll find yourself in a much better, more confident, aligned position to move forward in the way you truly want to. 

The [Helpful] Committee Members: 

• The Coach 
• The Wise Advisor 
• The Asset 

We barely scratched the surface of this incredibly important concept in this episode, but we go DEEP on this very topic in our Ascend program. We invite you to check out the program and join us! https://www.peakmindpsychology.com/ascend  

We also mentioned a new free resource we just released last week. Sign up at www.peakmindpsycholgy.com/support to get immediate access to three 3-6 minute interventions to help you return to balance, control, and ease when you’re feeling worried or overwhelmed. Just in time for the beginning of the school year.