Move The Chains Podcast | Unlocking Your Full Potential with Ryan Munsey

Latest Episodes:

BHP 065: Kate Swoboda | Habits, Courage and Fear Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

It’s no secret that our disciplines, habits and systems create comfort zones that can serve us well. But the lesser acknowledged shadow of these disciplines and systems is that they can also restrict our growth.

In this episode with Kate Swoboda, author of The Courage Habit, we take a closer look at how we can increase our awareness of these patterns of both thought and action, and make sure they serve us rather than limit or hold us back.

We’re talking about the stories we craft, the narratives we tell ourselves, our inner critic(s), our mental reps, why we torment ourselves so, and how we can overcome these self-sabotaging habits.

Show Notes w/ Kate Swoboda, author of The Courage Habit

Overcoming the stigma that fear is weakness
Our own best thinking got us here
The questions to ask and starting points to examine our limiting stories in an attempt to build behavioral and psychological resilience
How DHS: discipline, habits & systems create comfort zones
Behavioral habits vs strategic habits
How our desires for people pleasing and perfectionism can impact us
Fear-based thinking and behavioral patterns
4 Research-backed ways to reprogram our subconscious patterns and beliefs:
- Interrupt the voices
- Somatic awareness
  - Accessing the body: screaming into a towel, mindfulness, conscious crying to get to clear mind
- Listening without attachment
- Creating community
Make it simple to make it accessible
The cycle of: Cue, Routine, Reward
Brain’s best attempt to feel better now
Short-term vs. Long game
You’re never going to stress-proof your life
We all get stuck in habitual behaviors that don’t serve our lives.

Links & Resources

The Courage Habit: How to accept your fears, release your past, and live you courageous life by Kate Swoboda
Kate Swoboda | Website | Twitter | Instagram
Better Human Workshop dates and locations

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BHP Shorts 024: Perspective Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

Sometimes we all need a little reality check to remind us how fortunate we are.

The fact that a few billion atoms have organized themselves into a functioning human body with consciousness to give us this life is pretty freaking cool. Let’s don’t take any part of it for granted.

Remember what is truly important. That’s what this episode on perspective is all about.

Having a bad day?

It could be worse.

We could lose a limb or our vision.

You (or a loved one) could be diagnosed with cancer.

You could be without food, water, or a roof over your head.

The world could end tomorrow, or we could die at any moment (momento mori).

These are a few of the reality checks I serve myself on a regular basis to make sure I don’t lose perspective.

I’ve got a few more for you when press play to TUNE IN to BHP Shorts 024: Perspective

Links & Resources

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BHP Shorts 022: Living An Examined Life Jun 17, 2019

Show notes

Are we leading examined lives?

Dig deeper.

Ask the questions that aren’t being asked.

What isn’t being said? What are we overlooking? What is being assumed?

I’ll argue that, in most cases, we either don’t know what needs to be asked,
or we don’t want to know the answers.

Let’s be honest, looking deeper and asking the hard questions is not always convenient.
(Side note: despite the current direction of our society, convenience is not the ultimate prize.)

We may not like everything we uncover.

But these inquisitions are crucial steps if we are to continue to grow, progress, and develop.

All progress starts with the truth, and this discovery process, fueled by curiosity, leads to often overlooked information, deeper understanding, and unique insights that enable us to move forward in more ways than one.

The real reward of this practice is that begins to permeate every aspect of our lives.

Once we cultivate the ability to peel the layers of the onion, we develop the ability to get at the crux of any situation: social and environmental issues, politics, human nature, business, the internal philosophical questions, and just about anything else that we experience in this existence.

If you think about your interests, I’m willing to bet your curiosity has sparked you to dig deeper in some area of your life. I want to know where and how it has spurred growth for you.

I’ll go first.

For me it began with nutrition, then physical fitness. My quest to understand how the foods we eat and the demands we place upon our bodies can shape our physical, mental, and emotional health has led to a deeper quest to understand our minds, human nature, our interactions with ourselves and others, high performing individuals and organizations and leadership.

TUNE IN to this episode of BHP Shorts for a thought exercise that may shift your perspective(s).

The post BHP Shorts 022: Living An Examined Life appeared first on Ryan Munsey.

BHP Shorts 020: Wisdom = Memory – Emotion Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

Wisdom = Memories Minus Emotion.

When our brains create memories, they are a combination of fact plus emotional state at the time of the event.

Specifically, the limbic system’s amygdala is responsible for linking incoming data-based emotions (framed by evolution and societal constructs) to the mental states we call feelings.

What we need to understand is that our memories are intertwined with the emotions and feelings present during the original experience, as well as the emotions and feelings we affix to them after the occurrence – things like pride, joy, guilt, shame, et al.

I’m asking you to examine your most impactful experiences (memories) in an attempt to remove the emotional component.

What wisdom remains, staring you in the face?

What lessons can we learn, what wisdom can we pull from our memories IF we remove the emotions that cloud our perspective?

NOTE: Perspective, not judgement – judgement implies assigning value (good or bad) before we have a chance to examine the usefulness of the information.

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BHP 064: Dan Freed | Mental Health & Formula Nootropics Jun 06, 2019

Show notes

One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to allow our past to define us.

As the saying goes, “it’s not we are that holds us back, but who we think we are not”.

The stories we tell ourselves, those narratives we play in our own heads are more powerful than nearly all external circumstances.

Dan Freed is a perfect example of this lesson.

Dan went from self-proclaimed “f*ck up, high school dropout working at Subway” to a Michelin 3-Star chef in France where he walked away from everything he’d worked for to pursue an offer (full scholarship) for a prestigious graduate school program at Yale – all without that high school diploma!

Now Dan’s a serial entrepreneur and successful businessman who is committed to helping people overcome mental barriers – both physiological and psychological – and empowering them to live their best life.

Hear his amazing story and learn some valuable lessons on this week’s Better Human Project podcast.

Show Notes

Self described complete fuckup, struggled for years,turned it around and on a mission to help others do the same.
Dans first Chef job came from one of LA’s top Chefs watching him wait tables and taking a chance after learning his dream was to become a chef. “I showed up on my first day with a paper bag full of socks.”
Being humble and earning your stripes is a mindset you have to be willing to accept.
After being rejected from a 2 star Michelin restaurant in Paris, Dan applied to all 26 of the 3 star restaurants in France. Refusing to give up without trying every option. Only 2 gave him interviews
Learning to overcome personal cognitive biases gave Dan an edge in his masters programs at INSEAD and Yale. We’re all just people. Each of us has the capacity to learn and grow beyond our current state. Dan never finished high school. But has two masters degrees.

Links & Resources

Get My Formula Website —> SAVE 20% with the code ryan | Instagram
Better Human Workshop Dates and Locations
Principles by Ray Dalio

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**BHP Shorts 019: Don’t Focus On Your Rivals** Jun 03, 2019
Show notes

Trying to be better than your rival may be holding you back.

By focusing on THEM, we remove our focus from what should be our focus – the PROCESS, and our own standard of excellence)

Our focus should be on our own growth and development in an effort to be the best version of ourselves, not on being better than someone else.

Let’s look at an example from sports:

Let’s say your rival is a mediocre team who beats you every year.

By mediocre, let’s call them a 6 or 7 out of 10.

If we focus on *“just being better than them”*, we may very well accomplish that goal.

The problem is, that only gets us to a 6.5 or 7.5. We’re good enough to beat that particular team *(if we perform to our maximum capability)*, but we’re still only able to compete with teams/businesses/organizations in the 1-7 range.

We may beat our rival, but we still lose to the best. We still can’t compete with those at the top of our chosen pursuit.

On the other hand, if we ignore “them”, and turn our focus inward with the intention to continually improve ourselves, holding ourselves to the highest standard, we can approach life (or sport/business/etc) as an 8, 9, or 10 ourselves.

I’ve been fortunate to be exposed to this mindset in college at Clemson University, where Dabo Swinney brought the phrase “Best Is The Standard” that laid the foundation for a model of intrinsic evaluation. (In case you’re unaware, Clemson has won 2 National Titles in the last 3 years, so this focus seems to have some merit.)

If we strive for that standard and get there (or close to it), we outpace almost everyone – including our mediocre rivals – along the way.

This internal focus extends beyond who we compete with. It also holds true for who we may aspire to be – or be like.

Be careful who you emulate & model yourself after. Be careful who you compete with. **Their ceiling will be our ceiling.**

Don’t focus on your rivals. It’s not about being better than someone else.

It’s about developing the best version of you – not someone else.

Winners focus on winning. Losers focus on winners.

I like to always bring it back to this question: *“Is this the best you can do?”*

At all times, you know the real answer to that question.

Let’s make a commitment to doing the best we can for our current level of development – and always seeking to elevate that level of development.

Best (you) is the standard. Accept nothing less.

**Links & Resources**

Better Human Workshop Dates and Locations

Todd White on the BHP

BHP Shorts 009: Why SMART Goals Suck (And What To Do Instead)

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**BHP Shorts 018: Leadership As An Hourglass** May 30, 2019
Show notes

High functioning systems – individuals, teams and organizations – depend on the flow of information.

This flow of information is the foundation of high performance communication and it is the lifeblood of great leadership and high performance teams.

Like an hourglass running out of sand, the cutting out of communication &/or information flowing into a complex system results in the drying up of information that can be relayed to those who need it most.

In this BHP Short, we share and build on battle-tested leadership principles from retired Navy SEALs Mark Divine and Jason Redman, along with Melin Co-Founder Brian McDonell.

TUNE IN for this can’t miss episode packed with lessons on effectively leading yourself, communicating with others, and being an invaluable member of any team.

**The High Performance Organization Pyramid**

**The Leadership Hourglass**

**Links & Resources**

Better Human Workshop Dates and Locations

Brian McDonell on the BHP

Jason Redman on the BHP

Mark Divine on the BHP

Jason’s book, The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

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BHP Shorts 017: Who Are You At Your Worst? May 27, 2019

Show notes

If I asked you how much you squat, it’s likely that your answer would reflect your all time best, not necessarily what you can do right now.

Here’s the thing: I don’t care what you’re capable of when conditions are perfect.

I want to know who you are and what you’re capable of when adversity mounts against you.

We have a tendency to define ourselves by our peak moments – moments that make up a miniscule fraction of our existence – while suffering through needless self-induced torment and frustration when our “normal” days fall short of those exalted memories.

Think about how you do this in your own life: How often do you define yourself by your peak moments? (How much can you squat/bench/deadlift? What’s your best mile/marathon/Fran time? Do you define your professional life by a singular moment that lies in your past?)

Pause for a moment to reflect on those peaks: What conditions had to align for those peak expressions to materialize?

More importantly, could you replicate that performance right now? (Doubtful – after all, by definition, their peak nature means they’re abnormal occurrences.)

Look, it’s always easier to perform well when conditions are perfect and we feel our best.

I don’t care how good we can be in those instances.

I want to know how good are you at your worst. How good are you in adverse conditions?

How nice are you to strangers when life is using your genitals as a punching bag?

Forget “bests”. Elevate the baseline.

If you’ve noticed anything about life, you’ve likely noticed that conditions are rarely perfect.

So why design or create a system that requires perfect conditions? Life is chaos. How good can you be when things are not going your way?

I’ll argue it’s a more worthwhile pursuit to elevate our floor. At the very least, it’s equally important.

We’re not as strong as our personal best. We’re only as strong as the minimum we can handle on any given day.

Imagine, being able to say that on any given day you could never be worse than XYZ….and then raising that threshold over time.

This is what happens when traits become state independent. We develop the capacity to perform to a certain standard regardless of external circumstances.

Forget “bests”. Elevate the baseline.

I don’t care how good you can be when conditions are perfect.

They rarely are.

We all face adversity.

It’s not going anywhere.

We’ll all face more of it.

Who are you when conditions are not aligned in your favor?

We can have excuses or results, not both.

The choice is ours.

Who will you be? How well can you stay committed to the process when shit hits the fan? What results will you deliver in adverse conditions?