Break Through Your BS_Uncover Your Brain's Blind Spots and Unleash Your Inner Greatness

by Derek Doepker

  I didn’t come up with the concept of “act, then analyze” because I’m a gung-ho guy who’s frustrated with other people’s overthinking. I came up with it because I’m a natural, “What could go wrong? What mistake could be made? What if…?” type of thinker.

  This is wonderful, at times, because it means I’m willing to look at problems, a pretty important thing to do if you want to solve them – like solving the problem of over-analyzing. Or solve the problem of our brain’s bullshit. I had to analyze my over-analyzing to figure out a solution. The key thing is, I couldn’t just think about it, I had to do things as well.

  The final green light of getting on the road requires an element of risk. Will a spare tire, food and water, and a Triple A membership prepare me for every type of problem that might arise on a road trip? No. Life could throw any number of real obstacles my way. My mind could throw any number of imagined obstacles my way.

  Yet, some challenges I wouldn’t even see a solution for until I get there. It’s like thinking, “What if I get on the road and one of the roads is closed? I better make sure all the roads are open ahead of time.”

  Is that what you’d think? Or would you think, “If a road’s closed, I trust either my GPS or the signs there will reroute me when I get there. I’ll figure it out as I go.”

  The only full-proof plan is the plan to need to change your plans.

  One must be willing to trust that they’ll be able to handle what comes up in the moment.

  Did you catch it?

  Did you notice the “willingness” there?

  Willing. To. Trust.

  In this case, the issue with the over-analyzer is they’ve just placed most of their trust in their future-potential-problem solving mind.

  This is wonderful when preparing to launch a lunar shuttle.

  It’s not so wonderful if you need to get in the car to grab groceries and it takes you three weeks to plan the trip to the store.

  One must cultivate a trust in their ability to think and act spontaneously; to trust that insight will be given to them in the present moment. To trust that answers will be shown only after they start their journey, not before. To trust in one’s present-problem solving self.

  The over-analyzer has a lot of trust that unpredictable problems will occur, but not enough trust that unpredictable solutions will show up with them.

  Many of us fall somewhere in between. Trusting only enough in our ability to act in the moment to keep things bearable but not enough to live boldly. Acting without over-analyzing when forced unwillingly by circumstance, but preferring to retreat back to the recesses of the mind when given a choice to willingly.

  The trust to be developed is in “spontaneous doing” rather than “pre-planned thinking.” Both are strengths in their appropriate place, and both are detriments when taken in isolation.

  How does one develop this trust?

  Stupid Obvious Insight: You develop trust in “doing” rather than just “thinking” by doing rather than just thinking.

  Yes, it really is this simple.

  What does this look like?

  One way is putting yourself into situations where you must improvise, or simply choosing to improvise and be spontaneous in your life.

  I love dancing. I can improvise funky ass dance moves all day long. Yet when I’m asked to go up on stage at a seminar and lead an entire group in a “follow the leader” type of dance routine, instantly I’m in my mind thinking, “What kind of moves should I do? Can I plan out a couple moves in case I run out of ideas? How am I going to start? Dammit, Derek, remember the cool moves you’ve seen… Ugh, I can’t even think of anything right now. Think, dammit, think!!”

  Then I stop, catch myself, and remember, “Yo Derek, it’s just dancing. Get up there and you’ll figure it out as you go.”

  You know what happens when I don’t think? I do. I do just fine. The more I allow myself to trust I’ll figure something out when I get up there, the more the answers come to me.

  Then the more I put myself in those situations, the better I get at acting without analyzing. Or more accurately, acting without over-analyzing.

  I may be a natural thinker, observer, planner, problem solver, but I don’t have to be bound by those things. I can train my muscle of spontaneity. When this muscle is strong, then I’m prepared to handle the challenges I will inevitably face.

  Many people freeze up in a crisis situation. It’s too outside their context, and they simply can’t process it. They haven’t trained themselves to be comfortable with uncertainty, novelty, or danger. They haven’t prepared themselves for when the shit hits the fan – which interestingly enough does entail a bit of pre-analyzing what you might do so that it doesn’t catch you by surprise.

  What if you’re ever in this type of situation?

  What if your life and the lives of the ones you love depend on you acting on the fly?

  Spontaneity will be a good skill to have, but it’s a result stemming from a more fundamental quality. Spontaneity arises out of a way of being that you must relentlessly strive for. Yet the striving to develop spontaneity will necessitate the development of this quality.

  Only when you’re willing to trust something beyond your mind will you no longer be bound by your mind. What’s found beyond your mind is found now, in this moment. You find it if you choose to let go of what’s been distracting you from it.

  "Use the Force, Luke. Let go, Luke. Luke, trust me." – Obi Wan Kenobi

  How to Get Off Your Ass And Get To Greatness

  Hand on hot stove = Pain

  Pain = Hand off hot stove

  Pain moves you.

  Pain warns you.

  We fear pain even though it usually isn’t dangerous, but rather is helping you prevent danger. Those who can’t feel pain have a serious increase in risk of death because they don’t realize when they’re hurt. Those who can’t feel pain may get bedsores – open wounds from sitting in the same position for too long as the skin erodes away.

  Pain is safe, comfort is dangerous… potentially.

  You know by now that moving towards comfort will potentially slingshot you into pain. Remember that comfort isn’t inherently good or bad or to be avoided altogether. The key is, don’t get too comfortable with comfort.

  Comfort leads to complacency. Complacency is the cause of stagnation. Stagnation in your life leads to bed sores on your soul.

  At first, you won’t often feel pain from complacency. It’s masked by comfort. This is why it’s so dangerous. You don’t get the warning unless you learn to pay attention to the subtle discomfort that grows inside of you from complacency.

  Those who don’t feel the pain of complacency may have years go by, and then they look back on their life and go, “What the hell did I do for all these years? I could have been something great. I could have done something great. Instead… I just settled.” After years of comfort, eventually they’re slingshotted into the pain of regret.

  “We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment.” – Jim Rohn

  Nature comes equipped with mechanisms to elicit pain when you’re not stepping into your greater potential to prevent this. Your body is supposed to feel like shit and break down when you don’t exercise or feed it nutritious foods. Your heart is supposed to ache when you’re not bonding and interacting with others. Your mind is supposed to get restless when you don’t challenge it with new learning.

  So why then are so many people capable of living in mediocrity without it causing them enough pain to get the warning of the regret they’re going to endure?

  Where You’re At Isn’t Where You’re Going

  The mind has several games that keep you settling for mediocrity without feeling like it’s a big deal.

  The first game is comparing a destination to a current location. In other words, when one looks at what they want to accomplish, they’ll often make a comparison between what they want vs. what they cu
rrently have.

  I’ll use the topic of fitness as an example, but realize it’s a principle that applies to many things.

  “I want a fit body, but right now I have an unfit body.”

  This gap between what a person wants and what they currently have gets them thinking about changing.

  But what happens when they start thinking about actually going on the journey to getting what they want? Now the fear of pain comes in. They start looking at a future possibility instead of a present reality, and the risk of discomfort becomes real.

  “If I want this fit body, doesn’t that mean I have to give up comfort and feel pain? I’d have to start to exercise… and I hate exercise. I’m not sure what to do… and that means I have to figure things out and possibly fail. I’m probably going to have to give up some of my favorite comfort foods. I’m definitely going to feel pain when I do that, but maybe I can search endlessly for a special diet program that lets me eat anything I want. I better hold off on doing anything until I find a comfortable way to reach my goal.”

  Then they compare this outcome of having a fit body and the journey that goes with it to where they’re currently at…

  “Things aren’t so bad now. I can enjoy good foods. I can spend my money on other things besides a workout program. I mean, I don’t love my body… but it’s not bad enough to give up all my comforts and endure all that pain just to be a little more healthy and fit. I’m not great, but I’m good enough.”

  Who the hell would change if it meant giving up a so many things one enjoys… especially when things aren’t even all that bad?

  Yet this is a trap in thinking…

  Did you catch it?

  Do you see comparing the present reality with a future possibility?

  The present reality looks more appealing and the future possibility looks unappealing, so naturally one begins clinging to their present reality at the expense of the future possibility.

  I like to say it’s comparing a destination with a departure point. Comparing the destination of a fit body, which is reached, say, a year in the future, with the “departure point” of where one is at right now.

  Remember, from one perspective it’s not a choice between “do” or “not do,” you can only “do or do.” You can’t “go” or “not go” on the journey of life. You’re always moving towards something.

  You've heard it said, “Keep doing what you've always done, keep getting what you've always got.” I say, “Keep doing what you've always done, keep going to where you've been going.”

  "If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." – Lao Tzu

  Not learning is to unlearn. Not growing is to decay. Not creating is to destroy.

  This may sound extreme. It may sound like I’m not recognizing the idea of maintenance or moderation. Maintenance, though, is a game of the mind, and a useful one at times. However it’s just a game.

  In nature, the one constant is change. Day to night, summer to winter. You may look at your face today and think that it appears the same as yesterday, but it has changed. And you only see this change, which is always occurring, after a span of time. This is why the notion, “I don’t want to change, I love myself how I am” is, from one perspective, bullshit. You will change whether you want to or not.

  In nature, straight lines are also bullshit – they don’t occur. What appears straight, upon closer inspection, is more like a wave of gradual course adjustments going from point A to point B with continuous movement and realignment.

  Remember this…

  The natural tendency, without proactively choosing the alternative, is to stagnate, regress, and ultimately move towards death – whether physical death, death of a relationship, death of a good habit, or any other type of breakdown. All things are either growing or dying. Improving or decaying. Being nourished or being starved.

  If you don’t move towards strength by challenging your muscles, they atrophy. If you don’t move towards education, you become ignorant to the changes happening around you in the world. If you don’t move towards strengthening your relationships, the bonds grow weaker and eventually break apart.

  Health is a perfect example of this pull towards regression because you’re always aging. If you don’t choose longevity by being proactive in healthy habits, you choose accelerated aging.

  A friend of mine and workout partner, celebrity fitness trainer Tony Horton, is often saying “aging is for idiots” because, from a certain perspective, it’s a choice. The choice not to move towards good health is the choice to move towards decay and death quicker than is necessary. Aging may be inevitable, but aging poorly is often a choice.

  Every single day a person is making decisions about what to eat, how to handle stressors, how much sleep to get, what kind of activity to do, and more that are affecting their health. Your health, body, relationships, finances, and other things will never remain exactly as they are now.

  The person who says, “I’ll go on a diet after the New Year” forgets they’re already on a diet. They’ve been on a diet since the day they were born. Their dietary decisions, every single day, are moving them closer to good health or closer to disease and death.

  Are you choosing life or death?

  Yes, this is either/or thinking. Yes, it’s only true from one perspective. Yes, you may play the game of “maintenance” from time to time with certain things in life and be successful.

  However, greatness is extreme, mediocrity is moderate. If you wish for an extreme outcome, would it not require an extreme approach at times? Consider the validity demonstrated from natural principles and practicality to what’s being said here for unleashing your greatness.

  Like a plane with a propeller that drives it, one must keep momentum going because if you stall and don’t regain momentum, it’s just a matter of time before a crash. There’s no, “I’m just going to chill in this one exact spot for a while I think about what I’m going to do” in a plane. You’re always in motion towards something, and therefore you must always be choosing where you wish to go.

  It’s true, some things in life are best considered “do” or “not do.” Some things are all or nothing. Some things, like launching a rocket into space, require deciding, “Do I have enough energy to go all the way?” If not, don’t even bother.

  “All or nothing” is the perfect game to play – at times. Sitting and waiting for the right moment has its place. There does exist helicopters and vertical takeoff planes that can sit in one spot safely.

  The question is, do you know what vehicle you’re flying? Do you know if you’re above water and should breathe, or underwater and should hold your breath? “All or nothing” thinking could save you or kill you depending on the situation.

  Are you applying “all or nothing” in the wrong situation like your health, relationships, or finances? These things are a plane that’s already in the air. You’ve already left the departure point. There’s no choosing “not to take off.” There’s no choosing to wait a little longer or skip the journey altogether. You’re on this journey whether you want to be or not. You don’t want to fall asleep in the cockpit. You need to stay alert, constantly course correct, refuel, and get to one destination or another.

  Is your plane headed to where you want it to go? Somewhere else? A crash?

  In a plane, you only need to be off course by one degree to end up in an entirely different city over the course of time. You only need one degree of downward pitch to eventually crash. Mediocrity is sometimes only being off course by one degree, and its subtlety is its danger because you don’t feel it. One may get lost in the clouds and not realize they’ve been off course or in a downward dive until it’s too late. This is a real common cause of plane crashes.

  The way to prevent this is by paying attention to the instruments in a plane. In your life, pain can be one of those instruments of warning. Are you paying attention to it, or overlooking it?

  The good news is, if most of the time o
ne gets off course by a small degree, this means that most course corrections are only a matter of small changes. Fixing your life and unleashing your greatness can be deceptively simple, requiring only a few minor tweaks to get to the destination of greatness.

  You will have a natural tendency to drift off course, and that’s OK. Getting great things in life requires redirecting yourself towards greatness by continuously correcting your course, and many times course corrections are so subtle that they’re almost effortless.

  There is no eliminating a pull towards mediocrity, or lack of motivation, or your fears. These things are part of your experience. These are natural forces, like strong winds, that may push or pull you off course. Would it be wise to “reject” or resist “wind,” or rather to accept that it will be there and choose to redirect yourself to where you wish to go when taken off course? Yes, you will be taken off course at least momentarily. Although “off course” may only be an illusion.

  While course corrections may be subtle, at times, if you’re headed for a crash, you must be willing to make extreme adjustments. If you're only willing to be moderate, you might not make it to your destination. If you're only willing to do the extreme, you'll burn out like a plane running out of fuel from crazy maneuvers. This is why a willingness to do both what’s extreme and what’s subtle is critical as covered before.

  The good news is, you can often prevent having to make extreme maneuvers if you continuously make good decisions, and if you respect having a gradual gradient of change so you don’t overwhelm yourself. This is the key idea behind my book The Healthy Habit Revolution, and another book from former lawyer turned highly success entrepreneur Adam Markel called Pivot.