Positive Impact with Andrew Schultz

I ask myself this question all day, every day. 

True freedom is contingent upon me taking contrary action - and doing things I don't want to do - including having uncomfortable conversations...So you can imagine my response when she asks, "So, do you want to talk." Instead of answering, "I'd rather stick a fork in my eye," deep down I actually did want to talk....And four hours later we knew each other's love language and exactly what the other wanted and needed in the relationship.....Fascinating and mind-blowing stuff!

You see, my default mode is avoidance, procrastination, and self-sabotage. Yet the question remains - How free do I want to be.

"Since it is true that God comes to me through people, I can see that by keeping people at a distance I also keep God at a distance. God is nearer to me than I think and I can experience Him by loving people and allowing people to love me. But I can neither love nor be loved if I allow my secrets to get in the way. I must be willing to look at the dark side in order to heal my mind and heart because that is the road to freedom. I must walk into the darkness to find the light and walk into fear to find peace. By revealing my secrets - and thereby ridding myself of guilt - I can actually change my thinking; by altering my thinking , I can change myself. My thoughts create my future. What I will be tomorrow is determined by what I think today." -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions  

In this episode, Andrew cries and laughs, as he takes more of your amazing questions including:

Thanks again to everyone who submitted such awesome and thought-provoking questions. I bet you'll be surprised by a few of my answers :)

Big hugs and lots of love!

In this episode, Andrew opens up and answers your questions including:

Thank you to everyone who took the time and submitted questions. Due to the high amount of questions we received, we will have a 2nd episode to ensure Andrew can answer more of your awesome questions. 

Now, more than ever, we need a morning routine that creates positive momentum and sets us up for success the rest of the day....A daily spiritual practice and mindfulness tools which help us vibrate high and shine bright. 

In this episode, Andrew shares his morning routine which includes; 

1. Meditation - part of the 2-way conversation with God, listening, and tapping into the voice of intuition and discernment. An easy way to disconnect from the 70,000 thoughts we have every day. 

2. Prayer - part of the 2-way conversation with God, talking, and asking to have knowledge of His will and the power to carry it out. 

3. Making the bed - it's the little things in life that matter....small hinges swing big doors. And this helps bring a sense of accomplishment and builds positive momentum into the rest of the day

4. Gratitude List - A "Game-Changer." The most important, and impactful, of all the mindfulness tools. A non-negotiable for all my coaching clients. Studies show people who practice gratitude are 25% happier and feel more optimistic about their future. Many other benefits referenced as you listen. 

5. Daily Devotionals - Reading inspiring, uplifting, and encouraging literature helps build a positive mindset for the day. A few favorites include "The Language of Letting Go" by Melody Beattie, "Daily Reflections on Addiction, Yoga, and Getting Well" by Rolf Gates, and "A Year of Miracles" by Marianne Williamson.  

6. Connection - By reaching out to 5 people every day via phone call, text or audio message, facetime, or zoom is great way to overcome selfishness and being self-centered. It makes me feel good to help others and be of service....To let others know how much I appreciate them, to acknowledge them, and send them positive vibes and love. Technology allows us to stay even more connected despite spending more time at home and away from one another physically. 

7. Mindful Movement - Yoga is my go-to. Yet can also include walking, hiking, cycling, circuit training, etc. Vital to maintaining optimal health, reducing stress, and protecting our immune system. They say our "issues are in our tissues" so it's imperative we move our bodies to increase circulation, decrease inflammation, and remove stuck energy that manifests itself in unhealthy ways. 

Win the Morning, Win the Day my friends! 

That Was Hell For Me - This is Nothing!

Five years ago, I was hole-up in my apartment taking sleeping pills for days at a time - Not wanting to kill myself - Yet not wanting to feel the way I was feeling. The drugs and alcohol stopped working. I lost hope, faith, self worth, the will to live, every important relationship, and all my money and material possessions. It was the worst feeling, my rock-bottom, and I don't wish that on anyone......not even my worst enemy!

That was hell for me, this is nothing - And it happened FOR me, not too me!

I would bet to guess the corona virus pales in comparison to the greatest challenge you've overcome in your own life....Especially for my brothers and sisters in sobriety. And we are now uniquely qualified to help others. 

My mess is now my message. My test is now my testimony. I get the opportunity to share my experience, strength, and hope to show others it's possible to go from:

We get the opportunity to share the tools including prayer, meditation, mindful movement, gratitude list, positive affirmations, journaling, connection, community, service, self-care, compassion, and spirituality which helped transform my own life.....And tools I continue using every single day. 

I see you. I acknowledge you. You got this. I got you!

"They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." -Viktor Frankl

During World War 2, over 60 million people died worldwide. Our grandparents and great-grandparents were called away to serve our country and risk their lives fighting in a war against the most evil enemies our world has ever seen. This included concentration camps and the worst human atrocities known to man. Viktor Frankl was one of the survivors after spending over 3 years in four different camps.  

Today, we are simply being called home indoors to serve our country, for a short period of time, and not congregate in crowds of 10 people or more. 

My intention with this episode is to create some context and provide a unique perspective - considering our current state of affairs battling the corona virus pandemic - and using Viktor Frankl's book, 'Man's Search For Meaning' as the vehicle to do it. 

Arguably the most important, and impactful, podcast episode I've recorded over the past few years. An opportunity to meet calamity with serenity, to choose calm over chaos, hope over despair, and faith over fear. I understand and acknowledge the anxiety many people are going through right now. However, I truly believe this is a great opportunity to pivot, refocus, and reset. 

The stressors of day-to-day living can be brutally overwhelming. Left unmanaged, stress will slowly build upon itself until we find ourselves spiraling out of control: back-to-back meetings, deadlines, difficult coworkers, irrational bosses, arguments with spouses or loved ones, crying babies, colds, flus, and now the corona virus. We wake up, churn and burn through the day, pass out, and repeat. Sadly, it's become our "norm". 

Fortunately there are solutions and tools to help us not just to survive, but THRIVE! 

In this episode, Andrew shepherd's you through a guided visualization will help you to create your own positive emotional anchor to a powerfully calm and peaceful emotional state. 

An anchor serves a reminder or a trigger that puts you into a certain state of being. Athletes use anchors to get into 'the zone" so they can perform at peak performance and highest levels. A professional speaker will have a certain routine they do before going on stage to remind them of the positive states they want to be in while presenting. You can use this same concept at any time to help you go from chaos to calm. 

Remember that life is what we make of it. How we perceive our environment is what creates and shapes our reality. If we look at life through the lens of negativity, fear, and chaos - then that is all that we will see. If we choose to look at life through the lens of positivity, faith, and calm - then we will be able to live in gratitude. It's a choice and, when we have the right tools and perspective, we can more easily and effortlessly navigate life's most challenging moments. This is where you begin to realize the power of the mind. 

And remember - Life happens FOR us, not too us.

Everyone operates with some kind of understanding of what's right or wrong, good or bad, scary or safe. But not many people ask themselves why they think this way or do what they do. 

In this episode, Andrew shares one of his "Go-To" personal development exercises that he does with all of his coaching clients. 

What are values?

Your values are an internal representation (a picture, feeling, or sound) of what is encoded in your unconscious mind as being the most important things to you in an area of your life - the 6 main areas of life include - Career, Relationships, Health/Fitness, Family, Personal Growth, and Spirituality.

In cognitive psychology, core values are considered to be deeper than beliefs. They hover at the deepest level of your unconscious (subconscious) mind. Values are actually imprinted in you long before your beliefs and programmed as images in your unconscious mind as a young child. It's said that this occurs between the ages of 0 and 3 and by the time you are 3 years old, your core values have already been programmed.  

Importance of knowing your values

Knowing your values is key to determining what you do with your time and how you evaluate the time that you spend. At the deepest level of your programming, your core values drive you to spend time in ways that support what us most important to you. Until you know what your values are, this is happening at the unconscious level. 

Your top 5 values are the most influential in how you live your life. While others exist and are important, they do not have as much influence on your behaviors or help you prioritize your time. 

By becoming aware of your values, you can use them to make more informed decisions and set goals. 

Values should support goals and vice versa

It's important that your goals be in alignment with your values and vice versa. If they do not directly support one another, you will encounter a values conflict. 

For example, if you want financial abundance in business, and you take a salaries position that does not support the lifestyle you want, there will be conflict. Or, if you value open communication in a relationship, and the person you're dating does not openly communicate, there will be conflict. 

Coordinating your decisions to support both your values and your goals will help you achieve the things you want in your life. 

Another form of values conflict is when you have two values that are both positive but are competing with one another. For example, if you value money and freedom in your career, here's how it could play out:

In order to make more money, you work more and more, but your freedom begins to feel neglected and starts shouting "Hey? What about me?!?!" Realizing the imbalance, you start doing things to create more freedom, like taking down time and vacations, at the expense of working less. When your value for money isn't being met, it suddenly begins shouting "Hey? What about me?!?!" This back and forth then becomes a cycle. 

This type of conflict requires you to harmonize your life by balancing various values. You will need to make compromises and accept that there may be an adjustment period before you find your happy medium. 

Rest assured this exercise will help you live a more balanced life and bring more joy and peace.  

Life can be difficult to maneuver at times with its ups and downs, twists and turns. Learning how to be the calm in the center of the storm will help you to navigate these turbulent periods. 

Stress can be defined as how we respond when our needs are not being met. And, if you're like me, you likely find yourself swept away by your emotions when there is an accumulation of stress. Hovering just below the surface of your stressors is where you will find your unmet needs - the place from which emotional distress arises. It's these unfulfilled fundamental needs that creates discomfort and allows emotional turbulence to take over. 

In today's episode, Andrew shares a mindfulness meditation that has helped him work through his emotions and valuable resource to implement to calm down or settle into your emotions.  

Notice how using the mantra "Just This" to anchor you back in the present moment enables you to return to a calm, centered place in your mind where you can once again ground yourself in the here and now. With practice, you learn to calm your emotions and focus your mind regardless of what is going on around you. 

In today’s episode I talked with spiritual badass, Tris Thorp, who is a powerhouse speaker, best-selling author and incredibly successful coach.

Loneliness and depression has become an everyday epidemic with the current suicide rate being at a 30-year high. The average human life span has decreased dramatically in 2 of the last 4 years, which is the lowest downward spiral since World War 1.

In today’s episode, Tris shared her #1 go-to for navigating loneliness, heartache and loss during her divorce, and helped to shed light on how we can all attempt to traverse loss, grief and hopelessness during difficult times. Her mantra “Be with what is” is how she anchors into present moment awareness, allowing herself to feel into and process heightened negative emotions in the moment - which ultimately leads to the healing of one’s heart.

The topic of spiritual bypassing came up and we delved into conversation about how that presents; what it looks, sounds and feels like. There’s a time and place for positive reframes and affirmations, and before we can arrive at that place we need to do the dirty work of getting really honest with what is. Calling a spade a spade and allowing oneself to move through the reality of what we’r experiencing is the first step in avoiding this slippery slope.

Who’s in your front row? They say we adopt the qualities, traits and “isms” of the 3-5 people we spend the most time with. Tris has a way of reminding us to take inventory of who we are choosing to spend our time with, where we’re placing our attention, and to what, whom or where we are giving our energy. I like to think of this as doing an audit on who you’re inviting to be in your front row, as well as whose front row you’re choosing to sit in.

Energy clearing.Every day, we come into contact with people, experiences, places and events, and each of those have their own energetic vibration. Everyone you think about, talk to, come into contact with or pass by blends their energy with yours - and vice versa. The same is true for certain locations, places, experiences and things. As someone who works with energy regularly, Tris shared her mindfulness practice of energetically showering off the day’s grit.

She shared her top 3 (ok 4 if you count the coffee ritual) daily spiritual practices of writing in her morning pages, meditation and recapitulation - and also why she wrote her International bestseller Healing Your Heart: Rewrite Your Story with Awareness and Intention (endorsed by Deepak Chopra).

Get in on this jam-packed episode with tangible tips, practices and real life conversation with Tris and me.

Get her book Healing Your Heart: Rewrite Your Story with Awareness and Intention, along with the accompanying journal workbook on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Your-Heart-Awareness-Intention/dp/1944177965

www.tristhorp.com

Instagram: @tristhorp

Facebook: TrisThorpLifestyleDesign