BONUS: Shawn Johnson East & Andrew East

Summary

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Work in Progress with Sophia Bush

BONUS Episode: Shawn Johnson East & Andrew East
iHeartPodcasts | July 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this bonus episode, Sophia Bush sits down with Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson East and former NFL player Andrew East to discuss their new book, The Courage to Commit: Embracing the Radical Power of Sticking with Something. The conversation dives into the importance of commitment in an era of instant gratification, the search for purposeful living, and the everyday practices and paradoxes that sustain marriage, family, and fulfillment. With characteristic humor and vulnerability, Shawn and Andrew share candid lessons from their lives, offering practical strategies and memorable stories about navigating uncertainty, defining personal success, and finding delight in the simplest moments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Write The Courage to Commit?

Theme: Commitment as both a challenge and a joy

• Shawn explains the book’s timing:

  “The best things in life are the most intimidating, the most beyond us, the, the most requiring of struggle ... the best parts of life are that mixture of struggle and joy. And so it's like, it takes a bit of courage to step into.” (05:11)

• Andrew notes it’s a ‘roadmap’ of how they rebounded from feeling unfulfilled despite outward success (09:00).

Key Insight:
They wrote the book in response to the overwhelming “noise” and decision fatigue so prevalent today, aiming to help others “quiet the noise and find something that makes you feel purposeful.” (07:13)

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2. Getting Lost, Finding Fulfillment

Theme: Success isn’t always what it seems

• Shawn describes questioning their trajectory 10 years ago despite external achievements:

  “…we are leading a beautiful life that everybody would say is successful and great, but we don’t feel fulfilled, purposeful, like we’re doing what we should be.” (07:13)

• They embarked on a reflective journey: working with mentors, therapists, and coaches to rediscover what genuinely matters and how to protect it.

Key Takeaway:
Fulfillment requires intentional effort. “At the end of the day, it means sticking with something that you love and protecting it.” (08:44)

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3. The ‘Day of Delight’ Practice

Theme: Consistently making time for joy

• Origins: Adopted from a mentor during a three-day intensive.
• How it works:
  • Each family member writes out a list of things that “fill their cup”—often simple, childlike pleasures (10:03–11:26).
  • Once a week, they have a protected “Day of Delight” with no work or phones, dedicated purely to those activities.
  • This became a core rhythm that rejuvenates their family.

    “It makes it so much easier to get opportunities sent our way and be like, oh, sorry. That falls on our day of delight. So it's like, no, we protect that now at all costs.” (11:59)

Notable Quote:

“If you lose the joy of life, why are we doing this in the beginning? ... We deserve to have joy in our beautiful world.” (11:09)

Andrew adds:

“…the simplest things that actually fill our cup are the things we don’t do because they’re just right there. But if … you make it a non-negotiable … it’s putting so much more in the happiness column in you … because you’re on the grind.” (12:31)

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4. The Reality of Opportunity Cost & Success

Theme: The unglamorous side of achievement

• Sophia and Andrew candidly discuss:
  • The “costs” paid to reach high levels—missing events, time away from family, loss of routine comforts (21:40–23:49).
  • Difficulty talking openly about the sacrifices because of pressures to appear humble and grateful.
  • The need to accept all sides of personal and career experience—struggle, joy, doubt, and progress.

Memorable Exchanges:

“I'm not going to lie that it was hard.” – Andrew East (23:44)
“We have to get to a point where we're okay allowing people to talk about the full spectrum of experience at whatever level of success or whatever stage of life they're at.” – Andrew East (23:51)

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5. Instant Gratification vs. Long-Term Goals

Theme: True satisfaction takes time and work

• Shawn warns about the modern focus on ‘do what makes you happy right now’:

  “…if you can’t take a pause and look at the big picture ... then you actually will never get to that long term goal that you want, ever. Because instant gratification is not the way.” (24:28)

• Andrew stresses the need to ‘zoom out’ and analyze life choices for clarity:

  “Time is moving fast no matter what.” (25:22)
  "That zoom out ... to analyze what kind of life you want to live ... feeds clarity." (25:32)

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6. Navigating the Unknown & Building Clarity

Theme: Clarity is built, not bestowed

• Shawn uses an ‘Indiana Jones’ metaphor:

  “He’s on this mission ... he hits this point where there’s this chasm ... he’s been told that there’s this invisible bridge ... That’s like the idea of the unknown ... you have to step onto that invisible bridge.” (26:09)

• Clarity comes with time:

  “Very rarely in my life have I had 100%. Oh, yeah, this is exactly where I should go … it's mostly been a slow process of building clarity in my experience.” (27:19)

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7. The Vital Role of Mentorship

Theme: Learning from others shortens the learning curve

• Mentors and coaches have been transformative for the couple:

  “We love coaches … we decided very early on to work with therapists and to go find people who are so wise in all of their fields so we could learn from them, to hopefully equip ourselves with the tools to be able to traverse these hardships …” (29:40)

• Mentorship as intergenerational exchange:

  “I can inspire [my parents] to, like, keep it going and they can give me advice. So I don't … it doesn't take me six mistakes to get to where I'm going.” – Andrew East (28:23)

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8. Commitment Paradoxes & Work in Progress

Theme: Commitment is not about sticking to everything

• Vulnerability around launching the book:

  “We have felt more nervousness around the book launch than anything we’ve done … it’s been exciting, but has felt very vulnerable the past couple weeks.” – Shawn Johnson (37:02)

• The importance of ‘pruning’ in commitment:

  “We talk about pruning things … you need to rid yourself of certain things in life to make room for other things. And so thus, you’re naturally not sticking to things.” – Shawn Johnson (38:13)

Marriage lessons:

“I just am realizing what a treat it is to actually never really coast ... that's just not part of marriage, I don't think, or our relationship … the work is the delight. Like, you two can play catch together forever. And that's incredible. But you have to remember that you have to make time for it.” – Andrew East (39:53–41:19)

Practical Rhythm:

• Weekly check-in:

  “Every Sunday we will sit down and talk about how the week felt. ... What bucket felt empty to you? What bucket was overflowing with so much goodness? And how can I tweak something next week to make you feel more loved ... every week’s different.” – Shawn Johnson (42:17)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Fulfillment and Noise

"We reached the epitome of success and got lost along the way and found our way back and this is how we did it." – Shawn Johnson (09:02)

On the Simplicity of Joy

"The things that I most enjoy doing are playing catch ... it's so simple that I never do it ... And answer your question. Like how it changed our life to be. Not to be dramatic, but it truly did." – Shawn Johnson (11:47)

On Opportunity Cost in Ambitious Careers

"To make it to the level you did, you had to pay the cost of moving cities, pay the cost of hanging out with your old friends, pay the cost of doing all these other things ... Everything has a cost to it." – Shawn Johnson (14:02)

On Clarity and Stepping into the Unknown

"...There’s this invisible bridge that he [Indiana Jones] has to step onto ... That’s like the idea of the unknown ... you have to step onto that invisible bridge." – Shawn Johnson (26:09)

On Never Coasting in Marriage

"...I just am realizing what a treat it is to actually never really coast ... that's just not part of marriage, I don't think, or our relationship ... the work is the delight." – Andrew East (39:53–41:19)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Book purpose & origins: 04:12–09:08
• Day of Delight practice: 09:13–13:51
• On joy and the grind: 12:31–13:51
• Opportunity cost & sacrifices of success: 21:40–24:19
• Mentorship: 28:23–30:58
• Marriage is always a work in progress: 37:02–42:48

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Conclusion

This episode offers an uplifting yet honest look at what it takes to build a life, partnership, and career that are both intentional and adaptive. Shawn and Andrew’s approach combines self-awareness, practical routines, a willingness to learn from mentors, and a readiness to share both struggles and victories. Their perspective on commitment—not just the grit to stick with something, but also knowing when to let go—feels especially resonant in a world filled with distractions and quick fixes. Throughout the conversation, Sophia Bush helps bring out their wisdom, wit, and warmth in ways that are engaging and deeply relatable.

Perfect for listeners seeking inspiration, practical tools for maintaining joy and purpose, or a validating reminder that we are all, always, a work in progress.

Transcript

[Shawn Johnson]

This is an iHeart podcast guaranteed human

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[Podcast Host Sophia]

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[Podcast Host Sophia]

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[Andrew East]

e.com friends the Trump administration and its

[Podcast Host Sophia]

backers in Congress are messing around with our health care. They have already passed a law supposedly defunding Planned Parenthood, which blocks Medicaid patients from getting life saving care like cancer screenings, wellness exams, birth control, STI treatment and more. And now these lawmakers want to shut down health centers by defunding Planned Parenthood permanently. Our communities deserve better. To learn how you can get involved, text the word update to 22422.

[Andrew East]

Hey everyone, it's Sophia.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

Welcome to Work in Progress.

[Andrew East]

We are back with the wonderful Shawn Johnson and Andrew east to dig into the lessons they chose to to write down for all of us in their brand new book, the Courage to Commit, Embracing the radical power of sticking with something. I want to talk to you guys about life all day, but I also very specifically want to do a little extra chat just about the book because it's so great and I'm so happy. Courage to Commit is out in the world for people. You know, you are taking all of your lessons, all of the things that you have figured out about how to be married, how to be leaders, how to go through these transitions in life and offering them to people with delight and with humor, which you crush online. Thank you for being one of my sources of joy on the Internet. But I'm curious why you felt like now was the moment to write it.

[Shawn Johnson]

I think the best things in life are the most intimidating, the most beyond us, the, the most requiring of struggle. You know, it's like raising kids is not easy. Nor is committing to your career when it's not going well, you know, or, or like, or staying in the relationship when it's like, man, we've had, it felt like eight weeks of just stone cold, like we are not on the same page.

[Xolair Advertisement Voice]

Yeah.

[Shawn Johnson]

And it's like, okay, you know, not, not everything is worth committing to and not like there's healthy commitment and unhealthy commitment. And I think like the differentiator There is kind of like this, I don't know, this concept of growth. So. So for me, you know, like, in my football career, it was time for me to move on because I was experiencing so much growth and interest in other areas of my life. And I was a long snapper in the NFL, which meant I was, you know, standing on the sidelines most of the time. And the playbook didn't vary that much. And so I was like, okay, I think I've done this thing. I accomplished my goals. I got my seasons in the NFL. And so it's like. But just because it's beyond us or you don't feel ready for it doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. Like, with parenting, you're like, dang, this is intimidating and terrifying. And that goes hand in hand with all of the incredible joys. And that's just what we felt like all of life has been. You know, it's like the best parts of life are that mixture of struggle and joy. And so it's like, it takes a bit of courage to step into. You know what? My life isn't as organized as I thought it or as I think it should be to have kids or I don't have the career that I have to. That I felt like I needed to, to, like, you know, feel like I was ready to be married. But there's like, this. This courage that you need to step into that and realize, you know, this is all part of the process.

There's so much noise in the world right now that I feel like so many people, and there's statistics to back this, are feeling very lost because with so many options and so many opinions and so many people showing their way of life, I think a lot of times we get very confused as to what is my way and what's best for myself. And with so much noise and so much anxiety in the world, even with us, we found ourselves 10 years ago at a coffee shop, writing on a piece of paper with pen for five hours. What do we want our life to look like? Because we are leading a beautiful life that everybody would say is successful and great, but we don't feel. I don't want to. Fulfilled, purposeful, like we're doing what we should be. And so we went on this huge search for the past 10 years. We hired the greatest mentors. We did all these intensives. We've. We've met some of the wisest people who have systems and ways to figure out what matters to you and how to embrace it and how to Protect it and organize it and find true fulfillment in your life that suits you. And we wake up every day pinching ourselves, saying, how do we get to live this life? And we do everything in our power to protect it. And so we write in our book everything we've learned from the most brilliant people of how to quiet the noise and find something that makes you feel purposeful. And I feel like there's so much like decision fatigue and exhaustion with the grass is greener and this is how you hack your way there. And at the end of the day, it means sticking with something that you love and protecting it. But it was just our way of

[Andrew East]

saying

[Shawn Johnson]

we reached the epitome of success and got lost along the way and found our way back and this is how we did it.

[Andrew East]

So, yeah, kind of the roadmap, if you will.

[Shawn Johnson]

Yeah.

[Andrew East]

I want to talk about this concept of a day of delight for our friends at home. It's in chapter two, so you'll get to it quickly. You're welcome. But talk to us a little bit about that, like where it, where it came from and also what you think changed in your relationship once you implemented it. Because I know that that coming so quickly in the book is because, you know, it's so important for people to get as fast as possible.

[Shawn Johnson]

It was something that we had a mentor teach us. We did this three day intensive with a man who is an absolute genius. We're very nerdy this way. We like to, like, always self reflect and optimize. Yeah.

[Andrew East]

I'm also like, I can't wait to get the full list of all of these intensive coaches after this podcast. Thank you.

[Shawn Johnson]

I wasn't in all time, but I remember he said one of these exercises was to, like, go through the week and draw out our absolute perfect week where we're balancing life with work, with obligations, with things that really fill our cup. And he said, try very hard to have a day every week where you are only doing things that fill your cup. The world constantly wants to pressure you to just keep grinding. And everything on Instagram is going to tell you, don't take a break because you're not going to reach the top of the mountain. And I think that's a lie. I think if you can take at least a day, a week to. We literally did this. We wrote out a long laundry list of all the things that we love. Mine was like a campfire. I like making s'. Mores. I like jumping on a trampoline or going for a walk. I wrote out the strangest Funniest, cutest things that are very childlike. And so did he, and so did our children. And so on the weekends, because we have school and stuff, we will take one day and that's all we'll do. No work. We try not to be on our phones. We try to truly just fill our cups. Because like we talked about with the athletics, if you lose the joy of life, why are we doing this in the beginning? Like, why are we doing this at all? Yeah, we deserve to have joy in our beautiful world. And I think a lot of people forget that.

It was also like, harder than I thought it would be. To the list of the things that we most enjoy doing. It's like so simple. It's like, hey, I want to just sit and listen to music or let me just play guitar or let me like starting a fight. It's nothing crazy. It's not like, let's go to Dubai or it's like, no, it's. The things that I most enjoy doing are playing catch.

[Andrew East]

Yeah.

[Shawn Johnson]

It's like, wow, that is so simple. And yeah, it's, it's so simple that I never do it. You know, I'm saying, it's like I know that it's always there. I know that it's like it's in the garage and I'll never do it.

And answer your question. Like how it changed our life to be. Not to be dramatic, but it truly did is like it has become one of our most protected things. It makes it so much easier to get opportunities sent our way and be like, oh, sorry. That falls on our day of delight. So it's like, no, we protect that now at all costs. It's our kids favorite day of the week. It's something that truly fills us back up and gets us ready for the

next day and gives us something to look forward to.

Yeah.

[Andrew East]

Okay, sweet.

[Shawn Johnson]

It's Tuesday, our day. The light's coming up. And then. Yeah.

[Sponsor Voice (Boem/Thrive Cosmetics)]

Yeah.

[Andrew East]

And something that's actually within your reach to your point. Like, I do think all of us fall prey to that pressure. And, and you said it. The simplest things that actually fill our cup are the things we don't do because they're just right there. But if. If you can, if you can personify it, you make it the day. You make it a non negotiable. Suddenly you're. You're doing all these things that are so simple, but they're completely like. They're reordering your insides almost like it's, it's. It's putting so much more in the happiness column in you than you've perhaps been doing for a while because you're on the grind. And I think it's a really interesting way to give yourself a healthy counterbalance to the other positive aspects of what you're chasing, what your dreams are. You know, you both talk a lot about, especially through sport, learning what mastery is and how it requires a lifetime of consistency. And so if you're going to be consistent for your goals, you should also be consistent for your happiness. Like, happiness should be on the goal list, Right?

[Shawn Johnson]

Yeah. Can I close the loop on something I've been thinking about ever since you said it, which is the.

[Xolair Advertisement Voice]

Yeah.

[Shawn Johnson]

You said you're curious about? Why is that? Is it the packaging or the, like, the news feature of.

[Andrew East]

Yeah.

[Shawn Johnson]

An Olympic gold medal or a successful acting career? I say I also think part of it is, you know, like, I think excellence should be celebrated and rewarded and given notoriety. You know, like, to do what you have done is incredible. And to do what Sean has done, it's like. It's amazing. And, like, what a fun thing to see humans do these incredible things. So, like, please. Yes. But it's also like, there's opportunity costs, and everything. Everything has a cost to it. And so to make it to the level you did, you had to get. Pay the cost of moving cities, pay the cost of hanging out with your old friends, pay the cost of doing all these other things. And it's like, there's always costs. And it's like. I think what I realized recently is, you know, people talk about compounding in finances all the time. And it's like, oh, swee, you know, 40 years from now, this is what this could look like, or, you know, a penny a day, yada, yada. And it's like, that applies to every other area of life, too. So it's like, if you want. I think that that deep feeling that you might not necessarily get with achieving your NFL dream of, like, oh, man, okay, I made it. But it still doesn't feel like I thought I. I'm still just, like, waking up in my bed. Like, you said that can. That can either compound if you're facing the success, or you could, like, do these little deposits weekly, like, doing a day of delight of, like, you know what? I know that. I know that playing golf might put my NFL career at risk because I'm, like, you know, potentially hurting my back. And maybe that's not good, but I really love it. And I think that I can do football longer if I still do these little daily deposits of, like, chore.

[Andrew East]

Yeah.

[Shawn Johnson]

And so I don't. I was just thinking about, like, the opportunity cost is part of what makes it feel so unglamorous when you're the person being glamorized so totally.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

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[Andrew East]

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[Podcast Host Sophia]

Choices Aren't they great? It's why Plan B made over the counter emergency contraception legal more than 20 years ago. Because now you have a backup plan and a choice. That's freedom to be. Plan B is the number one OB GYN recommended emergency contraception. It is not an abortion pill. Get it immediately at all major retailers in store or delivery. Use Plan B emergency contraception as directed within 72 hours after unprotected sex. The sooner you take it, the better it works.

[Xolair Advertisement Voice]

Xolair Omalizumab is proven to significantly reduce allergic reactions if a food allergy accident happens. Xolair 150mg is a prescription medication used to treat food allergy in people 1 year of age and older. To reduce allergic reactions due to accidental exposure to one or more foods while taking Xolair, you should continue to avoid all foods to which you are allergic. Don't use if you are allergic to Xolair. Xolair may cause a severe life threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Tell your doctor if you have ever had anaphylaxis. Get help right away if you have trouble breathing or if you have swelling of your throat or tongue. Xolair should not be used for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. Xolair is for maintenance use to reduce allergic reactions including anaphylaxis while avoiding food allergens. Serious side effects such as cancer, fever, muscle aches and rash, parasitic infection, or heart and circulation problems have been reported. Please see xolair.com for full prescribing information. Ask an allergist about Xolair this is an advertisement for Xolair paid for by Genentech and Novartis.

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[Podcast Host Sophia]

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[Andrew East]

I'm a big fan of humility. I don't like, I don't love any sort of elitist structure. Like, I'm not usually the person on my set who's going to try to like befriend the producer. I'm like over in the corner talking to the camera guys about what lenses they're using. I'm not interested in the game in that way, but I do think there's kind of a conundrum of when you've made it, you're not supposed to talk about the opportunity cost because then you're not humble, you're not grateful. You know, then, then you'. You're just being a dick. And it's like, well, no, I want to be a human and this is my human condition. And you know, when I speak to young people who want to do what I do for work, I don't, I don't lie to them. I'm like, hey, you got to be prepared to not see your family. You got to be prepared to miss every wedding and every baby born. And you know, you're probably like, if you're working on a show, you are not going to see your family. And can you figure out how to structure your life around that? Will you be the person who, you know, is willing to do what we all used to do? Like in our industry, they, they call the overnights you get to by the end of the week a Friday, because you start working on Friday but you work until midday Saturday. And like we, we kind of got our Fridays to where we'd wrap by like 5am on Saturday morning and I'd have a bag packed and be on a 6:20 flight to LA. Like I'd go straight from set to the airport just so I could go home and like make someone's birthday or have dinner with my parents. And then Sunday morning I'd be on a 6am flight back to North Carolina. Yeah, and it was really hard and like I spent years not sleeping and now I'm such, oh, I'm So regimented about my sleep, but like, it was the only way I could navigate the opportunity cost.

[Shawn Johnson]

Yeah.

[Andrew East]

And I am incredibly grateful. And I'm not going to lie that it was hard.

[Shawn Johnson]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

And I think we have to get

[Andrew East]

to a point where we're okay allowing people to talk about the full spectrum of experience at whatever level of success or whatever stage of life they're at. It's no different than a mom saying like, hey, I'm having a really hard time right now with my two toddlers.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

And people are like, but aren't you so happy?

[Andrew East]

And it's like, well, yeah, duh, they're amazing. And also this is hard. And we have to allow, I think, for, for all of that and our

[Shawn Johnson]

antidote too, that like always, I don't know that the more, more, more that your career could ask for, your kids ask for just like just little delight every now and then.

Well, and we, we speak so much. This is like the whole trajectory of the book is like exactly what you just said. We live in a world of instant gratification where people just keep preaching, do what makes you happy right now. That's what you deserve. And it's like if you can't take a pause and look at the big picture of where you actually want to go and learn how to have boredom and learn how to work through obstacles and learn how to stick with it when it gets tough and you're sacrificing, then you actually will never get to that long term goal that you want, ever. Because instant gratification is not the way. And the opportunity cost is like, it's part of it. And our world doesn't like to acknowledge that anymore. And you can't find true beauty if you don't actually work hard for something. I mean, yeah, it's good.

[Andrew East]

Yeah. I think that's really, it's really important to be able to zoom out and think about it in that way. Because time, time is moving fast no matter what.

[Shawn Johnson]

Yeah.

[Andrew East]

Do you think that that, that's the sort of practice that you talk about in, in chapter nine, you talk about the unknown, about how this, this sort of momentum that you can work to create is what gives you clarity. Do you think that that zoom out and, and choice to analyze what kind of life you want to live is what feeds clarity for you both?

[Shawn Johnson]

Yeah. I mean, the unknown. I think of this movie scene from Indiana Jones. I don't know if you've seen that, Sophia.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

Oh, yeah.

[Shawn Johnson]

It's like he's on this mission. He knows where he wants to go. But he hits this point where there's, like, this chasm, and he's on one side of this cliff, and he's trying to get to the other side. And. And he's been told that there's this invisible bridge that he has to step onto to get to the other side. And it's like, okay, that's like kind of this idea of unknown of. Of, okay. I've been told as an athlete that I. I might have what it takes to make it to the next level if I do X, Y, and Z. And it's like, you're stepping into this. This area where you're like, I. I'm trusting. You know, I am. I'm not sure. I've never experienced this. You know, I've been maybe told by mentors that this is kind of how it goes, but when you're the one in it, like, you don't. You don't know. And it's daunting, and it's. It's terrifying, and it's like you have to step onto that invisible bridge. And, you know, there's. There's certain things that you could do to. To build assurance in that. But, yeah, clarity is a. It can be a slippery thing that I think it's almost like a. It's something that can grow, and you could start to see kind of the positive feedback of, like, okay, I didn't understand this at the start, but now that I'm in it for a little bit, like, I'm starting to slowly build clarity. But very rarely in my life have I had 100%. Oh, yeah, this is exactly where I should go. People talk about whatever, hearing God speak to them, and I'm like, I've never had that moment. It would be so great. But, like, it's. It's mostly been a slow process of building clarity in my experience.

[Andrew East]

Yeah, I think that's. That's the thing. I actually think it's a. Such an important process and can also be quite spiritual to realize, oh, I. I am the captain of my ship. I have to do this. No one else is going to tell me how to do it. You know, I think about it, like we were saying, the world is really heavy today, and I think a lot of people go, well, who's gonna fix it? And I'm like, hate to break it to y'.

[Shawn Johnson]

All.

[Andrew East]

We are officially the adults in the room. Like, we have to fix it. Yeah, we have to steer the ship, you know, And I think. I think that's exciting. I think it's Scary. And I think you've touched on something a few times that feels sort of like the North Star, which is mentorship. Because I think there are necessities for big moments in life where you can look to someone for guidance and where that person, in that sort of intergenerational exchange can also look to us for a little bit of hope. Like, we're not quite as jaded. You know, I'm more tired than I was in my 20s, but I am not as tired as my parents.

[Shawn Johnson]

Yeah.

[Andrew East]

And, you know, I can inspire them to, like, keep it going and they can give me advice. So I don't. It doesn't take me six mistakes to get to where I'm going. Hopefully it only takes like three or four. And I'm curious how the two of you, especially so young, you know, in your lives and in your marriage, started seeking mentorship so intentionally,

[Shawn Johnson]

because you mentioned this earlier, we found ourselves surrounded in gymnastics at a very young age, and then in the NFL. And then early on in our marriage, we found ourselves surrounded by people who are going through really, really, really hard things in life. Divorces, loss of career, people who were at, you know, the highest level of success, who were so depressed. Yeah, we witnessed a lot of heartbreak and a lot of people in very low valleys and we went through some of them ourselves. And yeah, we had just decided, I think coming from athletics, we love coaches. I love someone to say, this is your way. So we decided very early on to, to work with therapists and to go find people who are so wise in all of their fields so we could learn from them, to hopefully equip ourselves with the tools to be able to traverse these hardships if we were to ever, you know, find ourselves experiencing them. And yeah, we, yeah, it was just kind of trying to prepare ourselves as much as possible.

[Andrew East]

Yeah, that's really cool.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

We'll be back in just a minute after a few words from our favorite sponsors.

[Andrew East]

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[Podcast Host Sophia]

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[Podcast Host Sophia]

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[Andrew East]

Guys, the book is just so good. Courage to Commit is in bookstores now. It's wise, it's thoughtful. I really, I really appreciate that you two decided to do this in this moment. I think it's filled with exactly the kinds of hope and practical strategies that people need. So very well done to you both. I'm curious for each of you. You know, you have found what seems like a really good rhythm in your lives as individuals, as a couple. You are authentic and you are funny online, which is not always easy in a, in a world you know that that does feel so consumed these days, but it seems like you're in a good stride and so with the book out and the babies doing well and like life feeling solid, I'm curious as you look forward, what still feels like your work in progress?

[Shawn Johnson]

It's funny you say that because I feel like we have had we've to be very vulnerable and honest. We have not felt that, so we have felt like it with the book. I think it's one of the most vulnerable things we've done in our career. I think we are getting a taste of our own medicine, of everything we're preaching, which is this has taken us almost four years to do and because we live in such an instant gratification world, and we are on the gram, and we get instant gratification or not from, like a post. We have felt more nervousness around the book launch than anything we've done. And so it's been kind of nerve wracking the past couple of weeks and talking about it and kind of putting into the world everything that we've been working on. So I would say what still feels like a work in progress is very much this. We have been working really hard to this moment, so it's been exciting, but has felt very vulnerable the past couple weeks.

Yeah.

[Andrew East]

Yeah.

[Shawn Johnson]

And honestly, you've done a great job at kind of identifying the paradox that is this topic of commitment, where it's like, yeah, like, we're out here preaching, stick to it, but, like, not to everything. And you kind of alluded to it in different words earlier, but we talk about pruning things like, you know, you need to rid yourself of certain things in life to make room for other things. And so thus, you're naturally not sticking to things. And so there, you know, there's a couple different paradoxes where you're like, shoot, how are we going to work through this? And I think we did. I'm really happy with how the book turned out and we, like, navigated some of those paradoxes to give people practical tips. But for me, I would say that my work in progress. You said we've been married 10 years. And I guess I kind of assumed, Sophia, that, like, I'm like, okay, I know Sean so deeply, like, we got it. We're in stride. We can coast now. And I just am realizing what a, what a treat it is to, like, actually never really coast. Like, that's just not part of. Of marriage, I don't think, or our relationship. And it's like, honestly, it's. It's really fun. And also, I. I didn't expect that,

you know, of, like, you just figured it out.

Yeah, we still. I still have things where I'm like, I. I feel like at 34, I should have resolved this inability to schedule anything. Like, I don't know what the deal

is, or, like, maybe someday, babe, maybe,

or why do I still annoy Sean? So I got a lot of works in progress. Sophia.

[Andrew East]

Yeah. I think, if I may, you know, because I've got almost a decade on you, what I've learned, especially when I talk about, like, you know, wild times a few years ago, people who really think, oh, I can coast. I'll deal with this later. Like, this is the core, and it's Set. And so I'll go deal with everything else, and we'll make time for this later. All of those people are people who get divorced. Like, you cannot emotionally, physically, verbally abandon your person or, like, get lazy with them. Like, in the same way that you. You dedicate your day of delight, and you don't let other things mess with it. You have to. You have to want to dedicate with your person. And I. What I've learned with, you know, people who've finally gotten it right, I'd like to think that's me. People who've been getting it right for a long time. Like, the two of you, like, you better date forever. Like, that's your wife, but that's your girlfriend, you know, because people who get lazy with a spouse. I'm like, best of luck to you.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

I'll be here when she calls me

[Andrew East]

and tells me she's out. And so, like, I'm glad to hear you say that. That you're like, oh, I thought it might get. I thought we might not have to work on this. But the work, like, the work is the delight. Like, you two can play catch together forever.

[Shawn Johnson]

Yeah.

[Andrew East]

And that's incredible. But you have to. You have to remember that you have to make time for it.

[Sponsor Voice (Boem/Thrive Cosmetics)]

Yeah.

[Shawn Johnson]

People talk about the love languages, and it's like, all right, quality time. Let's just say that's your love language. I mean, at 10 years in, we've. Sean and I have had a lot of quality time together, and I kind of thought there would be a. Like, a container of, you know, all right, we get. We did we. I. I gave you the quality time.

I need quality time for the rest of my life.

It's more like stream.

[Andrew East]

Every year, the container starts over.

[Shawn Johnson]

Yeah.

[Andrew East]

You are currently doing 20, 26 quality time.

[Xolair Advertisement Voice]

Yeah.

[Shawn Johnson]

Well, no, it's like, every week almost. And it's like, no, it's really good. It's like, this is. And this is what you want. Like that. Otherwise, I don't know, it'd be. It'd be boring in some ways.

[Xolair Advertisement Voice]

Yeah.

[Shawn Johnson]

Well. And we talk a lot about. You mentioned it. Rhythms. We try to implement kind of unmovable rhythms that protect each category of our life. So even with, like, our marriage, every Sunday we will sit down and talk about how the week felt. And that can feel like overkill to some people, but it's like, what bucket felt empty to you? What bucket was overflowing with so much goodness. And how can I kind of tweak something next week to make you feel more loved and yeah, every week's different.

So, yeah, we got a good team situation going on. For the record, I do mostly agree with you that, you know, if the moms were in charge, everything would be figured out.

[Andrew East]

But hey, good dads are welcome too. They are like, you know, I think we can all agree statistically the men haven't been doing great with all the leadership seats. But there are some of you who are excellent who I would like to recruit to our team.

[Shawn Johnson]

I think, yeah, that's the team you're getting.

[Andrew East]

You know, it's two against one at the moment and the two of us say Andrew's invited.

[Shawn Johnson]

Yeah, yeah, Andrew gets the invite.

[Andrew East]

You're doing great. You get to come to the matriarchy team. You're doing great.

[Shawn Johnson]

You got my wheels turning today. Sophia, thank you for.

[Andrew East]

This has been so fun you guys. Congrats on the book.

[Shawn Johnson]

Thank you.

[Andrew East]

I'm so happy for you. I hope we all find ourselves in the same city soon.

[Shawn Johnson]

Please, we would love that.

We'll send you that list of coaches too.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

Will you please?

[Andrew East]

Okay.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

Thanks.

[Andrew East]

You too. Congratulations. I'll talk to you soon.

[Sponsor Voice (Boem/Thrive Cosmetics)]

Choices.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

Aren't they great? It's why Plan B made over the counter emergency contraception legal more than 20 years ago. Because now you have a backup plan and a choice that's freedom to be. Plan B is the number one OBGYN recommended emergency contraception. It is not an abortion pill. Get it immediately at all major retailers in store or delivery. Use plan B emergency contraception as directed within 72 hours after unprotected sex. The sooner you take it, the better it works.

[Xolair Advertisement Voice]

Xolair omalizumab is proven to significantly reduce allergic reactions if a food allergy accident happens. Xolair 150mg is a prescription medication used to treat food allergy in people 1 year of age and older. To reduce allergic reactions due to accidental exposure to one or more foods while taking Xolair. You should continue to avoid all foods to which you are allergic. Don't use if you are allergic to Xolair. Xolair may cause a severe life threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Tell your doctor if you have ever had anaphylaxis. Get help right away if you have trouble breathing or if you have swelling of your throat or tongue. Xolair should not be used for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. Xolair is for maintenance use to reduce allergic reactions including anaphylaxis while avoiding food allergens. Serious side effects such as cancer, fever, muscle aches and rash, parasitic infection, or heart and circulation problems have been reported. Please see xolair.com for full prescribing information. Ask an allergist about Xolair. This is an advertisement for Xolair paid for by Genentech and Novartis.

[Podcast Host Sophia]

If you want your guests to ask, wait, where is this from? Tea Forte is the perfect place to start. Known for their signature pyramid tea infusers topped with the iconic leaf, Tea Forte delivers premium blends served in luxury hotels and restaurants, restaurants around the world. Beyond the tea itself, the beautifully designed packaging, curated gift sets and tea chests make every day feel elevated. From brunches to dinner parties, birthdays to thank you gifts, T forte turns everyday hosting and gifting into something effortlessly refined, memorable and genuinely special.

[Andrew East]

Shop [e-mail] or on Amazon okay, let's talk summer outfits.

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[Andrew East]

It's far too hot for that.

[Sponsor Voice (Boem/Thrive Cosmetics)]

Trust me, these are the pieces you'll feel great in. Shop Boem online or in store and make this your best dressed summer yet. Shop [e-mail] that's b o h m e.com friends the Trump administration and its

[Podcast Host Sophia]

backers in Congress are messing around with our health care. They have already passed a law supposedly defunding Planned Parenthood, which blocks Medicaid patients from getting life saving care like cancer screenings, wellness exams, birth control, STI treatment and more. And now these lawmakers want to shut down health centers by defunding Planned Parenthood permanently. Our communities deserve better. To learn how you can get involved, text the word update to 22422.

[Shawn Johnson]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.