Your Mind Is Draining Your Energy: The Mindset Shift That Changes Your Health, Fitness & Follow-Through | Feat. Zach Hall

0:08 SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Warriors Haven Podcast, the place where discipline meets purpose and everyday people become unstoppable. I'm your host, Jay Shutherland, a retired Army drill sergeant, single mom, and the founder of the Warriors Haven. Around here, we talk fitness, mindset, and the mission of building a stronger you, mentally, physically, and financially. Because this isn't just about the gym. It's about life, leadership, and living on your terms. So gear up, lock in, and let's step into the haven where warriors are made.

0:54 SPEAKER_01: Hey friends, welcome to this new episode of The Warriors Haven. This episode is real special. We are actually going to hit the topic of mental strength and also physical skill. So I want you guys to hang on for the ride, listen to the entire episode. I think there's going to be so many takeaways. And of course, I'm not doing it by myself. I have a very special guest joining me today on the Warriors Haven. We have a Zach with Mind RX Academy, who has graciously given me a lot of his time to record this episode, really dive into mindset.

1:34 SPEAKER_01: I feel like it's such a topic that so many of us don't really talk about. We just kind of go about our day and we don't really know where some of the thoughts just come in because we've just kind of been robotically taught in our society to just kind of wake up and go. So, Zach, thank you so much for taking the time to join me on The Warriors Haven. Um, and can you just kind of give us a quick little intro about you?

1:58 SPEAKER_03: Yeah, uh Jay, I'm honored to be here. Thank you for the work that you do for your community, for your people, um, and really setting the stage and um giving me an opportunity to share these insights. It's funny, I think you said not a lot of people talk about mindset. I think it's a word that's thrown out a lot, but I don't think most people understand what they mean when they say it. It's just said, you know? Um, so I'm happy to dive into that today. As far as as far as me, like what would you what would be most helpful for your people to know or for those that would listen?

2:31 SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, I think breaking it down to the burnt out mom, breaking it down to the overstimulated dad, who you are, what do you do, what's your background? Um, just kind of a little bit of an insight so we kind of know, are you just the mindset guy?

2:45 SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so I'll I guess I'll tell it, tell it to you this way is I did not expect to get into business. I was gonna be a doctor. Um, I went to I had my undergraduate done in biology and biochemistry. I did a year of medical school and then ended up in direct sales as a way to save up because we maxed out the student loans, already being a husband and a and a dad when I got into medical school. And it wasn't enough. We maxed out the student loans in California. It wasn't enough to support a family, and so I started a sales job with the idea of saving and going back, and you know, that was well over a decade ago, so obviously I never went back.

3:25 SPEAKER_03: So it's I've got this unique kind of medical school level training, but also practical, real-world experience indirect sales, and it was a career that broke me. And I fell in love with mindset and mindfulness and thoughts creating results in an effort to rebuild me, I guess is the way to say it.

3:48 SPEAKER_01: Wow, wow. It's amazing how we kind of start on one journey and we kind of think this is this is what it's gonna be. And then life has a way of saying, nope, this is where I need you to be. Um, and this is how I need you to perform in life. So that is so cool. So thank you for just a little bit of that background. So our friends in all over the world can can kind of get to know you just a little bit. So let's dive in, Zach, because I know your time is is very valuable. You're squeezing the time to get me in.

4:16 SPEAKER_01: So let's let's go ahead and really peel back these layers um for our friends all over the world. So you you talk about energy as something that flows to and through us, not just motivation or willpower. Explain just a little bit, Zach. How does someone recognize when their low energy isn't a nutrition or fitness problem, but a mindset problem that's silently draining them every single day?

4:49 SPEAKER_03: That's such a good question. Um well, let me let me ask it this way or present it this way. Do you know of a time like if you had, I'm sure you have, you're obviously pretty fit. Have you do you have like an experience yourself, Jay, where you were dead tired, you were exhausted, maybe it was a workout or some kind of challenge you'd given yourself, and then you found a way to keep going, and you you you ended up realizing you did more than you thought physically was possible. Do you have an experience like that?

5:17 SPEAKER_01: Absolutely. I'm a former drill sergeant, so for sure, I've got many stories.

5:21 SPEAKER_03: You probably have many. So, so actually, do it, do us a favor here. Think of one, right? So call one to mind. Tell us about it. Like where you were dead tired, but you found a way to keep going, you found the strength, and and you realized you were stronger than you were thought. Like, tell us about that experience.

5:36 SPEAKER_01: So I have to say the first 72 hours as a drill sergeant is is probably one of the hardest periods for us because you know we're we're really there longer than the normal schedule time throughout the nine weeks, because those are the initial 72 hours of getting them, breaking them into the thought process that we need them to be in, showing them everything that's expected. So it's very quick. And so our sleep time is probably two to three hours a night initially in those first 72 hours, um, to then work, you know, 20, 21 hours straight until we kind of really get that rhythm going.

6:13 SPEAKER_01: And then we, you know, we kind of tailor off a little bit towards the end of the nine weeks.

6:17 SPEAKER_03: That's crazy. So day three, you've slept four hours, which is still too little for one day, right? Yes. Yeah, third day. And so you can kind of picture, like I can kind of picture it, and you're you're doing this grueling work and you're learning all this stuff. It's probably very mentally challenging and physically challenging, and yet you you found a way to keep going.

6:37 SPEAKER_01: Yes.

6:38 SPEAKER_03: So I want I want you to consider like as you think about that experience, that third day you're exhausted and yet you're still showing up, and you realize that you're stronger than you thought. Like, what do you notice you feel right now remembering that experience?

6:55 SPEAKER_01: The exhaustion, you know, just the the that mental fog and just not knowing am I really present or not? You know, kind of kind of that robotic kind of mindset.

7:05 SPEAKER_03: Okay, so you're feeling that kind of drain again, and then focus on focus on how you pushed through and you made it through, and you showed up and you got it done and you progressed and became a drill. Like, what do you feel now thinking about how you overcame it?

7:22 SPEAKER_01: You know, really proud. I'm really proud. It was a dream and a passion of mine. So my thought process being a drill sergeant was different. So, yeah, just that proud moment.

7:31 SPEAKER_03: Perfect. And then feeling that pride, like right now, feeling that pride, thinking about how you went through this exhaustive experience and you came out the other side. What do you want to do right now?

7:40 SPEAKER_01: Keep going.

7:41 SPEAKER_03: Yeah, more, right? Isn't that crazy? Yeah. Here's what's here's what's fascinating to answer your question is that we think of energy as something we have to put into us, right? Like the fuel that you get from your food. And we think of like um, you know, motivation or willpower, and people rely on that. But in a sense, what you just demonstrated, Jay, was that uh energy isn't created, it's formed, it's already there, like you already have the energy, but you formed by focusing your thoughts on a specific experience, and in that focus, you found pride, cultivated that pride, which would motivate you to go do something.

8:20 SPEAKER_03: Like you wanted to go do more, even if you were tired, right? Yeah, and and so that's I guess that answers the question is how how do you differentiate it? Well, fitness, nutrition, those things are important because you know your body needs them, but I guess if I were to differentiate, I would say that the body is just the instrument of the mind. The energy you're putting in isn't created or destroyed, it's just changed, and your mind is the director of that energy. So if you if you you know bring in any kind of nutrition, and I don't want to go crazy or whatever, but you bring in nutrition, your body directs whether you use it or not.

8:59 SPEAKER_03: I know people who eat incredibly well and they're still drained.

9:03 SPEAKER_00: Right.

9:04 SPEAKER_03: It's because they're focusing on all the things that are going wrong in their life, and when you shift that focus, all that good fuel now gets put to work for better. And so I guess that that's how I would I would separate the difference is that nutrition, fitness, obviously important, but that just serves the body, and the body is the expressor, it's the executor of the mind, it's the instrument. The energy that the mind uses is already there and it focuses it and forms it to a specific aim.

9:32 SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow. Thank you for that. That was that was deep. Thanks, Zach.

9:37 SPEAKER_03: So I like deep. You know, hanging out with me. I like to go deep.

9:41 SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm saying that's this episode is gonna be so special because we are we're we're gonna we're getting in there now. So let's go fact versus story when it comes to health and fitness. And as you everyone that knows knows, this is this is my jam. This is what I love, my heart, my desire, everything, my passion is is in this, right? It's what the Warriors Haven is about. Um, one of the core skills of your framework is distinguishing fact from story. Um, can you walk us through how this shows up in fitness or nutrition?

10:11 SPEAKER_01: Like, I don't have time, I've tried everything, or my body just doesn't work like it used to.

10:18 SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I love that. Okay, you want to have some fun?

10:20 SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

10:21 SPEAKER_03: Okay, which would you say? Because with clients that you work with and in your community and stuff, which would you say of those three that you just brought up? Like, I don't have time, my body is like which one do you hear the most, do you think? I don't have time. I don't have time. Okay. So so check this out. When we're thinking about, let's just say some kind of fitness plan, right? Like getting the exercise in, right? When you think about that, something you'll often hear, or it might even go through our own minds, is I don't have time.

10:48 SPEAKER_03: I don't have time for that. So pay attention to as you think about a fitness plan, and you think, and for anyone listening, I would encourage you to like think about starting to exercise and think I don't have time. What do you notice in one word you feel? Like, what is your emotional state when you think I don't have time thinking about exercise? Tired. You feel tired. Interesting. And everyone's gonna have a different answer. It's probably gonna be similar, but everyone's energy state will be a little bit different when they think I don't have time.

11:22 SPEAKER_03: Some people will feel overwhelmed, some people will feel pressure. Those are some of the more common ones I hear when someone focuses on that thought. Now, here's the fun part. And if you're willing to be super honest with yourself and then UJ honest with everyone here, like it'll really shift something. But when you think about exercise and you think I don't have time, and you feel tired, while feeling that tired feeling, what would we observe you doing? Like what would your action look like?

11:51 SPEAKER_01: I don't know, probably just sitting um and just trying to like collect all my thoughts.

11:57 SPEAKER_03: Okay, makes sense. So you feel tired thinking I don't have time, and then behaviorally your body expresses that by sitting down, ruminating on thoughts, which funny enough, actually just loses time. Right. Isn't that interesting? So interesting. So when we think a statement like I don't have time for that, it's not that we don't, it's just that we put ourselves in an energy state that actually causes us to waste time because our thought has to become a real thing. Thinking, you've heard the phrase thoughts become things?

12:30 SPEAKER_01: Yes.

12:31 SPEAKER_03: Well, there's a literal example of it. I thought I don't have time, it put me into an energy state where I felt tired, so I actually wasted time, and as a result, I had less time.

12:42 SPEAKER_01: Oh wow, that's so fascinating.

12:44 SPEAKER_03: I know, like this blew my mind the first time that was shown to me and how I was doing that to myself. Because the fact is, do you not have time? Like, is that is that a legitimately true statement?

12:56 SPEAKER_01: Oh, we have plenty of time, right?

12:58 SPEAKER_03: Because I mean, frankly, everyone has the same amount. Yes, you know, and and time is just a mental construct, like we're all just agreeing on what time is, it's completely made up, but we don't think that our brain just operates and says, you don't have time for this, and puts you in a state of tired, and then you end up wasting the time you do have. So it's not the county, it's just we're we're misusing what we do have. Yeah. So that's a that's an example of how it shows up. And you could do that for all of those other ones.

13:25 SPEAKER_03: My body doesn't work like it used to. When I think that I feel you know defeated or disappointed, and when I feel disappointed, I eat junk or I exercise, and then yeah, your body's not gonna work like it used to.

13:37 SPEAKER_01: Wow, I love how we're able to frame that and kind of make that bounce back and forth. That's so neat. Thank you for that. So, Zach, okay, I'm gonna keep I'm gonna keep going. A lot of high performers are doing all the right things, but still feel exhausted. How do default beliefs keep people stuck in an energy drain loop, even when they're eating better, moving more, and trying harder?

14:05 SPEAKER_03: Yeah, okay, so even uh even a high performer can feel that drain, and I've I've felt it obviously. But the question is, how does that end up in a in a loop? How do we get into these loops?

14:17 SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

14:18 SPEAKER_03: So so watch this. Actually, actually, if for those who can visually see this, if anyone can visually see this, I've written on a board. This is a mindset model. Um, I learned it as the self-coaching model from Brooke Castillo, want to give her credit at the Life Coach School. But this is the mindset model, and so essentially what I have is just uh five words that you can use to define energy as it happens to and through you. So the five words are circumstance, thought, feeling, action, and result.

14:53 SPEAKER_03: In an acronym, it's C T F A R. Circumstance, thought, feeling, action, result. So you ask, how do we end up in these feedback loops? Well, we have some kind of circumstance, which, if we think about the situation you just described, the exercise plan, the thought, when I think about my exercise plan that might show up in your brain is I don't have time. That's the thought. And when you focused on that specific idea, I don't have time, you felt something. And in this case, you felt tired, and that might be overwhelm for someone else or whatever, right?

15:33 SPEAKER_03: So, what I think, the thought I spend my time focusing on predominantly, generates the feeling, which is the emotional state that my body is in. It's the vibration of the body. Basically, the thought impresses into every cell of our being, and every cell of our being then expresses that emotional state. And the way it expresses it in the type and quality of action that I take. So when I feel tired, my type of action changed to sitting on the couch, and the quality of action changed because I was ruminating on thoughts and everything I have to get done and how much I don't have time for.

16:11 SPEAKER_03: And that action, everyone understands this connection, what I do dictates what I get back. So the type and quality of that vibration out into my environment gives me my result back. Okay, so just so it's clear before we go too far, did that make sense?

16:26 SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm following, I'm tracking, I'm right, I'm writing down.

16:29 SPEAKER_03: Yeah. So here's what's fascinating your new result becomes what? Your new circumstance.

16:38 SPEAKER_00: Right.

16:39 SPEAKER_03: The circumstance is what you're taking in, the sensory data around your environment. Like you're thinking about fitness plan, exercise plan. That was where it started. And you think about time and you get into this result where you have less time. Well, now that becomes your new circumstance, and you think, man, I even have less time than I did before. Then you feel frantic, and then you're gonna act out of that overwhelmed frantic energy, and you're gonna avoid stuff, and then you're gonna have, and then you'll start beating yourself up, like, man, I just keep messing up.

17:10 SPEAKER_00: Right.

17:11 SPEAKER_03: You've wasted so much time now, so now you're beating yourself up in your thoughts, and then you're feeling self-doubt or self, you know, defeat, or like judgment on yourself and shame, and then you're gonna act out of shame, and you're probably gonna go eat a cake, and then out of you know, so then becomes this thought loop, and that's how both negative and positive feedback loops happen in the form of energy.

17:32 SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow. You know, I I think we we work so hard on like debunking limited beliefs, and you know, so many people with the thought of I can't do it, or you know, like that thought of my body doesn't operate like that anymore, and and all that type of stuff. And it really just comes down to literally this exact model of the circumstances that we're in, what's going on around us, you know, our day-to-day. And we have to adjust and we have to make those changes every single day because every day looks different.

18:05 SPEAKER_01: Um, but then we are in control of the thoughts, the emotions, the feelings that we're able to then put the correct action and plan of action in place to then have those results that we really are looking for. And I think again, we just keep circling back to the mindset. So that is so, so fascinating. Thank you for breaking that down.

18:25 SPEAKER_03: Absolutely. And give you props, Jay. You nailed it. Um, so you you've got it. You said when you talked about what we have control of, you started with the thought that is your locus of control. So much frustration, disappointment, all that stuff comes because we're appropriating power to the circumstance. We're saying, oh, it's it's because my baby doesn't sleep that I'm tired all the time. It's because you know I've used that once personally.

18:49 SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.

18:50 SPEAKER_03: It's because it's because the market is challenging, so I can't get my business off the ground. It's because I, you know, there's not enough buyers or people are weird or whatever, right? Like we'll blame all the things we don't have control over, but what we're not realizing is that it's not that, it's my thinking about the circumstance that's actually making me feel drained, tired, overwhelmed, dish, defeat, shame, and therefore my actions suffer, and therefore my results suffer.

19:16 SPEAKER_01: Wow, that was fire. Oh, that was that was that was good there, Zach. I appreciate that. All right. So you say it's harder to apply this framework to yourself than it is to others. Why do you think busy parents, leaders, and high achievers can give great advice but struggle to follow through on their own health, energy, and recovery?

19:40 SPEAKER_03: Um, yeah, and and I I should say, like, just to clarify, like, I know this stuff pretty well, and it still catches me. Um, I get caught by it. And I think you said it with even the word busy parent. Like, life is so busy. There is so much now more than ever before, seeking our attention, right? Like, I've heard it called we live in an attention economy now. Attention is the most valuable thing, it's what everyone's seeking after. So, yeah, there's it's very, it's very challenging to stop and think.

20:18 SPEAKER_03: And so we don't stop and think, we get distracted by the next thing, and then the next person wants our attention, and then our kid says, please help, and then our job says, We need you to do this. And we don't have, we don't allow ourselves the time to invest and stop and think. So that's the first reason why it's difficult. It's difficult to apply this for ourselves because we're just not in the habit of stopping and thinking, choosing our thoughts. Instead, we're just reacting to what's happened.

20:48 SPEAKER_03: Um, because the next thing is just keeping us distracted and busy. Does that resonate?

20:52 SPEAKER_01: Yes, for sure. Because I'm a single mom. And so it's always one thing after another with my son playing sports, with running my business, with, you know, all the things going on around the world, and you know, of course, his health, his well-being, my health, my well-being. And it always seems to mine is always the bottom of the totem pole. It's like, you know, I'll I'll get to it. You know, I meal prep and I get all the things I need to get done on Sunday. And then it's just kind of like, all right, I'll I'll eat in between calls, I'll eat in between sessions, and it's just like, no, I need to schedule the time or hey, this is my lunch from this time to this time and give myself that time.

21:29 SPEAKER_01: But it just so happens to, as an entrepreneur, it's like I'll just I'll get it done at nine o'clock at night or at midnight.

21:35 SPEAKER_03: Somehow we're we're gonna find it, but but no, you you you've hit on it so good. So that's the first reason why it's difficult is because life is demanding in its attention, more so than ever before. And I'm not giving an excuse, I'm just I'm just saying what it is, right? Like that that life has become more attention seeking, but that doesn't mean that there isn't the ability to stop and think. So that's a skill to cleanly think. I call it clean thinking. But to cleanly think, to give yourself time to be with thought rather than just react is the first reason why it's challenging.

22:09 SPEAKER_03: We just don't give ourselves the time to stop and think. Some people don't even want to be alone with their thoughts. And so that's the first reason. The second is because we actually fall in love with our observation of things. We fall in love with the way we see things. We care more about being right than getting it right. We put too much value on I'm right in this sense, I'm right in this situation, rather than like being willing to be wrong and change in order to get it right. And what what I guess an analogy that's been helpful for me is a couple of them.

22:52 SPEAKER_03: One is it's difficult to see your own thoughts as thoughts because you're living that life.

23:00 SPEAKER_00: Right.

23:01 SPEAKER_03: Like you're inside a water bottle trying to read the label of a water bottle. But for me, I'm outside your water bottle. It's very easy for me to read it.

23:11 SPEAKER_00: Right.

23:12 SPEAKER_03: Another analogy that my wife really loves is as we've explored this work together, is like you're sitting on a tack, right? Like we're all in pain of some kind or another. Like we're all going through it.

23:22 SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

23:23 SPEAKER_03: Here you are sitting on this tack. But you can't tell that you're sitting on attack. You just think you're in pain. You just think you're burnt out, overwhelmed, stressed. From my point of view, I can see the tack.

23:33 SPEAKER_00: Right.

23:36 SPEAKER_03: Do you want to sit on that? And it's so funny because I'll challenge someone like that and they'll be like, no, I'm not. Right. No, it's not that. It's because the market sucks. It's because my kids are so demanding. It's because they won't clean their room. That's why I'm upset. You know, it's not because there's no tack. I'm like, well, okay, but like there is one. You know?

23:56 SPEAKER_00: Right.

23:57 SPEAKER_03: And I can see it. It's right there. So I think that those are the two the two reasons. One, we just we don't give ourselves the skill development of thinking. We just react. And then two, is that because we're living it, we start to fall in love with our stories, and we'd rather be right than get it right. Um, and that that might have some programming involved, you know, like if you think back to school days, what happened if you got the answer wrong, maybe shame there, your fear of criticism, all that kind of stuff.

24:24 SPEAKER_03: But all of that can be changed. That's the good news.

24:27 SPEAKER_01: Yes. Oh, I love that. And I know before we actually got on to like actually record this episode and get it up for people to kind of get a better understanding of mindset, thoughts, feelings, um, and how they all kind of coincide with one another and then merging it with fitness and nutrition because it's just so much stuff I hear all the time, day in and day out. And so it was just so special that I wanted to just get you on and break this down for me for people to have a better understanding. Um, you did do the water bottle effect with me.

24:57 SPEAKER_01: And so I really want, I was just so fascinated by that. And so I want us to kind of dive into that just a time. Um, because I did. I love that analogy of trying to read the label from inside the water bottle. And I want people to visually like see that, whether they're driving or they're sitting at their desk listening to this episode. I want them to actually visualize being inside the water bottle and trying to read the label. So explain to us, Zach, how does this show up when someone is stuck in burnout, emotional eating, inconsistent workouts, or starting and stopping programs over and over and over again?

25:40 SPEAKER_03: Yeah, because we all kind of just settle into the way that we've always done it. And this is this is a good time of year for this, too, because the New Year's resolution, and like this is the year, and we have this story again and again, and then by like March, we're kind of just all back into our old habits, right?

25:57 SPEAKER_00: Right.

25:58 SPEAKER_03: Um so what we don't realize is that the burnout is actually by choice, like the the stress over time, like all of those things are actually a matter of choice, of perspective. Um, so we don't we don't realize that the reason we're overeating or stress eating or under-eating, the reason why we're skipping the gym and all that kind of stuff, we don't realize that those behaviors are due to belief systems and thought processes that we actually have a say over if we stop and think about it. Um and so we just we just keep operating the way that we do and fall into habits.

26:42 SPEAKER_03: It's it's it's basically I I think the simplest way to describe it is there's the human mind, the human brain, let me just say brain, not mind. And there's a whole topic on that. But the human brain has evolved with like basically two parts. One is this prefrontal cortex, more highly evolved than any other animal creature we know of, that can plan, project, reason, all that kind of stuff. But at the same time, we also have this very primitive brain. Uh the fight or flight type responses, parasympathetic, sympathetic nervous systems that are operating on efficiency only.

27:25 SPEAKER_03: That's the decision-making process of like, let's call the animal brain. So you've got this human creative brain that can imagine and challenge ideas and question things and plan and project, and then you've got this animal brain that's like, Am I gonna die? Right. And so much of this difficulty for recognizing that it's it's a matter of belief systems is is the animal brain just like keeping us alive, like doing its job. Like, okay, when when you thought I don't have time for that, you ended up on the couch and you didn't die.

27:59 SPEAKER_03: Right. That's a good thought. Let's keep thinking that because we didn't die. So we just fall in love with the idea that we don't have time because it's keeping us alive, because we never challenge the idea that we don't have time.

28:14 SPEAKER_03: You with me so far? I'm following. So that's you being in the water bottle. I don't have time. You know, this is just the way things are. Life is too busy, there's no way, right? And that's the animal brain keeping us alive. But if you're if you're willing to be wrong, and hopefully we have these amazing friends, or you get outside help, you get a coach or something like that that says, Well, actually, you are sitting on attack. Actually, your water bottle says you do have time, you're just misusing it.

28:41 SPEAKER_03: Right, like that type of challenge then gives per the person the ability to stop, think, and be like, huh, maybe I do have time. Maybe I am just using it. And now they can assert control over the experience rather than being like just reactionary, like now their human brain gets back involved and be like, okay, let me challenge this idea that I don't have time. Maybe I do, maybe I have enough, I have enough to exercise. And then just in thinking that, they feel more pro more motivated to exercise, they feel more encouraged, more hope, and so they do.

29:13 SPEAKER_03: Um, and then that creates a positive feedback loop, hopefully, right?

29:17 SPEAKER_00: Right.

29:17 SPEAKER_03: So that's I guess that uh I don't know if that overcomplicated it, but the water bottle label, visually seeing yourself inside the water bottle is I'm in love with the way that I see the world, and I don't realize that it's a belief system. I don't realize that my overeating or dodging the gym or anything like that is because of the way I think. I think it's because of the circumstances in my life. And as long as you let that continue, as long as you never challenge it, you'll just continue getting older, operating the same way.

29:53 SPEAKER_03: And the beauty of this work and why it was so life-saving for me is because it gave me the skill of challenging what I had been told, what I had believed in before. And now I can clearly see someone else's label, and I'm even getting better at better and seeing my own label and how I do this destructive type thought process to myself. And it's just, it's such a it's such a valuable thing in my life. So it's become like the mission, like, okay, help more people realize that you have all the power in the world once you take control of your thinking.

30:25 SPEAKER_01: Yeah. And I, you know, I have to say, even with me, you know, just meeting you recently and having conversations before even getting on to record this episode, you know, there were so many things that I just took away from just the information you sent me where, you know, I really started to think myself, you know, where I've gotten myself and just going out of my comfort to even launch my podcast. You know, it was something that I've always had a passion for public speaking and just really getting the word out there, but I really didn't know how, but then I also wasn't challenging to find out how.

31:00 SPEAKER_01: Um, and that was that thought of, well, I don't really know how, so I don't really know if I'm capable of doing it, so I don't really know if I have the actual resources to actually do it. And then when I was just on a mentor call and it was like, hey, you know, you just implement XYZ and then you just go. And I was like, oh, well, if I could be a drill sergeant and, you know, do that for two and a half years and get transformations and, you know, day in and day out, kind of just in this mind loop of just doing and being good, then maybe I can take what my passion and my dream is, and I can actually challenge how to do it and just get better and better and better.

31:38 SPEAKER_01: And so here we are today, and I get to record this with you. So didn't even know that I was really even doing it. And so now it's nice to have the context behind what I did, not even knowing that that's what I was doing. So um, I hope that this also helps someone that might be in that loop as well to see inside the water bottle um and that analogy to help them get out.

32:00 SPEAKER_03: Um so maybe my body could work as good as it used to, maybe it could even work better.

32:05 SPEAKER_01: Right. I I think that mine's working better now, but than what it was. Yeah, um, but so Zach, we focus on closing the gap between what people know and what they do. Um, why do you believe information alone doesn't change behavior, especially in health and fitness, and what actually creates lasting action?

32:29 SPEAKER_03: I love that. Uh so here's here's the interesting thing. The older that we get, and I'm like anyone in the audience, anyone that's listening to this, you'll think of your own life. The older that you get, like you'll naturally come to know more. You're going to get exposed to more information, you'll read more, you'll hear more, and all this kind of stuff. You're naturally gonna know more. What's interesting though is that we typically don't act just on what we know. It might give us an idea, like, yeah, I'm gonna do this diet plan now, or yes, I'm gonna exercise this way.

33:05 SPEAKER_03: But again, after a little while, something triggers, a circumstance happened, it triggers the thinking, and we like end up settling back to how we've always done it. And then what's ends up happening is we get more and more frustrated as the gap between what we know to do and what we actually do gets wider. And and it just gets more and more frustrated. Like, I should be better at this, I should do better here. Like, and we start judging ourselves for that gap, which is a very dangerous place to be.

33:36 SPEAKER_03: That's personal experience that messed me up bad when I started doing that. Um, and so part of the reason why there is the gap is because we're just naturally coming to know more, but we never find the source of why we behave the way that we behave, and a person will never truly change the way that they act until they change the way they've been perceiving, until they change the way they think. Uh to put it maybe simpler, like you know, and maybe let me ask you like, would you say it's it's it's secret information of what makes a fit body and an effective like business and stuff like that?

34:20 SPEAKER_03: Is that is that secret information, do you think? No, not at all. It's pretty open and out there.

34:25 SPEAKER_01: It is.

34:26 SPEAKER_03: Yeah. And yet everyone's looking for the secret, like, well, how are you such in good shape and how do you find the time and all this kind of stuff, as if, as if it was being withheld.

34:35 SPEAKER_00: Right.

34:36 SPEAKER_03: So, meaning the the secrets of the successful aren't secrets, like they're put out there. Yes, it's not hard to find it, and yet we know what to do, but we don't do it. Yeah, and and I would I would argue, or at least offer, that that's because you're so focused on the behavior, and the behavior is downstream of why you do what you do. So we spend all this time and attention on the actions. I gotta exercise more, I gotta eat better, I gotta meal prep, I gotta do all these things, and like we're all focused on the behavior, and then we judge ourselves for not doing what we know how to do.

35:17 SPEAKER_00: Right.

35:17 SPEAKER_03: And as we know more, the gap widens because we keep doing what we've always done, and we come to know more, and we think I should be better at this. And then we feel shame and we kind of just like you see where this leads? Yes. So to close the gap, you can't focus downstream, you have to focus on what's causing those behaviors, on the source of it. And until you change the source, you'll never have lasting change. A person would never be willing to do something new until they see that the way they currently see things is yeah, and I I see it so much, Zach.

35:52 SPEAKER_01: Um, like every day. It's just so mind-blowing. Um, you know, with um requests that I get, and of course, you know, coaching requests and nutrition requests and things that come in, you know, to my email all the time with, you know, people that want better and they know that there is better. But then, you know, when we kind of start working and we kind of start going, this is where I think for me, I got really fascinated a couple months ago and really wanted to dive in and understand again mindset because then it was behavioral.

36:25 SPEAKER_01: So I want to better understand behaviorally why we're doing X, Y, Z. So that way then it helps me be able to create the right nutrition plan, the right fitness plan, meet you exactly where you are, because I can't combat someone to create a transformational change when I'm it's an uphill battle and I'm fighting you behaviorally, it's not gonna work. Um, and so with so many clients, you know, I have these consults and I have these one-on-ones where I onboard and there's so many specific questions that I do ask.

36:56 SPEAKER_01: And for a lot of them, I'm like, it's not a match. We don't align because I can already tell behaviorally, you're gonna give me pushback and I can't help you in getting those results. And so I think that was where when we were at, we got to meet and have our conversation. I was like, I have to get you on my podcast and get this episode so you can help me break this down for people. Cause I think people sometimes are like, Jay is just so mean and she won't work with me. Um, but it's because I'm fighting behaviors and mindsets that you're just not willing to want to let go.

37:30 SPEAKER_01: And so it's just having someone like you who's this expert in this field to really help me break this down and peel back the layers is just so helpful and beneficial. So again, thank you so much, too.

37:41 SPEAKER_03: Oh, absolutely. And good for you, by the way. Like, props for you one, having standards and recognizing it's a waste of time to try to help someone who doesn't really want to be helped. Like they say they want to be helped and they're even willing to depart with money, but maybe that's because they don't value money that much.

37:55 SPEAKER_00: Right.

37:56 SPEAKER_03: Because they'd rather be right.

37:58 SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

37:58 SPEAKER_03: That they don't have time to exercise than to be wrong and get it right, you know?

38:03 SPEAKER_00: Right.

38:04 SPEAKER_03: So good for you one, holding a standard. I love that. And then two, good for you, like being driven to find the source of behavior so that you can better serve your clients. I think that's awesome. Good for you.

38:15 SPEAKER_01: Yes, thank you.

38:16 SPEAKER_03: That's that's that's sweet. I would highly recommend anyone work with someone who's motivated on actual change, yeah. Driven to drive someone to true results rather than just like I think of, and I'm not dissing this, but you know 75 Hard.

38:30 SPEAKER_01: No, I do not.

38:31 SPEAKER_03: So you haven't heard okay. 75 Hard, I think, was designed by like Andy, Andy Fasella. Fisella.

38:37 SPEAKER_00: Okay.

38:38 SPEAKER_03: If you know him, it's basically like a challenge, and they made it very public and stuff, but 75 days of like two workouts a day, a gallon of water, no alcohol, reading 10 pages or something. It's like these really good habits for 75 days, right? What do you imagine? And people do amazing on this. Like it's yes, they bought into the culture of it, they challenge each other, they post, like it's awesome. But what do you imagine happens day 76?

39:08 SPEAKER_01: A lot of people probably revert back.

39:10 SPEAKER_03: They drink, they've gone without alcohol for 75 days, they go grab a beer to celebrate. They've gone 75 days working twice a day, working out twice a day, they rest. Yeah, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't rest. What I'm saying is that you didn't change the source. You were so focused on these behaviors that you never change the source, and you end up going right back to what you did. Yeah. Right. And so my only like my only take on it would be like, let's while we're doing this, let's start to find out why I do drink.

39:41 SPEAKER_03: Let's realize like, what do I think about alcohol if I'm wanting to change? What do I think about food? What do I even define as food and nutrition?

39:51 SPEAKER_00: Right.

39:51 SPEAKER_03: Pizza food, I don't know. I don't, I'm not sure pizza is food. Right. Food really is, you know, it's dang, it tastes good, and I love it in my body for a little bit, but it might not be food. You know what I mean? Right. And so that's that's where I like to get. I like to help people find the source of the behavior because once someone gets to the source of the behavior, then they can truly create change.

40:16 SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, a hundred percent. And I completely agree with that. And that's something that, you know, I was taught to do um by my mentor who took me under her wing, um, Erica Lee, with Never Settle Nutrition, and really taught me certain things to look for and questions to look for, and just mirroring, you know, a lot of her questioning and onboarding um with clients and and, you know, just understanding to get to the root, because that's that's what's gonna help you sustain even after we run 21-day challenges um and you know, we tell people we've established these habits, but you need to understand if we don't fix that actual route first, um, then you're gonna go back in three months by the time we get done and you're gonna revert back to those old habits because we never really officially put them to rest, you know, and so it's it's such a big deal.

41:08 SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I I want to give also a shout out to to Erica Lee from Never Settle Nutrition, who um really opened up the doors for me to even embark on this journey and where I'm at right now with my podcast to bring people like you on to explain this as well. Um, so Zach, I know we're we're getting here kind of short on time as well, but my my one of my ones I want to I want to get in and ask you. Um when someone replaces a default belief with an intentional one, energy changes. What's one belief shift you see that instantly improves someone's energy, discipline, and follow through without changing their workout or nutrition plan at all or like their whatever their business and their niche is?

41:56 SPEAKER_03: Yeah. Well, let's go, let's go fitness one, because I I really like this one. I think a lot of people we we judge our bodies pretty hard. Like we think things about our bodies that we wouldn't tell our friends, you know, right? Um, and we're so critical of ourselves. So I I you often hear, and I'm sure you probably come off this a lot, you hear people say, like, I hate my body.

42:14 SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.

42:15 SPEAKER_03: Okay. So when someone thinks that, if you focus in on that one thought, thinking about your body or my body and thinking, I hate my body, what do you expect? Emotion you'll get, right? Like, what's the one word that describes what you feel in your body when you think I hate it?

42:33 SPEAKER_01: Disgusting.

42:34 SPEAKER_03: Yes, disgust, loathing, all that kind of stuff, right? It's a ton of negative loaded energy. Yeah, and what most people do when they feel disgust for their body or loathing for their body, that feeling expresses itself in a type and quality of action that typically looks like eating junk, skipping exercises, basically mistreating it. Because why would you treat it well if you hate it? And the result it leads to, that type of behavior leads to, is more of what you hate. Now there's some extra weight, my muscles aren't very strong, like all this type of stuff.

43:14 SPEAKER_03: And what I'm suggesting is all of that is not coming from your body, it's coming from thinking I hate my body. Now, if you recognize that as true, like, okay, I can see how thinking I hate my body is not helpful for me. Right. I ask people, well, what else could you think? Like instead of thinking I hate my body, clearly that's not serving you. Right? You can see that. And they're like, Yeah, I can see how it's not serving me. So then you ask, Well, what else could you think about your body? Most people, where would you go?

43:46 SPEAKER_01: Most people are like I I would go to giving myself grace um and and just giving myself the the time to start slow.

43:55 SPEAKER_03: Um and yeah, think about your body. Like, what's another thought you could have instead. Of thinking I hate my body, what could you think?

44:03 SPEAKER_01: I love it, it's beautiful.

44:05 SPEAKER_03: Beautiful. I'm I'm I I was risking it by putting it out there and asking first, but check it out. That's where most people go. They're like, well, logically, if hating my body makes me treat my body poorly, then I'm gonna think I love my body. Right now, for you, you probably already believe that to some extent. So you act on it and you meal prep and you plan and you exercise and you're fit, right? Yes, but most people, if they have been so convinced that they hate their body, if they try to think I love my body, their um their subconscious rejects it.

44:37 SPEAKER_02: They're like, No, you don't.

44:38 SPEAKER_03: You've been telling me for years that you and so you don't get an emotional response. And if you don't get an emotional response, it means you don't believe the idea. Or you will not act on it. So to go from I hate my body to I love my body is not helpful for most people because there's no emotional response, they're not subconsciously buying into it, they're gonna develop it as a belief. It just becomes one of those blanket affirmations of like, I'm a millionaire, I love my body, but your subconscious, the part that's executing, is like, no, you don't.

45:13 SPEAKER_03: And so you don't act right. So the shift doesn't come from trying to go from negative to positive, there's a gear in the middle there. Think reverse to like first gear, there's a gear in the middle there, right? Where do you go in the middle? You go to neutral.

45:31 SPEAKER_01: Yes.

45:33 SPEAKER_03: So there's an incredible power that just comes from going from negative to neutral. So, what's a neutral statement you could say? Instead of thinking I hate my body, I could think I have one. Yeah. And what do you feel when you focus on the fact that you have a body?

45:51 SPEAKER_03: And most people are like, gratitude. Yeah. At least I have one. Right. Their brain starts giving them all the reasons why that's a good thing. Because there are some people who are amputated, there are some people who have deformities. There, and at least you have a body.

46:06 SPEAKER_01: Yes.

46:07 SPEAKER_03: Full body, and you now you find gratitude. And if you felt gratitude thinking about your body, what would you what would you do? You'd love it. You'd probably start treating it better. And after treating it better for a while, eating a little bit better, not crazy, but eating a little bit better, exercising a little bit more, now you'd give yourself that result, right? That would give you positive feedback of like, oh, you know what? I I kind of like my body. And now your subconscious believes it and you keep acting on that, and then you get to the point where you're like, Man, I love my body, it's so good.

46:38 SPEAKER_03: Boom.

46:39 SPEAKER_01: Yeah. Oh, wow, that was fire. Yeah, it is. It's it's triggering that emotional response. And it's so true. We want to go from zero to a thousand. Um, and we want these changes and we want these things right now when we're not understanding. Um, you know, we've been through so much, you know, however old we are, what our experiences, you know, all the things in our bodies have taken on and taken on and taken on. And so, you know, when we get to a point where we want to make these executive decisions for better, we have to give ourselves that timeline and that grace to understand and almost unlearn a lot of these behavioral issues and like we said earlier, get down to that root, get in the mud of all of these thoughts and where they're stemming from to then be able to almost in a sense reverse engineer to then implement the right behavior, to then grow and then establish those habits, to then, you know, just get to the end state that we want, to then stay there, you know, because now we've actually done all that work.

47:45 SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, I'm just so grateful that you have been able to take the time now on this episode and go through those scenarios with me and really just help me and everyone and anyone um in the world that's listening to this. And I really hope that people sat and had a moment where they were like, ooh, that's me. Because throughout even our conversation prior to this, I had those thoughts too, where I was like, that was me. Oh, yeah, I actually thought like that yesterday. Um, and so you know, those are it's just so helpful and so into the moment, into the perspective of you know what we really need.

48:23 SPEAKER_01: Um so Zach, um, before we we end up closing out here and and I have to say bye. Um, I want to let the audience know, all of our friends all over the world, um, if energy is shaped by mindset before it's shaped by food or fitness, then maybe real upgrade isn't doing more, but thinking differently first. Zach, is there any way that people all over the world can get in contact with you or a way to find you that you can leave us with?

48:55 SPEAKER_03: Yeah, absolutely. And I don't know for anyone just listening, like my head was seriously nodding to your final statement. Like, that's so true. It's about thinking differently because the way you think currently is the reason you have the results you do. So if you want different results, start by thinking differently, and the behavior follows. Um, yeah, you could the easiest way to find me is on social media. Instagram at minddrex academy. I actively manage, like that's me managing and messaging and things like that.

49:24 SPEAKER_03: TikTok, I'm a little less I'm on, YouTube, I'm on, but I'm I'm not as engaged. So Instagram is probably the best platform for just social connection. I do have a community on school, MindRex Academy. If you're a business person or a salesperson specifically, um, the community is built for entrepreneurs and salespeople, those who drive and create the economy to like have a community and environment to change those belief systems. We do a once-a-month training call live, I call it sales gym, to help build the thoughts that that can cultivate those who create then drive the economy.

49:59 SPEAKER_03: So that's you, it's it's on Instagram. I could send this, or sorry, it's on school community. You can find it mind rx academy and and enroll with us there. But those would probably be the two easiest ways.

50:10 SPEAKER_01: Awesome, awesome. Okay, so on Instagram at MindRX Academy, and then on school, Mind Rx Academy, they can be found. Um, and then of course, if they're just on YouTube or TikTok, they can just put Mind RX Academy and information will pop up as well. So, friends, um, that's where we're able to find Mr. Zach. For those of you that if this really did, you know, hit home for you and you want to dive in a little bit more, or you just want to, you know, get a one-on-one with him, those are the platforms to reach him on.

50:40 SPEAKER_01: And friends, I hope you found today's episode informative and helpful. I know I did. The topic of mindset is just so fascinating. And like I said, you can catch Zach on Instagram, MindRX Academy. You can connect and pick his brain, pun intended. Um, and you can catch me at the WarriorsHaven.com, also on Instagram, The WarriorsHaven. So until next time, friends, stay strong, stay focused, stay ready.

51:09 SPEAKER_03: Thank you.

51:10 SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Zach. Thank you.com where you'll find details on how to jumpstart the next version of you. Remember, it's not about being perfect, it's about showing up for yourself every single day. So until next time, stay strong, stay focused, and stay ready. I'm Jay Jess Sutherland, and you're listening to the Warriors Haven podcast.