Despite the Limits

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In this episode of Despite the Limits I explore how action can break the cycle of anxiety, procrastination and fear. When you are stuck, you do not need to see the whole entire path, you just need to see the next step.

Here is a link the YouTube clip of Tim Urban’s Ted Talk about procrastination that I mention in the episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arj7oStGLkU&t=10s

Here is a link to Season 2 Episode 14 “Let’s Talk About Fear” where I discuss talk reframing your fears in order to move forward.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2303705/episodes/18108457

Thanks for checking the podcast out. 

Until next time friends!

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This episode of Despite the Limits is about authenticity and accountability. I was recently diagnosed with a ventricular thrombus. This shook me and I sort of stopped in my tracks. I actually considered stopping podcasting all together.

In it I explore the Army’s survival framework and how I used it to process my diagnosis and move forward. If you are in a difficult place and think you might not make, this may help you too. 

Here is a link the YouTube clip of Toby Keith singing “Don’t Let the Old Man In” that I mention in the episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFfQDqY6mC4

Here is a link to last month’s episode “Overcome, Improvise, Adapt” where I talk about the importance of improvising. It is relevant to the topic if you want to check it out.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2303705/episodes/19578390

Thanks for checking the podcast out. 

Until next time friends!

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In this episode of Despite the Limits, I briefly explore our need to adapt to the ever-changing requirements of life. While the summer heat is still hanging around the Carolinas, I am already returning to campus for teacher workdays and picking up cadets for the Fall semester in early August.

This summer had me reflecting on last year and thinking about what shifts in my instructional style I need to make in the coming year. Gunny Highway’s “Overcome, Improvise, Adapt” from the movie “Heartbreak Ridge” kept running through my mind so I spend some time reflecting on it in this episode.

Here is a link Episode 3 from this season if you want to check it out following my reference to it. 

 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2303705/episodes/18915450 

Thanks for checking the podcast out. 

Until next time friends!

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In this episode I review some of the land navigation tips I gave to my Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadets and talk about how they can be helpful in navigating toward our life goals. 

Here is a quick breakdown of what they are:

•Plot your course on a map and plan any detours.
•Check the compass and map at regular intervals.
•Locate each bound before proceeding to the next checkpoint.
•Count paces and estimate distance.
•When the objective is small, allow for error.
•Stay strictly on the bearing.
•Bypass bad terrain going by a deliberate measured bearing.
•If the ground does not conform to the map - STOP
•Trust the compass and the map
•When you find yourself lost - go back to the last place that you were when you knew where you were.

I found myself reflecting on these Do’s and Don’ts and couldn’t help but notice these were also some pretty good life advice. Since I can’t resist a good metaphor, I recorded this episode.

Here is a link to episode 11 from season one, “Failure is not your enemy” where I talk about my own land navigation woes.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2303705/episodes/15235295 

Thanks for checking the podcast out. 

Until next time friends!

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Summer is here! I have been spending some time reflecting about last year and things that I will change next year.

In this reflection time I began to reminiscence about Ranger school and the mountain phase blueberry pancakes. There was a lesson in those pancakes similar to the idea that we can never go home again. Ultimately, we long for a lost time that we cannot reclaim because we have idealized the version in our memory.

Thanks for checking this episode out. 

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It's Memorial Day 2026 and I wanted to share a little about the day it became more than a Monday off for me. 

I also talk a little about veteran suicide because it's a problem that is not going away anytime soon and we need to change this.

Never forget the fallen!

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In this episode I talk about the concept of ‘ikigai”(ee-key-guy) a Japanese concept translating roughly to "a reason for being" or "a reason to wake up in the morning". 

It was something I was reintroduced to in a recent Netflix limited series documentary called “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones”. Hosted by Dan Buettner - a 65 year old mountain bike riding explored turned author who has an absolute obsession with understanding longevity - this limited series explores Blues Zones and why the people there seem to live so long.

I reference the episode “A Little Help From My Friends” during my discussion so here is a link of you want to check that one out.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2303705/episodes/18758277

Thanks for checking this episode out. 

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Pain is pain and it is unpleasant, but it does not have to become suffering. This is the idea behind Radical Acceptance. The phrase “It is what it is” sums up the idea.

In a 2012 blog post on the website Psychology Today, Dr. Karyn Hall wrote “Accepting life on life’s terms and not resisting what you cannot or choose not to change. Radical acceptance is about saying yes to life, just as it is.” 

This episode is all about the concept of radical Acceptance and, thanks to the massive pollen bloom in North Carolina I sound awful in it but got an opportunity to apply what I am talking about. 

Here is a link to the Psychology Today blog called “Why Do We Need Friends? Six Benefits of Healthy Friendships” written by Kristen Fuller and posted on July 8, 2012 that I reference.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pieces-of-mind/201207/radical-acceptance

Thanks for checking this episode out. 

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We moved into a new house recently and I’ve taken the opportunity to build my home gym. In this episode I talk about five indicators of longevity as listed on the “Barbell Medicine” Podcast episode #386, Longevity Myths.  

Here is a link to the show website if you want to listen to their whole episode or just check out their show in general.

https://www.barbellmedicine.com/podcast/

Another indicator of longevity is how connected you are socially. Friends can make an impact on your life. This is what I explore for most of this episode, the impact of friends.

In preparing for this episode, I read a few articles that I found helpful. Here is one from Psychology Today called “Why Do We Need Friends? Six Benefits of Healthy Friendships” written by Kristen Fuller.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happiness-is-state-mind/201710/why-do-we-need-friends-six-benefits-healthy-friendships#:~:text=Friendships%20can%20be%20important%20for%20many%20reasons:,sorrow**%20*%20**They%20can%20be%20your%20backbone**

I also found this blog post by the Mayo Clinic Staff helpful.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/friendships/art-20044860

Thanks for checking this episode out. 

Until next time friends!

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Welcome season 3 of Despite the Limits. 2026 is well underway and there is a feeling of uncertainty in our world today. Our economic and political climates are volatile to say the least. One of my coping mechanisms is to look for light news stories that can encourage me and maybe even teach me a little bit along the way.

This episode is inspired by one such story. On January 25, 2026 Alex Honnold became the first person to climb the Taipei 101 Skyscraper unaided. The story was intriguing to me. It was full of the neuroscience stuff I love. While Honnold’s brain is wired differently, he credits preparation with why he doesn’t have fear like the rest of the population. In this episode, I explore and expand on that idea a little.

Since this is the beginning of season 3, I briefly visit why I started podcasting in the first place. If you want to hear the details here is the link to the very first episode. “Why Me? Why Now?”

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2303705/episodes/14330114

If you are interested in my previous talks about fear, here is the link to Season 2 Episode 14, “Let’s Talk about Fear!”

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2303705/episodes/18108457

Finally, if you are a bit of a neuroscience nerd too and want to read the article about Alex Honnold and his unique brain here is a link to that too!

https://www.musc.edu/content-hub/News/2019/03/18/How-a-neuroscientist-and-professional-climber-learned-from-one-another?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=672371eaceb81c878a01bfc7

Until next time friends!

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