215 Stress is Not a Dirty Word
Purple Patch Podcast
Matt Dixon
4.8 • 647 Ratings
🗓️ 20 April 2022
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Right now across athletes, leaders, employees, parents - many folks are overwhelmed and struggling. Between a return to the office, school, financial uncertainty, global unrest, training, and more, you may find yourself in a state of anxiety, descent, or even apathy. You are STRESSED.
Today, we explore this word, STRESS, and unpack the pros and cons.
We want to ensure you have an empowering attitude and mindset with the word so that you can build a toolbox that will help you not just cope with times of strain and high stress, but to leverage the situation for your own development and growth.
Matt discusses:
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The definition and origin of the word, "stress," including whether or not it is a BAD and harmful thing, as common perceptions dictate.
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A few case studies which will display how a practical approach to stressful times can build your capacity to grow and develop
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Stress through the lens of coaching and athletic development
I place a training demand onto an athlete (discomfort and challenge) from which physiological adaptations should occur (muscle growth, fitness gains), facilitating performance improvements.
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Why our body isn't adept at discerning between work/life stress and athletic stress.
Stress is stress is stress. If you have a demanding work and family schedule, and are adding systemic stress to your body through poor sleep, rest, and nutritional habits and THEN dump an unsustainable exercise and training regime on top of these accumulated stressors, the result will be so much amplified stress that you may be ill-equipped to adapt.
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The role of an athlete’s journey which can be utilized as the backbone to build you or your team's approach to enable development into a highly moldable and anti-fragile adaptation machine.
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How to shift your lens to see stress as a challenge and not as something to be avoided at all cost
The stark truth is that stress is the common thread of improvement in anything you care about pursuing. These symptoms we associate with stressful situations can be helpful, if not critical, to your performance.
So where does that leave us?
Stress is a complex phenomenon. Stressful situations are seldom pleasant to navigate, but they are also the key ingredients for you to grow, develop, and improve - no matter your quest.
By leaning into the stress, you are equipping yourself with an opportunity to grow and thrive within a challenging environment.
The positive relationship to stress does not make life easier, it doesn't make the adversity disappear or shrink, but it can provide a physiological robustness to help the participants emerge stronger.
Episode Timestamps
0:00-04:52 Episode Introduction
04:52-10:05 Matt’s Picks and What’s Going On
Explore the Purple Patch Blog - Free Training Resources and Education
Huberman Labs with Alia Crum - Episode and Resources
Purple Patch Website and Newsletter
10:15 - 15:20 Word of the Week - Capacity
15:30- The Meat and Potatoes - Stress is NOT a Dirty Word
Purple Patch and Episode Resources
This episode is sponsored by our collaboration with INSIDE TRACKER. Inside Tracker and Purple Patch- Receive 20% off their services with code: PURPLEPATCHPRO20
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Matt Dixon and welcome to the Purple Patch podcast. The mission of Purple Patch is to empower and educate every human being to reach their athletic potential. Through the lens of athletic potential, you reach your human potential. The purpose of this podcast is to help time-starved people everywhere integrate sport into life. |
| 0:20.3 | And welcome to the Purple Patch podcast as as ever, your host Matt Dixon. |
| 0:25.8 | And today we start off with a story of John's life. |
| 0:31.0 | John was born to a normal family in a normal town, living in a normal house. |
| 0:36.9 | He went to a normal school and got a normal job, |
| 0:40.6 | and he worked at his normal job and had normal hobbies and then slipped into normal retirement. |
| 0:47.9 | He got a normal illness, and he passed away at about a normal age. John was normal. |
| 0:55.3 | And there's nothing wrong with that. |
| 0:57.8 | But is this the life that you aspire to? |
| 1:00.5 | If you listen to this show, it's doubtful. |
| 1:03.4 | You likely have dreams, aspirations, goals. |
| 1:07.4 | You want to improve. |
| 1:08.7 | Well, we come together and we embrace the fact that all of us, me, you, our team of |
| 1:14.2 | listeners, as aspirational, we must acknowledge a simple fact. |
| 1:19.9 | And that's that all the things that are meaningful to us that build up the fabric of our |
| 1:25.2 | life stories, our sources of pride and satisfaction, |
| 1:29.3 | all in some way emerged through challenge and struggle. In fact, nothing worthwhile |
| 1:36.5 | that we have accomplished so far or likely will achieve in the future came to us just |
| 1:43.0 | delivered on a plate. |
| 1:45.3 | And I want you to let that marinate because it's important for today's show. |
| 1:50.2 | Why? |
| 1:51.4 | Because right now, across athletes, leaders, employees, parents, there are a whole bunch of folk that are really struggling. You might feel |
... |
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