Grow the Good

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Fitness & Nutrition
**Grow the Good**

Grow the Good, formerly *The Sonya Looney Show,* is your guide to continual personal growth, meaningful connections, and positive impact in the world. Challenge the idea that you are broken or need fixing. Instead, discover how to cultivate the good that already exists within you and amplify the strengths and potential you may not yet realize you have. Grounded in the science of positive psychology and guided by the pillars of purpose, vitality, resilience, hope, and connection, each episode is packed with tools, stories, and evidence-backed insights to help you create a more authentic and flourishing life.

Latest Episodes:

**An Interesting Story from the Back of an Uber - Crush It Mondays** Oct 28, 2019
Show notes

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays. Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start. In this week’s episode, I want to talk about an interesting story and experience I had.

Check out the previous episode about The Four Agreements.

https://www.sonyalooney.com/the-four-agreements/

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

Do You Suffer From Imposter Syndrome? - Crush It Mondays Oct 21, 2019

Show notes

This is an episode of Crush It Mondays. Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start. In this week’s episode, I want to talk about imposter syndrome.

I'm sure most of you have heard this term before, but let's define it. It's characterized by internally refusing to believe you are as good, accomplished, competent, or capable as others perceive you to be. Basically, you feel like you're a fraud or that you just got lucky to get to be where you're at. You won by accident or you were promoted by luck. People with imposter syndrome tend to overwork themselves to ensure they are keeping up and have feelings of inferiority, even when others consider them experts. What is dangerous about this way of thinking is that you are afraid to step off the hectic treadmill of hard work because you're afraid everything will fall apart. People with imposter syndrome have a difficult time celebrating their success or accepting their achievements.

If you recognize some of this behavior in yourself, how do you start improving on it? First is to know that there are a ton of people that you look up to who also feel imposter syndrome- it's more common than you'd think! In fact, it was reported that 70% of people experience Imposter Syndrome!

Show vulnerability. Something that has been really helpful for me is showing vulnerability. It's scary at first because you're putting it out there that you aren't as perfect as people think you are, that you make mistakes, that sometimes you don't know exactly what you're doing... but instead of others thinking - "oh! I knew that person as a phony!" Chances are, they'll respect you even more. It humanizes you, but that doesn't make you less than. It also will help you practice more self-compassion when you feel like you can be yourself and show all parts of what you're doing, not just the highlight reel of your successes. People want to share in the ups and downs of your journey and the downs don't make you an imposter. An example of a time I showed vulnerability when it truly scared me to do it was when I took a video of myself crying uncontrollably in the hardest race I had ever done to that date- the Yak Attack in Nepal. I did a TED Talk about it and how to define success in your life. Putting a video online and later, in a TED Talk of me crying like this still makes my chest tighten. Crying publicly and even in front of friends or family is something I do not do. I've never wanted to share that side of me, but as terrifying as it was to share have this video live on the internet, it was amazing how powerful and impactful it was. You gain strength and can positively impact others through vulnerability.
If self-critical thoughts pop up and your imposter brain starts taking over, don't fight the thought. Use the meditation technique of RAIN- Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Non-Identification. Recognize it, take a moment to accept it and allow it to be there, ask yourself if it's really true and where you might feel it in your body, and last - say something to yourself like "this is just a thought, it is not me. I'm separate from this thought. I'm okay. It's okay."
Be aware of when you are comparing yourself and it brings up feelings of inferiority. Personally, this happens when I'm looking at social media. I see people who seem to be racing more, training harder, better at promoting their podcast, or who seem to have it together more than me. It feels icky when I look at it from an "I feel like I'm not enough because of this other person's post." I don't always feel that way, but there are vulnerable moments throughout our day where a photo or video can impact us in different ways. If I find mysel

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

How to Boost Will Power: Crush It Mondays Oct 14, 2019

Show notes

What is willpower? It's another word for self-control. How many times have you blamed lack of willpower for failing to change a habit? Don't worry, it's natural and all of us do it. There's a reason why x% of New Year's Resolutions fail and why it's so hard to make habits stick. We say "I won't do this thing anymore" or "I will do this other thing every day." We stick to it for a while, and then the wheels fall off. It's not that our intention isn't there- we truly want to do those things. So why can't we stick to it?

It turns out relying on willpower alone does not work. The topic of willpower has been a focus of numerous scientific studies over the last several years. Are there areas of the brain responsible for willpower? Why do some people seem to have more willpower than others? How do we have more self-control?

There are a few different schools of research that I wanted to share with you. Addiction has been a driver of some of these studies to help people make lasting change. There are a few books I want to recommend if you're interested in the science behind the topic of will power. Pick up The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal PhD and also The Craving Mind by Jud Brewer.

Based on the findings from these books and other studies I read, what can you do to set yourself up for success? According to a 2012 study by the American Psychological Association, the main habits people are always trying to improve upon are eating healthier, exercising regularly, lose weight, reduce stress, and get more sleep.

Interestingly enough, a few of those goals will intrinsically increase your willpower.

Stress and sleep deprivation decrease willpower. It's kind of a chicken or egg scenario since people would argue it takes willpower to go to bed earlier or to take action to reduce stress. But if you can understand that reducing stress and sleeping more will give you more self-control, it might help you make it a priority. Why do stress and sleep deprivation reduce willpower? Well, it turns out that will power mostly lives in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. It controls some of our emotions, what we pay attention to, and the subject of our thoughts. The prefrontal cortex is broken up into three sections according to Dr McGonigal's book. There's a section for "I won't", a section for "I will" and a section for "I want." I won't eat the dessert. I will get up early to do my workout. I want keeps track of your goals. The prefrontal cortex is the first region of the brain that goes offline when we're stressed. Guess what happens? You lose your willpower. Sleep deprivation is another problem. It reduces brain activity because it's actually harder for your brain to absorb glucose when it's sleep-deprived. Yes, you actually are in a fog! Aim to reduce stress and get more sleep and you might find that you have more willpower.
Suppressing thoughts weakens willpower. So does guilt. You've heard of the experiment- don't think of a pink elephant... and then that's all you can think about. Well, think about when you want that cookie. You tell yourself, "don't think of the cookie!" The more we resist temptation, the more it persists...and then your willpower goes out the window. Basically, try not to suppress your thoughts and keep listening for what to do instead. Guilt-tripping yourself has also been found to make your willpower issues worse. It might sound counterintuitive to let yourself off the hook, but studies have shown that self-compassion around breaking a habit help you get back on track rhater than

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

The Compelling Saga of Alison Tetrick: Work Ethic, Perspective, and Identity Oct 11, 2019

Show notes

Alison Tetrick is a force to be reckoned with. A cowgirl at heart (literally, she grew up riding horses on a cattle ranch), Alison's attitude, work ethic in all areas of her life, and commitment to excellence makes her stand out. She has a very impressive list of accolades in cycling including a Bronze Medal at Road TTT World Champs, multiple Sea Otter wins, has raced the Giro de Rosa and more recently, has made a name for herself in the gravel world with 1 win and 2 podium finishes at Dirty Kanza. Alison loves to ride her bike and it shows with the ultra-endurance gravel events! Not only is Alison an incredible athlete (and need I mention she played NCAA tennis and won the first half ironman she entered), but she has quite the academic resume. She has a BS in Biochemistry, a nutrition degree, and an MS in Clinical Psychology.

But things haven't always been easy for Alison. In 2010, she suffered a traumatic crash in a road race, shattering her pelvis and incurring a severe Traumatic Brain Injury that left her reeling for months and even years. When her pelvis healed, she returned to racing not realizing the seriousness of her head injury. And when she suffered a second concussion, things changed. She couldn't read, she had to question her identity, and she would get lost in airports. With the help of a neuropsychologist, she got back up on her feet and also had more perspective on her goals.

After feeling like she had accomplished everything she needed to in road racing, Alison transitioned to gravel and on Dirty Kanza on her first try. If you're not familiar, Dirty Kanza is a 200-mile self-navigated race on Kansas gravel roads in the Flint Hills. Since then, she has tackled every long gravel event she could find, including one in Iceland and a bikepacking adventure on the Silk Road in Kyrgyzstan.

In this episode, you'll laugh, you'll be inspired, and you'll learn a lot about competitive spirit, athletic maturity, the power of perspective, the danger with external validation, and even some interesting tidbits about both road and gravel racing. We talked about her crash and how it has changed her priorities and identity and so much more.

Topics Discussed in the Podcast

Alison's competitive spirit in school
growing up on a cattle ranch
where her incredible work ethic came from
how women's road racing has evolved
the team dynamic of road racing
her big crash breaking her pelvis and getting a Traumatic Brain Injury
how the crash changed her and her identity
going all in
discussion on external validation related to self worth
Mantras and perspective
Athletic maturity
Transition to gravel & the gravel community

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Resources

Follow Alison Tetrick on Instagram
Follow Alison Tetrick on Twitter
Alison Tetrick's website
Listen to her on the TrainerRoad Podcast
Read about Alison's crash on Bicycling Magazine

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.

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