Latest / Dr. Derek H. Suite MD - The SuiteSpot / Embrace the Threat (3/7): Why Facing Challenges Makes You Unstoppable. Win It All Wednesday .

Transcript

Embrace the Threat (3/7): Why Facing Challenges Makes You Unstoppable. Win It All Wednesday . · Dr. Derek H. Suite MD - The SuiteSpot

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but I'm sure glad it's Wednesday.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You know why?
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Because Wednesday here on the Sweet Spot is not just any Wednesday, it is Win it All Wednesday.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: And that's what I love about the Sweet Spot is that the days are important to us because every day has a theme.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: So welcome to win it all Wednesday here on the sweet spot.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: I'm Dr Derek Sweet.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: I'm your host for today.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: I look forward to going on this journey with you, as we've been doing, and this journey has been about embracing challenges.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Wow, sweet spotters, we've been going in.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: On making moves monday, we spoke about the importance of making that first move as part of embracing change.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: On take action tuesday, we talked about moving from intention to action.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: On take action, it means to win.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: This isn't just about trophies.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Listen.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: As a board-certified psychiatrist, somebody who handles and works with high-performance athletes and individuals who are in high-performance situations, I see the importance of trophies and finish lines and getting to the top.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: It's all about embracing the challenges and, in embracing those challenges, finding a way to win.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: One of the things that I've learned is that winning is so complex.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: It's not just about the finish line, it's not just about being at the top.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: It's about all the changes that occur when these winners that I deal with and I work with, when they embrace the challenges.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: I've watched them reshape their brains, change their mindsets, change their mindsets and re-engineer their souls, and that's available to all of us.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: And it also says to me that winning is about transforming the self.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: It's not just about the prize at the end, it's about the transformation, the transformative process.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: Let's dive in at the end.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: It's about the transformation, the transformative process.
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: Let's dive in In the neuroscience and you know we always go there, we always talk about neuroscience and we're going.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: Trust me, we're moving beyond the amygdala today and beyond the prefrontal cortex.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: We've done that enough.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: But in the neuroscience there are two brain regions that I don't talk about a lot.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: I've mentioned them once or twice the basal ganglia and the anterior cingulate cortex.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: They're very important.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: The basal ganglia is a really important part of the brain.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: I call it the habit engine.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: When you consistently choose courage, for example, over comfort, when you decide to embrace risk rather than run from it, the basal ganglia, this group of neurons in your brain, strengthens the neural pathways that turn your resilience into a default response and it becomes a habit.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: The more you do it, the more it compounds itself and it becomes your habit to embrace the threat.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: It becomes your habit, thanks to the basal ganglia, to face things and handle them.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: And then the anterior cingulate cortex, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex think of that as your effort, monitor right, monitor right.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: This is the part of the brain that tracks the amount of energy, the amount of mental energy you are investing in a challenge and it weighs out the rewards and it determines how much focus and grit you're going to put into something and whether you're going to push through the discomfort.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: So here's the kicker Every time you face a threat, my friend, every time you embrace a threat, head on your basal ganglia and your anterior cingulate cortex.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: These two structures work together in your brain to reinforce a mindset that expects to grow, expects to become stronger and expects to be at another level after having faced the adversity.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: That's how complicated and sophisticated the brain is.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: These two structures take you from just being a survivor to being a thriver in the middle of adversity.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: You are fearfully and wonderfully made, my friend.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: Did you know that in addition to your prefrontal cortex, in addition to your amygdala, you had a basal ganglia and a dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and that they all work together.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: When you decide that this threat that you're facing, this challenge that's in front of you, is not bigger than you, is not bigger than your God, is not bigger than anything inside of you, that greater is the anterior cingulate cortex in me, greater is the basal ganglia in me than that which is in the world.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: Wow, the science confirms it.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: What we already know Greater is that which is in us than whatever is in the world.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: And that, my friend, is a neuroscientific explanation as to why it's important that you do not back down from threats or challenges, even if you have to take one shaky step in the right direction, because it rewires your brain, it reinforces your brain to take the right actions.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: Here's the kicker.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: If you don't and you allow these structures to only see fear, only see you running away, only see you cowering or backing down, you know what the, the bullies of this world, the external forces of this world and your own brain will turn on you and you will experience more fear.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: Your amygdala, your threat detection centers, even your basal ganglia, will say hey, you know what.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: The habit here is to run, the habit here is to hide, and you don't want that.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: You need to train your brain every single day to take a step in the right direction and winning.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: I hope you get it by now.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: Winning is not just about crossing the finish line.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Yes, I work with athletes and yes, that's important, but winning is showing up for a tough conversation when you would rather avoid it.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: Winning is getting out of bed on a really hard day, when you are really sick, not feeling well, and going out into the front yard to sit and get some sunlight or to sit in the living room as opposed to laying in the bed.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: Winning is choosing patience when this job and the people around you are getting on your last nerves and you feel as if you're going to lose it.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: Winning is learning to love yourself, to look in that mirror in the morning before you go out and you say to yourself I love you, I believe in you, and you say to yourself I love you, I believe in you.
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: That's winning.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Real winning is the courage to engage with life's threats, knowing that these opportunities, that these threats are opportunities to build your resilience, to build your empathy, to build your purpose.
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: It's about understanding that the obstacle that's in front of you is the way that the opposition is how you're going to get strong.
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: You're not going to back down, you're not going to run and you're not going to avoid, because you understand that your brain, that beautiful structure in your head, has the power to see this differently when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change A different perspective.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: David and Goliath.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: David and Goliath.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: Some people will say, oh my God, goliath's so big he's going to kick your you-know-what.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: But from a David perspective, he's too big to miss Right.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: So it depends on which angle you're going to take today and your brain will compound and reinforce whatever choice you make.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: And so it's really important, important.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: You take even a tiny step, like we said yesterday, and take action to say, take one little action, or making moves.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: When they take one little move, every time you take an action, every time you make a move in the direction of this threat, with your determination, you are reinforcing, then you have a great power within you, a great neurological power.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: But lest you think that I'm only about the science, let's jump into some spiritual interpretations.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: Let's ground this in some ancient wisdom, right In the Bible.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: It says there's a biblical perspective that says you've got to run with perseverance the race that's marked out in front of you.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: Run with perseverance the race that's marked out in front of you, fixing your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and the perfecter of your faith.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: That's what it says, different than the neuroscience, okay, and this is not about outrunning others.
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: That's the key.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: It didn't say outrun everybody so you could be first.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: This is not about outrunning others.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: It's about staying faithful to your unique path.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: It says let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: Run your race, staying faithful in your unique path, embracing the hurdles and the oppositions and the different things that you're going to find as part of your journey.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: And when you face your challenges with this kind of courage, with this level of determination that God is on your side, that the Holy Spirit is with you, you are already winning in the eyes of God.
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: Right, that's the ancient wisdom perspective.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: It's not concerned about the prefrontal cortex or the anterior cingulate gyrus.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: It's more concerned with your mindset and your perspective, and it's super important that you grasp that right, that ultimately, from a spiritual perspective, it's super important to have the determination and the perseverance to push past and to see that as part of winning.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: And in Buddhist perspectives they similarly say the same thing that the Buddha said that endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is the one who endures that final victory comes to.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Endurance is one of the most difficult of disciplines, but it's the one who endures that final victory comes.
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: Not so, unlike the biblical perspective talking about the race is not for the swift, but for the one that endures Again, similar.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: This reminds us that patience and perseverance, my friends, patience and perseverance, staying in the challenge, staying with it, staying with the obstacle, not backing down, not running from it, just being able to out with it, staying with the obstacle, not backing down, not running from it, just being able to outlast it, outwork it that's part of being a winner.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: That's a part of victory too.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: The journey itself is transformative.
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: The journey itself transforms you.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: Crossing the desert, going across this massive desert, your sandals won't be worn right Something you will have a grace, a power to be able to overcome and outlast this thing that you're facing.
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: It could be at work, it could be in your body, it could be dealing with somebody else.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: You are embracing the threat, you're embracing the challenge.
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: It's rewiring your brain, it's rewiring your psyche.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: You're moving from victim to victor.
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: You're choosing action over avoidance.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: You're shifting your identity.
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: You stop asking why is this happening to me?
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: And you start declaring this is happening for me, sharing this is happening for me.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: I put an amen right there this is happening for me and I'm going to make it work for me.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: You're not going to make me back down.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: That's not going to happen.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: Did you ever hear of the effort paradox?
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: This is another thing in neuroscience that, look, when you start facing fears or you start tackling it, you release dopamine in the brain, in the striatum, right In this area of the brain where the hard work feels rewarding, because you get the dopamine rush and you become addicted to growing.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: That's why, when you go to the gym and you're lifting weights, it comes a point where it's like, wow, this feels good.
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: Or if you're running, you get that runner's high.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: You get the dopamine going and the more effort you're putting in, the more you feel like this amazing burst.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: That's why it's so important to take action when you're going to embrace and really face a challenge or adversity or threat, and every time you do this, you build a legacy.
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: Somebody's always watching.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: I watch my mom and I watch my dad face challenges when I was growing up, they took it head on, they embraced it and you know what it became.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: Their story of resilience became my story.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: It became the story of my brothers.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: It became what our future selves would look like.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: We never back down.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: We find a way, we make a way, and that's the power of being a winner.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: Today, whether you are at the front of the race or in the middle or in the back, you keep your winning mindset.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: That's the power.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: So look, it's Win it All.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: Wednesday.
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: We're wrapping up here.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: I want you to identify a non-sport race that you're running.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: What's a race that you're running, not an actual race, race, a personal goal that you're not achieving, a relational hurdle?
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: Maybe there's somebody you have some beef with or you're having a problem with.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: Maybe there's an illness or something you're dealing with that's a physical injury or something that's giving you a setback.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: And I want you to ask, once you've identified what it is, I want you to ask how can embracing this threat help me grow, even if I don't succeed, even if I don't win?
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: How would embracing this problem or challenge help me grow and help me be better?
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: And then take one anterior cingulate cortex approved action, one biblically based or spiritually based action, something effortful, something that's meaningful.
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: You can draft an email.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: You can schedule a doctor's visit.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: You can apologize first, even if you didn't do the wrong thing.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: You can change the way you look at things so that the things you look at change.
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: Take that one action that you can take today to reinforce what a winner you are.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: And once you've done this, once you've identified the thing and that you've asked yourself how can embracing it make me a winner, even if I don't succeed?
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: And you've taken the action, I want you to tag me, I want you to contact me, to put a comment down here in the YouTube section here that asks for comments, and let me know, let me know what the victory looks like.
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: Let me know.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: Let's celebrate together.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: Let's move forward.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: I'm Dr Derek Sweet.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: I'm so grateful that you are here with me.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: I'm so grateful that you're embracing the threats with me, the challenges with me this week.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: I'm so with you on this and I believe in you.
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: I believe in you All right now.
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: If you like what you're hearing, if this is working for you, I'd like you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, and clearly it's more than just subscribing.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: For me, clearly, what I want is for you to share.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: Share this with somebody who needs a win today to understand that they are already a winner They've always been a winner and help them redefine winning in a way that helps them live the life they love.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: I'll see you tomorrow.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: I'll see you tomorrow for Trust Yourself Thursday.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Until then, may you run your race with courage today, knowing that every challenge embraced is a victory etched in your soul.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: Know that you have fought the good fight and, having finished the race, or nearly finishing the race, that you're keeping the faith.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: Love and blessings.
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: This is Dr Sweet and I'm out.