931. Don't Believe Everything You Think — Two Barriers Blocking Your Potential

0:00 Alright. 3, 2, 1. Man, I got a juicy one for you. 3, 2, 1. Let's get it. Let me, let me just start that over. 3, 2, 1. Let's get it. Welcome to another episode, episode 9 31 of What's Your problem? The podcast. I'm so excited about bringing this episode to you, man. Dude, it just, it's hot off the press. I just. Got finished reading out of Ray Dalio's book this morning. Principles. If you have not read it, I've read it several, several times. I haven't read it in years though, so I just looked at the old shelf and said, you know what? I hadn't cracked this one in a while. Opened it up and read a tiny section, man. Set my timer aside for 20 minutes, and I think after about 15 minutes, I'm like, I get it.

0:41 I know where I want to, where, what I wanna unpack, and so what I wanna unpack today. And a title this episode, don't believe everything that you think. There are two barriers that are holding you back from realizing your potential. On page 180 6 of Ray Dalio's book Principles. Lemme read to you what he writes. He said, when trying to figure things out, most people spin. I love that word. Most people spin in their own heads instead of taking in all the wonderful thinking available to them. Now let, let's just stop the bus right there and think about times when you've just been nodded up.

1:23 Trying to figure something out. Where'd you go? Right back in your own head and what happens in your own head, that tiny little space you spin. It's almost as if, like when I was thinking about it this morning, it's almost like you ever been to one of those, like at the Civic Center and they had these motocross people come in, these daredevils and some of 'em jump over cars, but then they have the other one where they lock 'em inside the steel ball. And they just loop around in circles. You go, that that is the, that is the image. When I thought about spinning in your head, that's the, that's the image that I got. And so for us, like those motocross riders in this little steel ball, it's the same thought, different day, same pattern, different problem.

2:10 But here's what's beautiful, and I think Dalio pointed out beautifully, he said. Yeah, there's wonderful thinking. Love those words. Wonderful thinking available to you. But see, it's not in you. It's outside of you. And so while it's noble, and I do believe in trying to figure things out on your own, I do believe in the FIO muscle that you should figure things out on your own. That's noble. But figuring it out on your own means sometimes that you gotta step outside yourself. And there are tons, unlimited, wonderful resources that are available outside of you that are just waiting to be tapped through books, through podcasts, through videos, and I'm, and I'm saying this, that you don't absorb yourself in those things.

3:12 To validate what you're already thinking. What are some contrary, arian ways of looking at things? What are some things, some perspectives, even if you're reading outside of your field or outside the stuck problem, you should be looking in some of those things. Okay, how do I get unstuck? Okay, how can I draw in some of these other perspectives from other people? And absorb yourself again, not to pat yourself on the back and be like, see, that's what I thought. No, it's getting outside of your head. That's what we're talking about. So lemme get back to the book. As a result, people continually run toward what they think they see. I love that line.

3:52 What you think that you see. That's the biggest head fake of 'em all because see what you think you see. You're looking through the lens that's shaped by your past, your pain, your environment, your wiring. You're not seeing what's real. You're seeing what you've already been trained to see. And so what happens? You keep crashing into the same old problems, and then eventually remember the timeframe we're on eventually, and ultimately eventually. You hit the wall, you have all these bruises, all these busted attempts, and you finally get to this point in your life, hand raised where you finally do what you should have done from the get go.

4:40 Adapt. If only you would've suspended your judgment and not relied on your opinions and drawn on other people's perspectives and used all the wonderful resources that were around you. The only thing we had to do was adapt. That's it. And bro. It's like comical. It's, it's funny, but it's not funny 'cause you're just like, bro, it's that simple. Life is simple. It's not easy, man, but it's simple. We make it way so complex and part of the complexity is we stay on our own heads. The good news is there's a solution.

5:21 Dalio says the people who are adaptable. And that's the people man. We wanna become the people who are adaptable. They're adaptable in three ways. Three easy ways. Number one, you teach your brain to work in a way that doesn't come naturally. If it feels unnatural, you're on the right track. So this might mean as a creative person. You get disciplined, you put some structure in, or a hyper logical thinker learns to lean into their emotions and intuitions a little bit. You gotta teach your brain how to work. And so that means, again, that you have to suspend your judgment, your opinions, your experience.

6:02 You gotta unlearn, man. You gotta get a little bit unhinged don't believe everything that you think. Don't believe everything that you think you see. Remember, we're getting outside of ourselves, so you gotta teach your brain how to work. Otherwise, man, you're gonna revert back to going unconscious. You just do things on. See, understand this the way that you've trained yourself, your brain to work right now. Is decades. I mean, dude, you've been doing it. You probably did it as a baby 'cause you watched your parents do it. You watched your siblings do it, your environment do it. And so understand this thing has been. It's cabled up for a long time.

6:44 You got some steel cables to unravel. Good news is there's some easy solutions to start working out of. And dude, this is, this is a lifestyle. Everything I talk about man are not fads, I try, I try to talk about things that you can incorporate into your life simply, and the first thing is, is teach your brain how to work in ways that are unnatural. So that means that you absorb things. That are a little bit outside of your field that this is why I'm a big fan of random reading is drawing in other perspectives. And sometimes, dude, I'll be stuck with a problem and reading something else that I think has nothing to do with the problem. And then you come across something, you're like, oh my God, I'm reading about this.

7:30 And all of a sudden it relates to. The thing that I'm nodded up, the thing that I'm stuck with, it's about that perspective. But if all you're doing is reading the same thing inside your head every single day, you're gonna forever stay stuck forever. Or you're gonna sap it, or you may get a little bit outside of it, and then you'll get right back into it. Because you're not expanding and teaching your brain how to work. You're in control of your brain. You gotta teach that little three pound sucker how to think. And again, if it feels unnatural, good, you're on the right path. And this is why I say, that you gotta know yourself. You gotta know your tendencies.

8:11 If you're barking out things like, this is just the way I am, man, it's the way I've always been. All those things have gotten you to where you are today. Is this where you wanna stay? Probably not. You wouldn't be listening to this. If this is where you wanna stay. So bro, when, when you just, bro, make life spicy, have fun with it, I mean, stop looking at everything as a, see, I told you so. See, I told you wouldn't work. No, just try different things, sample different things. You got a long life ahead of you, man. I mean, besides if, if, if things don't pan out really well, stop looking at everything. One shot, one kill. Everything's gotta work. Try different things.

8:51 Draw it in. This is what's gonna keep you open and flexible and open-minded. This is really what he's talking about. The, and in doing these things, bro, some of this stuff, man, you're gonna look back on it. Years later, you're gonna be like, it's laughable, okay? You get to joke about it. You get to laugh at yourself, and you should be laughing at yourself, man. You should, I mean, stop getting all crusty and rigid and just look, you have options. But man, sometimes, man, you just gotta broaden your perspectives out. All right? Another way of being adaptable. So remember the first way is you gotta teach your brain to work, not just by reading. I mean work means you, you, you read some things and then you go apply it.

9:34 So you work it, teach your brain to work in ways that are unnatural. Okay? Put your ego aside, stop. Um, I don't wanna look foolish. Yeah. I'm willing to look stupid. I'm willing to say stupid things. I'm willing to look foolish. It's only temporary. The second thing is people who are adaptable use compensating mechanisms. Okay, this is important. Know yourself. Okay, so maybe you need timers. I, I have to have timers. Otherwise, bro, I'll just drift off. I have to set my timer in the morning for, you know, 20 minutes of random reading for 20 minutes to write. Sometimes I go over, but on that timer I look, I'm like, you got a little time here.

10:18 Can we go a little over before commercial break? Yes. So, but I have to put these timers in. Otherwise, bro, I just get lost in the sauce and then I don't get to other things. So. People who are adaptable know themselves. They put timers, they put reminders in. I have to Old Siri. I tell her all the time, Hey, remind me at 12 o'clock for this. Remind me on Monday for this I, I ain't gonna remember it. And then checkpoints. The checkpoints I talk about all the time. Six checkpoints. Wake up at a set time, write, read, work out. Share something, which is what I'm doing right now. Something of value. There's not BS in the world. And then design my day.

10:59 I gotta eat today. I know what I'm gonna eat. I know what I'm gonna wear. Okay? Boom. Go. And it's just those I, I keep things super, super simple, but they're simple. They're measurable. They're repeatable. And this is what you know, stuff like this. Timers, reminders, checkpoints. This is what's going to keep you aligned and from drifting. And you're not. It it, Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was built every day. Okay? That's, this is the Rome for you, man. Just keep things simple, chase the effort, not the results. Go back, there's an episode. I don't even know what number it is. Go back and listen to that episode. That's exactly the title of it. Chase the effort, not the results.

11:41 The results are gonna be what they are, but if you consistently chase that effort and it's aligned, bro, you're gonna be just fine. Alright, the last one. The last way that people who are adaptable, they teach their brain how to work unnaturally. They use compensating mechanisms, timers, reminders, checkpoints, and then thirdly, they rely on the help of others who are strong, where they're weak. That's a big one. Stop acting like you got it all figured out. Are you one of those? I know. Yeah, I know. And you really don't. 'cause there's more out there that you don't know than you do know.

12:22 And I think people who are strong are the ones who admit, bro, I don't, I don't know nothing about that. We had a, a new manager come on board with us and extremely accomplished. And like half my age, she's sharp as a tack. And she hit me with some things. I, I've been in the business longer than her. She hit me with things I ain't never heard of. And I was the first one. I was like, what the hell does that mean? And she broke it all down to me. Boom. And don't you know, like she said this to other people and they didn't even say. They said, oh, okay. Thanks. They didn't even unpack what she's talking, and it's, it's rich with data, rich with ways of looking at that, new ways of looking at it, okay?

13:10 New ways of looking at it. That's what I'm talking about. I don't want to be a know it all. I want to be a no at all kind of guy. I don't know at all. Teach me, teach me how to Dougie, teach me how to learn. All right? You have strengths, but other people have strengths too. So while you lean on them, because there are things that you're weak at. And so while you lean on them, there are things that you're good at, you're strong at, that they can lean on you. And so this is how deep relationships are formed. This is how collaborations are formed. This is how you learn more, 'cause you get outside of yourself. And you stop holding on to your job title and your experience.

13:51 Be a sponge man, not a brick. There's another episode I did sometime back from Schwarzenegger's book. Be a sponge, not a brick. And he says So many times, man, people, they're bricks, just like pouring water on a brick. Ain't nothing getting in, but be a sponge, man. You pour water. That knowledge, that's a metaphor for knowledge. You're good to go. All right, back to Dalio. None of these Indi, this is key. None of these individuals are able to succeed at any kind of complex project without the help of others who have complimentary strength. And he ends with this. Aristotle define tragedy as a terrible outcome arising from a person's fatal flaw, a flaw.

14:37 That could have been fixed and had it been fixed, would've led to a wonderful outcome. That flaw that Dalio says is in all of us, two things, your ego and your blind spots. And he says, that's the two barriers that are keeping intelligent, hardworking people like you and me from living up to our potential. And when I say ego man, I don't mean arrogance. Sometimes the ego. 'cause I, I do believe you should have an ego. But not in the kind where you get trapped in your own head.

15:18 Refusing to ask for help, refusing to adapt and refusing to. Learn a new way of thinking. So let me put a bow on all of this. This way. You just fast forward to the end. To be adaptable in life. Get outta your own head to if you've been spinning around, whatever, if it's just a problem or you just stuck in life, okay? You feel like you're just that motocross in the in the steel ball. Ring, ring, ring, ring Number one, teach your brain how to work in new ways. You're in control of that thing. Number two. Use checkpoints or systems to stay aligned. Reminders, timers know yourself.

16:01 And number three, lean on the strengths of others and be willing to let them lean on you as well. It's as simple as that. You gotta let go of your pride and pick up your growth. All right. Let's get outta here. Please share this episode with one person who needs it. Man, I love this episode, super episode, and as I share it with you, this is what I, and, and this is what I believe you should do too, a little bit off track before I sign off. When you teach these things that you learn, I don't teach because I'm an expert. I'm learning just like you are. I'm just sharing behind a mic and I drop it behind a, for a few reasons.

16:46 A. So I can go back and listen to it because I get away from these things. B. So my children or loved ones or whoever, it's a, it's, it's a, it's a chapter where you can go back and say, this is what I'm going through right now. That's why there's 931 episodes is because I want to give you different areas in your life that maybe you're struggling with. And it's that episode that helps you and you know, so. So the, the the second point, which I guess is probably the third too, the second reason why I leave it there is for my kids. And they can come back and listen to this even after dad's gone and they're like, oh, okay, well this is what I'm struggling and I won't be there.

17:28 Or maybe they're away somewhere and I'm not available, or whatever. Or they wanna try to figure it out on their own. Well, you know, sometimes parent kids don't wanna listen to their parents right then and there, so I just leave it behind. This is what I'm, this is what I'm dealing with. A lot of the stuff, man, that I share are just reinforcements for me. And so as I teach these things, oh, and then the third point, I leave it behind for you because I feel like if I'm struggling with something, maybe you are too, somewhere out there. We're all over the world, so somebody's struggling with something, I leave it behind. But, uh, getting back to my point. When you share these things, the more you share these things, the more it reinforces and you get to understand this deeper.

18:12 So it's not enough for me to just read something and write it. I have to talk it out. I have to share it. And so when you begin to think. Unnaturally, it's reading some of these things and then do a takeaway page. I actually forgot to, to talk about that. Is writing these things out. What's your takeaway from what you just read? So it's these kind of different things. There's so many, you gotta do what works for you. And I'm not saying everybody should be behind a microphone. I'm not saying everybody should be on camera. Whatever works for you. Some people may want to do it through art, some people may want to just do it at a meeting there at work or just a little, you know, meeting with friends or something to talk about at the table with others, whatever.

18:54 Whatever works for you, man. But it's important that you share these things and as you do, again, it's not ipro, it's not about proving some sort of smartness, okay? I mean, about that. I'm, I'm the dumbest offensive, ex offensive lineman there ever was. Okay? I just, I just geek out on learning something new. This is why I write every single day, and so I have to share this thing. That's what you should be doing too, in a way that works for you. All right? So saying all that to say help grow the show, man. Keep supporting the show. Thank you for all of those who leave a rating and review. Uh, and those who just keep coming back. Man. There's so many of you that I. You know, the, and I'm not a downloads kind of person, but the downloads from all over the world, man, they, they just keep going up and up and up and it's from you sharing it with other people.

19:42 It's from you talking about different things and be like, bro, I shared your episode with somebody else. It's you leaving ratings and reviews. It's it. Hey, just pay it forward. That's, that's, that's all I ask you to do, man. Just, just pay that thing forward, because if it resonates with you, it'll probably resonate with someone else and it can help them as well. So, enough about that. I gotta get ready for work. Remember, keep it simple, keep it moving. Never settle. Stay adaptable. Stay tough. Peace.