Latest / Your Thoughts Your Reality / When the Alerts Stop | Identity — The 1st Silent War | Judy Crockett

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When the Alerts Stop | Identity — The 1st Silent War | Judy Crockett · Your Thoughts Your Reality

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Your Thoughts, Your Reality with Michael Cole, the podcast that shines a compassionate light on the journey of veterans battling through life's challenges.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Michael is a dual elite certified neuroencoding specialist in coaching and keynote training presentations, dedicated to guiding military veterans as they navigate the intricate pathways of post-deployment life.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Join him as we delve into the profound realm of neuroencoding science, empowering these brave individuals to conquer universal battles, procrastination, self-doubt, fear, and more.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Together, let's uncover the strength within you to re-engage with families and society, forging a new path forward.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: What happens when your career teaches you to always be ready for what could go wrong?
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: For people in public safety, preparedness isn't just part of the job.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: You scan, you plan, you anticipate.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: Become the person others depend on when something happens.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Then retirement comes, right?
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: The radio gets quieter, the routine changes, the responsibility shifts, but your brain may not immediately understand that the mission has changed.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: So the question becomes how do you step out of the role without losing the strengths the role built into you?
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: Today's conversation is about identity, the first silent war, and what it takes to build a life after public safety when the job ends, before the habits, thoughts, and sense of responsibility do.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: So today we have Judy Crockett, who spent 33 years with Utah State University Public Safety and served as the university's emergency manager.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Her work included emergency preparedness, campus alert systems, critical incident planning, and helping teens prepare for both immediate crisis and what comes after it.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Today, Judy is a certified brain health trainer and neuroencoding licensed specialist, and she is the founder of the Thrive Tribe and teaches practical brain health tools, including how to recognize and challenge automatic negative thoughts, as well as her mission now includes helping first responders protect their brain health and prepare for life beyond the role.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: And her connection to military service is personal through her father's U.S.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Army service.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Judy, welcome to your thoughts, your reality.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us a little more about yourself.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_03: I appreciate it.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_03: Well, like I said, I was in public safety for a very long time and I loved it.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely loved it.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_03: The camaraderie, the, you know, the work itself, I really, really enjoyed it.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_03: And it was heartbreaking to leave it, but but it was a great, a great passion for me.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_03: I am, like you said, I'm now a certified brain health coach and elite neuroencoding specialist.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_03: And that has been really an exciting change for me.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm looking forward to the next adventure.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, and and judging from our conversation earlier, the adventure is really about to really begin.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm super excited for you.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's it's kicking off January 1st.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_03: I'm leaving my full-time job and diving into this full-time.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm really excited about it.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: And you should be.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited for you.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be just everybody knows I know Judy from the Neuroencoding Institute.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: We've known each other for quite a while.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're ready, let's jump on in, huh?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, let's do it.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: So for 33 years, your work was built around anticipating what could go wrong and making sure people were ready.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: So when you retired from that, what was it like to wake up and no longer be responsible for everyone else's emergency?
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_03: It was a huge, huge adjustment.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_03: And I still find myself slipping back every once in a while and then trying to shift.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_03: But it was it honestly, it was a huge, huge struggle.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_03: I I always had a clear purpose on what I was doing.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I knew I had, you know, problems to solve, I knew I had procedures to write, I knew I had to, you know, prepare for worst case scenario.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_03: And that's one thing that was really, really a shift for me is because every morning when I would go to work, I'd walk through the door, go to my office, and the first thing I would think of is today the day we have an active shooter.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_03: Man, that I that was a struggle for me.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_03: So I, you know, and I always have my checklist out there.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_03: I made a checklist of things that I would need to do when there was an active shooter and you know, the alert system.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_03: I always got on and checked it and make sure it was it was working and going.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_03: But so I was always just up here, you know, anticipating that every morning.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_03: I pop my diet coke, hear that fizz, and you know, and that was the start of my day.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Your anchor was that.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_03: It was just, it was just like I had to hear that fizz, and then I was like, okay, we we've got this, we can do that.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_03: And then all of a sudden, I was up here, and the next day I wasn't.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't have to worry about it.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_03: I there was no emergency to prepare for.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_03: There was no worst case scenario to think of that was my responsibility anymore.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_03: You knew, you know, you're retired and you don't have to worry about it, but yet your nervous system is still telling you.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you're still watching, you're still in absolutely, and that took some time to in fact.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_03: I'm saying you know, I still uh it's a work in progress.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_03: I, you know, I recognize it a lot quicker than I used to, and can shut it off a lot quicker, but it's it's ingrained, it's something you you know, that is it's conditioned, it's definitely conditioned for sure.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we do it for 33 years, yeah.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: And you have anchors like the Diet Coke with the fizz, you know, and you'll be happy to know I don't do Diet Coke anymore.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_03: So that's well, did you switch to a major shift?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: Did you switch to Pepsi?
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_03: No, I don't even very rarely do I have a pop anymore.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm absolutely playing with you.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_03: I am doing really good, really good.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_03: But one thing I did learn was that being needed and being valued are not the same thing.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, let's talk about that, shall we?
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it really goes along with identity.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, yeah, I can't think of something well there.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure there are, but right this second, that is one of the main things, right?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: Because that is it becomes part of you, right?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: And you're always, you know, people are always looking to you, and you are the one.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, that changes to some extent.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure in your different businesses, or you know, your current uh job and you know, the the business that you know you're launching January 1st.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's really about that identity shift, yeah.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_03: It is, it is my value didn't diminish when I left my job.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and that took a while because I was pretty beat up there at the end.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_03: And so it that took a while for me to rebuild that that I do have value, I can do something else.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_03: Will it be something as much as I love as emergency management?
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_03: It's different.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's it's just definitely different.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_03: I the my the love I had for public safety and for the department I was in was such a unique experience that I I even tried to re recreate it with other jobs that I had after retirement, and it just wasn't it wasn't the same.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_03: So I had to keep looking.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_03: I had to keep searching for something that I knew that I would love.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_03: And it I stumbled on, you know, neuro encoding and brain health, and I'm like, I can work, I can still work with first responders on and it is it is all coming together.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, absolutely.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: And and you know, you may not you don't know if you're gonna have the same love for the new job as you do the other.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna adventure to say you're gonna love it even more.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_03: I I think so.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_03: I think so because I don't have the the stress.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_03: I can just sit down and talk and have conversations with first responders and just you know, we can talk about what's going on with them and I can share my experiences and I don't have to worry about that bomb to drop.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely literally literally the bond to drop.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, so I it's it's gonna be fun, but I'm still gonna have my connection.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, of course.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like saying so, so let me ask you this is and again, I I want to uh want to stay with identity just for for this specific question.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Is how do I want to ask this?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: So when I want people to learn from from you, right?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's that's what it's about.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: Because you know, that I always say I always say the window closed but the garage door opened, right?
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: Or it tends to be bigger, um yeah, which is a beautiful thing.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: So for people that are in the middle or you know, actually getting ready to transition, whether that be three weeks from now or three months or or or six six months, whatever.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: What are one of the what is one of the tips or one of the give me a thought on being prepared for it ahead of time and not going, oh shit, this is where I'm at now, and being lost.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know that's the one of the biggest issues with veterans and well, anybody during a transition is not having that plan and that thing that they're excited about pulling them forward because I know how important that is.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: So talk to me about that.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and and like I said, it was a process.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_03: I had to, I had to go through the transition.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_03: I had to go through the grieving process of what was lost, and it was it was like a death to me.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_03: It really, truly was.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_03: And and then it just I had to find something that was I was interested in.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_03: I did have jobs, but I wasn't gonna settle for just doing a job, you know.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_03: I had to find something that I really truly loved.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_03: And I did find one that's not brain health, but I love working with seniors, seniors, and so right now I'm the director of rec therapy at a nursing home, skilled nursing facility.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_03: And so I plan parties all day.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_03: And I love I know, and I absolutely love it.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_03: Is it what I want to do for the rest of my life?
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_03: No, I I mean I want it, I want to go back and be able to volunteer and do that kind of stuff.
• 11:48
  unknown: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: And you're and the beautiful thing is as your your new business grows, you those opportunities will happen.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know, not in the first week, but they will get there.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_03: No, and that's what's and that's what's so exciting, is because this new adventure, I am going to be able to have the flexibility to do what I want to do, schedule what I want to do.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_03: And that was an important thing that I wanted to move towards.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_03: And so, you know, sit down and you know, if you're getting close to retirement, think about you've got to do something.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_03: I'm telling you right now, you have got to do something.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_03: You can't just, whether it's, you know, hobbies around the house, whatever, still have something to do, whether it's gardening, you know.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_03: I think I think learning something new is huge, huge.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_03: You just, I mean, you take classes, you do whatever you can.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_03: You go on YouTube, university, you do whatever.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_03: You continue to learn and to grow.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that's absolutely key.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: I literally was waiting for you to finish it.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I was gonna say.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: So, so with that said, yeah, I think for for what I've learned is physical exercise, and that could just be walking, get out in nature, put your feet in some grass, go, you know, whatever the case may be, and learning.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I started playing drums.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, keep in mind I've been a musician since I was 15.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, before that, but we won't talk about the clarinet.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: So uh when you when you have a plan and you're moving forward and you have these things that you're looking forward to, get learning again.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: I started playing drums, but I was gonna say this at 51 years old, you know, because it's like, what can I learn now?
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think when you are always looking for something to learn, you're not only is your brain stay sharper, but you're progressing, and that is super important as human beings.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_03: And to me, you know, when I did say brain health, to me, there's there's the different areas of brain health health.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_03: One is the physical portion and then the one that we're we're training ourselves to think.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_03: But I like I said, they go hand in hand, but the physical part of the brain is is critical, you know, is is absolutely critical.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_03: So movement, nutrition, sleep, you know, your brain, you've got to have good sleep.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_03: So your brain is cleansed at night, you know.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_03: So there's all these different things that you can do.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_03: And so you've got to have these activities, these things to help you with those portions of the brain health.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely love that.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: So again, have a plan before you leave.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Have some things that excite you before you transition.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: And again, that could be it's not just retirement, it's it's life.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um and we're always transitioning.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: If you look back and think it it's not a it's not a oh, I transitioned from a job.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: No, we transitioned.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: I go back every 10 years and I look at transitions in my life, you know, of what has happened.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I absolutely love that.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_03: There's a path.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: I I was looking at this the other day, and I can I can go back 10 years.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_03: I've been retired seven.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_03: I can go back 10 years and see where things have happened along the way that have led me to this.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: And I and um and I invite people to do that for positive things, right?
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: And even negative things, right?
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: If it's if something happened, you can always.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: I find you can find 10 years later, it's way easier to find the gift in it and how you grew from it than it was yesterday.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: So so learn from it, you know.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's important.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I we've only been through one question.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: This has all just been a great conversation, by the way.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: And we're halfway done.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so during active shooting, uh shooter training, you once said that you didn't want these things to happen.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, right?
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: No one does.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: But if they did, you wanted everyone prepared and ready.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: That mindset makes perfect sense in emergency management.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, my question is what happens when that constant readiness becomes part of your identity and follows you into retirement?
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we touched base on this, but I won't get a little deeper on it.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_03: I think this is kind of one of the hidden costs of public safety, is it's so hard to step down.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_03: You've this training has been ingrained in you for years and years and years.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_03: And preparedness can help you save lives and it can help you make good decisions and all that, but you you still need to be aware and you need to, you know, look at your situation.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_03: I still, when I go to a movie theater and stuff, I still look at where all the exits are.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you know, it's just gonna happen, but I I don't dwell on it and I don't, you know, like, oh, you know, yeah, but but but that's just being prepared.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: So and you should be, right?
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, in in the world, period, but the world today, you should be prepared.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: I started doing that.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: I did a CCW training and and so on, and and it that's what you do when you're in a restaurant, you just quickly check, you are familiar with you know, exits and surroundings if something does happen, and then you move on, you know, and enjoy your time.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_03: So I can tell you a story about how bad it can get.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_03: And this was this was before I was retired, but I went to the Pro Bowl over in Hawaii, and I was sitting there, and I'm I mean, all the best players are right there on the field.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm looking at the audience across the way because I worked at a university, we were always watching the crowds and stuff, games and stuff, and I saw a fight going on in the audience.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_03: And that's what I sat and focused on instead of this great.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it was the Pro Bowl, so nobody was taking it seriously, but there was a lot of really, really good players there that I had the opportunity and I just wasn't present.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_03: And it's like, that's not my problem.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_03: This I can be here.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that you bring that up.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: So when someone is, again, whether you're a first responder, veteran, I mean, all of the above, when you're focused on something like that, how do you snap yourself out of it?
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: How do you change that perspective so you can come back to self?
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: And let's talk about neural encoding, right?
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, come back to self and and get focused on what you actually came to enjoy.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, and that's when you do, you know, your stop technique, and you know, you just stop, you have to stop that thought.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, stop that thought, and you know, is it gonna creep back in again?
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, probably.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_03: But the sooner we can stop that thought and switch gears, and it's like, you know what, I'm here to focus on this, and that's where I need to go.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: So when you stop that thought, so how do you change your state so that you can train yourself or recondition, I think is the word I'm looking for, so that you do do less and less.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: Give me a give me a thought on something you do.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so you are you talking like negative thoughts and kind of negative thoughts, you're just focused on you're just focused on um to fight across the way when you focus on the football game.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_03: So for me, like on a negative thought, I I teach a class in this called the automatic negative thoughts.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, killing the ants.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_03: And there's a bunch of different types of negative thoughts.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_03: And so you need to identify what is this thought?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_03: You know, what is this?
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_03: I how are how am I going to label it?
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_03: And then once you once you figure out which one it is, then I ask myself, is this really true?
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_03: Is this true?
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_03: Is this is this thought true?
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_03: And then, you know, that that's enough to stop the process, at least what I've experienced, that's enough for me to stop the process right there.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_03: And but there are times when I need to ask the second question, and it's is it really true?
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_03: Is it really, really true?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_03: And usually by the time I get to that point, I'm like, okay, no, I can, and then you switch and you go off.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_03: What can I do?
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_03: What can what can I replace this with?
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then depending on the situation, you can build things and so is there when changing state, I'm big on doing a body movement, shaking it out, doing you know something like that, dancing, you know, astute, shaking your ass.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: If you're not laughing by doing that, especially me, that nothing else is gonna change your state.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, so what what are some things you do?
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_03: What are some things that I do as far as changing your state and you know, jumping up and you know, if I'm sitting down, if I'm the movement of just standing up and and saying stop, you know, whether it's just in my head or if it's something physical.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_03: If you do it physical, it has a little more off to it, but sometimes the situations you are in and you you know not look so good standing up and yelling stop, but in the middle of a board meeting.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's just like okay.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_03: But just to me, the word stop really helps me shift.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_03: But I do there are times where I will, you know, shake it out and dance and celebrate something else other than that thought and the way I move around it.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I love it, I love it.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: And on the side note of what you're talking about, you know, again, if you're in the middle of a boardroom or something and you can't Yell stop and stand up and shake it out.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I actually teach my clients to anchor it in with just patting themselves on the chest and smiling.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_03: Smiling is huge.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_03: Smiling is smiling is huge.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: So talk about that.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: Why is that important?
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_03: Why is that important?
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_03: I you know, and I've noticed at the nursing home that I work at, especially the memory care unit.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_03: If I smile at them, I uh it makes me feel a hundred percent better.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_03: They recognize it.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_03: You can't tell me these Alzheimer patients do not feel a smile.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_03: They do, they do, and they respond to it.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_03: So, so it's good for me, for my endorphins, for all of that.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's it's a great medicine, just smiling, but for other people around you too, it will affect them and and they will jump jump on board.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's it's funny.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um first of all, uh, there are 22, I think it's 22 muscles in your face that when you smile, it automatically your brain automatically releases it.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: An amazing cocktail.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: And in your body, your brain does not know the difference whether you're faking a smile or having a real spot.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: So just remember that in the future, not for you, obviously.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, your brain will believe anything.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_03: You know, might you might as well fill it with some positive good things.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: I love that, especially visualization, and I won't go into this long because again, we've we got about seven minutes left.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: The visualization with the brain, that's why so many athletes and all these people do it, is because your brain doesn't know the difference, and literally it's like you're practicing it.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, you know, and they you know, like I got a vision board in my office, and if I'm visually seeing it, my brains believe in it.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know I love it.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: So let's see, let's go to a different another question.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's do one more question.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: I've enjoyed the organic conversation, just seeing that it's been fantastic.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: So a public safety career can train someone to scan, prepare, and stay ahead of the next problem.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: How do you help the brain learn the difference between useful awareness and living as though something is always about to go wrong?
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_04: Oh let's see.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, one more time on that one.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: A public safety career can train someone to scan, prepare, and stay ahead of the next problem.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do you help the brain learn the difference between useful awareness and living as though something is always about to go wrong?
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: Just reconditioning yourself, you know.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_03: You know, awareness, we kind of talked about this.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_03: Awareness is not the enemy.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_03: You know, noticing things, anticipating problems, and preparing is one of the strengths of a first responder, and that is gonna go with you.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_03: The the real problem is when the threat is over and learning to download from that and having to come down.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_03: And so there's different things you can do for that.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_03: You can, you know, breathing techniques are huge, are a huge help.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we talked about moving and stuff like that.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_03: Go outside and breathe some fresh air, get some sun, you know.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we're we're moving into the winter season here, so you know, even go outside and get the some cold air, you know.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: True.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: That'll break your state faster than everything.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_03: You know, and you know, I a big thing for me is connecting with people.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_03: We have got to keep having that social engagement.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_03: You know, COVID did wreak havoc on that.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm seeing that with kids that you know are coming in for jobs and stuff like that.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_03: They really don't have a whole lot of social connection, you know.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's getting better now that you know they're kind of, but there's that that core group of people, they're kids that just don't have the social engagement.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_03: So that is, you know, that's probably my biggest advice there is stay connected to people.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_03: And yeah, and smile and smile.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: And smile all the time.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: And and yeah, I'm not gonna continue on because I think we have time for one more question on that.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: So on this, so uh you created the Thrive Tribe, which I really want I wanted to talk about.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm glad we ran into I found the question.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: So the and that's around connection, growth, and self-care.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, how much of rebuilding identity after your retirement is less about finding another title and more about, and this is what we're just talking about to some extent, finding people, routines, and places where you still feel connected.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, I think it's huge.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_03: We uh we put so much emphasis on, you know, what's your next job, what you what are you moving to, what's your next title, right?
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_03: But we need to focus on who are our people right now.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_03: You know, focus on our families, focus on our relationships.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_03: I think that's key.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_03: I was very lucky.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_03: I worked for, you know, a chief of police who family was everything.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_03: And he encouraged that with our department, is that and so I've had that pretty much my whole career.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_03: I know there's some some agencies where it's you know, job, job, job, and they didn't have the backing of that.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_03: And so that would be one thing is like really focus on your family and your relationships.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_03: And because with retirement, you lose a lot of your touch points.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_03: I had a lot of I had a lot of relationships up on the university campus with other departments.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_03: And I was able to build that, you know, because I wasn't gonna be able to handle things by myself up there.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_03: I needed the different departments.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_03: And so I had some great, great friendships and relationships built with a lot of people on campus, and then it was gone.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_03: So I do understand the importance of to keeping that going.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_03: It's gonna shift, it's gonna be different, but that's what the Thrive Tribe is for me, is just people getting together that that can support each other and help each other through things.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: I absolutely love that because here's the reality is we all should have our tribe, right?
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: Where we feel we fit in.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody's got our back just like we have theirs, you know, because there's nothing better than having a drive tribe, by the way.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: I love that title.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I absolutely love that.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_01: So um, Judy, for first responders, retirees, or anyone listening who wants to learn more about your brain health work, thrive tribe, neuron coding, or the programs you're building that that are especially going to be launching soon.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_01: What's the best way to connect with you?
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_03: Um, the best way to connect with me is through email right now.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_03: It's Judy at the braincommander.com.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, that too, by the way.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, and I just bought the domain for the website.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_03: So the website's a work in progress.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_03: We're working on that.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_03: I do have a website, it's brain thrivezone.com.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_03: That is up and going, but I'm switching it to the brain commander for first responders.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_01: So absolutely love that.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely love it.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: As we know, time is the most precious resource we have as human beings, we don't get it back.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: So, Judy, thank you for spending this moment in time to help our mission and make a difference.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_03: I appreciate the opportunity.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: If something in today's conversation resonated with you, don't just move on to the next thing.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: Sit with it for a minute.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: There's a reason why your hair stood up, you had goosebumps, you said, Oh, that's interesting.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: But really, just stop and take a minute for yourself.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: Why did that why did that affect you?
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: Why did it matter?
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: And if you know someone who needs to hear this, share this episode with them.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: You can also join us at your thoughts-reality.com where we continue conversations around identity, transition, and growth.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_01: And remember, of course, your thoughts shape your reality.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: And we're out of here.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_04: All right, thank you.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us on another insightful journey of Your Thoughts, your reality podcast with your host, Michael Cole.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: We hope the conversation sparked some thoughts that resonate with you.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: To dive deeper into empowering your thoughts and enhancing your reality, visit EmpowerPerformance Strategies.com.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, your thoughts make your reality, so make them count.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay inspired and keep creating the reality you desire.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: Catch you on the next episode.