March 12, 2025 • 25 mins
Jason shares his personal journey toward better physical and mental health, emphasizing how taking the first step outside your door can lead to transformative change in your life.
• Starting small with just a walk around the block can build momentum toward bigger health goals
• Physical movement directly impacts mental clarity and problem-solving abilities
• Protectors (law enforcement, military, first responders) have a duty to maintain physical fitness for those they serve
• Consistency is more important than intensity when building healthy habits
• Alternative approaches like meditation and therapy are valuable companions to physical exercise
• The STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result) helps candidates excel in job interviews
• Visualize the new version of yourself rather than trying to recapture past versions
Get up and move today - even if it's just for five minutes. Your body, mind, and those who depend on you will thank you for it.
Make sure to check out Jason on IG @drjasonpiccolo
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, welcome back to another solo episode of the
Protectors Podcast.
Today we're going to talk aboutsomething I posted on social
media the other day, onInstagram.
Now, if you head over toInstagram at DrJasonPiccolo, you
will see a post from a few daysago, and I talked about just
moving, like taking that step,getting out of your house.
Now, I've preached this for thepast few years, since I've had
some health issues here andthere.
(00:22):
But the first thing is to dothis, is to take that first step
outside the door.
And how do we even get to thepoint where we're like man, I
got to think about taking a stepoutside the door?
Well, not every one of us arein a solid space right now when
it comes to physicality is.
(00:42):
What I'm trying to say is, someof us are let our bodies go to
the point where it is tough toeven get out off the couch,
whether it has been from abusefrom alcohol, whether it's been
abused from eating too much, andwhether or not you're
recovering from an injury oryou've had a long-term injury.
And something just gets to thepoint where you you know you've
(01:03):
had a long-term injury, andsomething just gets to the point
where you've let yourself.
Go and it happens, believe me,it happens.
I have man, my iPhone.
I have pictures going back to2017, probably 2016.
Because every time I get a newphone, it upgrades and the
photos transfer.
So the other day I did the WayWayback Machine and I looked at
(01:27):
some of these pictures and Isaid who the hell is that guy?
Because in my mind and as I'mtaking these pictures, I did not
see what was going on with mybody.
I did not see what was going onin my mind.
But I tell you what.
I took a look at some of thesepictures over the past weekend
(01:48):
and I said, wow, no wonder Icouldn't get off the couch, no
wonder I was broken so bad thatI could hardly even move mental
space.
I let myself get into a badphysical space, to the point
where my back was hurting everyday, my legs would hurt, my
(02:09):
calves would hurt.
I just did not have the mentalspace to move.
Then I had a health crisis.
A few years ago Actually,probably about four years ago I
had a really bad health crisis.
I fell on my face and I thoughtI was going to die.
Is this right?
I fell on my face and I thoughtI was going to die and at that
point I had a wake-up call.
(02:29):
I had a wake-up call and Ishifted focus and I had to
change.
And I did change From the helpof one of my friends, aaron
Williamson, a great guy, coach.
He helped me devise a plan andI stuck to it.
I dropped 50 pounds.
I was able to get up off thatcouch and move.
Now, looking at the picturessince that point, yeah, I lost
(02:53):
50 pounds, but I did notice thatI still did not look like the
man I wanted to be.
I did not feel like the man Iwanted to be.
I wasn't the man or the man Ineeded to be for my kids, for my
life.
To make this positive changeand to tell myself as a
protector, I definitely was notin the right frame and we're
(03:15):
going to get to that in a littlebit about being a protector in
your physical fitness.
But right now I'm kind ofgearing us towards everybody out
there in the audience that youknow you're at this point in
your life where you can't moveand the reason I told you that
story was I was at that pointtoo.
The first step I took out thatdoor was just around the block.
(03:36):
Back in the day one of my dogswas still alive, stella.
I'd walk her around the block,or I'd walk around a block or
I'd walk myself around a block,and it helped.
That few minutes getting outthere helped.
And then the few minutes turnedinto a few more minutes, and
then a few more minutes turnedinto hey, you know what, maybe I
(03:58):
should introduce a ruck.
So then I started rucking andthen I upped my miles and I
noticed I started getting aclearer headspace as well.
Now, fast forward to now, Ithink it was probably about
three, four weeks ago I had ashift in focus again.
I look back at those pictures,I look back at my life, but I
(04:19):
look deeper into the picturesand I said you know what?
It's not just the body thatneeds to be changed, it's my
mind.
So those walks started turninginto not rucking anymore, but
longer, longer walks.
You know three, four or fivemiles.
And I tell you I hit a sweetspot after.
(04:40):
About two miles is where I canactually think in and my mind
started focusing and I startedbeing able to like figure things
out.
And the reason I tell my ownpersonal story about this is
that so many of you out thereand, believe me, after I posted
that on Instagram I know peoplesay this all the time Well, the
followers said this, but no,really, I had a few friends
reach out to me and they werelike, yeah, man, I'm in a bad
(05:03):
space, but my body's broken down.
It's tough for me to even getout and move, to walk or
anything.
And then I had some otherfriends that are pushing
themselves to try to get intolaw enforcement and we're going
to get into that protectormentality here in a minute.
They're trying to get into lawenforcement, but they don't have
a base point right now.
They don't have a baseline ofwhere they need to be and
(05:23):
they're like I don't even knowwhere to start.
Do I just walk?
But yeah, it is simple as justgetting out there and moving
your body.
Because what happens is you getused to that three, four, five
minutes, you get used to 10minutes, you get used to 20
minutes.
And then the next thing, youknow, you're like huh, you know
what?
Maybe I should incorporate someweightlifting, maybe I should
incorporate some strengthmovements.
And then you're like, huh, well, if the walking's doing good,
(05:48):
the strength is doing good,maybe I should look at my diet.
And then the next thing youknow, you're cutting out carbs.
Or, let's say, you don't wantto cut carbs out altogether, but
maybe you're looking at yoursugar intake.
Maybe you're like, huh, I'mwalking, now I'm doing strength
training, lifting weights,changing my diet.
(06:08):
And then the next thing you'relike, huh, well, there's this
little thing like this inbetween my shoulder blades
called my head, my brain, andthen you start thinking, well,
I'm fixing all these otherthings.
Maybe I should really take anintrospective look and work on
myself.
Maybe it's time for me to getcounseling, or maybe talk to
someone.
Maybe it's groups, maybe it'sjust your friends, maybe
(06:30):
sometimes like work on yourself,because it all works together
your body and your brain.
Now, yeah, that was a greatlittle ramble on Jason.
Good for you.
You're moving, you're doingthis.
I have so much work to do.
I'm still in my mind.
I still have that weird bodyimage what do they call it, body
(06:51):
dysmorphia where I'm like I'mnever going to be the perfect
place I need to be, and that isone thing I brought up in my
Instagram post.
Was another Instagram post thisweek was the version of you
post?
Was another Instagram post thisweek was the version of you.
This version of me now is notthe version I want to be, but
you know what?
Every day I'm working towardsthis newer version of me in my
(07:14):
life I've had over the past 30years.
I mean I can go all the wayback to college, I mean even
before.
I mean high school, and in highschool, high school, my weight
has always fluctuated up anddown.
Up and down, I mean I wrestledat 155.
And if you see me, if you'rewatching this on YouTube, 155
looks like a pretty far placeaway from where I'm at right now
(07:35):
.
155 wrestling in high schoolfootball is 172.
Joined the Army, I was probablyroughly around 180, 185.
When I commissioned as aninfantry officer, I was 205.
So I mean it comes up and itcomes and goes, and comes and
goes and it's up and down.
When I got back from iraq I was198 pounds and I was in
(07:58):
probably some really decentshape until other health aspects
happened with those good oldburn pits.
But that they, they weredifferent versions of me.
When I was a special agent, Iwas a different version.
When I was a border patrolagent, I was a different version
.
Now I am the 50-plus version andthis version isn't just looking
at that physical aspect of whoI was.
(08:19):
All of those things, all theseversions, I always told myself I
wanted to go back to or beabout.
None of those versions I did.
I ever think about the mentalheadspace I was in in every one
of those pictures and every oncein a while, one of those points
.
So now this version of me isnot only pushing myself to get
(08:43):
to a certain point in weight andhealth, but it's also working
on my mind.
It's getting to a certain piecein my mind that I never had
before, a clarity I never hadbefore certain point where you
have to get to positivity, whereyou have to get to a healthy
(09:06):
point, to where everything isworking together your body and
your mind.
So that is the next version.
So when you are thinking abouttaking these first steps out
your door, when you're thinkingabout taking the next step to
get to the new version of you,think about do you want to go
back to the new version of you?
Think about do you want to goback to that old version of you?
(09:27):
Was that old version of you110% of what you want to be?
And think about is it reallywhat you want to go back to or
do you want to push forsomething new?
Because with something newcomes something refreshing.
It's like a different pivot.
I you know I have so manydifferent viewpoints of what I
want to do with this bodynowadays.
Before, like when I was younger, I'm like, oh, I got to do this
(09:49):
, I got to do that.
I want to be able to do this.
I want to be able to do that.
Now, the things I want to donow are different.
I want to be able to walk like10, 15, 20 miles and not be just
dead for the next three days.
I want to be able to go frompoint A to point B.
I was telling my friend GarrettI'm like, yeah, I want to go to
(10:09):
the Appalachian Trail and Iwant to do three days.
And now I'm not going to camp,I'm going to glamp or something.
I'm not camping up there, but Iwant to do like three days on
the Appalachians and 10, 12miles a day.
I learned a couple weeks agothat is not as easy as I thought
it was going.
It's something I want to do,it's something different.
(10:31):
So when you first start,visualize what you want to do,
visualize who you want to be anddo it and just take that first
step.
I'm just asking you, if you cando it, do it.
That also brings me to thepoint of a lot of us have been
beaten down by the military, bythis, by being in LA, our bodies
(10:55):
have changed and we can't dosome of these things.
So maybe there is analternative.
If you can't walk, maybe youcould swim.
Maybe overdid it and my anklestarted tweaking.
So I'm like you know what?
I can't stop doing my slowstate exercises because I like
(11:18):
to just keep a slow pace.
So I got on a bike and I'vebeen doing a bike every day
because I had to get analternative.
So when you're doing thesethings, maybe there's an
alternative for you to do.
This kind of transitions me intothe next thing I want to talk
about today, which is veryimportant, and it's something
that's man, you could look atevery every and I saw it last
(11:43):
night every LE agency out there,every law enforcement agency
out there, enforcement agencyout there, whether it's federal,
state, local, anything isyou're going to see people that
hit a wall and they letthemselves go.
They let themselves go so badand while it's not healthy, it's
(12:07):
dangerous, and it's not justdangerous to them, it's
dangerous to the people whothey're supposed to support.
It's dangerous to the peoplewho they're supposed to support.
It's dangerous to the peoplewho they're supposed to protect.
I took my daughter to Targetlast night and, you know, just
buying some stuff here and there, and I'm looking around, I see
this guy walking really justkind of I should say grossly out
(12:27):
of shape, and I should be theone to talk.
I let myself go through mycareer and I didn't catch it.
But I was looking at him and hehad a fed badge on had
instructor on it on his shirtand he had his gun print and
everything.
And I'm like man, my brother,you're walking around here and
you look like you're going todie.
(12:49):
If you're a protector, you havegot to take more than just a
step.
You've got to move your body.
You have to get to a shapewhere you can handle yourself
and protect others.
I'm not going to beat too muchinto the bush, but you have to
someday take a look in a mirroror do what I did and scan back
through some pictures and figureout who you are and what you
(13:13):
want to be.
Because if you're a protector,you have a duty.
You have a duty to protect.
You have a duty to protectthose that you are in charge of.
You swore this job that youwould do it, this job that you
would do it.
So take that step and move.
(13:34):
And you know what, once youstart doing it, it's going to
pick up, it's going to keepgoing.
But just take that first stepand do it.
You have to.
It's your duty.
Okay, so I'm off my soapbox withthat a bit.
(13:56):
I mean, I'm always going tocome back to it, because there
are certain things I always liketo talk about.
One is getting in good enoughshape to be a protector, the
next is mental health and theother thing is firearms.
You know I love to talk aboutfirearms.
All of these things, everythingI talk about, it has to have
(14:28):
consistency behind it.
You have to be consistent.
I watch all the motivationalvideos every day.
I wake up in the morning andI'm like, yeah, I got to go to
the gym was a chore to me, butnow it's like you know, I got to
go, I got to go, it's part ofmy therapy.
Now I have to get in there.
I have to do it as part of whatmy being.
I wasn't always like that,believe me, I'd hate to get up
and I, like I said, I get on myphone, my social media.
Now I was like motivationalposts to get my butt going, to
make me, to help me visualizewhat I want to be and who I want
(14:52):
to be.
When you're doing all of thisstuff, everything you do and
that comes into everything,visualize that version of you
that you want to be.
I swear it helps, it does.
One version I've wanted to doand I've wanted to like really
(15:16):
kind of always talk about now isbeing a solid mental, like just
having the best mental healthever.
And it's tough.
I tell you it is tough.
There are days when it is rough.
You know, sometimes a personallife it gets really, really
rough and it's tough to to getout of that fog and I've always
(15:38):
equated this.
I've talked about my mentalhealth and my, my depression and
everything for for decades now.
I talk about it all the time.
Now I can talk about it someopen, but it's not easy to talk
about it.
So.
So I know a lot of you arestruggling out there,
no-transcript and moving.
(16:00):
It's great for Jason andanybody else to say, hey, just
get up and move five minutes, go, do this, do that when
sometimes it's even tough to getout of bed, when sometimes that
sponge of the darkness insideyour brain is just like I don't
know about.
Today I need to stay in bed.
I've had those days, believe me, but you can get through them.
(16:21):
And I tell you, when you startworking on all of these
different aspects and I know I'mstarting to sound like a
self-help coach here, but I liketo share my own experience but
when you start working and youstart moving your body, it helps
your brain.
But physical health is greatand the walking and the working
(16:42):
out and everything it helps.
But I'm telling you, sometimesyou need to look at alternative
methods as well.
I've been doing what they callTranscendental Meditation now
for about three to four weeks.
It's actually been about fourweeks now.
It helps, it does.
It's something different.
It's not crazy, it's not cuckoo, it's just something to calm my
(17:03):
mind a little bit.
Look into it if you want.
But meditation is one thing youshould think about.
It gets you away from thescreen.
That's the biggest thing withme, because I'm always on my
phone.
It gets you away from thescreen, it gets your mind into a
different space and it helps.
It just does.
The other thing, if you have theoption and it's available, is
(17:26):
think about counseling, thinkabout therapy.
I've been going to therapistsfor years.
I'm actually at the point nowwhere I have to change
therapists because I think I'vegotten everything out of that
one I've been going to.
I'm going to kind of work ondifferent things now.
I want to be the healthiestmental version of myself ever,
so I'm doing it.
Different things now.
I want to be the healthiestmental version of myself ever,
(17:46):
so I'm doing it.
If you don't have access totherapy, find someone you could
talk to.
Find someone that you couldvent to, someone that you could
not commiserate with because youdon't want to do that, you
don't want to keep in a darkplace, but you have to have
someone, you have to have anetwork.
Find a network.
It scares me and I shouldn'tsay scares me, because it's not
like a personal connection to alot of people who have done it
(18:10):
but it's heartbreaking to seehow many LEOs and how many in
the community are taking theirlives.
They get to a point where theytake their lives.
It's heartbreaking, take theirlives.
It's heartbreaking and I thinkabout it and I think about their
kids and I think about theirfamilies and I think about them
the most is like what got themto that point?
(18:31):
If someone reached out andtalked to them without even have
helped, I think it could.
I think, if we keep thesefootholds into our friends and
our networks, that there is help.
I think if you could helppeople get past that 30, 40, 50
hours of real darkness, I thinkit can help.
So watch out for your brothersand sisters out there who are
(18:53):
going through it.
And if you are going through ityourself, please, please, get
help and really look intocounseling, look, look into
meditation, look at ways to helpyour mind.
I think about it.
My routine is a little bitdifferent than people.
I'm in a different phase of mylife but to me I have a
(19:15):
different routine.
A lot of people are like I getup and I shoot 1,000 rounds and
I shoot bows and I run 10 miles.
No, I do the gym, I do my 50,60 minutes on a bike.
And now I don't know why I'mlaughing.
But I do paint by numbers.
I paint.
I just zone out and I paint.
(19:38):
I never in my life thought Iwould do that, but it was
something different.
I had to find things that aredifferent at this point in my
life.
I never in my life thought Iwould do that, but it was
something different.
I had to find things that aredifferent at this point in my
life, find those things that aregoing to help you get to that
point.
I'm going to transition alittle bit here, you know,
because here's the deal withthese solo episodes.
(19:59):
I'm very selfish, I think.
You know, in the beginning Istarted the podcast so I could
have a voice and now I'm at thepoint now where I feel like I'm,
you know, with the 30 plusyears of experience, I just want
(20:24):
to give lessons learned, man.
I just want to tell people thethings that I've learned over
the years to maybe help otherpeople out.
And if it only helps out threelisteners out there, I am
perfectly fine with that Listen.
I could talk all day long.
I tell people that all time andif it helps anybody, I am
perfectly fine with that.
One of the things I want to talkabout today is I wrote that
book pivot and, believe me, whenI, when you buy the book pivot
(20:46):
or anybody gets it or anythingit's, I don't make a dime.
I literally make six cents offof it.
I didn't write that book formoney, but I did write that book
for veterans, and it's not onlyfor veterans, it's for anybody
who's looking for a job and,believe me, a lot of you are
looking for jobs out there.
One thing I want to talk abouttoday is that book is a hiring
(21:07):
manual, and one thing I put intoit was and there's so many
different versions of thistechnique is a technique is
called the star technique.
So when you're in a hiringposition and they ask you
certain questions a lot of thesebehavioral based questions,
like if they put you in ascenario or they do this, tell
us about a time you did this.
So it could be something liketell us about a time where you
(21:31):
led a team.
So you would put this into theSTAR technique.
And what the STAR techniquedoes is it lets them know the
whole story.
So you're not just kind of likejust throwing off words.
Know the whole story.
So you're not just kind of likejust throwing off words.
So if someone said, tell me thetime you led a team, and I'm
(21:51):
like, um, uh, well, you know, I,I did this and I left five
people, but, for instance, thatdoesn't tell anybody anything.
So the star technique is thissituation, task, action, result.
The situation you were in thatmade you lead the team.
What was a task that you had todo?
You had to lead the team frompoint a to point b.
(22:11):
What was the action you took?
Well, I took my team, I satthem down, I got them around a
thing.
I had a map table out there andI said, okay, we got to go from
point a to point b.
Here's how we are going to doit and nobody's going to get
hurt.
And what was the result?
Well, I successfully moved myteam from point A to point B
(22:32):
with zero injuries and zeroanything.
So you had the situation whichwas you had to move from point A
to point B.
The task was you had to moveyour people, your team, from
point A to point B.
The action was well, you briefthem and then you move them, and
then a result was 100%effective.
So, situation, task, action,result.
(22:53):
And you could use that foralmost any question that the
hiring panel is going to ask you.
And what that does is it givesyou them a whole picture of what
you did, how you did it and apositive result, a quantifiable
positive result, because here'swhat happens when you're hiring
on your hiring panel becauseI've been on a ton of hiring
(23:14):
panels is you will have like apiece of paper and you've got to
take notes.
While these people are talking,while the interview is talking,
you are taking notes.
And what the notes are?
They aren't about how many andsand ums and ahs and everything
you did.
It's about how they canquantify what you did.
So you said you were a teamleader.
Boom, team leader.
You move people from point A topoint B.
(23:35):
Okay, well, that's great.
Well, how'd they do it?
Well, I briefed them.
I explained the mission.
Okay, explain the mission.
Brief them, so that shows thatyou have leadership abilities.
And then I got them there with100% effectiveness and they're
writing down 100% effectiveness.
So when the hiring panel says,okay, you have out of 10 points,
how do you score them?
(23:55):
And because you did the STARtechnique and because you
explained everything you did,they have ways to look at it and
go okay, yeah, I remember them,they did that and that's how
they got from point A to point B.
It shows them the interviewpanel and the hiring managers
that you're good to go.
So remember the STAR technique,situation, task, action, result
and, like I said, the same typeof information is out there.
(24:17):
So those are kind of where I'mat.
So those are kind of where I'mat.
Those are my lessons learned,you know, just over the past is
get up and move.
Get up and move, do somethingphysical and be consistent with
it.
You can have rest days.
It's fine to have rest daysBelieve me, you need them but
(24:41):
put all of these things togetherWalk, watch what you're eating,
be consistent with what you eat.
Yeah, you can have a cheat dayhere and there, but don't be
like, well, you know, it'sFriday, I'm going to have a
cheat day.
Well, it's Saturday too, it's aweekend.
I deserve this.
And your mental health.
Now, if you are a protector,it's time.
(25:02):
It is time.
If you let yourself go andyou're having a hell of a time
right now, it's time to move,it's time to work on your mental
health and it's time to get anetwork and it's time to push,
because you swore an oath andyou got to do it.
Next thing we talked about was,you know, obviously the mental
health thing, but the startechnique and getting hired.
(25:25):
But, everybody, I appreciateyou listening to my soapbox this
weekend and my lessons learned.
Believe me, I have a ton oflessons learned and you know why
?
It's because I learned them thehard way.
I wish someone told me yearsago to not do certain things, so
I hope everybody's great, thankyou.
Hey, welcome back to another solo episode of the
Protectors Podcast.
Today we're going to talk aboutsomething I posted on social
media the other day, onInstagram.
Now, if you head over toInstagram at DrJasonPiccolo, you
will see a post from a few daysago, and I talked about just
moving, like taking that step,getting out of your house.
Now, I've preached this for thepast few years, since I've had
some health issues here andthere.
(00:22):
But the first thing is to dothis, is to take that first step
outside the door.
And how do we even get to thepoint where we're like man, I
got to think about taking a stepoutside the door?
Well, not every one of us arein a solid space right now when
it comes to physicality is.
(00:42):
What I'm trying to say is, someof us are let our bodies go to
the point where it is tough toeven get out off the couch,
whether it has been from abusefrom alcohol, whether it's been
abused from eating too much, andwhether or not you're
recovering from an injury oryou've had a long-term injury.
And something just gets to thepoint where you you know you've
(01:03):
had a long-term injury, andsomething just gets to the point
where you've let yourself.
Go and it happens, believe me,it happens.
I have man, my iPhone.
I have pictures going back to2017, probably 2016.
Because every time I get a newphone, it upgrades and the
photos transfer.
So the other day I did the WayWayback Machine and I looked at
(01:27):
some of these pictures and Isaid who the hell is that guy?
Because in my mind and as I'mtaking these pictures, I did not
see what was going on with mybody.
I did not see what was going onin my mind.
But I tell you what.
I took a look at some of thesepictures over the past weekend
(01:48):
and I said, wow, no wonder Icouldn't get off the couch, no
wonder I was broken so bad thatI could hardly even move mental
space.
I let myself get into a badphysical space, to the point
where my back was hurting everyday, my legs would hurt, my
(02:09):
calves would hurt.
I just did not have the mentalspace to move.
Then I had a health crisis.
A few years ago Actually,probably about four years ago I
had a really bad health crisis.
I fell on my face and I thoughtI was going to die.
Is this right?
I fell on my face and I thoughtI was going to die and at that
point I had a wake-up call.
(02:29):
I had a wake-up call and Ishifted focus and I had to
change.
And I did change From the helpof one of my friends, aaron
Williamson, a great guy, coach.
He helped me devise a plan andI stuck to it.
I dropped 50 pounds.
I was able to get up off thatcouch and move.
Now, looking at the picturessince that point, yeah, I lost
(02:53):
50 pounds, but I did notice thatI still did not look like the
man I wanted to be.
I did not feel like the man Iwanted to be.
I wasn't the man or the man Ineeded to be for my kids, for my
life.
To make this positive changeand to tell myself as a
protector, I definitely was notin the right frame and we're
(03:15):
going to get to that in a littlebit about being a protector in
your physical fitness.
But right now I'm kind ofgearing us towards everybody out
there in the audience that youknow you're at this point in
your life where you can't moveand the reason I told you that
story was I was at that pointtoo.
The first step I took out thatdoor was just around the block.
(03:36):
Back in the day one of my dogswas still alive, stella.
I'd walk her around the block,or I'd walk around a block or
I'd walk myself around a block,and it helped.
That few minutes getting outthere helped.
And then the few minutes turnedinto a few more minutes, and
then a few more minutes turnedinto hey, you know what, maybe I
(03:58):
should introduce a ruck.
So then I started rucking andthen I upped my miles and I
noticed I started getting aclearer headspace as well.
Now, fast forward to now, Ithink it was probably about
three, four weeks ago I had ashift in focus again.
I look back at those pictures,I look back at my life, but I
(04:19):
look deeper into the picturesand I said you know what?
It's not just the body thatneeds to be changed, it's my
mind.
So those walks started turninginto not rucking anymore, but
longer, longer walks.
You know three, four or fivemiles.
And I tell you I hit a sweetspot after.
(04:40):
About two miles is where I canactually think in and my mind
started focusing and I startedbeing able to like figure things
out.
And the reason I tell my ownpersonal story about this is
that so many of you out thereand, believe me, after I posted
that on Instagram I know peoplesay this all the time Well, the
followers said this, but no,really, I had a few friends
reach out to me and they werelike, yeah, man, I'm in a bad
(05:03):
space, but my body's broken down.
It's tough for me to even getout and move, to walk or
anything.
And then I had some otherfriends that are pushing
themselves to try to get intolaw enforcement and we're going
to get into that protectormentality here in a minute.
They're trying to get into lawenforcement, but they don't have
a base point right now.
They don't have a baseline ofwhere they need to be and
(05:23):
they're like I don't even knowwhere to start.
Do I just walk?
But yeah, it is simple as justgetting out there and moving
your body.
Because what happens is you getused to that three, four, five
minutes, you get used to 10minutes, you get used to 20
minutes.
And then the next thing, youknow, you're like huh, you know
what?
Maybe I should incorporate someweightlifting, maybe I should
incorporate some strengthmovements.
And then you're like, huh, well, if the walking's doing good,
(05:48):
the strength is doing good,maybe I should look at my diet.
And then the next thing youknow, you're cutting out carbs.
Or, let's say, you don't wantto cut carbs out altogether, but
maybe you're looking at yoursugar intake.
Maybe you're like, huh, I'mwalking, now I'm doing strength
training, lifting weights,changing my diet.
(06:08):
And then the next thing you'relike, huh, well, there's this
little thing like this inbetween my shoulder blades
called my head, my brain, andthen you start thinking, well,
I'm fixing all these otherthings.
Maybe I should really take anintrospective look and work on
myself.
Maybe it's time for me to getcounseling, or maybe talk to
someone.
Maybe it's groups, maybe it'sjust your friends, maybe
(06:30):
sometimes like work on yourself,because it all works together
your body and your brain.
Now, yeah, that was a greatlittle ramble on Jason.
Good for you.
You're moving, you're doingthis.
I have so much work to do.
I'm still in my mind.
I still have that weird bodyimage what do they call it, body
(06:51):
dysmorphia where I'm like I'mnever going to be the perfect
place I need to be, and that isone thing I brought up in my
Instagram post.
Was another Instagram post thisweek was the version of you
post?
Was another Instagram post thisweek was the version of you.
This version of me now is notthe version I want to be, but
you know what?
Every day I'm working towardsthis newer version of me in my
(07:14):
life I've had over the past 30years.
I mean I can go all the wayback to college, I mean even
before.
I mean high school, and in highschool, high school, my weight
has always fluctuated up anddown.
Up and down, I mean I wrestledat 155.
And if you see me, if you'rewatching this on YouTube, 155
looks like a pretty far placeaway from where I'm at right now
(07:35):
.
155 wrestling in high schoolfootball is 172.
Joined the Army, I was probablyroughly around 180, 185.
When I commissioned as aninfantry officer, I was 205.
So I mean it comes up and itcomes and goes, and comes and
goes and it's up and down.
When I got back from iraq I was198 pounds and I was in
(07:58):
probably some really decentshape until other health aspects
happened with those good oldburn pits.
But that they, they weredifferent versions of me.
When I was a special agent, Iwas a different version.
When I was a border patrolagent, I was a different version
.
Now I am the 50-plus version andthis version isn't just looking
at that physical aspect of whoI was.
(08:19):
All of those things, all theseversions, I always told myself I
wanted to go back to or beabout.
None of those versions I did.
I ever think about the mentalheadspace I was in in every one
of those pictures and every oncein a while, one of those points
.
So now this version of me isnot only pushing myself to get
(08:43):
to a certain point in weight andhealth, but it's also working
on my mind.
It's getting to a certain piecein my mind that I never had
before, a clarity I never hadbefore certain point where you
have to get to positivity, whereyou have to get to a healthy
(09:06):
point, to where everything isworking together your body and
your mind.
So that is the next version.
So when you are thinking abouttaking these first steps out
your door, when you're thinkingabout taking the next step to
get to the new version of you,think about do you want to go
back to the new version of you?
Think about do you want to goback to that old version of you?
(09:27):
Was that old version of you110% of what you want to be?
And think about is it reallywhat you want to go back to or
do you want to push forsomething new?
Because with something newcomes something refreshing.
It's like a different pivot.
I you know I have so manydifferent viewpoints of what I
want to do with this bodynowadays.
Before, like when I was younger, I'm like, oh, I got to do this
(09:49):
, I got to do that.
I want to be able to do this.
I want to be able to do that.
Now, the things I want to donow are different.
I want to be able to walk like10, 15, 20 miles and not be just
dead for the next three days.
I want to be able to go frompoint A to point B.
I was telling my friend GarrettI'm like, yeah, I want to go to
(10:09):
the Appalachian Trail and Iwant to do three days.
And now I'm not going to camp,I'm going to glamp or something.
I'm not camping up there, but Iwant to do like three days on
the Appalachians and 10, 12miles a day.
I learned a couple weeks agothat is not as easy as I thought
it was going.
It's something I want to do,it's something different.
(10:31):
So when you first start,visualize what you want to do,
visualize who you want to be anddo it and just take that first
step.
I'm just asking you, if you cando it, do it.
That also brings me to thepoint of a lot of us have been
beaten down by the military, bythis, by being in LA, our bodies
(10:55):
have changed and we can't dosome of these things.
So maybe there is analternative.
If you can't walk, maybe youcould swim.
Maybe overdid it and my anklestarted tweaking.
So I'm like you know what?
I can't stop doing my slowstate exercises because I like
(11:18):
to just keep a slow pace.
So I got on a bike and I'vebeen doing a bike every day
because I had to get analternative.
So when you're doing thesethings, maybe there's an
alternative for you to do.
This kind of transitions me intothe next thing I want to talk
about today, which is veryimportant, and it's something
that's man, you could look atevery every and I saw it last
(11:43):
night every LE agency out there,every law enforcement agency
out there, enforcement agencyout there, whether it's federal,
state, local, anything isyou're going to see people that
hit a wall and they letthemselves go.
They let themselves go so badand while it's not healthy, it's
(12:07):
dangerous, and it's not justdangerous to them, it's
dangerous to the people whothey're supposed to support.
It's dangerous to the peoplewho they're supposed to support.
It's dangerous to the peoplewho they're supposed to protect.
I took my daughter to Targetlast night and, you know, just
buying some stuff here and there, and I'm looking around, I see
this guy walking really justkind of I should say grossly out
(12:27):
of shape, and I should be theone to talk.
I let myself go through mycareer and I didn't catch it.
But I was looking at him and hehad a fed badge on had
instructor on it on his shirtand he had his gun print and
everything.
And I'm like man, my brother,you're walking around here and
you look like you're going todie.
(12:49):
If you're a protector, you havegot to take more than just a
step.
You've got to move your body.
You have to get to a shapewhere you can handle yourself
and protect others.
I'm not going to beat too muchinto the bush, but you have to
someday take a look in a mirroror do what I did and scan back
through some pictures and figureout who you are and what you
(13:13):
want to be.
Because if you're a protector,you have a duty.
You have a duty to protect.
You have a duty to protectthose that you are in charge of.
You swore this job that youwould do it, this job that you
would do it.
So take that step and move.
(13:34):
And you know what, once youstart doing it, it's going to
pick up, it's going to keepgoing.
But just take that first stepand do it.
You have to.
It's your duty.
Okay, so I'm off my soapbox withthat a bit.
(13:56):
I mean, I'm always going tocome back to it, because there
are certain things I always liketo talk about.
One is getting in good enoughshape to be a protector, the
next is mental health and theother thing is firearms.
You know I love to talk aboutfirearms.
All of these things, everythingI talk about, it has to have
(14:28):
consistency behind it.
You have to be consistent.
I watch all the motivationalvideos every day.
I wake up in the morning andI'm like, yeah, I got to go to
the gym was a chore to me, butnow it's like you know, I got to
go, I got to go, it's part ofmy therapy.
Now I have to get in there.
I have to do it as part of whatmy being.
I wasn't always like that,believe me, I'd hate to get up
and I, like I said, I get on myphone, my social media.
Now I was like motivationalposts to get my butt going, to
make me, to help me visualizewhat I want to be and who I want
(14:52):
to be.
When you're doing all of thisstuff, everything you do and
that comes into everything,visualize that version of you
that you want to be.
I swear it helps, it does.
One version I've wanted to doand I've wanted to like really
(15:16):
kind of always talk about now isbeing a solid mental, like just
having the best mental healthever.
And it's tough.
I tell you it is tough.
There are days when it is rough.
You know, sometimes a personallife it gets really, really
rough and it's tough to to getout of that fog and I've always
(15:38):
equated this.
I've talked about my mentalhealth and my, my depression and
everything for for decades now.
I talk about it all the time.
Now I can talk about it someopen, but it's not easy to talk
about it.
So.
So I know a lot of you arestruggling out there,
no-transcript and moving.
(16:00):
It's great for Jason andanybody else to say, hey, just
get up and move five minutes, go, do this, do that when
sometimes it's even tough to getout of bed, when sometimes that
sponge of the darkness insideyour brain is just like I don't
know about.
Today I need to stay in bed.
I've had those days, believe me, but you can get through them.
(16:21):
And I tell you, when you startworking on all of these
different aspects and I know I'mstarting to sound like a
self-help coach here, but I liketo share my own experience but
when you start working and youstart moving your body, it helps
your brain.
But physical health is greatand the walking and the working
(16:42):
out and everything it helps.
But I'm telling you, sometimesyou need to look at alternative
methods as well.
I've been doing what they callTranscendental Meditation now
for about three to four weeks.
It's actually been about fourweeks now.
It helps, it does.
It's something different.
It's not crazy, it's not cuckoo, it's just something to calm my
(17:03):
mind a little bit.
Look into it if you want.
But meditation is one thing youshould think about.
It gets you away from thescreen.
That's the biggest thing withme, because I'm always on my
phone.
It gets you away from thescreen, it gets your mind into a
different space and it helps.
It just does.
The other thing, if you have theoption and it's available, is
(17:26):
think about counseling, thinkabout therapy.
I've been going to therapistsfor years.
I'm actually at the point nowwhere I have to change
therapists because I think I'vegotten everything out of that
one I've been going to.
I'm going to kind of work ondifferent things now.
I want to be the healthiestmental version of myself ever,
so I'm doing it.
Different things now.
I want to be the healthiestmental version of myself ever,
(17:46):
so I'm doing it.
If you don't have access totherapy, find someone you could
talk to.
Find someone that you couldvent to, someone that you could
not commiserate with because youdon't want to do that, you
don't want to keep in a darkplace, but you have to have
someone, you have to have anetwork.
Find a network.
It scares me and I shouldn'tsay scares me, because it's not
like a personal connection to alot of people who have done it
(18:10):
but it's heartbreaking to seehow many LEOs and how many in
the community are taking theirlives.
They get to a point where theytake their lives.
It's heartbreaking, take theirlives.
It's heartbreaking and I thinkabout it and I think about their
kids and I think about theirfamilies and I think about them
the most is like what got themto that point?
(18:31):
If someone reached out andtalked to them without even have
helped, I think it could.
I think, if we keep thesefootholds into our friends and
our networks, that there is help.
I think if you could helppeople get past that 30, 40, 50
hours of real darkness, I thinkit can help.
So watch out for your brothersand sisters out there who are
(18:53):
going through it.
And if you are going through ityourself, please, please, get
help and really look intocounseling, look, look into
meditation, look at ways to helpyour mind.
I think about it.
My routine is a little bitdifferent than people.
I'm in a different phase of mylife but to me I have a
(19:15):
different routine.
A lot of people are like I getup and I shoot 1,000 rounds and
I shoot bows and I run 10 miles.
No, I do the gym, I do my 50,60 minutes on a bike.
And now I don't know why I'mlaughing.
But I do paint by numbers.
I paint.
I just zone out and I paint.
(19:38):
I never in my life thought Iwould do that, but it was
something different.
I had to find things that aredifferent at this point in my
life.
I never in my life thought Iwould do that, but it was
something different.
I had to find things that aredifferent at this point in my
life, find those things that aregoing to help you get to that
point.
I'm going to transition alittle bit here, you know,
because here's the deal withthese solo episodes.
(19:59):
I'm very selfish, I think.
You know, in the beginning Istarted the podcast so I could
have a voice and now I'm at thepoint now where I feel like I'm,
you know, with the 30 plusyears of experience, I just want
(20:24):
to give lessons learned, man.
I just want to tell people thethings that I've learned over
the years to maybe help otherpeople out.
And if it only helps out threelisteners out there, I am
perfectly fine with that Listen.
I could talk all day long.
I tell people that all time andif it helps anybody, I am
perfectly fine with that.
One of the things I want to talkabout today is I wrote that
book pivot and, believe me, whenI, when you buy the book pivot
(20:46):
or anybody gets it or anythingit's, I don't make a dime.
I literally make six cents offof it.
I didn't write that book formoney, but I did write that book
for veterans, and it's not onlyfor veterans, it's for anybody
who's looking for a job and,believe me, a lot of you are
looking for jobs out there.
One thing I want to talk abouttoday is that book is a hiring
(21:07):
manual, and one thing I put intoit was and there's so many
different versions of thistechnique is a technique is
called the star technique.
So when you're in a hiringposition and they ask you
certain questions a lot of thesebehavioral based questions,
like if they put you in ascenario or they do this, tell
us about a time you did this.
So it could be something liketell us about a time where you
(21:31):
led a team.
So you would put this into theSTAR technique.
And what the STAR techniquedoes is it lets them know the
whole story.
So you're not just kind of likejust throwing off words.
Know the whole story.
So you're not just kind of likejust throwing off words.
So if someone said, tell me thetime you led a team, and I'm
(21:51):
like, um, uh, well, you know, I,I did this and I left five
people, but, for instance, thatdoesn't tell anybody anything.
So the star technique is thissituation, task, action, result.
The situation you were in thatmade you lead the team.
What was a task that you had todo?
You had to lead the team frompoint a to point b.
(22:11):
What was the action you took?
Well, I took my team, I satthem down, I got them around a
thing.
I had a map table out there andI said, okay, we got to go from
point a to point b.
Here's how we are going to doit and nobody's going to get
hurt.
And what was the result?
Well, I successfully moved myteam from point A to point B
(22:32):
with zero injuries and zeroanything.
So you had the situation whichwas you had to move from point A
to point B.
The task was you had to moveyour people, your team, from
point A to point B.
The action was well, you briefthem and then you move them, and
then a result was 100%effective.
So, situation, task, action,result.
(22:53):
And you could use that foralmost any question that the
hiring panel is going to ask you.
And what that does is it givesyou them a whole picture of what
you did, how you did it and apositive result, a quantifiable
positive result, because here'swhat happens when you're hiring
on your hiring panel becauseI've been on a ton of hiring
(23:14):
panels is you will have like apiece of paper and you've got to
take notes.
While these people are talking,while the interview is talking,
you are taking notes.
And what the notes are?
They aren't about how many andsand ums and ahs and everything
you did.
It's about how they canquantify what you did.
So you said you were a teamleader.
Boom, team leader.
You move people from point A topoint B.
(23:35):
Okay, well, that's great.
Well, how'd they do it?
Well, I briefed them.
I explained the mission.
Okay, explain the mission.
Brief them, so that shows thatyou have leadership abilities.
And then I got them there with100% effectiveness and they're
writing down 100% effectiveness.
So when the hiring panel says,okay, you have out of 10 points,
how do you score them?
(23:55):
And because you did the STARtechnique and because you
explained everything you did,they have ways to look at it and
go okay, yeah, I remember them,they did that and that's how
they got from point A to point B.
It shows them the interviewpanel and the hiring managers
that you're good to go.
So remember the STAR technique,situation, task, action, result
and, like I said, the same typeof information is out there.
(24:17):
So those are kind of where I'mat.
So those are kind of where I'mat.
Those are my lessons learned,you know, just over the past is
get up and move.
Get up and move, do somethingphysical and be consistent with
it.
You can have rest days.
It's fine to have rest daysBelieve me, you need them but
(24:41):
put all of these things togetherWalk, watch what you're eating,
be consistent with what you eat.
Yeah, you can have a cheat dayhere and there, but don't be
like, well, you know, it'sFriday, I'm going to have a
cheat day.
Well, it's Saturday too, it's aweekend.
I deserve this.
And your mental health.
Now, if you are a protector,it's time.
(25:02):
It is time.
If you let yourself go andyou're having a hell of a time
right now, it's time to move,it's time to work on your mental
health and it's time to get anetwork and it's time to push,
because you swore an oath andyou got to do it.
Next thing we talked about was,you know, obviously the mental
health thing, but the startechnique and getting hired.
(25:25):
But, everybody, I appreciateyou listening to my soapbox this
weekend and my lessons learned.
Believe me, I have a ton oflessons learned and you know why
?
It's because I learned them thehard way.
I wish someone told me yearsago to not do certain things, so
I hope everybody's great, thankyou.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com