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June 17, 2025 • 31 mins

🎙️ Your mind isn’t broken—it’s just overdue for a refit. In Episode 8, Erica and Rusty take you on a four-part journey through mental renovation. From rewiring old thought loops to turning your brain into a jungle gym, this episode is packed with soul carpentry, sailboat fails, rewiring rituals, and spicy family holidays. Let go of outdated scripts, claim your mental freedom, and remember: joy isn’t out there—it’s already in you.

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Episode Transcript

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(00:00):
Picture this. You're walking barefoot down a
stretch of dock that's more driftwood than design, the sun
starting to slouch toward the waterline, painting the sea in
shades of bronze and mischief. You pass by a boatyard, a
graveyard of husbands, and couldbees holes with stories in their

(00:22):
splinters, masts that groan whenthe wind stirs just right.
Then one vessel catches your eye.
She's tired. She's got barnacles on her
belly, rope line stiff with salt, and a name you can't quite
read anymore. But something about her makes

(00:43):
you stop. Maybe it's because she looks a
little like you feel, a little rundown, a little forgotten, but
still standing still. Seaworthy just needs a good
refit. Welcome to The Latitude
Adjustment, the podcast that swaps rocking chairs for
hammocks and midlife crises for barefoot comebacks.
Hosted by Rusty and Erica Harrison, 2 island hearted

(01:06):
adventurers who believe the second-half of life should feel
more like a beach bonfire than aboard meeting.
So grab a coconut, kick off yourshoes, and let's chart a new
course. The tides in Let's Go.
Welcome back to the Latitude Adjustment, fellow aging heroes.
This week's island cocktail comes stirred with a big idea

(01:26):
and served over crushed assumptions.
Your mind isn't broken, it's just overdue for a refit.
And I should know, I've had to drag my brain into dry dock more
times than I care to admit. Do you want to admit it?
I said more times than I care toadmit.

(01:47):
Don't mean I won't. Thoughts that seemed reliable
once, like I have to do everything myself or I'm too old
to change. Turned out to be Leaky little
liars. Liar, liar, pants on fire.
Years ago, when I accepted a newposition at work, I didn't just
change jobs, I had to dismantle a whole identity.

(02:09):
Who am I if I'm not that title, that name badge?
It wasn't burnout, it was a soulrenovation.
That's why we're calling this segment Shipyard of the Self.
I like that. Yeah, because you can't chart
new waters with a busted rudder.And for a lot of us, our

(02:29):
thoughts, the very things steering the ship, haven't been
inspected since dial up Internet.
It's true, Young said. Until you make the unconscious
conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.
So if you're 1 wondering why you're stuck, it's time to check

(02:51):
the rigging. And just so we're clear, this
isn't about taping up old parts with motivational post, its.
And don't break out the duct tape.
This is about soul carpentry. That's right.
The real work sanding down lies scraping off shoulds, testing
the beams of what you actually believe, not what you inherited

(03:14):
at nine years old. There's a reason this theme
feels close to the bone. Let me tell you about the day
Gatsby, the boat, not the Guy, tested every outdated script
Rusty had ever installed. Oh yeah, Gatsby was our
sailboat. We loved Gatsby.
Our floating marriage counselor and on this particular Carolina

(03:37):
day, the wind had a full blown attitude.
Docking should have been easy, but Gatsby was catching gusts
like she owed the wind money. Rusty tried once, missed,
circled again, missed wider and on the third try the throttle

(03:57):
stunt backfired and a line got. Sucked.
Straight into the propeller. Or dead in the water and
starting to drift sideways. And here comes my old mental
programming rage, building up like bad chili I was about to
let fly. Not just at the boat, but at

(04:19):
myself. That's when Erica moved quietly.
No lecture, no drama. She just grabbed A rigging
knife, stripped off her shirt and dove in.
She Cut the Rope, swam Gatsby tothe dock like a lake born
mermaid tugboat and hauled us in.
No yelling, no ego, just grace. She was a freaking superhero.

(04:44):
I just stood there with my mouthhanging open, as useless as a
broken compass in the fog. But here's the real moment.
Rusty didn't explode. Not this time.
He stood there, silent, watchingme.
And afterward he said I almost lost it.
But I didn't, and I think I justrewrote a script I'd been

(05:10):
carrying since my 20s. Then he thanked me and gave me a
kiss. While Erica's heroic dive and
docking were completely bad ass and I'll treasure that memory
forever. Thanks love.
It was the pause, the pivot, therewiring of my familiar script
that created the refit, the recognition that just because a

(05:33):
feeling is loud doesn't mean it's true.
Let's pause here, because this is the shift.
Just because a thought is familiar doesn't make it fact,
right? Thoughts are not commandments,
they're options. Neuroplasticity.
Oh, it's not even 6:00 AM and you're using words like

(05:54):
neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is how the brain
rewires itself based on use. Not age, not accident, but
attention. So if you've been thinking I'll
never change, guess what you already have.
You're thinking about it. In Jung Yin work, we help people

(06:15):
find their complexes. These are those sneaky inherited
thought loops that keep you small.
Stuff like I'm too much, I'm notenough, or I don't get to want
that. Same in Clifton strength
coaching. Most folks don't need fixing,
they need framing, right? Your mind isn't the problem,

(06:38):
your map is just outdated. So let's.
Talk a little bit about the hidden Saboteur.
Autopilot thinking. Yeah, autopilot thinking is
seductive. You think you're being
realistic, but really you're just repeating.
Right. I used to believe that my temper
was just part of the deal, a side effect of passion.

(06:59):
But it was just an old story, and like any story, it could be
rewritten. Here's a tip.
If a thought shrinks you, controls you, or isolates you,
it's probably not yours. It's probably someone else's
resting cargo. Time to throw it overboard.

(07:20):
Scene Check the Thought audit Quick check in France.
What thought has been drifting through your head lately?
Is it empowering or limiting? Is it fresh or fossilized?
And is it even yours? One of mine is you're behind.

(07:42):
That thought has been with me since grad school, but I've
learned to challenge it, to ask behind what, according to whom?
Mines often you need to earn your rest but I replaced it with
rest is part of the work. Yeah, so that's the work.
Not perfection, just pause, awareness and choice.

(08:06):
Coming up next, in Segment 2, we'll teach you how to map a new
route, how to turn your inner critic into a first mate, and
how to use practical cognitive behavioral strategies to keep
your mind seaworthy. Get ready to replace Rust with

(08:28):
resilience. We are just getting warmed up.
All right, Bravehearts, welcome back.
In segment one. We dry docked your mental boat,

(08:50):
hauled it out, scraped off the barnacles, took a flashlight to
the hull, and realized, Dang, some of these thoughts have been
resting in there since your third grade science teacher told
you to be realistic. Yeah, that segment, that was
your wake up call. You pulled your ship out of the

(09:13):
unconscious ocean and parked it in the light.
Now what? Well, now we rewire.
Because you don't just scrub themold and call it new.
You've got to upgrade the wiring, strengthen the circuits,
install beliefs that are alignedwith the life you're actually
trying to live. Are you ready?
Let's rewire your rigging heroes.

(09:34):
Rewiring starts in the jungle ofyour mind.
Every thought you think builds apathway in your brain.
It's like walking a trail in thejungle.
The more you think think it, themore the path gets worn in.
Walk it enough and it becomes a superhighway.
It's a great metaphor. You're literally creating neural

(09:57):
pathways. Yes, and here's the kicker.
Most of those trails and pathways were built when you
were a kid, and a lot of them were paved with fear, shame, or
someone else's rules. Which means the traffic they
carry. Anxiety, doubt, old school self
sabotage. But there's good news.

(10:18):
Your brain isn't concrete, it's clay.
It is. It's moldable.
Every new thought is a handprintin that clay, and every time you
choose a thought on purpose, you're changing your route.
That's really amazing. Yeah, you're saying?
No, I don't need to go down thatold panic path today.

(10:39):
Let's try something better. It's like the ability to create
a new brain. Learning to sail is like
learning to play a musical instrument.
It isn't hard to find a few chords and it isn't hard to get
the basics of sailing. Becoming a true musician or a

(11:00):
proficient sailor can take a lifetime of practice.
Let me take you back to one of our first times.
Gatsby, our sailboat, decided toteach us a lesson.
We're hitting the rewind. We were still new to sailing,
Googling how not to die on a boat.
I'm pretty sure that's like verbatim.

(11:21):
The wind picks up. A line snaps.
Rigging is flapping like we've angered Poseidon himself.
And Rusty, he freezes. Later, he told me his mind was
brimming with thoughts. Things like you're too old for
this man, you're going to screw this up.
You're not a sailor, you're an imposter with a rope burn,

(11:45):
things like that. I almost let those thoughts
steer us right into the rocks, but then I remembered something
Erica told me months earlier. Oh.
What was that? You don't have to believe every
thought just because it shows uploud.
Meanwhile, I'm over there thinking we've got duct tape,
some strong coffee and that laminated CHEAT SHEET.

(12:07):
We're going to be fine. That's what rewiring in real
time looks like. The old belief said I was
doomed. The new thought said try anyway.
We patched the rig, calm the gust and made it home without
even spelling the wrong. Possibly because we'd drank it
all. Possibly.
So how about your brain on purpose?

(12:28):
Let's drop some tools into your toolkit.
These aren't cliches. These are practical
neuroplasticity hacks. Let's teach your brain some new
choreography tool number one, thought tagging.
When a negative thought pops in,don't argue with it.
Don't spiral into it. Label it like, oh look, there's

(12:51):
that old fear of rejection script.
Just naming it is going to stealits fuel.
Tool #2 is flip the frame. Language matters.
Instead of I have to figure thisout.
Say I get to experiment instead of.
I'm so behind try, I'm starting from exactly where I need to.

(13:11):
Small flips, big rewires. Tool #3 Move the thought through
your body. Your body stores thoughts like
luggage. Do you have a tight chest?
Could be I'm not safe. A clinched jaw.
Might be I'm not good enough. So when you think a new thought,
anchor it in your body. Breathe, stretch, dance it in.

(13:36):
Let your nervous system registerthe shift.
Your body is your keel. You keep it balanced.
It keeps you upright, especiallywhen life throws a squaw your
way. This weeks Aging Heroes
challenge, here's your mission. Pick one loop, just one that's

(13:58):
been tripping you. U name it, flip it, replace it.
But don't stop there. Create a ritual around the new
thought. Make it a practice.
Examples. We've got you.
It's old loop. I always quit new thought.
I finish What matters ritual andeach day by jotting down one

(14:22):
thing you followed through on, even if it's just flossing.
Or maybe this one's yours, The old loop.
I'm too old to start over the new thought.
Every day I wake up is a green light and the ritual morning
coffee. One breath, one affirmation.
Say it out loud while stirring your mug like you mean it.

(14:44):
It's not about tricking yourself, it's about treating
yourself like someone worth rewiring for because you are.
I like that. OK, here's another story.
This one's called the Christmas Nut Pocalypse that rewired our
family. We're literally going to
publicly share this story, huh? Not apocalypse, baby.

(15:07):
All right, let it crack. Here's our story about holiday
rewiring. A few years back, our daughter
Laney brought home the Death NutChallenge.
Classic Laney for. Christmas 5 peanuts each hotter
than the last. Capsaicin laced monstrosities,

(15:28):
she said. We're doing it like she was
handing out communion wafers of chaos.
Now, we're no strangers to heat rusties eating things in places
we've traveled to that made his soul try to exit through his
pores. But these nuts, they were

(15:49):
demonic. Listen by not too.
The whole family was sweating like a Baptist preacher at a
bourbon tasting, Talus laying onthe floor whispering Tell my
story, Harry quoting Nietzsche, Erica spooning yogurt like it

(16:09):
was medicine. But here's the wild thing.
We chose it. We chose to lean into the pain
together. And in the middle of that
deliciously terrible chaos, we rewired something deep.
We don't have to do holidays like Hallmark.

(16:31):
We get to make new rituals. Spicy ones.
Ridiculous ones. Ones we'll never forget.
How cool is that? That's the power of conscious
pattern breaking, right? You replace the perfect holiday
script with one that actually reflects your values.
In our case, it's laughter, chaos, connection and a fire in

(16:55):
your mouth that lasts 3 businessdays.
It's time for a recap. Here's what we've learned on the
Mental Workbench today. Thoughts.
Build trails. Walk the ones that serve your
soul. Flip your internal script.
Your brain is eavesdropping. Pair everyday mind shift with a

(17:16):
physical action. Movement plus mantra equal
magic. New wiring doesn't mean erasing
the past, it means building beyond it.
You are not a product of your thoughts.
You are the thinker. You get to choose what thoughts
stay on the ship and which ones get tossed overboard.

(17:38):
Coming up next, we're talking about what happens after the
refit. After you clear the rust and run
new lines. Then what?
Then you get to play. In Segment 3, we're diving into
cognitive flexibility, creativity, and why your brain
doesn't want a retirement at home.

(17:59):
It wants a jungle gym. Stick around, hero.
The real adventures just beginning.
All right, free range thinkers, welcome back.
Welcome. Back.
You dock the boat, you've rewired the circuits.

(18:22):
Now it's time to play. Because your mind and in a
museum, it's a jungle gym. That's right, it's not meant to
display how it's always been under a thick layer of don't
touch. It's meant to swing, tumble,
roll and reset. To hang upside down and laugh
when the world tells you to sit still.

(18:44):
Cognitive flexibility isn't optional.
It's your ticket to thriving. It's the difference between I've
never done that and not yet between I failed again and I
just levelled up in public. Let's talk brain science.
Prefrontal cortex, baby. That's your creativity HQ, your

(19:08):
problem solving command center. It lights up like a Caribbean
carnival when you try something new.
You don't need a PhD. You do need a paintbrush, a
playlist, a passport. Or all three.
That's the jungle, Jim Brain. Curious, loopy, joyful, unafraid
to look like an idiot. All right.

(19:30):
When I was in 3rd grade, our class took a field trip to the
Charleston Museum. This was 1970.
Everything was brown, dusty, andloosely supervised.
But they had one real treasure. A genuine Egyptian mummy.
Now most of my classmates were all off pretending to care or

(19:51):
eyeing the vending machines. But me?
I wanted to touch history. Feel like I know where this is
going to go. I crossed the velvet rope.
In classic rusty fashion. All sandy sneakers and 0
self-control and poked the mummy's foot.
Yeah, like I said, classic Rusty.

(20:13):
Then snap. The second toe fell right off.
You broke the mummy. I committed archaeological
felony. My God.
I panicked. I looked around.
Then I shoved that toe down in the wrappings like I was
smuggling contraband into the afterlife.

(20:34):
Fast forward a few decades. Erica and I are back in
Charleston at the new CharlestonMuseum, now with touch screens
and security cams. Thank.
God. I told her the story sheepishly.
And he said now this might have happened, which obviously meant
it definitely happened so. We found the mummy, same guy

(20:58):
chilling behind glass. Now Erica shines her phone
flashlight down into the foot. Oh yeah, and sure enough, there
it was, a rogue toe tucked back into the bandages like a dirty
little secret. Memory is funny.
Sometimes it hides shame and sometimes it waits to become
legend. OK.

(21:18):
So the point Mines aren't museums.
Even if yours has a rogue toe story tucked in a dusty corner,
it's still growing. It's evolving still wildly you.
The more rigid you're thinking, the more brittle your spirit,
like an old rake rusting behind the shed.
Or an old toe on a mummy. But the more playful your brain,

(21:41):
the more resilient your life. Want to age heroically, create
play, and be ridiculous on purpose?
Here's something to try. Pick one thing.
Just one. One thing you've never done
before or haven't done in years.Do it badly on purpose.
Laugh at yourself and do it again.
Neat ideas. Here you go, draw your ideas

(22:03):
island with sidewalk chalk. Dance to the cheesiest song you
can remember from high school. Write a love letter to your
future self using pirate slang. Learn to say I'm still growing
in three languages. Use Google Translate.
It's super cool all. Right.
I feel strangely attracted to one of those.

(22:28):
Me. I've been working on a balance
board in preparation for my nextsurfing attempt.
Mostly I just try fall off then contemplate my own mortality.
That's the humor. That's also the magic.
You're not failing. You're growing.
Here's the science. Sneak peek play rewires your

(22:48):
fear response. When you try something new and
flail a little, you send your nervous system a message.
Hey, this is safe, this is fun. We don't have to armor up every
time. That rewiring, it's not just
mental, it's emotional, it's physical, it's a full body.

(23:10):
Yes to the next chapter. Right on.
The mental Jungle Gym manifesto segment 3 recap.
Your mind isn't a storage unit, it's a swing set.
Play is sacred, so is looking silly.
Creativity builds cognitive strength.
Reinvention isn't performance, it's motion.

(23:32):
Touch the mummy toe metaphorically.
Or don't. Definitely don't.
Coming up next, you've docked, rewired, played.
Now it's time to talk liberation.
Segment 4 is about what it feelslike to live from a refitted
mind. We're going from survival to
sovereignty, from old programming to soulful presence.

(23:56):
And the one question that can flip your mental map.
What's the most loving thought Ican think right now?
Stick with us edging heroes, theanchors up the tides turning.
Let's sail into freedom together.

(24:21):
Great aging heroes. You docked the boat, you rewired
the panel, you played on the jungle gym.
And now? Now we talk freedom.
Because what's the point of doing all this mind work if it
doesn't set you free? That's it right there.
Mental freedom isn't just about thinking positively.
It's about reclaiming your ship,cutting loose the anchors you

(24:43):
didn't even know you were dragging, and setting a course
that doesn't need anyone's permission.
Right. So let's unpack it.
You ready? Yes, I'm ready.
Mental freedom means you stop asking permission to evolve.
You stop explaining your joy. You let go of identities built
for someone else's comfort. It means you can look in the

(25:06):
mirror and say damn, I chose this version of me.
And not just once. You choose her again on Tuesday
when you're feeling tired. You choose him again on Friday
when the world to hand you the outdated version you've already
outgrown. And you choose you're now again

(25:27):
and again. All right, Here's a story called
When the river Said No. Erica and I were in Belize.
The plan was a cave tubing tour.This was near signing Nacio.
Yeah, I was buzzing. Erica has claustrophobia, so she
was a little apprehensive, but we were ready.
A little apprehensive is probably an understatement.

(25:49):
Then the rain came, The river that guarded the entrance.
It rose fast. The tour was off, no exceptions.
Too dangerous? Old wiring started to buzz.
This trip is ruined. We should have come earlier.
This was the only day we had forthis.
But then something shifted. We sat by the river.

(26:10):
We watched it churn and surge. And in that moment of not
getting what we thought we wanted, we got what we actually
needed, We walked through the surrounding jungle instead,
Quietly, slowly. No agenda.
We ended up at the base of a seba tree.
It's a sacred tree to the Maya. So magnificent.

(26:32):
Roots like outstretched arms, trunk stretching skyward like
it's in mid prayer, right? And then the birds came.
Toucans, parrots, tiny flashes of color everywhere.
No words, just presents. Mental freedom is that it's the
space to be present with what is, not just what you planned.

(26:56):
It's what happens when you stop trying to force the river to
open and start honoring the no. Mental freedom doesn't strut.
It doesn't shout. It hums.
It shows up when you no longer shrink in rooms where you used
to edit your soul, when your nose are clean, when your yeses
don't leak energy, when you stoptrading peace for performance.

(27:20):
It's knowing failure is just feedback.
Your worth never had anything todo with your title, your
timeline, or your bank account. That the best version of you
isn't someday, it's now. And you know what else freedom
sounds like? Silence.
The kind where your thoughts don't screech like see eagles.

(27:40):
The kind where your inner criticfinally gets bored and shuts up.
Just you breathing in a hammock.No phone, no proving, just
presence. And the realization you're not
chasing joy anymore, you are joy.
Here's an exercise you can try. It's some soul level work.

(28:01):
Choose one identity, expectationor belief you've outgrown.
Write it down, burn it, bury it,bless it.
What ever helps you let it go, then choose what you're claiming
in its place. And don't make this A to do
list, no make it a declaration. Absolutely.
Here's some examples. I'm done chasing approval

(28:23):
becomes I'm already worthy, or Irelease the belief that aging
means fading becomes I am becoming more electric and
elemental with every damn decade.
Here's your bonus move once you declare your truth and buy it.
Walk a little taller, speak a little slower.

(28:44):
Let your shoulders drop like youjust set down a backpack you've
been carrying since middle school.
Because freedom. It's not just mental, it's
emotional. It's somatic.
It lives in your breath, your hips, your presence.
You've earned this hero not by striving, but by surrendering.

(29:04):
Let me say it plain mental freedom is not some luxury for
the lucky. It's your birthright.
It's what you get when you refityour inner vessel.
When you say I'm not here to perform what's palatable, I'm
here to live what's true. And when you do, others notice.

(29:27):
You don't even have to say a word.
You walk into a room, owning your mind, and suddenly everyone
around you starts adjusting their own sales.
You become a lighthouse. Not polished, not flawless, just
anchored and luminous. Beautiful.
So let's wrap up this episode with a full circle recap the

(29:48):
refit journey. In segment one, we redocked the
ship and question the old beliefs steering our course.
In segment 2, we rewired the panel.
We built daily rituals and chosebetter thoughts.
Segment 3 We turned the mind into a jungle gym, embraced play

(30:08):
and curiosity. And in Segment 4, we claimed
freedom, the kind that hums in your breath and echoes in your
walk. If this episode hit your heart,
if it spoke to you, share it. Text a friend, tag us, and go
follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Aging Heroes.

(30:29):
You can also find our full tribeat www.agingheroes.com.
Coming up next in episode 9, Howto manage bad days.
Because even refit minds hit waves.
Even liberated souls get tired. When the sea turns choppy.
When your thoughts try to drag you back to old chores.

(30:51):
We'll share stories from our real life flops, coaching
insights, and the island wisdom that helped us bounce back with
humor, heart, and yes, a little bit of barefoot grace.
So show. Up next week, sand still in your
shoes, scars and all. Because this journey ain't about
perfection. It's about presence and

(31:12):
persistence. We'll see you next week.
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