Couching The Mind

In this episode of CTM, founder and host of CTM, Jayden Woolaston goes through the topic of 'Why Not Try'. Jayden shares his own personal experiences of trying something out for the first time. Whether it be a fear, and your pushing your own boundaries, or you've just never had the opptunity to try. Fear is a catalyst for sticking to comfort. Staying comfortable doing the things that you know that won't overly challenge you. However, if your able to push through a certain fear, the silver lining becomes very tasteful. Jayden also expresses the fact that to be able to have the ability to try things out, to give something a go, a sense of self-vulnerability much be present. No matter what you end up doing within your lifetime, there will always be 'haters'. People that gain satisfaction out of putting you down. They may infact be jealous of your achievements, and how well your handling the hurdles of 'life'. Just don't ever succumb to the 'dislikers'. Another key pointer that Jayden vocalises, is that the toughest of situations that we may be faced with, do not define us as a person. We can use these 'low points', as the building blocks of our own self-growth and self-development. The overall message of this episode, is to live life to the fullest, in terms of giving things ago, with the possibility of failure, and to tackle everyday likes it's your last.

In this episode of CTM, Brazillian jiujitsu athlete/coach, Jeff Kowamoto, joins me in conversation via Zoomchat. Jeff talks about his upbringing, and his introduction to BJJ. Paying mention to the everlasting effect that BJJ has had on his own mental state of mind. Expressing that BJJ can allow oneself to remove any inner frustrations, and negative feelings in a safe manner. Jeff also talks about how BJJ can thoroughly teach a women self defence. And for men, it educates men to be respectful. Community within the sport itself, plays a massive role, states Jeff. It doesn't matter how old you are, what your background is, where you come from. People within the BJJ community will accept you for who you are, it's like having a second family. Ego's are also diminished within the sport. Jeff details that, you might be a big and buff, masculine male. But as soon you walk into the gym and embark on your first 'roll' with an experienced BJJ athlete, you'll very quickly learn that size and strength doesn't matter one bit. The overall message of this episode, is to treat others with the same respect that you would like to be treated with. Whether or not you may have had a better upbringing then someone, or your situated in a higher paid occuatpation, we're all equal. Drop the act, drop the judgementing, and bring your thoughts back down to earth. To where everyone is seen as equal.

In this episode of CTM, Sunset Lane Photography owner, Belinda, joins me in conversation on the couch. Belinda talks about the unfortunate situation of having to split up with her now ex husband, which resulted in her having to look after her two sons, as a single parent. At the time, emotions were at a high, and Belinda felt extremely scared and vulnerable with the scenario. However, in the present moment, Belinda is absolutely thriving. Belinda details the point of realisation that helped to pick her back up, providing that much needed self-growth that she had been crying out for. Information with regards to finding that balance between business life , and time with kids as a solo parent, is also mentioned. A key pointer for single parents that may be listening in, to take away from this episode, is to not be afraid to accept help from others. Belinda was very expressive upon the fact that when she had finally accepted help, her overall stress levels had minimised immensely. Second to that, another important factor is being able to allow yourself to see the light at the end of the tunnel, when being exposed to very difficult scenarios, much like what Belinda had been through. The key is to consistently work on yourself. This is when the overall message of the show comes into the limelight. As Belinda states, you must find that inner happiness, before you can even think about trying to find another person, a possible 'new' partner, to become apart of your and your families life.

In this episode of CTM, Ash Keillah, professional surfer, passionate Brazilian jiu-jitsu follower and former contestant on the My Kitchen Rules TV series, joins me in conversation via Zoomchat. Ash details a very unfortunate situation that had occurred within his family. A few years back, Ash lost his mother to suicide, which as you could've imagined, had a huge impact in him, and his journey, on what we call 'life'. This led to excessive partying, drinking, hanging out with the wrong crowd. Until once day, Ash went to a party, he tried to break up an altercation between two people, and resultantly he was glassed in his left eye. Leaving him, now, permanently blind in his left eye. Ash states, that he took this instance as a huge wake up call. So much so, that he's actually (and I'll explain) gratefull for the outcome, and for that situation to have occurred. The situation helped Ash reassess himself as an individual, finding his purpose within life, and his passions and goals for the present and for the future. On another note, Ash talks about how himself and his wife Stacey, had been contacted and accepted on MKR to be apart of the 2019 Aus series. Extremely interesting listen, when you get the perspective of how much of reality TV is actually pushed into one direction, to make reality TV, 'reality TV'. The overall message of the episode, is that everyone can change, within themselves. We may be being led astray, due to unhealthy friendships, uncertainty within yourself in terms of what you want from life. Learn to reassess, find what gets your brain ticking, and what gets you up in the morning with a smile on the face, and don't ever stop a certain passion because Ol' mate told you that you'll never be successful at it. Nothings unachievable if you put your all into it. Nothing.

In this episode of CTM, Wayde Custerson, co-host of the 'D and Dos Show' (podcast series), joins me in conversation via Zoomchat. Wayde details the journey that led to both himself and his life-long bestmate, Daniel Schuller, to wanna then resutlantly have this passion for starting up the podcast series. Expressing that the two of them have now taken any future friday working shifts of, using the day to reflect, build, and to continue to make a positive impact through the power of there podcast series. On a personal level, in line with the name of the topic, a few years back Wayde unfortunately lost his father to cancer. This brought upon a sense of alone-ness onto Wayde. That bigger question of why me? Why my family? Why my father? And that instant thought process of feeling like no one would understand what your feeling, or would even be going through the same / a similar situation. Wayde's key to healing through this unfortunate scenario, or any other discomforting / saddened situation, is to speak up. We're all surrounded by friends, family members, loved ones. Reach out, to remove whatever that may be weighing you down. And don't ever feel in anyway that your showing signs of weakness by allowing yourself to be this vulnerable. This in itself, is the overall message of the episode.

In this episode of CTM, I, Jayden Woolaston, embark on a solo episode, revolving around the topic of 'Overthinking'. If I'm completely honest, it's something that I struggle with on a day-to-day basis. And I feel like it's a very unspoken societal issue, that many many people struggle with. As I continue to go into more and more detail with this topic, I do also bring up the certain coping mechanisms that can help to eleveiate my once over exemplified level of overthinking. Whilst I also delve into the bigger question of why, why it is that we overthink? Why do we go back and change an answer to a question in an exam, when we were almost certain that the original answer was 99.9% right. Why do we overthink the most miniscual of tasks, that may be handed to you by your boss? Why? The overall message being portrayed throughout this episode, is that if you can continue on that upward path of bettering yourself. Ultimately, this action will help to reduce your own personal level of overthinking. Because, with bettering yourself, comes with a resurgence of confidence. With confidence being a major impactor on reducing , and or even removing any signs of overthinking.

In this Episode of CTM, former Australian Cyclist, and the first non-european to wear the yellow jersey for Tour De France, Phil Anderson, joins me in conversation via Zoom chat. Phil shares with me, his incredible cycling journey. From fixing up an old bike to master the art of cycling, to then win gold in the Commonwealth games at aged 19. And to continue to achieve further and further throughout his career, is quite honestly just so inspiring. Phil goes into further detail with regards to how he managed to stay so switch on mentally, and so prepared for whatever environmental condition, race length, or hurdle that he was needing to really chime down on. There is also mentioning about how Phil managed to cope with the many negative / criticising articles that the media had written about him, during his time. Stating that, if you truly believe that your a good person, and that you do good to yourself and those around you, don't worry at all about what a journalist, and or anyone in general may be saying about you. The overall message of this episode, is that if you want something bad enough, there's a very good chance that you'll be within arms reach of that end goal. The more work you put into something, the closer you are to achieving whatever your setting out to achieve.

If your chasing after a good night out, meeting new people that you've never met before, The Pub Statement has it all sorted for you. In this episode of CTM, Darcy Raftos, founder of The Pub Statement, joins me in conversation via Zoomchat. The Pub Statement, is a pub crawl events page, where people are guided around to selective pubs/clubs by Darcy, with the idea of creating an amazing, everlasting memory. Throughout this episode, Darcy shares with me, his own perspective on why he believes that creating memories, and going out and socialising, is so vital for our own mental state of mind. Expressing that when in life, times starts to become a little 'difficult', you can look back at those happy memories, which help to further that belief, that life isn't always going to be tough. Darcy also outlines some of the hurdles that he'd be faced with throughout his life. Regarding his own body image, and his previous coping mechanism of keeping himself busy when things were lingering on his mind. The overall message of this episode, is to give things a red hot crack. Go out and try news things. Involve yourself with a charitable organisation, or go to a random social event. With the hopeful outcome, of jumping outside of your comfort zone, whilst meeting new people, and making new friends along the way.

In this episode of CTM, Karl S. Williams, blues, roots, folk and americana music artist, joins me in conversation via ZoomChat. We talk about the importance of music. Why, that when we feel sad, and wanna try and pick ourselves up again, that we'll listening to an uplifting, an inspiring song. Why, music as a whole, has an incredible effect on being able to sway our emotions. Karl then voicalises his own personal opinions upon the overall effect that covid-19 has had on the music industry. Especially when the outbreak had first been detected, in early 2020. He states that, throughout this period, there were times where he felt like not producing music, writing music anymore. But you can't stop doing something that you have a passion for. You push through it, and make the most of what you can do. And making the most of his opportunities, Karl certainly did. Taking part in a livestream session on YouTube, free for all fans to watch, to bring a little bit of enjoyment back into the 'music' world. Writing new songs, that he never would have thought to have written, had covid never existed. The overall message of this episode, to never put all eggs in one basket. Unexpected things happen all the time. You've gotta be able to adjust, adapt, and makes the most of what you have presented in front of you.

In this episode, episode 12, season 2 of CTM, my father had kindly given up his time to fill in as a guest host, interviewing me. It was certainly very different, being on the receiving end of questions, when being so used to doing polar opposite. Although, it was a very therapeutic experience. As the interview progresses, I then delve into more and more detail, with regards to where I'm at in life, mentally, and holistically. How, the once negative experiences that I had been faced with, have ultimately shaped me into the person that I am today. I haven't had the opportunity to speak about these instances, since my introduction video in season 1, episode 1B. So it was very refreshing to be able to be given another opportunity to share my story. Toward the end of the episode, I also pay mention to my struggle with my own personal body image. With the overall message being, that 'just because someone seemingly looks to be in great physical shape, it doesn't mean that there 100% comfortable with there own skin'. We all have imperfections, and it's about acknowledging that, as these imperfections define us as the personal that we are known to be. See it as a positive, rather then a negative.