Joe DiStefano: When Willpower Wanes: How To Know When it's Time to Go

You can be in one of the best jobs ever, but when you feel out of alignment, start relying on willpower to get you through a day, or feel like your best energy could be spent elsewhere, it might be time to seek new opportunities. Joe DiStefano has had fabulous career opportunities come his way but ultimately knew that he was happiest on his own with his health company, RUNGA, and podcast, Stacked. 

Joe was instrumental in developing the training program for a popular obstacle and strength course. These types of training programs, and others, like Crossfit, have been massive in getting more people interested in fitness who never have been before. But Joe feels that certain types of fitness, especially ones where you treat your body pretty brutally, can be counterproductive to wellness.

So Joe decided to listen to and trust what his gut was saying, that working for this type of company isn't the right business for him. The decision came parallel with a willpower decision; he felt like he wasn't living in line with his passion and his best energy was being spent away from his career. When the job you're doing is taking more energy to get there and more willpower to see through a day, it's impacting your performance, the energy at the company, and ultimately, your entire career.

Joe knew he needed to invest his energy into something that wasn't a struggle to get through. Motivation is good in theory, but shouldn't be necessary in practice. Instead of quitting for the sake of quitting or to make a bilateral move, Joe made a strategic quit that was going to improve the quality of his life and career.

The thing that holds back most people who are thinking about quitting is the thought that if they go, they won't have their benefits, or secure income, or the money to keep paying the loan on the latest Mercedes. But there is so much abundance in the universe, we just need to trust.

And quit that scarcity mindset!

What helps Joe is actually picturing the worst-case scenario. By thinking about how you would handle the worst thing that could happen if you quit, you'll probably realize it won't be as bad as you fear. 

We also talk about moving forward after a business disaster, finding incredible opportunities, and the most valuable skill we can all nurture.

Are you scared of quitting what doesn't serve you anymore? Do you find that you need to rely on your willpower to get you through the day more often than not? How can you be more mindful with your career intentions? Let us know in the comments on the episode page!

 

In This Episode:

• How fitness can be counterproductive to wellness
• Why you need to learn to listen to and trust your gut
• Why you need to invest your best energy in a career that doesn't need the willpower to stay motivated
• What the difference between a quit and a strategic quit are
• Why you need to quit your scarcity mindset
• What happens when you envision the worst-case scenario
• How a huge business disaster can lead you to incredible opportunities
• Why self-reliance is the most valuable skill we can have

 

Quotes:

"When you're doing something you're meant to do and you're in alignment and you are honest with yourself, willpower and "motivation" isn't a thing." (17:35)

"Maybe you just have a purpose to share, like Mozart did… You're never going to be able to put your best energy into those things if you're using willpower. Because willpower is not really a thing, that's called resistance." (20:38)

"You've got to be open to whatever happens and be very aware of the wors