The "I'm Ready Now!" Podcast
Ideas to help you when you're ready for change.
The "I'm Ready Now!" Podcast
EP 33: The Power of Change: Thinking Like a Smart Rat in a Human World
We're back after a two week disappearing act!!!
Adapting to life's challenges often requires us to think differently about our circumstances. In this revealing episode, we explore what it truly means to "think like a rat" in the human rat race - and why that's actually a profound compliment rather than an insult.
Drawing from Dan Miller's insights, we examine why smart rats immediately adapt when their cheese moves, while humans, despite our supposed intellectual superiority, remain stuck in unfulfilling or even toxic situations. A striking study by psychologist Jan Halper reveals that 58% of executives felt they had wasted years climbing career ladders propped against the wrong walls. How can we avoid this common trap?
The episode opens with a powerful reflection on the importance of deep friendships - those rare connections where vulnerability is met with support rather than judgment. As iron sharpens iron, these relationships provide the courage and perspective we often need when facing difficult transitions. Then we dive into this episodes main content: practical strategies for breaking out of stagnation, including environmental changes that boost creativity and fresh thinking.
Throughout the conversation, personal stories illustrate how small shifts in perspective can lead to meaningful change. Whether you're feeling trapped in your career, relationship, or thought patterns, this episode offers both the inspiration and practical tools to help you find your path forward. The wisdom of rats might be exactly what you need to design the life you truly want rather than falling into someone else's limited plans for you.
Welcome 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. Hello, hello, hello. Is anyone out there? Oh, I know it's been long. It's been two long weeks.
Speaker 1:Nevertheless, welcome back everyone to the I'm Ready Now podcast. I am ready now to be back After two weeks. I'm so sorry. Listen. A couple of things came up. One of them was my dad's visit not throwing him under the bus, but it's just how things changed. I'm telling you one thing that I'm learning still learning is scheduling and working out different times to make sure that I can sit behind this microphone and get this podcast done week by week. So thank you for your patience. I really appreciate it. I'm so sorry for my absence. I'm so thankful you're still here. Thank you so so much for listening. So here we go Housekeeping. They're the chapter markers. You can get to those. If you want to jump right to the content of this, also reach out to me to give me some feedback on the topics we're addressing or the podcast, something you'd like for me to address and, as always, there's a couple of ways you can do that that tap to text link or please feel free to email me at isaacsanchezatmaccom. I would absolutely love to hear you right there in my inbox.
Speaker 1:So what's up in your world? For me, friendships, man. This came roaring right back at me recently. It was the importance of friendships, of close, deep friendships, and this came back at me. A couple of weeks ago, a good friend stopped me to chat after work. It was Friday, was ready to go, everyone's ready to go, and he's my best buddy there and he stopped to say can we chat a little bit? And I said, yeah, as a matter of fact, he saw me. He was driving, getting ready to leave the parking lot, but he saw that I had gotten in my car. So he stopped at the side of my vehicle and just wanted to talk and what came out of his mouth was hey, man, can I call you whenever I need to? He'd been going through some difficult circumstances and just opened up. He's a close friend so he knows we can talk this way. I've shared things deeply with him. Also, this is the guy that I can trust and we're buddies, and so we had a brief chat and we talked about important health, personal issues, life issues, just things that he and I deal with, and the reasons that he was asking me about that. And I said, yeah, man, I just I got to share some of my own personal experiences, how I have people, including him, that I can call and speak with.
Speaker 1:I shared some of my own personal experience with some being at a space and time in my life where I just really really, really really really being at a space and time in my life where I just really, really, really, really really, um, you know, flirted heavily with depression and so you know, we've talked about some of this stuff and, um, anyways, I just felt like at that point, um, I said, hey, let's just let's, this was a Thursday. Um, it wasn't a Friday, it was a Thursday. Um, because, um, we locked in right there, um, an dinner said, hey, let's just meet. Tomorrow's Friday, let's meet, let's get together, we'll figure out where, but just don't schedule anything and we'll have it figured out by tomorrow, that Friday, and I just felt that it was important to do that because, if you know, talk to my buddy and say, yeah, you can call me anytime and I'm there for you, and then just kind of walk away from that. I kind of felt I needed to add some credibility to what I was saying, not out of obligation, I just knew what's the right thing to do right now for me.
Speaker 1:That next day, friday, we went to a spot right near the house. I had some excellent Thai dinner. It's so wonderful because he knows a little bit of the language, a lot of the country too. We had great conversation, but when we got there he already started speaking a little bit to our waiter, a gentleman there, and they were going back and forth for a little bit about the country and different locations, and he knew exactly what the gentleman was talking about our server, who had just been there in about two weeks prior. And so they did that. He and I had great conversation. We talked about career faith, our future, things that we're working on, and we made the commitment to hang more often, which was really, really cool, and so it reminded me.
Speaker 1:This mutual support reminded me of a proverb, a statement in the Bible, in the book of Proverbs, 27, 17,. But this is a good one, whether you're religious or not. And it says as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. And that just kind of came to my mind. I thought you need to make sure that you follow this commitment, make the immediate hang happen. That way you guys can just kind of reconnect.
Speaker 1:And it was a good time and it was important and it just reminded me you gotta have those people that you can reach out to and there'll be no judgment. They'll speak with you, they'll listen to you, they'll help you, they'll be frank with you and you feel good about moving forward. So I hope you have that person. If not, start working on that. You need that person, or two or three. Usually it's a very, very, very small group. I have them in my life and some are family, some are not, and it's a good place to be. There's a good feeling about knowing you have those people to go to. So find those people or celebrate them if you do have them.
Speaker 1:Well, let's move on to what we're going to talk about today the rat race, where we need to think like a rat. Do you want to elevate your strategic thinking? That's my question Do you want to move courageously when you feel you're stuck? Well, in this thing we call the rat race, you're going to need to think like a rat, just like a rat. How so, isaac, you might ask me. Well, dan Miller is going to help us with that. So let's move ahead and let's find out next. Well, dan Miller starts off this talk with a funny line that talking about being in the rat race is demeaning to rats.
Speaker 1:He references as an opener this book who Moved my Cheese. Great little book to read. I read it a while ago, several years ago, and I really, really enjoyed it. Read it a couple times. It's just, it's a short read. It's a parable about responses to change and in there it just talks about smart rats know how to adapt when their cheese has been moved and just kind of shows how that happens.
Speaker 1:And then it pivots onto the idea of humans, not so much here we are with our intellect and choices that are before us, but we keep ourselves stuck in a rut, and you know this maybe it's been you, I know it's been me at times where you hear people who really dislike their work, what they're doing, a circumstance, a situation that they're in, and so, with all these different options that they have before them, what do they do? They stay there. And to kind of move this idea along, he talks about Jan Helper, a Palo Alto psychologist who spent more than 10 years studying the careers and the behaviors of middle managers or executives, so spent all this time looking at them, and what she found was that 58% of these executives felt that they wasted years of their career trying to reach their goals, that it was wasted time trying to do that. Dr Stephen Covey has an incredible line I remember reading in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, where he talks about these people representing these executives, that they spend this time climbing up that tall career ladder only to find out that it's leaning against the wrong wall. Ouch, that's a very difficult discovery to have after all that work. And so here you have Jan Al Helper. That was pointing this out, basically, and Dan then moves on to talk about his experience with people he's coached, talks about people who feel trapped, whether it was a career, a job, life circumstances, relationships, whatnot.
Speaker 1:And the words that would show up at these kind of coaching meetings was they're feeling demeaned, belittled, emotionally abused. Right, I mean, I think what would you do or what have you done in situations like this? Most of the people that go to him that were bringing up these feelings of what was happening to them, what do they do? They stayed, they would stay in that same circumstance. And you know, just he kind of sometimes some of these folks would over spiritualize some stuff or just kind of remain ignorant to it. Paul Yan is saying well, something will change, something's going to change. Or maybe God is teaching me something about them and about this circumstance. I'm supposed to learn something and just stay here and be demeaned and be belittled and emotionally abused? God's going to teach me something here with all this happening.
Speaker 1:And it reminded me of a joke. I remember hearing this joke and I'm going to read it. I found a version of it and I'm going to read it right to you so I don't miss anything, and maybe you've heard this. And it says that a very religious man was caught in a flood and the water was rising rapidly and he climbed onto the roof of his house, was just there. Soon a man in a rowboat came by and shouted hey, the water's getting high, hop in, I'll take you to safety. The religious man replies no, thank you, I have faith in God. He will send someone to rescue me. The guy shrugged his shoulders and kind of scoots off, rescue me. The guy shrugs his shoulders and kind of scoots off.
Speaker 1:The water continued to rise and a motorboat came by. The people on board yelled sir, you need to leave, the water's going to cover your roof. Again, the religious man refused, saying no, thank you, I trust in the Lord, he will save me. Finally, a helicopter hovered overhead and a rope ladder was lowered. The pilot shouted through a megaphone grab the ladder, we'll pull you up For the third time. The man declined, proclaiming no, thank you, my faith is strong, god will send me salvation. Eventually, the water rose over the roof and the man drowned. When he gets to heaven, he was understandably upset and he marches right up and approaches God and says Lord, I had such strong faith in you, why didn't you rescue me from that flood? And God looked at him with a compassionate but slightly exasperated expression and said I sent you a rowboat, a motorboat and a helicopter. What more did you expect? Yeah, you get the point.
Speaker 1:Let's take some personal responsibility on for some of this stuff, for some of our decisions, for some of the opportunities that we do have. So we don't wanna stay stuck. We're different, we're not rats. We wanna go find the cheese when it's been moved. So we want to find a way out, and so Dan admonishes us, to quote take action, to move toward whatever is pure, good and honorable in your life and in your work. So to find out how we can apply this, let's move to our wrap up and application section here and grab your note taking items, journal writing device, whatever it is that you're going to use, and let's just talk about this. So here's the question that Dan asks us. He asked can you think like a rat today, asks us. He asks can you think like a rat today? What is an area in your life where you need to walk away and seek a more peaceful solution? It could be for an industrial solution, it could be a creative solution. But what is it okay that you can do to walk away and seek a more peaceful or creative solution to where you're, at the circumstances you're in?
Speaker 1:In an article written by Amy Novotny, it's called Harness your Environment to Boost your Creativity. It's this idea of trying to kind of get yourself out and do things. A variety of options here I'm going to go over right now to help you break out and do something different, to think differently, differently, instead of just having tunnel vision about the circumstances you're in. So one of the first things she says is seek novelty and new experiences. Engaging with unfamiliar surroundings sparks new neural connections. Now, I'm sure this is something you may have experienced, if not. Some of the examples you can do is just as simple as taking a new route on your daily walk. Visit a museum in a new neighborhood or try a cuisine you've never had before. Do something that shakes you out of what is normal to you and suddenly you're having to rethink and think through some things that are new to you. So that's one thing that Ms Novotny says. A second one is embrace nature's influence. Natural environments, reduce stress and enhance cognitive function, fostering creativity. We have talked about this before.
Speaker 1:I've told you before what my walks do for me, what exercise does for me on that treadmill for an hour hour and 15 minutes, sometimes I'm listening to stuff, sometimes I intentionally do not listen to stuff so that I can just be in the space to hear what comes to my mind as I'm just walking, particularly through nature, though that's the key for me is I'll walk out. Sometimes I'll listen to something, but other times I'll just like don't listen to anything, just work through a situation, kind of massage it in your head, turn it over back and forth and see what comes to mind as you're out there. And so some of the things that you can do that they say is work near. Ms Novotny says work near a window with a view of nature. Spend your lunch break in a park or incorporate plants into your workspace. As I've said before, go on a walk away from everything. Find a park somewhere, a hike that'll get you away to where you can just be in that quiet space and walk and think.
Speaker 1:A third of four different options that she brings up is curate your immediate surroundings, so your personal space can either stifle or stimulate creative thought. Some of the examples that she offers for that is organize your desk to minimize distractions or display inspiring work, artwork or objects, or create a dedicated idea corner. What do you need to do to have something in front of you that's going to help you? When you look at it, it reminds you to think through some things or it inspires you to be creative. What can you do? That would help you with that. Maybe you have other ideas, I'm sure you do. And finally, engage with diverse environments. So stepping outside your comfort zone exposes you to different perspectives and ideas is what she offers. A couple examples might be visiting the bustling market, attend a cultural event or volunteer in a new setting to observe and learn. Keep yourself on your toes, okay. Engage with diverse environments things that are going to shake you up a little bit and make you rethink. You know your normal kind of pathway that your brain will go shake it up a bit is what it is Now. Let me give you my brief example. My experience is thinking like a smart rat.
Speaker 1:Was this podcast 2020,? I did not start a podcast in my journal. I said I would. I talked about that.
Speaker 1:I've been struggling with podcast ideas for years. I shared with you before and this year I just came up with the idea in episode one I share this that this book, the Writer of the Day, that I go through each week with you by Dan Miller, that book helped me in change and I went through it two times. I thought Isaac, there are 91 little talks that he has in here, little notes that he has and questions that he asks you, and if you'll just go through those and share what Dan Miller shares, summarize his thoughts and then give my perspective of what worked for me. Just share that, that's it. I've said before. I'm not pretending to be an expert. I'm telling you here's what worked for me, here's the text I was using that was helping me. What could it do for you? That's it. Okay, that's it. I'm just a witness to my own experience. It's the human experience, my version of it, and maybe that will help you and maybe someone else can learn from my experience. That's all it was.
Speaker 1:And so I was ready for change, and hence the title of this podcast. Okay, trying to think like a rat, like what could I? What could I call this? And I'm ready now. I was ready now to change. I was ready now to try things that I hadn't tried before, things that I said would try, things that other people had tried and it worked for them. I would have my version if I would just step out. So you know, it's a mindset that helped shift my thinking towards positive change.
Speaker 1:I kept myself in books, in texts, listening to people, podcasts, surrounding myself with people that were doing things that I knew would be helpful to me in my moment of change and I just wanted to share that with others. So finally I said just make a podcast where you can do that. So these are things that gave me real hope for purpose longevity. You can do that. So these are things that gave me real hope for purpose longevity. You know right out of the gate and I knew if I just talk about what I knew and what it helped me, I can keep moving in that direction. And so the key was my smart rat thinking was to not feel that I needed to create original content. Yet what was original was my story, my version of it, my application of what I was reading in Dan Miller's book. But I didn't have to put the pressure of me to totally create from scratch. There was no need for me to do that. And as soon as I turned that and realized that's a legitimate way for you to go, isaac, then, boy, it was just perfect. So just share what you know and hopefully others will engage with it.
Speaker 1:So let's go back to you. Can you think like a smart rat today? And what is an area in your life where you need to walk away and seek a more peaceful solution or an industrious solution or a creative solution. So ponder this, make some notes, then be proactive about what you've discovered to be your next step, even if it's a baby step. This may take a few iterations, but this is that new direction forward that you need to take. Okay, I'm going to get out of the way because it looks get busy. Hey now, stop grabbing your nuts. What? Yeah, stop grabbing your peanuts, monkey. If you want positive change, a change that could really shift your world, then we're going to take a lesson from how monkeys are trapped. It's actually an unfortunate process. You won't believe your ears at just how alike we are to this unfortunate process, but you're going to want to hear this. So let's meet up again next week for that. Okay, let me send you away with a quote. Here it is If you don't design your own life, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan and guess what they have planned for you. Not much. That comes from Jim Rohn. That's it. That's the quote. It's a good one. Think about it, act on it.
Speaker 1:Thank you for spending time with me today, folks. I really appreciate you being back, and let's make this happen again next week. 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 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.