1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:05,360 Speaker 1: There's something you might not know about me, the person 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:08,680 Speaker 1: I am, the person I become, the path that I'm 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: on right now. It's a result of a scullion choices, 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 1: you know, deliberate and unconscious. But there is one particular 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,599 Speaker 1: choice that I made in my early twenties that went 6 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: a huge way to give me the life that I 7 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: have today, in the outlook that I have on the world. 8 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: It's a longer story for another time, but I became 9 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: quite curious about Tibetan Buddhism in my mid twenties early twenties. 10 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,920 Speaker 1: Actually I even spent some time up at a retreat 11 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:44,879 Speaker 1: in Queensland. And last night, when I was sitting in 12 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:49,599 Speaker 1: my backyard in Mishuna trying in vain to make it 13 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: to my fifteen minutes of heat exposure, which was I 14 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: was finding enormously difficult last night, like proper, really really hard, 15 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: I found myself using positive of talk to get me there. 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: But what does this have to do with Buddhism. Well, 17 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: I'm sure you're aware of how your own ability to 18 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:14,200 Speaker 1: shape your thoughts changes the world you experience. However, did 19 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: you know that the teachings from the Buddha himself or 20 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 1: herself or itself, depending on what form they choose on 21 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: the day. It's depending on which version of Buddhism that 22 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: you get around in some long story. But a version 23 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: of ancient Buddhist teachings can actually help you sit in 24 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: this or no longer. It can get you through a 25 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: hard exercise class. It can help you shoot more successful 26 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,640 Speaker 1: free throws when you're in a basketball game. And I'm 27 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 1: not making this up. It's truly fascinating. The research is 28 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: extraordinary and I'll get to it right after this. Let's 29 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: pay some bills, be right back. Hey, thanks for listening 30 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: to the show. This is better than you Yes today, 31 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: making it better every episode since twenty thirteen. Min Ams 32 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: luch Againsburg. I'm a podcaster, I'm a best selling author. 33 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: I'm award winning documentary maker, a TV host, a husband 34 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 1: or dad, a stepdad, a strangely skilled mimic, a person 35 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: who is enjoying exploring the relaxing aspects of sketching every day. Yeah, 36 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: and I'm glad you're here. Thanks so much for the 37 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: feedback of it. Wednesday's episode lovely to get it. If 38 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: you've got any thoughts, if you've got any questions, just 39 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: drop us a message. There's a link under every post 40 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: on the newsletter to send me a message, and there's 41 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: also a link to that right there in the show notes. 42 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: So I talked about the sauna last night. I was 43 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: sitting in there. I'm in there pretty much every night. 44 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: And because it is a very very hot environment, a 45 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: very steamy environment, physical things like books and clocks and 46 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: counters and things don't work if they'd work for a 47 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,240 Speaker 1: very short amount of time. So to keep time inside 48 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:54,760 Speaker 1: a sauna if you've never been in one, they often 49 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: use an hour glass, like sands through the hour glass. 50 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: These are that homes and our steams. Now, there's one 51 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: on the wall which kind of has an axle in 52 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,239 Speaker 1: the middle. It flips around. It purports to be fifteen minutes, 53 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: but it actually isn't. It's about thirteen. And I have 54 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: another one. So I've got another one which is actually 55 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: fifte minutes. The line. It's quite small. And when I'm 56 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: in there with my friends, because it's a great place 57 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:22,839 Speaker 1: to chat, I don't drink it, I smoke. I don't 58 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: go out really to pubs and stuff because I can't 59 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: hear anything. But so when I want to catch it 60 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: with my mates, I invite them over and we sit 61 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: in the tube and we have a chat. It's fantastic. 62 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: So when I'm in there with friends talking, it's fine. 63 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: I can sit in there at seventy two degrees super 64 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: steamy for fifteen minutes and it's easy. But when I'm 65 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: there by myself, it is intense, because the sensation is 66 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: that my body is feeling like I guess I'm I'm 67 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: far more aware of and they're difficult and hard, and 68 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: if I'm tired, or if I've eaten too recently, I 69 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 1: can't bear it and I have to just dive out 70 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: of there. But last night, I actually I'm whim started 71 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: doing self talk as a deliberate two step practice. And 72 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: what I did is I sat there and deliberately, out loud, 73 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 1: said to myself, now, this was pretty weird. If you 74 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: walk past it and hear me in there like saying 75 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: it a full voice out loud, this is uncomfortable. And 76 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: they're taking a breath in and feeling just how uncomfortable 77 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: it is. You know that breath. I can feel the 78 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: steam burning my lungs or you know, being quite uncomfortable 79 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,040 Speaker 1: with my lungs. My skin's really hurting. I'm maybe a 80 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: little bit dizzy or something, and it's it's very, very intense. 81 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: And then when I breathe that breath out, I say, lucky, 82 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: I can withstand discomfort. And in this instant what almost 83 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: had me launching out the door, gasping for breath, standing 84 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:48,599 Speaker 1: under the cold shower before immersing myself in the cold 85 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: plunge for five minutes, suddenly and quite noticeably, became bearable 86 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: for you know, five maybe ten seconds. And then it 87 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: happened again, and I said it again. I did this 88 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: about five times before you know it, the actual fifteen 89 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: minute hour glass ran out, and I went out and 90 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: I made it. I was thinking this, like, how on 91 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: earth can that happen? It cannot be that easy. I 92 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:14,720 Speaker 1: literally cannot just be telling my body to reinterpret these signals. 93 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 1: But I wanted to know, isn't the same brain dealing 94 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,040 Speaker 1: with both things? But if you listened last week, turns 95 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: out that the near cortex, or in this case, the 96 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:31,880 Speaker 1: prefrontal cortex, by saying something deliberately, it is bringing the 97 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: prefrontal cortex online, which is the rational part of your brain, 98 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:38,280 Speaker 1: and therefore it kind of reframes the signals coming out 99 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:40,359 Speaker 1: of the Basil Ganglia, the lizard brains going get the 100 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: fuck out of hair or your shit, And it's actually 101 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: quite simple to do. Now. I'm not the first person 102 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: to notice this, of course, from the Stoics to psychologists 103 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: like Carl Jung, for example, the core message is if 104 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: you can change how you think about a thing, you 105 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,359 Speaker 1: change how you feel about a thing. And as I 106 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, the Buddha actually it's something to say about 107 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: this two and a half thousand years ago. The first 108 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:06,719 Speaker 1: two verses of the Dumba PARTA, which is essentially a 109 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 1: collection of sayings that people heard during the Buddhist teachings. 110 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: It's one of the most widely read buddhed scriptures. The 111 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: first two lines and the whole book are chapter one, 112 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: Verse one, Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief. 113 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: They're all mind wrought. If with an impure mind a 114 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel 115 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: that follows the foot of the ox. I love it. 116 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 1: And the second one this is the first thing. It's 117 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,480 Speaker 1: called the pairs. It's like two things too opposing ideas. 118 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:42,039 Speaker 1: The second verse is mind precedes all mental states. Mind 119 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: is their chief. They are all mind wrought. If with 120 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 1: a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows 121 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 1: him like his never departing shadow. So lovely. It was 122 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: two and a half thousand years ago, but it's one 123 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,040 Speaker 1: thing to say. The Buddha said this, and that's the 124 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: way it works. The end. So it's my pdf, my 125 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: online course. No, you know me, I like science. But 126 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,719 Speaker 1: so what's the actual benefit of self talk when it 127 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: comes to enduring difficult things? Well, thankfully, there's plenty of 128 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: research around this. And if you're watching any any kind 129 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: of sports documentary where people are micd up and you 130 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 1: can hear them speaking to themselves, like there's two Magnificent 131 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: and NFL documentaries about quarterback and the receiver, they're both 132 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: really really good. It happens all the time in those shows. 133 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: So people have been researching this a lot about how 134 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: self talk can help us overcome a physical challenge or 135 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: significantly enhance performance and endurance and even our resilience to 136 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: difficult things. One study explored how it can affect a 137 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: runner their body and their mind when they're exercising. So 138 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 1: what they essentially did is they put I think, like 139 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 1: twenty nine people on a treadmill. They had three groups 140 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:52,679 Speaker 1: They had one using positive self talk, one using negative 141 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 1: self talk, and one just the control group was just 142 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: listening to a documentary, all right, And they wanted to 143 00:07:57,560 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: see how it could change how the runners felt as 144 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: they ran quite hard, how hard they felt they were working, 145 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,920 Speaker 1: and how their bodies reacted breeding heart rate and stress hormones. 146 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: And they found that while running, even though you're breathing in, 147 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:12,320 Speaker 1: the heart rate changes over time as you become more 148 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: and more anaerobic. The people who used negative self talk, 149 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: they reported they felt more stressed, they breathed a lot faster, 150 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: and when they swabbed their cheeks and stuff, they found 151 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: far higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, And that's 152 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: compared to the people that were using positive self talk, 153 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,680 Speaker 1: which kind of suggests I guess that negative self talk 154 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: makes the physical exercise feel harder and it causes your 155 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 1: body to react more strongly to stress. So if you're 156 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:43,479 Speaker 1: in a class going, oh this is shit. I hate burpies, 157 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: I mean everybody does, the burpies will be harder than 158 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,080 Speaker 1: if you went so lucky, I'll get to train today. 159 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:53,520 Speaker 1: It's nuts. In short, basically, what you say to your 160 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: self while exercising affects how your body and your mind 161 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: can handle that exercise. When I used to run marathons, 162 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:00,040 Speaker 1: and I used to run this reason I had so 163 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,360 Speaker 1: many hip surgeries, I ran so how many marathons on 164 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: fucked up mechanics. That's another story. But I was once 165 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: whenever I was in New York for work, I would 166 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:08,959 Speaker 1: make it a point to run in Central Park and 167 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 1: to the point where I was just I was running 168 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: a half marathon in Central Park, you know, for fun, 169 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: as one does twenty one case. That's a long fucking 170 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: way right on tarmac especially, And it came upon me 171 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: that when I'm all the way up in Harlem, right 172 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: and I'm a long way from where I was my 173 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: hotel was, it came upon me that my body going 174 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: come on, stop stop, stop, stop and walk stop and 175 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 1: walk to the walk. That is just an idea that 176 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,560 Speaker 1: I've had, and I could just as simply have a 177 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:42,000 Speaker 1: different idea, and in that moment it instantly became easier 178 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,320 Speaker 1: to complete the run. I've certainly felt the same what 179 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 1: I've been cycling. One of the studies that I've looked 180 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: at around this stuff focused on how hard exercise feels 181 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:53,920 Speaker 1: to you, which is essentially the main factor and when 182 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: someone drops out of a triathlon, I drops out of 183 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: a race, or how long it can keep going. Right, 184 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,680 Speaker 1: They had twenty four guys and they got through a 185 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: cycling test, which is my eyes watered reading this. They 186 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 1: had to cycle it eighty percent of their maximum heart 187 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: rate until they just couldn't go anymore, all right. Eighty 188 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: percent is really hard. So your maximum heart rate is 189 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 1: two twenty minus your age, so mine is currently one 190 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy two twenty one fifty. So eighty percent 191 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:22,160 Speaker 1: of a max heart rate, I'm my god, I don't 192 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,559 Speaker 1: even know what that is, So one hundred and thirty six, 193 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:27,200 Speaker 1: all right, So cycling at one hundred and thirty six 194 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:31,400 Speaker 1: meets a minute eighty percent max heart rate. That's hard, 195 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: all right, because you basically you can't breathe enough to 196 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: fuel your muscles with the oxygen. You need to go 197 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 1: into an oxygen debt if you remember your pe from 198 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,600 Speaker 1: grade nine, right, And so you start getting into anaerobic 199 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: effort that's the one that burns all right lots, and 200 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: soon you actually can't breathe enough to complete the task, 201 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: and eventually you just have to stop because your muscles 202 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,040 Speaker 1: won't work anymore. It's really hard to do something to 203 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: failure like that, so it really would have been fucking 204 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 1: hard man. And they put the guys into two groups. 205 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 1: One of them practiced motivational self talk for two weeks 206 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 1: and the other group didn't, so no self talk at all, 207 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 1: no negative self talk, just no self talk, and then 208 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,480 Speaker 1: they did the test again to see if the self 209 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: talk group performed better. What's amazing is that within the 210 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 1: two weeks, and the kind of results here do not 211 00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:22,320 Speaker 1: come just from Hey, they got fitter, right within two weeks, 212 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: these guys went from calling out at just over ten 213 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,719 Speaker 1: and a half minutes on average ten and a half minutes, like, oh, 214 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: that's it, I'm done. That's just a long time, right 215 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,400 Speaker 1: at that level of exertion, from ten and a half 216 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,080 Speaker 1: minutes to well over twelve minutes within two weeks. Like, 217 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:38,920 Speaker 1: there's no way that in two weeks you can improve 218 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:42,439 Speaker 1: your fitness that much. It's just no way. You might 219 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 1: get another minute, maybe thirty seconds, maybe all right. The 220 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: control group didn't go any longer. They basically got off 221 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:53,600 Speaker 1: at the same time they got off before. What's also 222 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 1: amazing is the group that was using self talk, they 223 00:11:56,679 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 1: reported that at the halfway point they felt the exercise 224 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 1: it was way easier. It was way easier to do this, 225 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 1: whereas the control group didn't notice that it felt any different. 226 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 1: That's so important when it comes to the feeling of 227 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: how much effort it takes you to complete an endurance task, 228 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,559 Speaker 1: and our hard something feels really can lead to be 229 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 1: way better performance, which is amazing. But that's endurance, all right, 230 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,679 Speaker 1: it's well well covered. But what about something that's intricately tricky, 231 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: something like shooting a free throw in basketball? You've got 232 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 1: to You're sprinting up and down the court, up and 233 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: down the parquetree and then suddenly foul and now you're 234 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 1: breathing super hard. There's ten thousand people at the Brisbane 235 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,559 Speaker 1: and Entertainment Center screaming air ball at you, and you've 236 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 1: got to be super still and shoot with immense accuracy 237 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,080 Speaker 1: because this might win the game. Well, guess what. The 238 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: results are absolutely fascinating, and I get to them right 239 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 1: after the break. Thanks for listening to the show. We're 240 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: talking about positive and negative mental self talk, but very 241 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:01,280 Speaker 1: curious life night sitting in the sauna as to how 242 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:03,719 Speaker 1: I managed to last so long and it turns out 243 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:06,719 Speaker 1: the science is pretty robast because it's not just you know, 244 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: I don't want to just talk about how good positive 245 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: self talk is for not only your endurance brutsy performance, 246 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:15,160 Speaker 1: but also how very bad negative self talk is. It's 247 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,200 Speaker 1: not just bad for you, it's really bad for you. 248 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 1: I was watching the footy on the weekend. One of 249 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 1: the games I caught as a young man. You know, 250 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 1: they're all bloody and even the rests are younger than now. 251 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 1: Young man, he went to convert the try and went 252 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: to do the kick after he scored, after they scored 253 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: the try, and he missed it and they could have 254 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: tied the game. They didn't tie the game. And he 255 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: slapped himself in the forehead like proper you know, NRL league, 256 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: he slaps, not white man. He hit himself hard and 257 00:13:38,679 --> 00:13:40,719 Speaker 1: hard enough to make sweat fly off his head from 258 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: his hair. He slapped himself in the forehead about six 259 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: times hard. And I wonder if this guy knows that 260 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 1: that kind of self talk, that harsh, punishing self critique 261 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:59,199 Speaker 1: has been linked through research to various mental disorders and 262 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:03,719 Speaker 1: stress in life, such as social anxiety, depression, even difficulty 263 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: in your relationship that reinforcing self talk, it starts a 264 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 1: spiral against itself. In that case, no self talk is 265 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:15,959 Speaker 1: actually way better than negative self talk. So you might think, 266 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:17,640 Speaker 1: I just want to have some encouragement here and go 267 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: don't do that again, You've done fuck, But it actually 268 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: just makes it more likely that he's going to missed 269 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 1: next time. It goes for the kig. So when it 270 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:27,480 Speaker 1: comes to accuracy in moments like that, for example, I 271 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: don't know you're in archery, or you're taking a penalty 272 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: kick in the soccer, or shooting a free throw in basketball. 273 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:34,960 Speaker 1: The research around positive self talk is just wild. There 274 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,280 Speaker 1: was one study. It took forty one male basketball players 275 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:40,920 Speaker 1: split him into two groups. One used the positive self talk, 276 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 1: one didn't, and they just did the same practice for 277 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,960 Speaker 1: three weeks. Both groups did the same amount of free 278 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: throws where they stand at the line and you just 279 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:52,160 Speaker 1: try to get it in the basket. They did the 280 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: same amount of free throws in that amount of time. 281 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:59,480 Speaker 1: But the self talk group developed and practiced using phrases 282 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,560 Speaker 1: like I can do this or focus on the target, 283 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,880 Speaker 1: and eventually they got to bespoke kind of things like, 284 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: for example, if when you're shooting a free throw. You're 285 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,240 Speaker 1: thinking elbows, elbows, because you know if you keep your 286 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: elbows in that's the best chance you've got. I would 287 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 1: be thinking, I don't know, knees, ankles, breathing, whatever, Just 288 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 1: one or two words, just to trigger word to get 289 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 1: you in the right stance. So when they did the 290 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: final test, they made the guys do shuttle runs. You 291 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:28,160 Speaker 1: remember them again from Pe. Shuttle runs suck a lot, 292 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: but they were trying to simulate a game condition right 293 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: where you'd like your heart rates really really high, your 294 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:36,000 Speaker 1: hands are shaking from your heart rate. And the research 295 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: shows that the self talk group was significantly better in 296 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: the free throw test after physical exertion compared to the 297 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:48,840 Speaker 1: other guys, which is amazing. That all you need to 298 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 1: do really is, as you're practicing and learning how to 299 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 1: do a thing, having the self talk that negates or 300 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 1: overrides that lizard brain going you're gonna miss everyone screaming 301 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 1: at your it's cool, elbows, knees. Shoot. It keeps them focus, 302 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: it keeps them composed, it keeps them motivated. It's fascinating. 303 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,240 Speaker 1: I guess all this to say is that if you're 304 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: running a marathon, right, if you're sitting in the sauna 305 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:18,040 Speaker 1: with me. If you're dealing with your monosyllabic teenager who's 306 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 1: grinding your gears like a dat's in one twenty win 307 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 1: with a busted clutch. Finding self talk that is in 308 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: alignment with the outcomes that you want to achieve, for example, 309 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: and the last one, I'm a kind parent with great boundaries. 310 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 1: If it's a choice between keeping them safe and keeping 311 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 1: them happy, I'll choose safe every time I can handle them. 312 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 1: When they're unhappy, you know, when they want to go 313 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 1: out and you're like, not with those friends and not there, 314 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 1: you know, help you keep you cool, help you manage 315 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:49,680 Speaker 1: that situation. Finding that kind of self talk for yourself 316 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 1: and your goals is a way that both scientists and 317 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 1: the Buddha both agree can help you not only endure 318 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: things that are hard, but achieve you might not have 319 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,679 Speaker 1: otherwise ever achieved. We just need to get that prefrontal 320 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,520 Speaker 1: cortex online, reinterpret the sensations in our body and redirect 321 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,680 Speaker 1: them to an outcome in alignment with our values. I'm 322 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,199 Speaker 1: gonna crank up the thermostat tonight, try to get us 323 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 1: seventy four tonight in the sauna, and I'll do my 324 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,439 Speaker 1: own research, not like in a flat earth weird lizard 325 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: people kind of do my own research, like would to 326 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:25,560 Speaker 1: stop watching a notebook kind of research, you know, science. 327 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:28,600 Speaker 1: I know it's Friday, and I know you just listen 328 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: to me talk about sitting there sweating and budget smugglers 329 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:32,800 Speaker 1: and muttering to myself. But I hope it was useful 330 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,479 Speaker 1: to you because it blew me away how quickly I 331 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 1: was able to go from something that was incredibly uncomfortable 332 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:42,280 Speaker 1: to something that was tolerable. And I thought, how am 333 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: I fifty? When I know this? I would have loved 334 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: to know way earlier. So I hope if you didn't 335 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:52,120 Speaker 1: know this already, now you know this, And fuck man, 336 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 1: I'm so happy for you because I wish I knew 337 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,200 Speaker 1: this a long time ago. Thanks to being a part 338 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: of the show, jump on the newsletter. There's a link 339 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: in the show notes. Here's the credits. This episode was 340 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,880 Speaker 1: brought to you by Andy Maher on audio post production, 341 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: Beck Syed on video post production, Toe Hyder on music. 342 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 1: Our producer is Breeze Steele, and Osher's executive function assistant 343 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,119 Speaker 1: is Monica Chapman. For every episode ever, to get on 344 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: the mailing list or to get in touch, head to 345 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: osheginsburg dot com