Dr. Derek Suite - The Suite Spot

Divine Direction for Daily Living: You Don't Have to Force It to Finish Strong: #FinishStrongFriday

Derek H. Suite, M.D.


Science Soul Success

What if everything you've been building all week is already working for you right now? 💫

On today's Finish Strong Friday episode of the Suite Spot, Dr. Derek Suite flips the script on what it means to finish strong. We've been taught that finishing strong means pushing harder, grinding more, squeezing out every last drop of energy. But what if that's not it at all?

Look at the end of Psalm 23: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Not lead me. Not drag me. Follow me. That means there's momentum already behind you, pushing you forward. You're not out here alone, fighting uphill against everything. You've got wind at your back.

Priscilla Shirer says it beautifully: "The favor of God doesn't eliminate obstacles, it empowers you to overcome them." You've already done the work. Now it's time to trust what you've built.

Here's the neuroscience behind it: your cerebellum is this incredible part of your brain that handles coordination, rhythm, and momentum. It's why elite athletes move with that effortless flow. It's why musicians can play without thinking about every single note. Once your cerebellum locks in a pattern, it runs automatically. You don't have to force it anymore.

Think about this week. Monday, you stopped overthinking and started moving. Tuesday you didn't let fear take the wheel. Wednesday, you built structure. Thursday, you trusted yourself. All of that created momentum. And momentum doesn't just stop because it's Friday. It carries you.

Lauryn Hill said it in a way that still hits: "It could all be so simple, but you'd rather make it hard." Sometimes we overcomplicate finishing strong because we don't trust that we've already done enough.

So here's the move for today: stop grinding. Stop forcing. Trust that what you've built this week is carrying you exactly where you need to go. Goodness and mercy are following you. Let them do their job. 🙌

AFFIRMATION:
Momentum is on my side. The work I've done is carrying me forward. I trust the process, and I finish strong with grace and power.

STAY AMAZING!!!

You made it to Friday. Share this with someone who needs to hear it, and subscribe to The Suite Spot so you're ready for what's next. 🎧

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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome beautiful souls. This is the Sweet Spot where we synthesize science and soul for the high performance life you're living. This is Finish Strong Friday on the Sweet Spot, and I'm Dr. Derek Sweet. I'm your host, and I'm a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in sports and performance. But really, what I love is helping people just like you attain their best life ever. Living a life you love, whether that's in the game, in business, or in life. This week we've been exploring how the wisdom of Psalm 23 gives us a blueprint for navigating life's challenges. Wow! On Monday, we talked about trusting the path instead of forcing things. When we allow ourselves to be led instead of trying to control everything, momentum just flows naturally. We saw it when we heard the line, He leads us beside the still waters. It was so powerful. And then on Take Action Tuesday, we learned that fear only wins when we stop taking action, when we do nothing, when we hide, when we stop moving. The key? Walk through the fear. Because action, action requires the brain for courage. Wow! On Wednesday, we learned that you can win it all by having a structure, by literally doing what athletes do, which is to use a rod and staff approach, right? Where you build, where you will literally build a structure. And yesterday, oh trust yourself Thursday, we understood the power of the insula, a special part of the brain that we were going to nourish and condition to trust ourselves so that we don't ask people a million questions because we said the Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want. We have everything we need. And that was the review that brought us here to finish strong Friday. Wow. Finish strong, not just finishing, but finishing with a degree of strength. And that's not by pushing harder, not by grinding yourself into exhaustion, but by realizing that momentum is already carrying you forward. That there's already a force that's taking you through the valleys of the shadows. There's a force leading you by the still waters. There's a force restoring your soul. There's a force that's preparing a table, a feast for you. There's a force that's anointing you. There's a force in you. Which brings us to the insight, the insight from today's Psalm 23, Ancient Wisdom. And it blows me away that this ancient wisdom is useful to us today. And the line, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. What? What does that have to do with finishing strong on Friday? Well, look, let's pause. Let's pause and make sense of that first word. Surely. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Not maybe, not what if, not if I work hard enough, not if I'm lucky, but surely. That's a guarantee. That means without a doubt, momentum is already flowing in you, and it's already flowing and moving with favor in you. And here's where it gets powerful. Goodness and mercy aren't in front of you, they're following you. That means every step you take, every challenge you push through, every moment you keep moving and walking and and allowing yourself to go with the rhythm. Every time you do that, you are leaving a trail of momentum behind you. And if that sounds like a mindset shift, it's because it is. You only have your mind, it's the most powerful thing, and you only have your thoughts. So why not flood them with some of these ancient messages from Psalm 23? Why not? Because that's how the brain works, it loves the right message so it can take the right movement. And there's a brain structure. Well, you know, we've talked about the insula, we talked about the basal ganglia and the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, but today let's talk about the cerebellum. Let's make the cerebellum, the part of your brain responsible for coordinating movement, rhythm, and momentum. It's what allows athletes to stay balanced or dancers and musicians to perform effortlessly, uh, for performers to hit their stride without overthinking, for you and me to move around, to do all the things we have to do. Movement is what the cerebellum is all about. And here's the key, my friends. Once the cerebellum locks in a pattern, you better believe it's gonna keep moving smoothly. You have a kind of a motoric memory that it gives you, a certain kind of fluidity, and you want to practice it. But that's why finishing strong isn't about just forcing with more effort. It's about trusting the rhythm that's already been set. It's about realizing that the work you've already done is carrying you forward and it's infusing itself into your momentum and your movements, and you're coming from a place of trust, of belief, of internal power, and that's what's going to flow in you. That goodness and mercy, those are forces. Momentum is real and it's working in your favor. So here's my challenge to you: Where in your life do you need to stop forcing and start trusting that momentum is already inside of you so that your cerebellum could lock it in? Maybe you've been grinding all week, feeling like you need to do more just to prove yourself. Maybe you're kind of like at the end of a long project and that you're you're sort of afraid to just sort of let go or to rest and recover, worried that if you ease up, everything will fall apart, having no trust, not believing that goodness and mercy is gonna follow you. But what if instead of pushing harder, you learn and you lean into a different understanding? That you lean into the work you've already done being enough of a foundation to keep you forward? What if just for today you trusted that goodness and mercy are already following you? What if you trusted that the Lord is your shepherd and you don't have to want anything, that the winds of goodness and mercy are always at your back, pushing you towards the finish line, making you stronger and stronger than the doubts that are around you, the fears that are trying to tell you you're not gonna make it? What if the end game is what the psalm says here, right? That I will dwell in the house of God forever. I'll be in the presence of the divine forever. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the divine, in the presence of the most high forever. That's the end point, and that's peace of mind. To be in the presence of the most high. You know what happens when you have peace of mind and you have goodness and mercy chasing you? You become a formidable force, whatever you have to do, because you know you're blessed and you move as somebody who is blessed. I think I'm gonna put an amen right there. This is Dr. Derek Sweet. Thank you so much for listening. Let's lock this in with an affirmation before we depart. Let's say this or put it in your heart. Let's say it this way: Momentum is on my side. The work I've done is carrying me forward. I trust the process and I finish strong. Let's say that again. The work I've done is carrying me forward. I trust the process and I finish strong. You don't have to force it, my friends. Just keep moving, keep trusting, and let the momentum carry you forward. That's it for Finish Strong Friday. Stay steady, allow the winds of goodness and mercy to follow you everywhere that you go over the weekend. Alright? Stay tuned, beautiful souls, and I'll see you tomorrow for self-care Saturday. And if you need to catch up with me, feel free to jump on YouTube or LinkedIn or X. I'm even on threads. Take care.