The uncertainty we are all currently facing presents a war-like scenario within ourselves. Stress and anxiety go up, potentially leading to panic and depression. We need to find peace. Sounds easier said, than done, I know. I have the same battle within me. Meditation has helped me to accept what is. And the 10 mantras of peace recently shared with me by my company CEO also are very helpful. Enjoy them, take them in, listen to them as often as need be. Until you find some peace.
An unscripted episode during an unscripted time. An unprecedented time, a difficult time. And yet, I still want to bring you a few thoughts that I am encouraging you to write out. In this strange time I don’t find it so easy to just read or learn a language, as so many people now recommend. Its normal to be worried. What helps me is to write my worries out, and then give them a time limit each day. And then, I try to shine, in whatever way I can. The connection with others is critical now that we are more physically isolated than ever before.
Meet Monk and be ready to get uncomfortable. He shows us how only the hard work pays off. When we stay with our fears, our weaknesses, and our excuses, we will not discover what we are made of.
These are uncertain times, when its easy to get lost in worry and become stressed out about the future. But with this episode, I want to help us get centered and focused on the one thing we can control – our inner state. And with just a few shifts in our thinking and our daily actions, we can get back on our path, despite the turmoil we are facing. This is a much-needed episode for many of us who are struggling to find meaning in everything that is happening at the moment.
This is a time of great concern and with this episode I want to bring you the critical facts I believe we need to know to be proactively prepared.
We don’t need to panic, but we also cannot ignore this virus. And even if it disappears tomorrow, we need this dress rehearsal to be prepared for future epidemics, which are guaranteed to come. Take basic precautions and be safe.
We love our devices and depend on them. But they can give us a false sense of connectedness. Especially social media makes us feel like we belong to a larger group of people. But real connection happens one on one. Those are the humans we interact with in their entirety – not just via words on a screen. We don’t show who we are on our devices, we only express ourselves. To establish meaningful connections, we need to put our phone away and speak to the person next to us on the bus.
Cathy Luchetti is an author who published 10 books, and is now working on the 11th one which we touch on in the episode. Her focus for most of those works has been the stories of the people of the American frontier, a term she defines in this episode. She has chronicled stories of women and men, their daily lives and struggles in a way that had not been done before and even caught the attention of former First Lady Laura Bush. But what fascinated me the most was everything we shared. Here I am, in the house of a person I have never met, and we both deeply appreciate some of the same things –
o We both know Texas, where Cathy grew up and an appreciation for the desert
o We both enjoy the outdoors, and most interestingly, be both love climbing
Cathy has summited peaks as high as 20,000 ft
o we talk about our love for being outside, but also the conflicts it brings when it puts us behind on our work
o my favorite author is also Cathy’s favorite author and you’ll have to listen to find out who it is
Cathy, like many others I have interviewed, has travelled near and far. She, on the other hand, has brought not only material mementos back from her trip, but she has also shown an interest in other cultures, and then incorporates her learnings into her books. What a great way to travel.
In many ways, Cathy is a self-starter. The adventures she undertook didn’t fall in her lap. She stepped into them with some courage and a willingness to learn, and then she remained persistent and figured out a way to make them work for her. Don’t we face situations like that as well in our life? Why not try the same – be open-minded and willing to be a little bit uncomfortable and then see where inspiration takes us.
Conditioning our mind is training our brain like we train our biceps in the gym. We direct our thoughts repeatedly into the direction we want them to go. We envision an end goal like we do with our bodies. Often we are not aware where our mind is at. This may have us focused on areas that are not necessarily a major priority. We need to be clear what we want and then we need to dedicate time daily to focus. Even though we have dreams and hopes – if we don’t think about them, they are are not likely to come to fruition.
We all are not born with talents. But we all can develop the drive to acquire new skills and the courage to take risks. Often we hide behind the fact that we lack talent. We allow it to hold us back from going after our ideas and our dreams. When all we really need is drive and some courage.
Rafael is one of those courageous humans that doesn’t settle with the status quo. He is not afraid of discomfort. And in this wonderful conversation which took place on a warm Sunday afternoon here in Oakland, you will discover what others do to challenge themselves.
We both share a love for the spoken word but Rafael really works hard on developing this skill both through Toastmasters and by taking improv classes.
He talks about how especially the improv practice has enriched his day-to-day interactions with others
This conversation was invigorating because it made me reconsider some of my approaches.
It was fun, enriched by his cats and the some of the topics we touched.
It was touching because Rafael was not afraid to open up and share very personal information.
Allow yourself to be challenged into a little bit of discomfort by my friend Rafael.
Does it seem challenging to find an inner connection with ourselves? Our world can be noisy, overwhelming and distracting.
Yet, the direction for our life comes from within us.
The Quest For You Podcast is my mission to help you discover who you are. I will help you challenge yourself through daily guidance, motivation and inspiration. I want to help you find your direction.
