Transcript
A (0:01)
Okay, I got the red smoke. Sun runs north and south. West of the smoke. West of the smoke. Okay, copy. West of the smoke. I'm looking at danger close now. Give it to me. I mean, it cleared hot. Alrighty, here we go. Back at it. Traditional Q A for this Friday. Two questions I can knock out of the park right now. That I get a lot. One, the iced beverage that I generally drink in front of me. It's early morning. I actually like doing these in the morning. Kind of start my day. Off I go for in hot and cold months, iced cold brew. Because I can drink it faster, I enjoy hot coffee. I've burned myself many times with hot coffee though, so I don't have a ton of it. Sometimes, depending on the setting, maybe I'll make myself a latte. It's not a big deal. We don't have to celebrate the fact that I know how to make a latte. But other than that, it's ice cold brew. The second most common question I get, which I get more than the coffee, is this sweatshirt. So this is from a brand called Marine Layer. Normal spelling, two words. I have no association with this brand other than we were in Bozeman for an SBG Jiu Jitsu camp in October of last year and a buddy of mine, Dan, who has better taste than I do in clothing, went to a retail store in downtown Bozeman on Main street that was selling these and grabbed one for himself and I said to him, damn, that's a good looking sweatshirt. Well, they went back there the next day and he surprised me with the sweatshirt, which was a blue one. I bought myself this gray one. They're an awesome brand. I have no association whatsoever other than they have my credit card number on file. Marine Layer, I believe they're based out of California. I know they have a retail store in the San Diego area. That's it. So also though, I think this is a discontinued version of the sweatshirt. So sorry about that. It's the best I can do. People have been saying just pin this as a comment in the comment section. I get asked it so much, but I think that's a little bit ridiculous. Is brought to you by AG1. Well, guess what, we're into February. How many of you are still just jamming on your New Year's resolutions? I think the the data shows that most people are done with them by about 21 or even 14 days or. I have talked about this man for well over a year. My goal to dial in the macro and micro. But oftentimes the micro elements of my hydration and supplementation game and this is where AG1 comes in. I use it in the morning to hydrate and it helps me dial in all the micronutrients that I honestly just don't pay attention to. AG1 is the opposite of complexity. It takes about 20 seconds one scoop boom into the water in the morning. Eight ounces is what I go with. You're done drinking it first thing in the morning before my coffee helps with my hydration, before I even check my phone and boom. That microhabit helps anchor me throughout the remainder of the day. 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Shall we dive in Q and A For today, first two questions are a perfect example of how sometimes thematically my inbox receives questions that are very similar in theme, intent and you'll see what I'm talking about. These first two are pretty closely tied similar question taken in two different directions. So let's dive into this question one. I've been in law enforcement for many years and during that time have been married and raised two kids. While not a special operations military history, most of my career was SWAT and special investigative units. I've always taken pride in a no quit attitude, especially when things get hard. I was raised that way and my close friends have always shared the same beliefs. I have been in an unhappy marriage for a long time staying for the kids. In quotes. They are in college now or they are college age now. We don't yell and fight very often but lack connection and many other issues. So my question do you think the quitting is failure attitude can be a detriment in other areas of life the feeling that if I quit I have failed is a big part of me and probably keeps me in an unhealthy relationship to protect everyone else. I am deathly afraid of letting down my kids or people around me. Do you think a no quit attitude can be unhealthy? Oh, this question hits very, very close to home for me and very deep for me. This is something that I toiled with for an incredibly long period of time. And again, I don't talk about specifics or details of my divorce. I was married for 19 years and 11 months. I do think it is fair to say that both my ex wife and I can truthfully say that we stayed in it for longer than we should have. I would say somewhere along the lines of five to 10 years. That's what I would say. Perhaps she would say something different and I'll leave her opinions to be her own. I was the person who initiated the divorce. I made the decision to leave and the process kind of takes itself over from there, right? Lawyers got involved, attempted mediation. Mediation drug on what a soul sucking process. The biggest hurdle that I fought myself over is exactly what you have described in this email. My old occupation. Your mental and physical toughness was the currency by which you were judged. Yes, there were other things that were associated with that. Your ability to perform tasks, to meet standards, all of those things counted as well. But you arrived in that community, your golden ticket to entry was all measured through the same pipeline and it was based around your unwillingness to quit regardless of how hard things got, physically or mentally, the combination of the two. And if you come from that world or a world like that, like you have just described, it is so easy to become your worst enemy and to stay in things for longer than you likely should. Now I'm not here to tell somebody in their life you are at a moment where you need to make this decision or this is something, an action that you need to take. Because I have a data point of one in a human experience, my own, I can look backwards and talk about things I wish I could change, which I can't. So. So I try to learn from them going forward. And my experience in my divorce and my difficulty arriving at my decision making point are one of the things that I am trying to learn from. Because yes, I do believe that a never quit or no quit attitude can be extremely unhealthy. Let's go to a far outlier example of that. Let's say you are struggling with alcohol or substance abuse. What are you going to tell yourself? Can't quit. Right. I can't quit. I don't want to be considered to be a quitter. Well, that doesn't work well for alcoholism or substance abuse. And again, that's a little bit of a fringe example, but I think you get the point. I was having this conversation yesterday with a friend of mine after training Jiu jitsu, who also is divorced with children, and we were just talking about. And it tied into a conversation that Mike Glover and I had about the path forward is often measured in years as opposed to being months and days. And specifically, I'm talking about your ability to show your kids who you are as opposed to perhaps what they have been hearing about you from potentially an upset, angry, frustrated, hurt. Other side of the equation. In a relationship, it takes a long, long time. And one of the things a comment that he made was, you know, it sounds so honorable to say we are staying for the kids, specifically when we're talking about the dynamic of a relationship. You're in a marriage. We're staying for the kids. I toiled with that, too. What example would I be setting for my kids if I gave up? Well, ask yourself this. What example are you setting for your kids if you are knowingly staying and voluntarily, by the way, staying in a relationship that is unhealthy? Because I am of the belief, and I had this conversation again with the same guy yesterday. He was of the belief as well, too, that the kids involved in these family dynamics know and see and hear far more than any parent would ever want them to. I've had these conversations with my own children. Unfortunately, as much as my ex and I probably thought that we were hiding any of our difficulties or challenges, our children were so much more aware of them than either of us would ever have wanted them to be. So what if what you're doing by staying in a relationship that is unhealthy is actually modeling for them and creating for them what they think the standard is in the future? What if you are showing them that even if something isn't serving either party, even if it is unhealthy, even if it is toxic, that they should stay no matter what? Is that the message that you want to have passed along to your kids? Now, yours are in college age right now. Mine are approaching that as well. Two out of my three are. And the impact of the divorce and the years leading up to the divorce has landed on all three of them very differently. I would say two of the three are probably pretty open to the idea of marriage. One of the three is not and that I would say, and again, I don't want to speak for them, but in the conversations we have had is largely based off, not solely, but largely, largely based off their experience being an unwilling and unwitting participant in the divorce process. So do you want your kids to follow in your footsteps? Also? What advice would you give to your kids if your child came to you and described to you the environment that you are in? Actually, and let's take the children out of this equation. They're coming to you, meaning when they come to you. So you take the children out of the equation, one of your kids comes to you and it describes an unhealthy relationship, an unfulfilling relationship, perhaps even a toxic relationship. Let's hope it doesn't rise to the level of abuse in any way, shape or form. What would your advice be to them? For most people, when I pose to them this question, they say the same thing and they say it pretty rapidly. I would advise them, my guidance would be, perhaps it's time to hang it up when it comes to this particular situation. And I would agree with that guidance. I will say this too. There is no such thing as a perfect relationship. You're going to have disagreements in non marital relationships. And in marital relationships, hopefully you can solve issues at the disagreement level before they go to the argument level. But you're going to have arguments as well. And I do think you should put the work in. I don't think you should just throw your hands up at the first sign of adversity in a relationship and say, hey, this isn't working for me. I'm out of here. Grass is greener on the other side. You know, maybe it is greener, but guess what? There's weeds in every lawn. So be careful what you wish for. Put the work in. But also realize that the people you are. When you start a relationship, I hope that everybody can go with their partner. Sometimes that isn't the case. Sometimes you grow apart. Sometimes people get stuck in the past. Sometimes people are unable to move forward beyond what it is, whatever they may be dealing with, and it becomes divergent. You get one lap around the track, as far as I can tell. I don't know what happens after. I don't have any answers, existential answers about pretty much anything. But do you want to live your life in an environment that is unhappy and unhealthy for you? And again, before you answer that, make sure you put in the appropriate effort and go see counselors. Talk to each other, have the hard conversations. Do not Just quit at the first sign of adversity. But also realize there are some situations that regardless of the amount of work that you put in, it's not going to work itself out. So I am now of the belief that one of the biggest lies that we tell ourselves and each other is that you have to stay in it for the kids. I completely and utterly disagree. Especially if the environment is unhealthy, especially if you think you are hiding it from your kids. I am more worried. And this is what I toiled with. Two things. One, this exact headspace that you have of if I give up on this, I am a quitter. That is, those are the words that I said to myself at standing in the mirror. And I'm sure sometimes I verbalize them and other times it was internal. I talked to myself quite a bit randomly. Leah asked me all the time. She's like, are you talking to me? Are you talking to the dog? And I was like, actually, I love talking to both of you, but this, in this particular instance, I was just talking out loud. So I don't know if that's normal or not, but that's me. But standing there looking at yourself again, coming from a place where not quitting is the currency, especially if you've been in there for a while and you are so worried about the judgment of others, even though none of those other people have to walk a single inch in your shoes or spend a single moment in your life or the situation that you are working your way through, whether that is crushing unhappiness, unhealthiness, anxiety, whatever it may be, even if they were to judge you harshly, does that justify staying in an environment like that as the only person who has to suffer the consequences of staying in that environment? I don't think so. But, God, that is a hurdle that takes a long time to get over, and this took me years. So, short answer to your question, yes, it can absolutely be taken to a place where it is unhealthy. And I would say to you, how much of your life do you want to live in an environment that you are unhappy? Don't be incredibly selfish, but also think of yourself here a little bit, at least 50% of it. And then I think you can even add in the other party when you're talking about a relationship. Is she happy with this? Could she be living a more happier, fulfilled, expressive life, whatever that may be? If you guys go in different directions, is it going to suck for a bit? Do you have to redefine who you are? Do you have to ask yourself really hard questions. Do you have to redevelop and recreate a foundation and move forward and maybe look at your future in a way that is different than you have been because you are in your comfort zone, even though it's being described as being uncomfortable? Yeah, all those things are true. But you also could have a life that you can't even imagine because you have opportunities in front of you that you are blinded to right now because the glasses you are looking through are really muddied up based on what it is you have lived through up till this point. So, yes, it can be taken too far and it can have massive negative consequences on your life. Just remember this. No quit attitude comes from your occupation. Your occupation is what you do. It is not and will never be who you are. And if you can keep those two things separate, I think you're going to be okay. The last thing I'll say is this. Have open conversations with your children and with your significant other if you decide to move forward with this. Don't hide this from your kids. They are of an age where they have the ability to process this information. I'm not saying lean on them as your therapist. Your children should never be your therapist. Right. If you need someone to talk to, go find someone to talk to that is not your child, that is unhealthy. And your children, until you're wearing a diaper, should never be expected to be your caretaker. All right, just some advice. Find somebody to talk to if you need to, but don't hide this from your kids, because I'm telling you right now, if you have an open conversation and ask them about this or their thoughts about this, I think you might be shocked at their response. They may not be surprised at it at all. So that's a lot. And I know it's a tough headspace to get through. I wish I had made the decision five to 10 years prior than I had. The only thing standing in my way at that time was myself, and I regret it. All right, question number two. Very similar, because we're talking about a no quit attitude again. But this person takes it in a different direction, which is why I wanted to answer this. Because there's the relational aspect. This one is actually a little bit more physical in nature and how hard you can be pushing yourself before you get to this place of diminishing returns. Right. Which is another interesting conversation about this mentality of never quitting. Because what if you, in your desire to never quit, your performance starts going in the wrong direction, but you can't stop because all of a sudden you're like, oh my God, I'm going to be a quitter. What do I do? Let's dive in. You've said in SEAL training, but also in life in general. If you adopt a no quit attitude in your mind, you'll be surprised how far it can take you and how much you can accomplish. This is very true and I stand behind this.
