19. "Home School" pt7

The journey of life involves countless ups and downs. This is a known fact, and yet we all encounter those special instances where we feel spent, having nothing more to give and still having two or so more quarters to go (meaning, life isn't slowing down to give you a breather).

In this episode, Jason gets vulnerable in addressing what it takes to build resilience as well as (arguably more importantly) "why" we need to build resilience and tenacity.

Whatever you're going through, you are not alone!

Chapters

• 0:08 Building Resilience
• 11:13 Finding Purpose Through Resilience
• 26:14 Transforming Self-Perception Through Action

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

you. Greetings, hi and hello everyone. My name is jason pizzi flair. I'm a speaker, I'm a podcaster and my life's work is centered around allowing the world to meet the true you by helping you think, speak and eventually live better than yesterday. We do this, first, by establishing a good reason why, a strong and powerful motivation to keep going when the going gets rough. Second, we need awareness and acknowledgement of what's holding us back. And third, we need scalable steps forward as a reliable bridge between who we are right now and who we need to be tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after that and the day after that. This, my friends, is how you go from stuck to thinking as, speaking as and living as the true you the True you Podcast.

Speaker 1: 1:30

For this episode, I kind of battled with what's subject to really tackle and whether or not it made sense to continue the homeschool series or if I should just jump to something else. But honestly, I believe that this one kind of goes without saying, and I in some way, shape or form, may have already addressed it, but I believe it just begs repeating over and over just how important it is to practice the art of resilience. To practice the art of resilience. It's a difficult thing to practice, it's a difficult muscle to build, it is a difficult skill to sharpen Because, by its very nature, the work that you're going to have to do to make it better or to grow it, the work that you're going to have to do to make it better or to grow it is literally the most painful kind, the most inconvenient, the most untimely, the most difficult, the most complicated. There is no other way to build resilience than to sit under pressure for an extended period of time, and by sit I don't mean literally sit and not do anything, I just mean to endure under pressure, to be pressured for a length of time. That is the only way to build endurance or resilience. The gym example is just too easy, so I'll give you a different example of endurance.

Speaker 1: 3:12

And then I'd like to tell you a bit of a story about someone that endured something very difficult, and although from what I'll be reading, you won't hear just how difficult it was for this person mentally to bounce back from the difficult situation that they were in, but they do make plain just how important it was to them that they believed in something greater than what they could see or feel, and the feel is important. So first I want to start with some Bible for you, and this is coming out of Luke 21, verses. Let's see, where is it? Where is it? Is it? Where is it? Ah, okay, versus 12 through 19.

Speaker 1: 4:14

And bear in mind, I'm going to warn you now, if you're in the state of mind where what you need is some motivation and some inspiration, like high energy stuff that is absolutely mostly positive this ain't it, my friends, you might want to go check out another episode. I'm not saying this is about to be a depressed fest, but it's a difficult thing to consider and it is a heavy weight to bear. And there is also hope at the end of it. There is also motivation and inspiration and a goal worth attaining at the end of it. But just you know, just bear in mind, it's at the end of it. So we'll be talking about some difficult stuff here. Bear that in mind, and if you're ready, let's go.

Speaker 1: 5:18

Luke 21, verse 12-19. And so you will bear testimony to me. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves, For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed, even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me this is Jesus talking but not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm and you will win life. See what I mean the build-up, the beginning in the middle it's.

Speaker 1: 6:11

It's tough, it's difficult, it's hard to swallow, it's heavy to bear, man, even the whole fact of those of us who, just you, you just can't take it when somebody tells you something or speak something about you that isn't true and you just, you're just scratching at your neck like I must tell them otherwise, although, although that's probably not, you know how you're saying it in your mind. You're probably more like yo did oh heck, oh heck, no, that's. It's probably sounding more like that and, to be honest, that's exactly how it sounds in my mind too. Anyway, I'm just trying to be as clean as possible, but all whilst being as real as possible. In verse 14, he says but make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourself.

Speaker 1: 7:09

Guys, let me tell you right now that is, amongst all this, even with the betrayals and all that kind of stuff from family and blah, blah and friends. I dealt with my fair share more than my fair share of that in my life in many different ways. And guess what? I'm not special. We all have been betrayed by friends or family or people that should have had our best interest at heart, or that did and just didn't know how best to express it or to go about it. We've all endured that. So I'm not special in that sense. I'm just letting you know that for me, one of the most difficult things to follow in these strings of verses is verse 14.

Speaker 1: 7:50

But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves, because as I'm listening to someone speak about me in a way that I feel is incorrect for lack of a better term, incorrect for lack of a better term All I can think of doing, at the very least my flesh in that moment, is to blurt out that's not true and to correct or, if I want to be extra petty, to judge them in return, to let them know things about themselves that they may not be aware of. But then again, I'm not supposed to take my own defense in my own hands. I am not supposed to throw on some sort of cape and dish out my own brand of justice. I'm supposed to endure and stand by for my commanding officer, jesus, god, the Holy Spirit, using military terms here to, as verse 15 says, give me the words and wisdom that none of my adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. Does that mean I win the argument per se and come out feeling myself no, because it's not about win the argument per se and come out feeling myself no, because it's not about winning the argument. It's not about dealing with the difficult situations that, in my case, this house is bringing into my life Because we are talking about endurance, is bringing into my life Because we are talking about endurance.

Speaker 1: 9:33

The verses I read just so happen to deal with people and relationships predominantly, but that's not the main thing that I want to talk about today. I just want to talk overarchingly about endurance or resilience. This just proves to be a great example of it. And so, even when not dealing with people, we should not worry in our minds about how. I'm not saying don't plan. I'm not saying do not be prudent or careful, I'm not saying. I am saying do not fall into the temptation of endlessly and senselessly worrying about how you will deal with a situation, because we have our Heavenly Father intent on giving us not only the words but the wisdom that none of our adversaries, whether that's people or situations, will be able to resist or contradict.

Speaker 1: 10:37

Here's the story that I want to read for you. It's entitled Bethany's Story. This is the story of Bethany Hamilton. I'm sure some of you, or many of you, may already know this story and if you don't recognize it quite yet, it might jog your memory when I mentioned soul surfer, the movie, but I'd like to read you her biography. It's on her website, at, and you can find it at bethanyhamiltoncom. Forward slash biography. Forward slash. Here we go. Bethany's story, known most notably as one of the biggest comeback stories of our era.

Speaker 1: 11:13

Bethany Hamilton has become synonymous with inspiration. Her story of determination, faith and hope has resounded in encouragement worldwide. At the age of 13, as a rising surf star, bethany lost her arm to a 14-foot tiger shark, which seemed to end her dream career. However, one month after the attack, bethany returned to surfing and within two years, had won her first national surfing title. That's amazing, guys. Bethany's foundation of faith has been her backbone, her source of truth, hope and strength. At 17 years old, she realized her dream of surfing professionally and she is still an active surf competitor to this day. Bethany has been able to touch a large number of people with her faith message, charitable efforts and overall spirit. Her greatest joy is being a wife and mother, and Bethany continues to touch and inspire lives globally as a professional surfer, author and motivational speaker. She currently has her own blog online and online course, along with a mother-daughter mentorship program called the Ohana Experience, all centered on helping young women be unstoppable in life and faith. Helping young women be unstoppable in life and faith.

Speaker 1: 12:37

Hmm, I will not presume to know what difficulties, the magnitude or the caliber or the specificity of the difficulties Bethany faced in her struggles of getting back on to her feet, proverbially, after losing her arm in that accident, but to hear that one month after the attack, it says, bethany returned to surfing and within two years had won her first national surfing title. I'm going to tell you right now, folks, I cannot guarantee, even with all my personal accolades and instances of resilience or endurance in my own life, I cannot guarantee you, without a shadow of doubt, that I would return to surfing after a month, a month removed from losing my whole arm. I mean, to be honest, I wouldn't be surfing in the first place, because I just don't ocean like that. I will in the future at some point because I just got to do it. It's on my bucket list and you know, do it one time and then I'm done. But yeah, if I can't touch the bottom or at least bounce a very short bounce to touch the bottom, then I get kind of nervous and it's probably something I'm going to work on in the future. I digress. I'm going to work on in the future, I digress.

Speaker 1: 14:12

If this was something that I was passionate about, I cannot guarantee that, just like Bethany, I would have the stick-to-itiveness to pursue my dream after losing so much. That is a life-changing and traumatic situation, guys. But guess what? She also gained beyond a surfing championship in a professional surfing career, beyond achieving her dreams, she gained through that resilience, through her dependency on her faith. She gained the kind of conviction and authority to speak on this subject, on endurance, on inspiration, on motivation, on surfing, on athleticism, on tenacity. She gained the ability to speak on such things with the kind of authority and conviction and here I go to verse 15, luke 21,. Again the last half. And here I go to verse 15, luke 21, again the last half that none of her adversaries will be able to resist, have been able to resist or will ever be able to resist or contradict.

Speaker 1: 15:27

I am giving you a cheat code right now for being able to stand firm on certain subjects, to be an authority on certain subject matters that you are going through right now. I'm not saying that you have to be having fun right now. I'm not saying that you have to be having fun right now. I'm not saying, excuse me, that you have to be all smiles and giggles right now. But the word does also say to count it all joy when you are going through various trials and sufferings. Joy when you are going through various trials and sufferings, not because the word expects you or God expects you to be delusional. That is not what it's saying. It isn't. We are encouraged to, as verse 19 says, stand firm and win life. So when we are told to count it all joy, we are expected, we are encouraged to view the kind of possible future that we read about in Bethany's story Her life.

Speaker 1: 16:55

She could have been just another professional surfer and we would have never heard about her. At least I wouldn't have, because I'm not in the surfing scene, but now, not only me, but every one of you listening right now has heard Bethany's story either for the first or umpteenth time. It's not because she's just that nice in surfing, it is not because her name's Bethany or her last name's Hamilton, it is not because of anything like that. It is because, literally, we are talking about her story right now because of her suffering that she endured, that she persevered through, she maintained a a positive outlook on. Again.

Speaker 1: 17:40

I want to make sure that I'm talking to every single one of you that just are tempted to to to believe that I'm telling you that you need to be happy, go lucky all the time. That's not what being positive or having a positive mindset unilaterally means. Sometimes you're going to be crying, sometimes you're going to just be in the fetal position, just not wanting to move. The kind of mindset that we're talking about, the kind of mindset that you're encouraged to maintain and to foster in the verse that mentions count it all. Joy is the kind of mindset that you're encouraged to maintain and to foster in the verse that mentions count it all. Joy is the kind of mindset that says this sucks.

Speaker 1: 18:19

Right now. I'm in pain. Right now. I wish with all my current heart that I wasn't going through this right now, and I know that you are with me, talking to God here. I know that I'm not going through this for no reason. Friends, let me tell you that I have never been in any deeper pain than when I felt that my pain was pointless, and one of the most freeing things I ever did for myself was to realize that I don't always have to understand the reason for the pain that I'm feeling, but I can always trust, thanks to the God that I serve, that there is always a purpose to my pain, always, and for some of them, I will go to the grave never knowing why I had to go through certain horrible situations and guess what? I'm okay with that Because it didn't kill me and according to some very popular evangelist out there, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger than a little longer. You all know it right? Don't leave me celebrating out here by myself, minister.

Speaker 1: 19:53

Anyway, that's the main story I wanted to tell you guys. I wanted to share that. I wanted to share those verses. I wanted to share with you bethany's story for the first time or the umpteenth time, to remind you that what you are going through isn't pointless and although you may never you might never know fully why you are going through what you're going through, but just know that it is not useless. Just know that your efforts to stay in the game, your efforts to stay alive, your efforts to keep pushing for those that are depending on you, it's not pointless, it's not worthless. You are not worthless. You're not a mistake. The fact that you're listening to me right now tell you.

Speaker 1: 20:36

All of this isn't an accident. It isn't. You are on assignment, you have a purpose, you are important. Someone out there is dying without you. Someone out there needs your voice in their lives. There is a me out there needs your voice in their lives. There is a me out there. There is a me out there that is suffering and in pain and tired and he's scared and he's insecure and he feels worthless. And he's scared and he's insecure and he feels worthless and that me out there needs you to tell him that it's gonna be okay. But before you can tell the me out there that you need to hear it from the me right now, telling you that it's going to be okay. You don't have to stay insecure, you don't have to hate yourself, because God loves you. I love you. We are in community together Because there there's enough hate, there's enough pain for all of us in this broken as heck world.

Speaker 1: 22:07

It sucks, it really sucks. But what doesn't suck is the fact that we are equipped to be above all, that we are equipped for so much more, and not just the work we are. We are equipped to get to the place of enjoying so much more the pleasure, the laughter, the. There is nothing like waking up and not having to be anywhere and not having anybody calling on you, and not because you got nothing going on, but because you've already taken care of everything or that everything has already been taken care of for you. There's nothing like that kind of freedom. But unfortunately for those of us like myself that tend to have a bit of a lazy bone in their body occasionally that they have to fight and purge out of their flesh, unfortunately, a lot to get to that place. There's a price of entry and that's called suffering.

Speaker 1: 23:22

It sucks, but you know, as my old pals in the Navy would say, embrace the suck. Not because we're out here hunting and fishing for pain and suffering. We try to avoid it most times, but we're told to embrace the suck because of what we know, we will get on the other side. And your faith walk is exactly like that embrace the challenges. Because of what you know, of who you know, you will become on the other side. And if right now you don't even know who you're going to become on the other side, let me tell you you become more powerful, you become more stable, you become more stable, you become more whole, you become more fulfilled, you become more satisfied, you become more content. And it's not about an amount of money in your bank account, and it's not about how many people you can sleep with, and it's not about how many organizations are under your name. It's not about any of those fleeting things. It's about your peace and your security in your own value, because of who made you and called you his own, calls you his own. It is because of him that we can have hope in suffering, and only because of him.

Speaker 1: 25:06

Ask me why diying so much junk in my house and having to YouTube a bunch of stuff and spend hours upon hours trying to put in cabinets in a kitchen with uneven walls that are so frustrating brought me to this point of talking about resilience and endurance. I couldn't tell you. There seems to be no correlation whatsoever, but that is what I wanted to share with you. My friends, this is homeschool part seven. I think I'm probably going to go to ten and then call it, because there's a ton more other things to talk about. But this house just keeps giving me, keeps teaching me stuff, let's put it that way, as long as I'm willing to learn because, I'll be honest, I'm not always open to that just being honest here, just being honest. That being said, thank you for joining me for all this time. It's over 25 minutes and you're still here, dang, that is resilience and endurance.

Speaker 1: 26:14

I hope it wasn't painful for you to, you know, endure all of this. I hope it was fun, entertaining. And even more than fun or entertaining, I hope it was life giving to you, because that is the person. Uh, purpose of this podcast, of this brand, of this movement excuse me, of this vision it is to help you to change your self-perception, to get to a place where you view yourself as valuable, as worthwhile, and then you can come out of that cocoon and show the world just how beautiful you truly are, and you won't have to say a word. They will see it for themselves through your actions and your character. But guess what? That starts with how you think, then it goes into how you speak, which eventually manifests completely in how you live. And, my friends, everything I expressed about more whole, more satisfied, more content, more at peace, more emotionally regulated, that is the true you. My name is Jason and I want to thank you so much for listening, much for listening.