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A
This is the Jocko Underground podcast. We're sitting here with Echo Charles. We have some pretty good questions this week. We will now answer at this time. Start off with the first question.
B
Next question. Dear Jocko, I hope this email finds you well. I want to reach out to you because I admire your insights and on resilience and mental toughness. Okay, so growing up, I faced consistent verbal and physical abuse from my father who frequently told me I wasn't enough, tore me down and made me doubt my own worth. Those years were extremely difficult, but through them I found an inner strength that allowed me to rise above my circumstances and build a successful, fulfilling life. Today, I'm a nurse, proud of the impact I make in people's lives. I'm in a healthy, supportive relationship with a kind man who, who believes in me. I've come a long way, but part of my past still follows me. Despite all I've achieved, my father's words and the memories of his treatment still linger, sometimes surfacing as self doubt or insecurity. I want to. I want to fully overcome the impact of his words and action actions, not just live around them or push them to the side. I want to silence those voices for good and free myself from the hold my past has on me. I would be deeply grateful if you could offer any guidance on how to truly move forward and leave the weight of that abuse behind me. How can I work, fully work to fully overcome what happened to me so I can live in a way that feels truly free of that past. Thank you for taking the time to read this and being such a powerful source of strength and inspiration to for so many, including myself.
A
Well, first of all, awesome work. It sounds like you're doing an outstanding job in your life, right? You're a nurse, you're in a good relationship. All those things are awesome. And here's the thing. Your dad's, your father's, I should say dad's like a little bit of an endearing term. I'm going to take that away from him right now. Your father's commentary was back then and is a reflection of him and not you. That's what's happening. I. He is a troubled, I would say man, but he doesn't sound like much of a man. He was a troubled human. He's likely very insecure, very self doubting. At a minimum, at a minimum, he didn't achieve what he thought he should have achieved or he didn't achieve what he thought he deserved. At a minimum. And so you probably. Well, and you know what Even if he. Even if he achieved things, it wasn't enough. He thought he deserved more. Because I'm thinking, you know, as I was saying, that maybe he's this rich, you know, oil tycoon with all this money, still, he didn't achieve what he thought he should. That's why he's demeaning of you. That's why you threatened him, or I should say you were threatening to him, even as a child. And this is why I say he's a troubled person and a horrible person, to be honest with you, because he didn't want you, as his child, to be better than him. Think about that. That is a terrible parent. That you don't want your children to be more successful and better than you are. And even if you have that feeling, keep it inside, for crying out loud. But to actually let it out and berate a child is disgusting. And then physical abuse, mental abuse, just terrible. So this is what we have to recognize. We have to recognize your father for what he really was, what he really is. And listen, this doesn't mean you have to hate him. In fact, you can still love your dad, believe it or not. It's just that he's imperfect. In fact, he's far from perfect. Everyone's imperfect. He's far from perfect. You ever heard me echo Charles? I've talked about breakups.
B
Yes.
A
And I gave. I've had a lot of people give me feedback over the years about my commentary on when, you know, a girl cheats on you or whatever, breaks up with you. And my key point to convey in those situations is that the girl that you were in love with doesn't actually exist. She doesn't actually exist. It was an illusion that you created in your head that she was going to love you forever, that you were going to get married, that you were going to live happily ever after, and all that stuff that was not true. And the girl that you were in love with doesn't really exist. She was a liar. And you convince yourself in your own head of what she was like in this scenario. It's a similar scenario in that your father. The father that you wish you had and the father that your father should act like doesn't actually exist. He's not a leader. He's got a crazy ego. He has an agenda. He's insecure. He's got a bunch of shortfalls. He's emotionally unstable. He lacks perspective. Like, he is a terrible person. He is a terrible person. But guess what? He's your father. Here's the problem. You've assigned the weight. Assigned a bunch of weight, undeserved weight to the words that your father speaks just because he's your father, you've assigned a bunch of way. You ever been insulted by someone? Echo Charles?
B
Yes. Many times.
A
Have you ever been. Have you ever had someone say something that really hurts your feelings?
B
Oh, I'm sure. Yeah, I have. Okay. It's been a while.
A
Have you ever been. Had your feelings really hurt by someone that you didn't respect or care about? No, of course not. So for some reason, if we don't care about someone or if. If. If we don't. Here's the word. If I don't respect you, I don't really care what you say about me because it's like I have no respect for you.
B
Yeah.
A
And this is kind of a similar scenario right now. You assign all this weight to the words that your quote unquote father says about you. And you shouldn't. You shouldn't. You're giving him weight to words just because he's your biological father. Just because he had a moment in time and he completed a physical action that created you, which is kind of a random action in many ways. Like he. He did that thing, and. And because he did the thing that, by the way, monkeys and horses and dogs do, we're giving him some kind of authority over your mind, and it's not right. He doesn't deserve that. He doesn't deserve that at all. Look, if he cared for you and took care of you and raised you and was gentle with you and taught you and mentored you and cared about you, and then he said something negative, yeah, you should be going, wow, this hurts. But this dude was abusing you physically, psychologically, emotionally, verbally. That's. This is this guy. Is this guy's. You should not listen to anything that this person says. Honestly, the only little thread is that just you happen to have this weird biological connection to him, which, by the way, that can be meaningless. It can be. It can be totally meaningless. It can have meaning or cannot have meaning. It doesn't really matter. You get to decide. You get to decide if you want to give that meaning or not. In this case, I would say don't give it any meaning. I would say do not give it any meaningful. There's no reason to. You are a squared away, respectable, awesome person doing an honorable job, helping other people as a nurse. You're successful professionally. You're in a good relationship. So here's where I'm going to kind of, here's the little curveball I've got for you. And I think this is because you want to be free and clear of this. And I'm going to tell you, this is hard to do. You've got to recognize that he's terrible. Got to recognize that his words should carry no weight. I'm going to say that they shouldn't carry any weight at all. This shouldn't mean anything more to you than a squirrel. Like, it should just mean. It should mean nothing. It should mean less to you. So you have to recognize that that's who he is. And then here's the tricky part. You gotta forgive him for it. Oh, yeah. Yep. My father's. My father is a flawed person who is cruel and abusive and terrible. I forgive him and he's. He. I don't. His. His words no longer and his actions no longer have any weight over me. You have to forgive him for those shortfalls. Understand the shortfalls. Forgive him for those shortfalls. And then you got to move forward, move forward without the burden of his selfish and self absorbed and egomaniacal words. Because that's what it is. They, those words from him, those actions from him mean nothing. That little thread that when I say that and you go, yes, they do. Yes. No. Nope. They actually don't. They actually don't. They actually don't mean anything. You are giving them value and you don't have to. So that is a little excerpt of what we are doing on the Jocko Underground podcast. So if you want to continue to listen, go to Jocko underground.com and subscribe. And we're doing this, we're doing this to mitigate our reliance on external platforms so we are not subject to their control. And we are doing this so that we can support the Jocko podcast, which will remain as is free for all as long as we can keep it that way. But we, but we are doing this so we don't have to be under the control of sponsors. And we're doing it so we can give you more control, more interaction, more direct connections, better communications with us. And to do that, we are, we're building a website right now where we'll be able to utilize to strengthen this legion of troopers that are in the game with us. So thank you. It's Jocko underground.com it costs $8.18 a month. And if you can't afford to support us, we can still support you. Just email assistance, acounderground.com and we'll get you taken care of. Until then, we will see you mobilized underground.
Jocko Underground Podcast Summary
Episode: Recover From Trauma | Smashing Through Set-Backs
Release Date: November 25, 2024
Hosts: Jocko Willink and Echo Charles
In this episode of the Jocko Underground podcast, hosts Jocko Willink and Echo Charles delve into the challenging journey of recovering from trauma and overcoming setbacks. The episode centers around a poignant letter from a listener who has endured significant childhood abuse and seeks guidance to fully transcend the lingering effects of that traumatic past.
The episode begins with Echo Charles presenting a heartfelt letter from a listener who has faced prolonged verbal and physical abuse from her father. Despite these harrowing experiences, she has managed to build a successful and fulfilling life as a nurse and maintain a supportive relationship. However, remnants of her past abuse manifest as self-doubt and insecurity, impeding her quest for complete emotional liberation.
Key Points from the Letter:
Jocko begins his response by acknowledging and praising the listener's achievements, highlighting her resilience and strength in overcoming her challenging upbringing.
"Your dad's commentary was back then and is a reflection of him and not you." [01:32]
He emphasizes that her father's abusive behavior is a testament to his own insecurities and shortcomings, rather than any deficiency on her part. By reframing her father's negative actions as a reflection of his troubled character, Jocko seeks to diminish the undue weight she places on his words.
Key Insights:
Jocko draws parallels between the listener's relationship with her father and general experiences of hurt caused by disrespectful individuals. He posits that hurtful words from someone you don't respect should carry minimal emotional weight.
"You have to forgive him for those shortfalls. Understand the shortfalls. Forgive him for those shortfalls." [06:07]
By comparing the abusive relationship to being hurt by someone whose opinion you don't value, Jocko illustrates that the emotional impact stems not from the words themselves but from the perceived authority and respect granted to the abuser.
Key Insights:
A pivotal component of Jocko's advice is the concept of forgiveness. He underscores that for true emotional freedom, one must forgive the abuser, not necessarily for their sake, but to release the emotional burden that hinders personal growth.
"You have to forgive him for those shortfalls... And then you got to move forward without the burden of his selfish and self-absorbed and egomaniacal words." [06:07]
By advocating for forgiveness, Jocko encourages letting go of past grievances to restore personal strength and continue progressing without the encumbrance of unresolved trauma.
Key Insights:
In wrapping up the discussion, Jocko reiterates the importance of recognizing the abuser's flaws, forgiving them, and reframing the narrative to ensure that past abuse does not dictate one's present or future. This approach is aimed at empowering individuals to break free from the psychological restraints imposed by traumatic experiences and to live authentically and confidently.
Jocko on Parental Abuse:
"Your dad's commentary was back then and is a reflection of him and not you." [01:32]
On Forgiveness and Moving Forward:
"You have to forgive him for those shortfalls... And then you got to move forward without the burden of his selfish and self-absorbed and egomaniacal words." [06:07]
On Assigning Value to Abuser's Words:
"You are giving them value and you don't have to." [06:07]
This episode of Jocko Underground offers profound insights into the process of healing from trauma inflicted by trusted figures. Through candid discussion and practical advice, Jocko and Echo Charles provide listeners with actionable strategies to overcome the lingering effects of abuse, fostering resilience and personal growth. Whether grappling with past hardships or seeking ways to enhance mental toughness, this episode serves as a valuable resource for anyone striving to reclaim their life from the shadows of their past.