Podcast: The High Performance
Published Date:
Fri, 04 Nov 2022 01:00:58 GMT
Duration:
7:12
Explicit:
False
Guests:
MP3 Audio:
Please note that the summary is generated based on the transcript and may not capture all the nuances or details discussed in the podcast episode.
This month on the High Performance Circle we speak to the incredible Brian Pennie. On October 8 2013, Brian experienced his first day clean after 15 years of chronic heroin addiction. Since embracing his second chance at life, he has become a doctor of neuroscience and psychology.
Whether it's our career, our relationships, our health, or more global concerns, we all face challenges in life. However, this is not where our struggles lie. Our struggles lie in our reaction to these challenges, and our illusion that we can control them.
Through personal anecdotes, science, and wisdom from Eastern philosophy, Brian’s Keynote will focus on how to accept what you cannot control and create space in difficult times.
Watch the full keynote on the High Performance Circle for free: https://bit.ly/BrianPennieHPCircle
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In this podcast episode, Brian Pennie, a former heroin addict who transformed his life and became a doctor of neuroscience and psychology, shares valuable insights on navigating life's challenges and creating space for self-awareness and resilience.
Pennie emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between what we can and cannot control. He stresses that focusing on what we can control, such as our responses and reactions, is crucial for managing stress and anxiety.
To illustrate this concept, Pennie introduces the metaphor of "forced darts" and "second darts." Forced darts represent the inevitable stressors and challenges that life throws our way, while second darts are the self-inflicted reactions and emotions that follow.
Pennie highlights the tendency for second darts to trigger a cascade of negative emotions and behaviors, leading to a downward spiral of stress and suffering. He encourages listeners to recognize and interrupt this cycle by creating space between the forced darts and their reactions.
Pennie suggests practical strategies for creating this space, including practicing mindfulness, taking deep breaths, and allowing emotions to be felt without judgment. He also emphasizes the importance of self-compassion and forgiveness in the face of setbacks and challenges.
Overall, this podcast episode offers a thought-provoking exploration of the nature of stress and suffering and provides valuable insights and tools for cultivating resilience and well-being in the face of life's challenges.
[00:00.000 -> 00:05.300] Hey, welcome to another Friday. Welcome to another bite-sized episode from the high-performance podcast
[00:05.300 -> 00:11.480] I know that you can't always give up an hour or sometimes an hour and a half if the conversation goes really deep to spend
[00:11.480 -> 00:12.800] Time with us here on this podcast
[00:12.800 -> 00:17.160] But we still know that we can spend just a few minutes at the end of every single week
[00:17.260 -> 00:24.580] Just giving you some inspiration for the weekend and today I'm going to share with you something amazing from a guy called Brian Penny now
[00:24.480 -> 00:31.680] Today I'm going to share with you something amazing from a guy called Brian Penny. Now, in October 2013, Brian experienced his first day clean after 15 years of chronic
[00:31.680 -> 00:33.140] heroin addiction.
[00:33.140 -> 00:37.760] Since embracing his second chance at life, he's become a doctor of neuroscience and psychology,
[00:37.760 -> 00:42.840] a lecturer at the two top universities in Ireland, a life coach and a consultant to
[00:42.840 -> 00:44.900] some of the world's largest organisations.
[00:44.900 -> 00:47.100] And whether it's your career, your relationships,
[00:47.100 -> 00:50.680] your health, global concerns like COVID-19,
[00:50.680 -> 00:52.720] we're all facing challenges in life.
[00:52.720 -> 00:55.000] And that is where the personal anecdotes,
[00:55.000 -> 00:58.720] the science knowledge and the wisdom from Brian
[00:58.720 -> 01:00.120] is really helpful.
[01:00.120 -> 01:01.920] He'll discuss three key takeaways,
[01:01.920 -> 01:03.520] creating self-awareness,
[01:03.520 -> 01:05.760] demonstrating how emotional reactions
[01:05.760 -> 01:07.880] can trigger other emotional reactions
[01:07.880 -> 01:09.680] then spiral out of control,
[01:09.680 -> 01:11.820] and how to pause and create space
[01:11.820 -> 01:13.960] between emotionally challenging events
[01:13.960 -> 01:15.520] and our reaction to them.
[01:15.520 -> 01:16.840] Now, Brian spoke to us
[01:16.840 -> 01:18.640] as part of the High Performance Circle,
[01:18.640 -> 01:20.520] which is where we invite people to come on
[01:20.520 -> 01:22.360] and deliver keynote speeches,
[01:22.360 -> 01:24.120] and it's totally free.
[01:24.120 -> 01:28.760] I'll give you all the details about how you can sign up for the High Performance Circle straight
[01:28.760 -> 01:33.880] after this but right now over to Brian for his amazing talk to us on the High
[01:33.880 -> 01:39.960] Performance Circle. Take it away Brian. This was one of the most profound
[01:39.960 -> 01:47.400] learnings of my life when I learned that a stressor plus your response equals
[01:47.400 -> 01:53.880] the outcome and if you stay calm and don't react emotionally the outcomes
[01:53.880 -> 01:59.440] change and it helps you throughout the course of your life. So how can I help
[01:59.440 -> 02:08.120] you guys to create space and a pause between the stressors of life and your reaction to them.
[02:08.120 -> 02:10.480] Today, I want to talk about three ideas
[02:10.480 -> 02:13.080] that is going to help you to do just that.
[02:13.080 -> 02:16.880] The first of these ideas is absolutely crucial,
[02:16.880 -> 02:20.520] and it's about what we can and cannot control.
[02:20.520 -> 02:24.680] Many things in life are outside of our control.
[02:24.680 -> 02:27.000] What people say, what people do,
[02:27.000 -> 02:29.000] other people's beliefs and attitudes,
[02:29.000 -> 02:32.000] other external stressors like COVID-19,
[02:32.000 -> 02:35.000] the political situation, climate change.
[02:35.000 -> 02:38.000] So many of these things are outside of our control,
[02:38.000 -> 02:42.000] yet these are the things that cause us big challenges in life
[02:42.000 -> 02:45.840] and really causes a lot of stress and anxiety.
[02:45.840 -> 02:52.800] What we have to focus on is what is in our control. What is in our control is
[02:52.800 -> 03:00.240] what we say, what we do, our attitudes, our beliefs, how we respond to a
[03:00.240 -> 03:06.160] challenging situation and it's absolutely crucial to recognize what you can and cannot
[03:06.160 -> 03:13.120] control because if you are struggling with stress or anxiety in your life, I'll put money on it that
[03:13.120 -> 03:19.760] it falls inside of the things that are outside of your control and many people try to bend reality
[03:19.760 -> 03:30.400] and resist what is outside of their control when there's absolutely nothing they can do about it. So you've got to focus what you can control, your response to the
[03:30.400 -> 03:36.360] challenge. So now we know what we can and cannot control but when we're feeling
[03:36.360 -> 03:42.920] stressed and under pressure it's very difficult to focus on our response. So
[03:42.920 -> 03:47.920] what do we do? I came across this great idea from Eastern philosophy,
[03:47.920 -> 03:52.340] and it's a metaphor based on forced and second darts.
[03:52.340 -> 03:56.220] Forced darts are the darts that life throws at us.
[03:56.220 -> 04:01.220] And if you live and love, you will experience forced darts.
[04:01.300 -> 04:04.440] People you love will get hurt, people you love will die.
[04:04.440 -> 04:05.400] It's the essence
[04:05.400 -> 04:11.160] of human existence. Then the other stressors in life like COVID-19, problems
[04:11.160 -> 04:15.800] in work, problems with relationships with other people. This is the essence of
[04:15.800 -> 04:21.440] human existence and if you live in love you will experience these force darts.
[04:21.440 -> 04:26.960] Pain in life is inevitable. But this is not why we suffer.
[04:26.960 -> 04:32.840] We suffer because of second darts and these are the darts that we throw at
[04:32.840 -> 04:38.760] ourselves. Take this example from lockdown and COVID-19. You may have
[04:38.760 -> 04:43.280] experienced this yourself. So you're in lockdown, tensions are high with your
[04:43.280 -> 04:49.660] partner. Maybe you're both struggling, financial worries as well. So you're in lockdown, tensions are high with your partner. Maybe you're both struggling, financial worries as well. So you come downstairs and your partner
[04:49.660 -> 04:53.020] might say something a little bit passive-aggressive, maybe you don't mean it
[04:53.020 -> 05:00.060] and you take offence. So you react. It turns into a row. You both get angry, you both
[05:00.060 -> 05:05.640] shout, you both retaliate with each other, say things you don't mean. The kids might hear
[05:05.640 -> 05:10.380] that noise, get involved, walk in, and you start shouting at the kids. You might stand
[05:10.380 -> 05:15.840] on their leg out and start screaming at the kids. You're angry, really stressed, and
[05:15.840 -> 05:21.640] this is a second dart. You did have a choice. But now you go up to the room,
[05:21.640 -> 05:25.920] everything calms down, you feel guilty for the row with your partner.
[05:25.920 -> 05:28.400] You feel guilty for screaming at your kids.
[05:28.400 -> 05:32.720] Now you feel sad and depressed because you felt guilty, because you got angry.
[05:32.720 -> 05:35.360] Second dart triggering other second darts.
[05:35.360 -> 05:40.120] You might wake up the next day feeling low and have a row with a war colleague because
[05:40.120 -> 05:41.940] your energy isn't right.
[05:41.940 -> 05:43.720] Another second dart.
[05:43.720 -> 05:46.600] And this is how many people lived their lives,
[05:46.600 -> 05:50.200] second darts triggering other second darts,
[05:50.200 -> 05:53.240] all coming from the initial dart,
[05:53.240 -> 05:56.220] the initial external problem
[05:56.220 -> 05:58.580] that was outside of their control.
[06:01.000 -> 06:02.220] Man, how cool was that?
[06:02.220 -> 06:03.760] So that was Brian Penny,
[06:03.760 -> 06:07.440] who after 15 years of addiction to drugs, has turned his life
[06:07.440 -> 06:08.440] around.
[06:08.440 -> 06:12.480] He's a doctor of neuroscience, he's a lecturer, life coach, consultant, and he's one of many,
[06:12.480 -> 06:15.920] many, many people that we've invited onto the High Performance Circle to share their
[06:15.920 -> 06:17.540] knowledge with you.
[06:17.540 -> 06:22.420] And we want you to get that knowledge absolutely for free, okay?
[06:22.420 -> 06:25.880] Now I want everyone to be signed up to our high performance circle
[06:25.880 -> 06:30.960] it takes seconds to sign up the knowledge on there is incredible you'll
[06:30.960 -> 06:35.000] get weekly Monday motivation newsletters you'll get book recommendations you'll
[06:35.000 -> 06:39.140] get discount codes you'll get access to our live events you'll hear the keynote
[06:39.140 -> 06:46.220] speeches and so so much more all you need to do is either click the link in the description to this podcast
[06:46.220 -> 06:50.380] or go to thehighperformancepodcast.com
[06:50.380 -> 06:51.900] and click on the circle.
[06:51.900 -> 06:55.020] That's thehighperformancepodcast.com,
[06:55.020 -> 06:57.340] click on circle, sign up,
[06:57.340 -> 07:01.700] and get access to life-changing knowledge absolutely free.
[07:01.700 -> 07:03.740] Thanks, Brian, and thanks to you for listening
[07:03.740 -> 07:06.140] and sharing The High Performance Podcast.