Today we discuss "Embrace Your Inner Bison and Run Toward the Storm" an article written by Aaron Barrette that explores the more dangerous yet hearty and free Bison compared to the placid, domesticated cow and the implications of studying these two animals as metaphors for how we can embrace life. Highlights include: - The Pain Paradox - Dangerous Freedom vs. Comfortable Security - Building Resilience - Crafting plans to respond to life's "storms" - The importance of your community - The value of pushing into your problems Did you find value in today’s conversation? SHARE IT!

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Jon & Aaron

Good morning, everybody, welcome to the Grit Theory.

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Jon & Aaron

With Aaron Robinson, myself and.

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Jon & Aaron

Jon Mayo.

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Jon & Aaron

Hello, Jon. Good morning. Are you? I'm great up an Adam here. Beautiful day. It's starting to become spring here in Garden Springs, and we'd love this time. Adobe.

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Jon & Aaron

We do. I forgot what.

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Jon & Aaron

Green looks.

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Jon & Aaron

Like.

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Jon & Aaron

People say that.

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Jon & Aaron

About coming here anyway. It's generally browner, I guess, than other states.

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Jon & Aaron

But worth it.

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Jon & Aaron

Yeah. Oh.

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Jon & Aaron

So many more benefits. But hey.

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Jon & Aaron

Let's not get going.

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Jon & Aaron

On our, you know, our state pride here, but.

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Jon & Aaron

We don't need more people moving here anyway.

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Jon & Aaron

That's true. Yeah, it's not that great.

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Jon & Aaron

It's terrible. You get snow through spring. It's muddy, it's dreary.

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Jon & Aaron

It's terrible. You only get some sun.

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Jon & Aaron

All the stereotypes. Yeah.

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Jon & Aaron

six feet of snow. I hear all the time. Yes.

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Jon & Aaron

Anyway, well, hey. Well, thank you for joining us, everybody.

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Jon & Aaron

All our theory.

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Jon & Aaron

Fans out there.

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Jon & Aaron

We are going to get into an episode today which really near and dear to Jon and I started talking about.

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Jon & Aaron

The grit of.

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Jon & Aaron

Life. But this specifically, I think, really encapsulates gives us a really good word picture of what.

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Jon & Aaron

It looks like to be gritty one.

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Jon & Aaron

But but why we really do it, why it's not an insane, masochistic kind of journey that we're on, you know, as people from the outside looking in.

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Jon & Aaron

Why is it.

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Jon & Aaron

That we we pushed through difficult things? What is the benefit today?

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Jon & Aaron

So today.

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Jon & Aaron

We're going to be getting into an article that we found.

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Jon & Aaron

The title of. The article.

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Jon & Aaron

Is called Embrace Your Inner Bias and Run Toward the Storm, which.

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Jon & Aaron

Seems variances.

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Jon & Aaron

That equal to everything your mind would tell you to do run into the storm. Mm hmm.

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Jon & Aaron

I mean, it's like to me, there are certain things that seem like not just a paradox.

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Jon & Aaron

Of seemingly.

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Jon & Aaron

Antagonistic to this the human.

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Journey like why would I.

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Do the thing.

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Jon & Aaron

That makes things worse as we as you get, as you think about something?

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Jon & Aaron

And this is we're going to get in.

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Jon & Aaron

A little bit more into the heart of this because this is not something that.

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Jon & Aaron

We say.

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Flippantly.

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Like, we're trying to be some.

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Tough guy or something. There's actual real, methodical thinking behind it. Hmm. I feel like, what do you think about that, Jon?

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Jon & Aaron

Yeah, I agree.

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Jon & Aaron

It's also fun because back in episode six, the champ Bailey called into the storm, pushing to the storm.

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Jon & Aaron

We kind of touched.

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Jon & Aaron

On this principle as fruit from that conversation, right? But yeah, you just have to embrace such adversities and there's benefits to that conversation to get upon that string worn in. Look at the analogy more fully today. I think it's going to be fun.

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Jon & Aaron

But yeah, we are very adaptable creatures, human beings, and we are a product of that which we repeat.

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Jon & Aaron

So I agree there's I believe there's a method.

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Jon & Aaron

I think it's well proven over numerous infinite examples, and I'm excited to jump in.

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Jon & Aaron

Absolutely awesome. With that said, I only.

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Jon & Aaron

Read a little bit in this article. Just give some backdrops. I want to give some credit to the author Aaron Barrette.

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Jon & Aaron

This is this.

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Jon & Aaron

Is a great article. I just really enjoyed reading this piece here. OK? There are few symbols that represent our past and the American West, quite like the American.

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Jon & Aaron

Bison, better known as the Buffalo. The official, the official mammal.

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Jon & Aaron

Quote of the United States, is often used to root out and throughout North America and official seals, flags and letters in the Native American community. The Bison is a revered, especially among the Plains Indians, who consider it a sacred animal and religious symbol.

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Jon & Aaron

As a history.

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Major in college and someone with specific interest in historical West.

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I've been long fascinated by the buffalo. one of the best books I've.

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Jon & Aaron

Read in the years is American Buffalo in search of The Lost Icon by Steve Rinella.

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Jon & Aaron

The well-known.

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Jon & Aaron

Podcast host and star of Meat Eater on Netflix authored a.

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Jon & Aaron

Compelling and comprehensive.

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Jon & Aaron

History of the animal, and the incredible impact is had on our nation's history. Skip ahead here.

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Jon & Aaron

The symbolism of the majestic bison.

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Jon & Aaron

Heading directly into the storm.

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Jon & Aaron

Is very fitting and an interesting.

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Reminder of how to confront life's obstacles.

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Jon & Aaron

We all know.

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Jon & Aaron

That the worst thing we can do when confronted with a major challenge in life is to run from it and the human rights don't run. Don't avoid it. Don't hope it goes away.

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Jon & Aaron

Take it.

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Jon & Aaron

Head on and back up.

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Jon & Aaron

You said prefaced this statement with one of the most fascinating.

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Jon & Aaron

Characteristics of the.

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Jon & Aaron

Bison is how they react when a storm is coming.

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Jon & Aaron

And again.

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Jon & Aaron

Don't run to avoid it. Don't hope it goes away. Take it head.

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Jon & Aaron

On. But as human beings, we often don't do that.

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Jon & Aaron

Why is that, Jon?

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Jon & Aaron

Well.

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Jon & Aaron

I think that.

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Jon & Aaron

We are wired to perceive comfort in our natural state, right, like you.

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Jon & Aaron

That's my opinion. What's easier.

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Jon & Aaron

Doing the comfortable thing and in.

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Jon & Aaron

It kind of.

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Jon & Aaron

Makes sense. If you think about it in a survival perspective. We're like, you have calories that are scarce, right? You're not going to go just run to right. You're not going to put yourself in unnecessary risk because there's no medical attention to help you if you're out in the middle, the middle of the wilderness by ourselves.

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Jon & Aaron

Right.

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Jon & Aaron

So there's kind of the I'm going to do what's.

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Jon & Aaron

Necessary to survive and not more than that or to maybe like be comfortable as possible, like have enough food and things like that. But why would I do more than risk injury? Expend calories.

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Jon & Aaron

Things like that. So I think that.

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Jon & Aaron

It's like, you're totally.

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Jon & Aaron

Nomadic, man. Yeah, I cover many hundreds of years ago, this was.

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Jon & Aaron

Yeah, I'm I'm looking at.

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Jon & Aaron

Like, why would we want comfort over facing the storm? And I think it comes from our history.

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Jon & Aaron

You know, but I don't think we've adapted well to modern civilization because. There wasn't a.

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Jon & Aaron

Laziness then perceived or you die, right, like you would do the hard things because they were necessary, you just wouldn't take on unnecessary risk. But now we're the hard things or have.

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Jon & Aaron

Changed in necessity. We avoid them because.

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Jon & Aaron

You can eat three days worth of calories in ten minutes.

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Jon & Aaron

So I think we're good. We have heating and air conditioning, and we don't have to.

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Jon & Aaron

Worry about our baseline survival for the most part.

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Jon & Aaron

And what are you doing now?

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Jon & Aaron

So Jon.

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Jon & Aaron

What's strange to me and I think.

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Jon & Aaron

This is the insidious.

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Jon & Aaron

Nature of life where we don't realize we're actually in a storm?

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Jon & Aaron

Yeah. So when you say to.

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Jon & Aaron

Me, like we could consume 3:10 minutes or whatever.

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Jon & Aaron

That which is true. I mean, it's so.

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Jon & Aaron

Convenient.

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Jon & Aaron

To totally.

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Jon & Aaron

Just mess up your health, right?

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Jon & Aaron

But people think.

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Jon & Aaron

That comfort.

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Jon & Aaron

Is the same.

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Jon & Aaron

Thing as.

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Jon & Aaron

Health or this or the same thing is.

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Jon & Aaron

Either happiness or whatever you want to call it, like, it's a good thing.

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Jon & Aaron

It's a good thing when when they know, I mean, when they know this is.

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Jon & Aaron

Not really what they want, this isn't truly freedom. This is not exactly health, right? But there are so many competing elements that are trying to steal away the thing that we really want.

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Jon & Aaron

Well, what? You just mentioned.

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Jon & Aaron

Something that I think is pretty central to this idea.

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Jon & Aaron

Because there's two.

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Jon & Aaron

Competing systems I see there's the comfort versus lack thereof and the benefits of each, right?

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Jon & Aaron

But then there's the.

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Jon & Aaron

Concept of freedom versus being domesticated or lack of freedom. Right? And there's no analogy that we can pull out in a second. But freedom is is dangerous.

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Jon & Aaron

It's costly. It's difficult to maintain.

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Jon & Aaron

And it inherently puts the.

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Jon & Aaron

Benefit the benefactor.

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Jon & Aaron

Of freedom into greater adversity. Right? They're responsible for the decisions they're making, the responsible for the consequences of their actions. They're responsible for making those decisions in the first place. That's daunting, right? So or at least it can be in many cases.

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Jon & Aaron

So I see. There's weather and there are storms, and they can be a small like I was thinking about this. If you're communicating via email with someone and you send off an email, maybe the situation's a little testy and you see their response popping on your phone or whatever.

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Jon & Aaron

What's your reaction? You kind of dread opening it.

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Jon & Aaron

Right? That's a micro.

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Jon & Aaron

Storm. But if you're like, OK, they responded, I need you guys. I don't even.

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Jon & Aaron

Think you can click the.

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Jon & Aaron

Dang e-mail and read it.

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Jon & Aaron

Yes, there's.

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Jon & Aaron

No.

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Jon & Aaron

There's a great cushion. I'm sure some of our listeners have read up by.

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Jon & Aaron

Brian Tracy.

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Jon & Aaron

Called Eat that Frog.

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Jon & Aaron

It's it's it's a great. It's it's it's.

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Jon & Aaron

A book on how to do the hardest things. first, because of.

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Jon & Aaron

How much is.

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Jon & Aaron

His promises, the energy it takes to be mulling that over in your mind. Oh my gosh, you're going to do this thing. I got to do the same, you know.

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Jon & Aaron

And it steals away.

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Jon & Aaron

From everything else.

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Jon & Aaron

And because you didn't push into that one.

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Jon & Aaron

Thing, you've actually wasted time.

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Jon & Aaron

It's made the story.

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Jon & Aaron

Longer when.

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Jon & Aaron

It could have been just like with the email, Oh, OK, well, this is going to.

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Jon & Aaron

Suck and.

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Jon & Aaron

Get through it.

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Jon & Aaron

Eat it.

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Jon & Aaron

On and.

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Jon & Aaron

Just be done.

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Jon & Aaron

With it. So you watch.

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Jon & Aaron

Which it's it's so true. And in a book called Radical Candor.

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Jon & Aaron

Highly recommend read it's fantastic. one of my favorite quotes from it and I'll make it G-rated.

09;57;12;06 - 09;57;09;11

Jon & Aaron

Is if you have to eat a poop sandwich, don't nibble.

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Jon & Aaron

No.

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Jon & Aaron

If you have to eat it, get it out, right?

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Jon & Aaron

And I said to the kids.

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Jon & Aaron

Cereal, Yeah, they were there. Just like it was the best way to poop sandwich.

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Jon & Aaron

That's why I eat it as fast as you can.

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Jon & Aaron

Yeah. Don't even just smile. Don't you get it in? So behind you. Right? It just tackles head on. And Rory Vaden.

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Jon & Aaron

Who's a bestselling author, I'm not certain what he wrote. And pulling this out of the article we just mentioned introduced this concept of a pain paradox, which is exactly what we're talking about. It's.

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Jon & Aaron

The pain paradox, conceptually, is the short term easy.

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Jon & Aaron

Leads to long term difficulty, while long term difficulty leads to long term easing. I do believe that's true in our pursuit of making something simpler, easier or avoiding a problem. We're making our lives so much harder.

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Jon & Aaron

And we're really turning a small issue.

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Jon & Aaron

Into a gigantic problem, right?

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Jon & Aaron

You know? It was just a little more.

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Jon & Aaron

How I could kick back in stock down and now have to climb it for four days too, or at least in my mind, we've made this giant mountain of an issue, nothing because we start dreading it, making anxiety and avoiding it.

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Jon & Aaron

This happens a.

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Jon & Aaron

Lot with is something I appreciate about.

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Jon & Aaron

It's something that we often do is there might be something that is annoying.

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Jon & Aaron

To you about another person, and I'm talking about me because I can annoy Jon. I know how to do it, but I've learned the secret.

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Jon & Aaron

We do this matrix.

09;55;36;13 - 09;55;36;05

Jon & Aaron

Of.

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Jon & Aaron

But it's about the best thing you can do instead of like secretly.

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Jon & Aaron

Harboring this. Like this guy, some of the, you know, it's it's more like, Hey, by the way, the thing about this, what do you think about it?

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Jon & Aaron

And then it's more.

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Jon & Aaron

Like, Oh, I wasn't as big a deal as I really thought it through this. This happens in.

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Jon & Aaron

Any friendship.

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Jon & Aaron

And.

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Jon & Aaron

In relationships with bosses and plays with.

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Jon & Aaron

In your marriage. You know, you guys can think about the last fight you had. Maybe now boss and go, man.

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Jon & Aaron

When you guys actually.

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Jon & Aaron

Got to the work of getting through it. It really wasn't that bad.