The Life Coach School Podcast: Episode #534 – "Be a Badass - Obstacles"
Release Date: July 10, 2025
Host: Brooke Castillo
Introduction to Being a Badass
In Episode #534 of The Life Coach School Podcast, Brooke Castillo delves into the second part of her series on "Being a Badass," focusing specifically on the obstacles that impede individuals from achieving their fullest potential. Building on the foundation laid in Part One—where she defined badassery as encompassing an incredible work ethic and mental fortitude—Brooke sets the stage for understanding and overcoming the barriers to becoming a "badass."
Defining and Owning Your Problems
Brooke emphasizes the critical importance of clearly defining problems to effectively solve them. She states:
"Being able to define a problem clearly is the only way that you'll ever be able to solve it." [00:00]
She underscores personal responsibility, urging listeners to view themselves as the architects of their challenges. By taking ownership, individuals gain full agency to address and overcome their obstacles without relying on external factors or others to enact change.
The Motivational Triad: Nature's Hindrance to Extraordinary Success
One of the primary challenges to reaching extraordinary success is the inherent design of the human brain, which Brooke refers to as the "motivational triad." This triad consists of:
- Conserving Energy: An evolutionary trait aimed at survival by minimizing unnecessary exertion.
- Avoiding Pain: A natural inclination to steer clear of discomfort at all costs.
- Seeking Pleasure: The drive to pursue activities and experiences that bring joy and satisfaction.
Brooke explains:
"The motivational triad is still alive and well. And it is debilitating in many ways, because in order to become extraordinary now, you have to overcome your own motivational triad." [00:00]
To transcend these ingrained behaviors, one must embrace discomfort, resist instant gratification, and exert energy strategically to achieve meaningful results.
Setting Big, Scary Goals
A significant obstacle identified is the tendency to set small, easily attainable goals that do not challenge one's mental or emotional capacities. Brooke asserts:
"Badass people have badass goals. They have impressive goals that are scary, that are extraordinary, that are extra... they seem crazy." [00:00]
By setting audacious objectives, individuals push themselves beyond their comfort zones, fostering resilience and a robust work ethic. Failure becomes a learning tool rather than a setback, facilitating continuous growth and eventual success.
Fragility vs. Antifragility
Brooke introduces the concept of fragility and antifragility, advocating for the latter as a means to build strength through challenges:
"Being fragile or antifragile means that when you face a trauma or a challenge in your life, that is an opportunity to rebuild and make yourself stronger in those broken places." [00:00]
Embracing antifragility involves viewing hardships as opportunities for development, thereby enhancing one's mental toughness and overall resilience.
Approval Whoring: Seeking External Validation
A pervasive obstacle to badassery is the incessant need for approval from others, which Brooke terms "approval whoring." She discusses how this behavior can lead to:
- Altering oneself to gain applause
- Becoming trapped in people-pleasing and perfectionism
- Losing authenticity in the pursuit of external validation
"When you are seeking approval or applause... you'll never create authentic success." [00:00]
Brooke encourages listeners to cultivate self-approval and internal validation to achieve genuine success and personal fulfillment.
Drama Creation and Avoidance
Engaging in or seeking drama is another significant barrier. Brooke explains:
"If you are someone that has a lot of drama in your life, you are probably participating and creating it... It is very low level, low energy game." [00:00]
By eliminating unnecessary drama and reacting constructively to situations, individuals can conserve their energy for more productive endeavors, thereby strengthening their mental fortitude.
Righteousness and Black-and-White Thinking
Brooke identifies righteousness—viewing the world in stark terms of right and wrong—as an obstacle. This mindset leads to:
- Blaming others
- Struggling with perfectionism
- Inhibiting personal growth and authenticity
"If you're always trying to be right and you're always going to want to be on the side of good... it doesn't work in terms of being extraordinary." [00:00]
She advocates for embracing the full spectrum of human experience, including mistakes and imperfections, to foster authentic badassery.
Managing Negative Emotions
A recurring theme is the management of negative emotions. Brooke advises:
"You have to utilize negative emotion in order to strengthen yourself emotionally." [00:00]
Instead of avoiding or suppressing negative feelings, she encourages processing and embracing them as opportunities for growth. This approach diminishes the fear associated with negative emotions, enabling individuals to act decisively despite challenges.
Self-Love vs. Self-Coddling
Distinguishing between self-love and self-coddling is crucial. Brooke warns against:
"Self coddling really creates a lot of behavior weakness where you're not managing dread well and work ethic." [00:00]
While self-love fosters resilience and self-respect, self-coddling can lead to complacency and hinder personal development.
Managing the Mind: The Core of Overcoming Obstacles
Ultimately, Brooke posits that a mismanaged mind is the root cause of many obstacles. She asserts:
"If you are not managing your mind, you will have all of these negative emotions and you will have all of these negative thoughts that create them and they will just be running in the background." [00:00]
By taking control of one's mental processes, individuals can navigate and overcome the various barriers to becoming a badass.
Conclusion and Looking Ahead
Brooke concludes the episode by reinforcing the importance of using failures as stepping stones to strength, much like a child learns to walk through repeated falls. She offers a metaphor:
"Picture the little kid learning how to walk. The only way they ever learn how to walk is by failing a thousand times." [00:00]
Encouraging listeners to embrace challenges and persist through setbacks, Brooke teases the next episode, which will provide tools to combat the discussed obstacles.
"Join me next week in the next podcast where I'm going to talk about the tools that you need to start practicing and start utilizing on the regular basis to overcome all of the obstacles that I just talked about." [00:00]
Final Thoughts
Episode #534 serves as a comprehensive exploration of the internal and external challenges that hinder individuals from reaching their highest potential. Through insightful discussion and practical advice, Brooke Castillo empowers listeners to identify and overcome these obstacles, paving the way toward authentic badassery characterized by unwavering work ethic and mental resilience.
For more insights and to begin your journey towards becoming a certified Life Coach & Weight Loss Coach, visit TheLifeCoachSchool.com.