The "I'm Ready Now!" Podcast
I'M READY NOW! PODCAST
The "I'm Ready Now!" Podcast
EP 22: Overcoming Challenges with Gratitude and Adaptability
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Tackling tough transitions often leads us to seek distractions, but what if we shifted our focus to physical well-being and spiritual connections instead? Inspired by insights from Dan Miller's book The Rudder of the Day, this episode explores how to overcome the lures of distraction during challenging times, while emphasizing the importance of supportive relationships and finding hope through a higher power. Let these tips remind you that there is always a way out of a difficult life situation!
Intruduction
Speaker 1Welcome to the I'm Ready Now podcast ideas to help you when you're ready for change . I'm your host , isaac Sanchez , here . I share my musings on whatever it is I am reading at the moment , as well as any other ideas that I believe will help you break free from a standstill in your thinking in order to get you dreaming again . Thank you for joining me today . Well , I'm ready now . How about you ? Excellent , so let's get started .
Welcome!
Speaker 1Happy holidays , everyone , and a belated Merry Christmas from me to you . Welcome back , I'm happy to be with you again . I always am hey . Before I beat myself up again for publishing a late podcast and drone on with my obligatory excuse , I need
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: PROGRAM CHANGE NEXT WEEK.
Speaker 1to let you know that we're going to take a slight detour from our regular content our walkthrough Dan Miller's book , the Rudder of the Day and I'm going to have a very special guest on the next episode . I'm very excited about this detour because I'm so excited . At the end of the show today I'm going to give you a brief preview of that episode , along with the guests , so please stay tuned until the very end today .
Why the late episode?
Speaker 1Okay , back to my tardiness . I'm late again . You know kids get detention for being late to my class . So far I've escaped that fate with you , so thank you for that . Here's my excuse .
Speaker 1This time my wife and I have been vacationing near Yosemite National Park in an Airbnb about an hour away from the park . We left for this trip about 30 minutes after the last bell rang at work last Friday , officially ending the first semester of teaching . My wife was waiting in the parking lot , car packed and ready to hit the road , and we did . I really appreciate her doing that . While I wrapped up the semester , she was at home getting all that stuff together for us . And I say I wrapped up the semester somewhat . There's still some grading to do , so I'll pick at that here and there over the next two weeks off . Anyway , I allowed myself to get a bit overwhelmed in the last week of the semester as my students worked on their eBooks and then , once we hit the road for this trip and then arrived at the Airbnb late on Friday night , it's been catch up ever since we did our first visit to the park the following morning . So we've been bouncing between go , go , go and relax Just those two modes .
Speaker 1I took that gear up there , the podcasting gear , to record , but you know I didn't do it . I'm back home recording now , so I just did not make the time for that to happen . Yosemite was a very powerful allure , and when we were home at the Airbnb from that , we were just tired . We did some really cool hikes . I'm going to talk a little bit more about that . So anyways , as I said , by the time you're hearing this , we are back home already . So thank you for your patience . I really do appreciate it .
Speaker 1Here are my standard reminders I like to share right at the top . First , there are the chapter markers on this podcast , so if you want to get straight to the content , use those markers to skip ahead . No harm , no foul . I completely understand that . As I've said in the past , I do the same for myself on some episodes that I listen to from other podcasters . Also , remember that in the description of this episode there's a link you can tap to text me there . You can leave your feedback on the topics we're addressing as well . You can also email me at IsaacSanchez at Maccom . I look forward to hearing from you .
Listeners leave a message!
Speaker 1Now . I have gotten a message from a couple of listeners , which I really appreciate it . One of them is from a lady that my wife and I work out with in the morning . She left a wonderful note that she'd been binge listening to about the first five episodes , I think and she loved it . I appreciated that . And then another is from a family member out from Michigan who he messaged me on there and just had some encouraging words for the podcast , and I love that he shared that he's doing some writing himself a bit of a memoir and wants to engage on that , so I need to get back on that . I was able to get back to the friend of ours at the workout in the gym in the morning workouts routines that my wife and I do and that was super cool and so I'm just so grateful for that . So listen , push that button and leave a message and I'll be sure to get back to you , even as I need to get back to one of my respondents there . So I appreciate that . Let's keep the conversation going .
What's up in your world? Hiking in Yosemite!
Speaker 1So what's up in your world ? Well , for me , hiking in Yosemite . I want to talk a bit more of what kept me from publishing this episode on time .
Speaker 1As I stated earlier , my wife and I were spending Christmas away from home this year . We decided to get away for a bit , about an hour out of Yosemite National Park , about six and a half hours , seven here from home , and so we've been hiking in Yosemite . It's been pretty amazing what we did out there . We've been learning a few things along the way , but we've adapted . So , for example , we had a false start , a beating of our bodies that was worth the torture , and an unexpected glorious white Christmas . So first , the false start . We arrived at our destination late Friday , as I said , friday night , and settled in the typical unpacking and sorting of items to make sense of everything in our new space , you know home . For about six days it was going to be this Airbnb .
Speaker 1The next morning , we started our Yosemite visit , arriving in the late morning ready to begin our hike to the Upper Falls . However , once we were a mile in , we looked at our time and realized that if we finished our hike , we would be returning after sunset , hiking in the dark . In other words , that would be dangerous for us , because we're not prepared for that . More importantly , though , is that we simply did not want to hike in the dark , so we returned . The next morning was a beating of our bodies that was worth the torture . As I said , we started on the same hike . That was a false start the day before the Upper Falls Trail , that was a false start the day before the Upper Falls Trail and hiked up to 2,000 feet . That took us about three hours , approximately 3.6 miles . Again , though , we began to run into the sunset issue . We were only 30 , come to find out we learned this later on we were only 30 minutes away from the Upper Falls , but we would have ended up more than an hour in darkness on the way down , because once we went up , we'd want to hang out , enjoy the view , all of that , but once we came down , we'd be in darkness . So , content with the majestic view of the upper falls and half dome in the distance , about a mile from our end goal , we stopped , had a bite to eat and began to trek it down . It was all so beautiful , but we were tired and beat . Really tired and really beat , I should say . It was just gorgeous . So we know we want to be back to finish that trail .
Speaker 1Well , finally , two days later , after a rest day , we took to another side of the park to hike Mariposa Trails in order to see the Sequoia Groves . We knew it was going to be cold and that it would rain . Order to see the Sequoia Groves . We knew it was going to be cold and that it would rain , so we prepared for that . However , 30 to 45 minutes into our hike , the rain that had begun to fall a few minutes earlier began to turn to snow . This was amazing , and it continued and continued and did not stop , for about two to two and a half hours . It was just beautiful . And to top it off to two and a half hours , it was just beautiful . And to top it off , at the end of our ascent , we spotted a deer in the distance and , to our wonderful surprise , it crossed our path about 20 yards ahead of us . I was able to get video , and then I pulled out my camera with the zoom lens and was able to get a beautiful , a couple of beautiful pictures of this creature . This was literally the first white Christmas Eve , technically , that either my wife or I had experienced , and it was just beautiful that we were experiencing this together . Just incredibly beautiful , majestic , just . It's hard to um explain it clearly , but we loved it , we loved it very much .
Speaker 1So what's the most proper way to end , uh , a snowfield hike ? Well , with a snowball fight , of course . So , again , while we were at the end of our trail , like the halfway point . We went at it , my wife and I , and after a few tosses , being the gentleman that I am , I stretched my arms to the sky to give her one free final shot . She took it and nailed me in the only place that would have me buckle over . There's video of this fine moment and it's just hilarious . We had a good time with that as I limped back . It was all just a fantastic time .
Speaker 1Well , on our way down , we took the street that would get us back to the parking area . We learned that it was a bit shorter and for safety purposes , we stayed out in the open again . It just kept snowing and snowing and we didn't want to risk it going back down on the trail at that point . So it was nice a good stroll down the street . A couple of things that we learned to pay attention to is that we needed to have tire chains in the vehicle , which we did not , just because the weather can change in an instant . Now we've since read some stuff for hikers that that's kind of like one oh one , so a rookie moment there . You veteran hikers , I know are laughing at me right now . I can hear you .
Speaker 1Also , we needed to invest in lighter clothing that is waterproof and helps keep you as warm as possible . We had a large Jack . We had large jackets that kept us warm but they were not waterproof . We had large jackets that kept us warm but they were not waterproof and they were large , which was kind of . You'd assume that that would be taken care of . At one point we needed to take them off . You know , this is on our first hike to Yosemite Falls because it was getting warm . So on that first hike we were wearing these jackets but it became very warm and after taking them off they were bulky so it was hard to stuff them in our backpacks or wrap them around our waist . We eventually tied them to our backpacks . But on this second hike that I'm talking about , to Mariposa Trails , where it snowed on us going to see those sequoia groves , we had our big jackets on because they were definitely keeping us warm , but the rain and then the snow was coming down on us for a couple of hours . Well , once we were back down the mountain and had returned to our vehicle , we took off a couple of layers and found ourselves to be wet all the way through . Couldn't quite feel all that in the heat of our bodies and in the snow , but we were wet . So these were just good learning experiences for a couple of eager hikers .
Speaker 1We did spend a third day at the park and did more sightseeing on this day and documenting with video and photos . We did hit a third trail , also four mile trail , but it was toward the end of the day and we were up for only about a mile and a half and then we returned in order not to be hiking after dark . That same issue we dealt with on the very first day . So we were at the park for a total of nine and a half hours and we left spent . Spent , I tell you , it was just wonderful , but we were tired . We were tired after that time , saw some wonderful sightseeing things , and then we had another hike there , that four mile trail that we didn't quite finish because of the sunset issue . So my wife and I really were thrilled that we took full advantage of our time in the park on this trip . We made most of it there , and both in the park and out as we were relaxing back at the Airbnb .
Speaker 1So anyways , belated Merry Christmas , all happy holidays , or even , if you don't celebrate the same as we do at this time of the year . We hope you're having a wonderful time with those you love . Hey , listen , if this is a tough time for you , as it is for so many during the season , I understand . I think a little bit . It was about 12 years ago that my dear mom passed away in early November , and the Thanksgiving holiday , christmas holiday and New Year holiday were all very , very difficult because my mom was at the center of all of them . So I understand a little bit . Please just reach out to someone you know you're cared for and loved , and the right people will not hesitate to be there for you to demonstrate as much . So please be sure to reach out and send out a sign that you can use some help , chatting or just some company , and I know the right people will be there for you . Well , moving on . So did you call your dentist in preparation for our time together today ? Did you set up that dental appointment ?
Speaker 1If you recall , last week , in my setup for today , dan Miller asserts that a man or woman with a toothache cannot be in love . Well , now let's find out just what this means today .
Podcast Content: Overcoming Challenges with Gratitude and Adaptability
Speaker 1Okay , so what is Dan Miller trying to get across to us here today . Well , it's basically this you cannot focus on important matters if you're focused on the pain of change . So this makes sense , right ? Dan's emphasis here is that you must be able to compartmentalize the difficulty you're going through , acknowledge it , but set it aside when there's nothing to be done with it at any particular moment . And so then that gives you the clarity to focus on what must get done , because action is crucial in these moments in order to move out of the difficulty that is distracting you .
Speaker 1So he goes on to give us some insight into what he has experienced when helping people through this process , in this case of job loss . He shares people's improper responses in this case , but you can also apply this to any changes that you might feel a bit embarrassed about . Maybe shame in many cases , unnecessarily In this case , because a person is embarrassed about being unemployed or unable to provide for themselves or others , they might hide from friends . That's the issue right there . Socially , they begin to isolate themselves for fear that this issue might come up . Maybe a conversation they don't want to talk about it , for fear that this issue might come up . Maybe a conversation , they don't want to talk about it .
Speaker 1Also , there's a tendency , dan says , for these folks to then engage too much into the distraction of media , whatever that is social media , netflix , binge watching episodes of whatever everyone else says is a show to be watching . Too many of us know that this can absolutely be a time suck , and this is easy because this can be done in isolation , of course , but nevertheless it's a distraction and nothing of consequence . Good consequence , at least , is getting done . Then there is the very easy go-to distraction bad eating habits , aka emotional eating . Even if you are on a successful trend of taking care of yourself , there's something about that feeling that you just need to disappear into the false comfort of gluttony . So tasty , so wrong . Geez , are we almost done , isaac ? This is getting depressing . Yes , it is , but this is great that Dan Miller is highlighting this for us so we can have access to this information and not fall into the same pitfalls .
Speaker 1All right , so here is the final improper response to difficult transitions that Dan Miller points us to . He sees people do this , and here it is . One might snap at the kids , friends , spouses by being so annoyed and embarrassed at the circumstances . They go for the low-hanging fruit of just being angry at the world , particularly the world of people that is closest to them , the people who love them the most . Isn't embarrassment a powerful emotion that , in the midst of this unfortunate change the loss of a job or some other incident that would bring shame , the embarrassment to them of their circumstances moves them to make these poor choices ? It happens , it's probably happened to all of us . So what do we do To lead us into the necessary change for this life moment ?
Speaker 1Dan gives us an example from his experience with a client he had . So what's the key ? The key is to divert your attention . It is critical to divert your attention from the issue , dan tells us . You don't deny it's there , but you set it aside for enough time to divert your attention to important steps that move you in the right direction . Here's the example that he shares .
Speaker 1Dan says that he worked with a young man who had lost $3.2 million in a business deal . Okay , do you want to stop and think about that for just a moment ? What if you were in that situation ? Certainly , by anyone's look at this guy's circumstances , we'd want to say , yeah , that's going to leave a mark . That's financial ruin , it's career ruin . By the way , my wife and I just watched it's a Wonderful Life the movie the other night . Do you recall George Bailey's reaction when he lost the $8,000 , or his uncle did and he thought he had ? Of course he took on the responsibility $8,000 , a lot for the time , but the point is he wanted to go hop over a bridge and end it all . So you imagine this guy $3.2 million . So what is Dan Miller's advice to this young man in this circumstance ? You might be surprised .
Speaker 1Dan's very first recommendation was a workout , yes , a workout . Go to the gym . He told this guy to hit the gym , in this case the YMCA , for two hours a day . Well , what happened ? What happened was that the focus brought about by the impact of the workouts on his body and mind , a vitality return which led to creativity in his ideas for solutions moving forward , which in turn initiated his comeback . Now I can attest that wonderfully creative ideas have come to me during a walk . As a matter of fact , I still need to go through recordings . I have in my phone's voice app that I would record in quick spurts as I was walking . This has happened to me so many times . But back to Dan Miller and his client .
Speaker 1Dan asserts that anyone in a similar situation must make deposits in your physical well-being . A similar situation must make deposits in your physical well-being . Again , this is crucial because a good workout impacts your mind and therefore your creativity , not just your body . Next , dan Miller stresses that in order to get out of this funk , you should meet with friends . Remember earlier , these folks tend to isolate . No , meet with friends . You'll be surprised who else can relate to the difficulty you're experiencing . If you have true friends , then this means that in many other areas of life you have been transparent with each other . So too , in job loss and the difficulty that comes with it . Lean on them . Lean on that group of people . These are the people who care for you the most and who become your greatest advocates when looking at resources for you . So do not disassociate yourself from this critical hub of support .
Speaker 1Next , dan says pick up a good book to read . Remember , in a few episodes ago I mentioned that Dan kind of ran his calculations 10 minutes a day can get you through one book a month , and this can give you great insight . Don't think that you're going to learn everything in a book or apply all of its recommendations , but if you can take a few of them , the recommendations and act on them . Just that will be of great service to you . I'm always blown away by what I learn from my readings . Remember , audiobooks work too . I do a lot of that , all right .
Speaker 1Finally , dan Miller gives us a critical piece of advice on how to deal with the self-imposed shame during this time of unemployment or other major change . It's this Stay connected spiritually when you place yourself and your situation into the context of what is really going on in the world , how God is working in your existence that brings critical context to what you're going through at the moment . This perspective can ease some pressure as you find your way through the bend here . It helps to see how he has helped you through previous difficulties and it gives you great hope for this moment now . Again , this is God for me and many others . So , however you see , this power greater than yourself is irrelevant to me , right ? However , you see that entity in this context , just acknowledge that a power greater than you wants you to succeed in your purpose and you want to be sure to connect to that source .
Wrap-up/Application
Speaker 1All right , so let's wrap up now with an application that Dan Miller has for us . I know you have a pen and a notepad or digital device for this critical part of our time together . All right , so let's wrap up now with an application that Dan Miller has for us . I know you have a pen and a notepad or digital device for this critical part of our time together , so let's make use of them now as an application .
Speaker 1Today , dan asks us two important questions . One what is the toothache in your life that is demanding your undivided attention ? Think about this question for a second and answer it with complete honesty . What is hijacking your attention and keeping you from being laser focused on the important things you're pursuing in life ? The next question he asks is this how can you continue being successful in other areas of your life ? So , in other words , how can you continue to push through even though you're battling this difficulty ? Once you've answered question one , this second question becomes critical how can you stay focused even in the midst of the difficulty you are facing ?
Speaker 1See Dan's suggestions earlier that he had for his client . Do you remember what those were ? Work out physical activity , in other words , stay connected with friends , learn or read a book and then stay connected spiritually . Walk through those to see how they might work for you Now . Maybe you have other ideas that you know are tried and true . Your history of overcoming difficulty has proven these true . Well , use them as a matter of fact , share them here . I'd love to hear your recommendations .
Next Week's Topic (and guest preview)
Speaker 1Okay , so I can't keep quiet anymore . I want to introduce you today to who my guest will be next week . So here we go . My guest next week will be my wife , lydia Sanchez , otherwise known as the scintillating Lydia Sanchez . I wanted to have her on to discuss new beginnings and continuity into the new year . As we're approaching it , we'll discuss a few important life items for us , and well , guess who is right here to give us a heads up about those topics ? None other than the scintillating Lydia Sanchez . Hi , love .
Speaker 2Hey , I'm so happy to be here .
Speaker 1Well , thank you for being willing to join me in the next episode and , of course , right now too , for this quick setup for the next week . This is going to be really great , I know it . Okay , what areas will we cover in the next episode in terms of our areas of growth marital , personal fitness , business , social , spiritual and financial .
Speaker 2On our trip home from Yosemite , it gave us some time to think about all these topics in great detail .
Speaker 1Yeah , we were in that car for over seven hours and a good chunk of that time we were discussing what we wanted to share for our episode together , all right . So I'm definitely excited just to have you on the podcast as my first guest which will be a discussion and not an interview per se but also I'm very excited about what we plan to share . I agree that it will be valuable . So , again , thank you for being willing to be on the show .
Speaker 2I'm excited to join you .
Speaker 1Okay
Closing Quote
Speaker 1, as always , let me send you away with the quote , but I'm going to change it up . Love , let's have you close out the show with a quote this time .
Speaker 2Oh , I would love to do that . This quote is perfect for the trip we just completed . Okay , here it is , and into the forest I go to lose my mind and to find my soul . That's from John Muir . That's it . That's the quote . Think about it , act on it .
Speaker 1Ooh , you're really good at this . All right , as usual . Have an amazing week , friends , and thanks for hanging out . Let's do this again next week , this time with my special guest , my wife Lydia Sanchez . Thank you for listening . If you found this time together useful , please consider following this podcast and leaving an excellent rating . If you feel you can't do that yet , please reach out to me and leaving an excellent rating . If you feel you can't do that yet , please reach out to me and let me know what I can do to get you to leave a top rating . If you are already excited about what you've heard , please consider sharing this podcast with a friend . I really would appreciate it . Also , I'd love your feedback , both on today's topic as well as what you'd like to hear me address in the future . I would really appreciate that input . Again , I'm your host , isaac Sanchez . I hope today's thought serves you the way it has served me . Remember your next move is just one inside away . Have an amazing rest of your day . I'll see you next time .