August 15, 2025 • 25 mins
Have you ever caught yourself mindlessly scrolling your phone, finishing an entire bag of chips without noticing, or having "just one more" drink that turned into several? You're not alone, and it's not entirely your fault.
Our brains are wired for reward, and modern life is designed to exploit this vulnerability. Whether it's sugar, alcohol, social media, or any quick-hit pleasure, they all trigger the same dopamine pathways – creating cycles of anticipation, temporary satisfaction, inevitable crash, and renewed craving. This podcast explores how these patterns silently shape our lives, one small choice at a time, until we find ourselves trapped in behaviors we never consciously chose.
But breaking free is possible. True recovery goes beyond simple abstinence to address the underlying reasons we reach for these escapes in the first place. What pain are you numbing? What void are you trying to fill? Through establishing daily non-negotiables – consistent practices that ground your day and create a framework for healthier choices – you can begin rewiring your brain's reward system. Physical movement, nutritious eating, mindful consumption of information, and regular connection with supportive communities gradually restore natural dopamine balance, making it easier to find satisfaction in meaningful activities rather than quick fixes.
Most importantly, this journey thrives in community, not isolation. "Addiction thrives when it's alone. Recovery thrives in connection." By keeping promises to yourself and building integrity through small daily choices, you create a life where artificial highs feel unnecessary compared to the deeper satisfaction of living authentically. The question becomes not "How do I avoid my addiction?" but "How do I build a life I don't want to escape from?" Listen in to discover how you can transform recovery from a series of deprivations into a journey of creation – crafting a life that truly satisfies your deepest needs.
Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if this episode resonated with you. Your feedback helps others find their way to this message when they need it most.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Corey Berrier (00:00):
Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast.
I'm your host, Corey Berrier,and today we're talking about
rewiring the reward, escapingthe dopamine trap, and building
the life you crave.
So right now, as you listen,you might notice you've been
(00:22):
reaching for something lately.
Maybe it's food, maybe it'salcohol, maybe it's your phone,
or maybe it's all of them.
You even wake up one day,addicted to any of these things
that happen.
One choice at a time, onelittle escape at a time, until
(00:44):
the escape became your life.
And it happens to all of us.
You know overeating, drinking,drugs, porn, endless scrolling.
It's the same dopamine circuit.
It hits the exact same circuits.
All of them hit the samecircuits.
(01:05):
And as you realize how muchthese moments have cost you, you
can start to imagine whathappens when you break the loop.
This is the numbness beneaththe noise.
Think of the last time youreach for it.
Whatever that thing is.
(01:27):
You might remember the taste,the buzz, the distraction, but
if you look just a little bitcloser, you'll remember the
emptiness that came out of it.
Listen, we've all doom-scrolledfor an hour and looked up and
said what the hell just happened.
I'm sure a lot of us have satin a bar for two hours and
(01:53):
didn't know what had happened.
Or maybe you sat in front ofthe television or maybe with
your phone and scrolled whileyou ate a whole bag of potato
chips.
Right, these things are easy,they're simple things that we
(02:14):
overlook.
So if you think about, if youlook at your screen at 2 am, it
keeps you up at night.
It keeps you up at night.
And if you feel fat afteryou've eaten that bag of potato
chips, that's a real feeling.
Or if you get to the pointwhere you drink too much and
(02:41):
you're dizzy or you're spinning,those are all real feelings,
but you don't realize they'rehappening until it's already
done.
Feelings, but you don't realizethey're happening until it's
already done.
And you can notice that, nomatter how many times you try it
, never really.
It never really gives you whatyou're looking for.
Does it?
I don't think so.
You just think it does.
(03:02):
Or better, yet maybe you'rejust so potentially unconscious
that you don't even realize it'shappening.
And if you really think aboutthat, that's a pretty scary
thing.
Imagine if you've been drivingfor a while.
If you remember when you were16 years old, you looked at
around every corner, you lookedat every stop sign.
(03:23):
Now you probably can't name onesingle thing that you saw going
to work because you're onautopilot, just like you are
with the phone or the drink orthe food.
It's the same thing.
Your brain is essentiallyhijacked.
You know, your brain doesn'tcare if the hit comes from
(03:48):
whiskey or a cupcake orInstagram or sex.
Your brain just wants thatdopamine spike.
Let me dive into what the kindof the dopamine loop looks like.
It's anticipation.
If you're a drug addict, it'sthat anticipation before you go
(04:10):
and pick up the drugs, like youcan almost feel the high before
you ever get there.
And then you get the hit Boom,and now you're high.
What comes next?
Crash, just like you ran into awall.
And then the fourth part of thatis the craving.
Now, this is the same thing ifyou're going out to get dessert,
(04:34):
if you're going out to get icecream, if you're going to go out
to get whatever your favoritesweet food is.
It's the same thing, right?
You anticipate the experienceand you say it's an experience,
but really it's a hit ofdopamine.
You get the ice cream, you eatit, oh, it's so good.
Five minutes it's gone.
Or, if you're me, two minutes.
(04:55):
Then an hour later you crashand then you're looking for
something else to fill that void.
And the more you feed it, themore it demands.
You know you've seen yourselfpromise just one more drink and
(05:16):
then you watch it turn intoanother one, and another one,
and another one.
But what if you learned?
What if you learned how to giveyour brain something deeper,
something it didn't want to runfrom?
Imagine that you know sobrietyis really just the doorway, and
(05:42):
that could be sobriety from food, alcohol, weed, drugs, sex,
social media.
It's just the doorway andstopping is powerful.
And it is the first step.
Right, you got to stop doingthe thing that you're doing.
In order to recover, it'snecessary that you have to stop
that thing, but stopping is justthe key.
(06:05):
The life you really want is onthe other side of that door.
So you got to stick the key inand open the door.
And quitting a substance, any ofthose things that I've named it
doesn't remove the reason thatyou used it.
(06:26):
Unfortunately, I thought forsure it was just about quitting
the drink, or it was just aboutputting down the sugar, or it
was just about not having sexwith multiple people not
necessarily me.
I'm just giving you an example.
There was a time when I was abit more promiscuous, but not
(06:48):
these days.
So you got to think about whyyou're doing these things.
What are you running from?
What are you numbing out from?
And here's the deal the momentthat you see this clearly, you
can step through that doorwayand start building something
better.
But you got to put thesubstance down first and then
(07:12):
step through the doorway.
You can't get to recovery justby quitting.
Trust me, I tried that.
You know, today I haven't drankin 16 years today, but I didn't
say sober that whole time.
I just didn't drink.
And there's a big difference inbeing in recovery and just not
(07:34):
drinking.
I was just as nuts when Iwasn't drinking than I was when
I was drinking, and that soundsnuts to some people, but it's
the God's honest truth.
I made the same stupiddecisions, I justified things
the exact same way, and I alsodidn't have a program of
recovery at that moment.
(07:56):
I was just a dry drunk, and soI needed structure, I needed
structure.
I needed structure that wouldhold me together.
Right.
Structure isn't a prison, it'sreally the scaffolding, for
freedom is the best way I canput it, because there's a level
(08:18):
of freedom that comes with beingable to rely on somebody else
for answers.
Maybe that you don't know.
Maybe it's a situation whereyou rely on that higher power,
like I do, and those thingsallow me to feel free today.
(08:41):
I have some dailynon-negotiables and I go to
several at minimum threerecovery meetings a week.
I send out a gratitude listevery day.
I work out every single day andI pay attention to my nutrition
every day.
I do my best to not doom scroll.
(09:04):
I don't watch reelsspecifically because I get
sucked in, just like you do.
So just imagine waking up everyday knowing exactly what today
will include, because that's howI start my day and it feels
(09:24):
like I'm in a safe place in thatplan.
And discipline and structure isthe thing that makes sure you
don't have to keep starting over.
Whether it be any of thosevices that I mentioned.
Starting over is a nightmare,you know, for no other reason
than not wanting to start overJust if you put a little bit of
(09:46):
structure and discipline in yourlife and I'm not saying it's
easy, but it is doable.
If I can do it, anybody can doit.
So the other thing that I do isI feed my mind.
So the other thing that I do isI feed my mind and feeding my
mind.
Instead of feeding it, I feedmy mind with good stuff.
(10:07):
I feed my mind with books andpodcasts and you know it's very
fulfilling to know that I wouldmuch rather learn something than
I would doom scroll or watch afunny video.
(10:28):
Now don't get me wrong.
Sometimes I enjoy thatdistraction and I think it's
healthy to do that occasionally,but every scroll is a micro hit
.
Every hit is like a microdistraction from where you're
meant to be and sometimes youneed that distraction, but a lot
of times it sucks you in.
You're meant to be andsometimes you need that
distraction, but a lot of timesit sucks you in.
And some of the things that Ireplace social media doom
scrolling with is, like I saidbefore, podcasts, whether it be
(10:49):
about business or sales orrecovery or audiobooks.
I don't do a lot of actualreading, but I do listen to a
ton of audiobooks and you mighteven start to notice that you
feel different after learningthan you do after scrolling.
I know I do.
I feel so much different.
(11:10):
I feel smarter, believe it ornot, whether I am or not, that's
a whole different story, but Icertainly feel smarter if I'm
not scrolling social media.
And one of the things that Ilike to do.
I'm currently doing carnivorediet.
I think I'm about three monthsin and it's mind blowing how
(11:33):
clear I am every day, how clearmy body feels, how clear my body
feels.
And your mind can only be asclear as the body it lives in.
And so if you're putting junkin your body alcohol, drugs, sex
(11:53):
, food, you know, what do youthink your brain, how do you
think your brain is going toreact to those things?
Or weed, it's not good.
Garbage in, garbage out, it'sjust like.
You know, we've all heard that,but it's the truth.
And then if you have to look inthe mirror and you go God, dang
it, dude, I just can't loseweight, but yet I ate a bag of
(12:14):
potato chips last night, or 14cupcakes.
Yeah well, you're putting crapin your body.
That's not what you're supposedto be putting in your body.
Listen, the food industry don'teven be started.
You know they're the rapaciouscreditor at this point.
They're the people that justwant your soul.
Um, and quite honestly, theyhave it for most people.
(12:38):
You know that's the reason youcan only eat.
You can't eat but one potatochip.
There's a freaking reason forthat, and that reason is so.
They've designed these productsfor you to continue to consume
them.
Alcohol, potato chips, cake,sugars, sugars in every damn
thing.
It's ridiculous, it's nuts.
(13:00):
It should be illegal, to behonest.
So get out in the morning airand breathe.
You know, breathe some freshair.
It makes such a difference inhow you think.
You know the way your musclesfeel after you do a hard lift
(13:22):
and you know that ache,especially that first week or
two, is tough.
But you know for sure you'remaking progress.
It makes all the difference inthe world.
But you just got to start inthe world.
But you just got to start andyou know the light's brighter
(13:45):
outside because you're thinkingclearer.
And as you, you know, as youtake care of your body, you'll
find your mind thinking you inways that you never really
expected.
But you have to look out fortriggers and use those triggers.
As a teacher, every craving isa clue.
(14:08):
If you follow it and when youfollow it, you find the wound
right.
You find what you're reallytrying to cover up.
And this is deep shit and Idon't expect everybody to
understand what I'm saying, butbelieve me, this is all my
experience with all those thingsI listed.
(14:34):
So the next time that you feelan urge, instead of reaching for
that old thing, whatever it is,just take a deep breath.
Get curious about why you'rereaching for that thing.
Are you bored?
Are you in pain?
Are you lonely?
All of those things make usgrab for things that we don't
(14:55):
really want.
Don't really want and so,listen, one of the most, one of
the times that I had the worst,the worst times that I had, were
when I was isolated.
(15:16):
You know, isolated.
The opposite of isolation isconnection, and today connection
over isolation beats everysingle time.
Addiction thrives when it'salone and recovery thrives in
connection.
So visualize this for a secondthe circle of a recovery meeting
(15:39):
, the shared nod.
When you see someone who's beenthere, let people in, speak up.
Even when you want to hide,that's the time you want to say
or you want to introduceyourself.
Almost said something Ishouldn't have, so you just got
to let people in.
Said something I shouldn't have, so you just got to let people
(16:04):
in.
And the times that you don'twant to let people in is
probably the time that youshould and you're not going to
be judged.
You know there's a time and aplace to let people in, and
there's certain people that youwant to let in.
But when you're in the recoverycommunity, that's the place.
You're not going to go to yourboss and say, hey, I'm
struggling, that's probably notthe right time.
But when you're surrounded witha community of people that are
(16:30):
like-minded, that have the samegoals, that are striving to do
the same thing and God onlyknows they've been exactly where
you are that's the guy you needto talk to, or the woman you
need to talk to.
If you're a woman and you knowthe amount of integrity that
(16:50):
comes from just speaking up andsaying I'm struggling is the
fastest way to like yourself andto keep the promises you make
to yourself.
You break more promises toyourself than anybody else.
You wouldn't break as manypromises to your best friend as
(17:12):
you do to yourself, and that'sthe truth.
Think about that.
I'm sure you've gone to bedbefore with regret in your gut.
No question about it, I know Ihave Now.
Imagine lying down at night andknowing you did exactly what you
(17:33):
said you would do today andfeeling your breath breathing
normally not, your heart rate'snot racing because you forgot to
do something or you lied tothis person.
And your pride your pride whichwill drag you straight down.
(17:53):
There's a different kind ofpride here.
There's a pride in knowing youdid the thing you said you were
going to do.
There's a pride in knowing thatyou kept your word to yourself.
Just try to keep in yourpromises to yourself, man,
because that's powerful stuff.
So you know what, if your lifewasn't about avoiding these
(18:19):
things, avoiding the pain, butabout actually creating a life
of joy, can you even imaginethat, waking up with energy,
loving your reflection in themirror, you know, moving through
the day without needing a hitof whatever that thing is
(18:40):
whatever that thing is, I meancan you see that and feel it
Like?
Step into it.
Step into it now.
But it's all about the choicesthat you make every morning.
You know, when you open youreyes tomorrow, you'll have a
choice.
Do you want to feed theaddiction or feed the recovery?
(19:04):
That is 100% on you and it's100% your choice.
We all have choices.
Nobody forced me to eat a donut.
Nobody forced me to haveanother drink or have the first
drink.
Nobody forced me to smoke weed.
Nobody forced me to doom scrollfor two hours.
(19:25):
That was a choice, and so ifthe choices that I make, I have
to pay the consequences for that.
So why do you want to pay theconsequences?
I got tired of paying theconsequences.
Personally, it was a pain in theass to wake up, knowing you
know, waking up with anxiety andknowing like I'm not sure what
(19:54):
I did last night.
Who do I need to apologize to?
Whose feelings have I hurt?
Who did I text?
And I shouldn't have what I sayto that person?
You know, can you imaginewaking up and not having those
feelings of anxiety and fear?
(20:14):
Well, if you're listening tothis show, you've either made
that choice or, hopefully, afterthis show, you will make that
choice tomorrow.
Just make a choice Today.
I'm going to do what's rightfor me.
I'm not going to care whatanybody else thinks.
I don't care what anybodyelse's opinion is.
I'm going to do the right thingfor me today and that's what I
(20:34):
have to do.
As selfish as that may sound, Ihave to make sure my oxygen mask
is on.
If the plane's going down or Ican't help somebody else, it's
the same difference.
If you can survive addiction,you can survive discomfort, and
if you can survive discomfort,you can build a life that makes
(20:56):
dopamine hits feel cheap.
So choose the thing today thattomorrow you'll thank yourself
for.
So I just want to ask you whatare you going to do today?
What are you going to dotomorrow morning?
Are you going to choose tocontinue on this cycle of
(21:16):
whatever the thing is you'reabusing, or are you going to
make a different decision?
Are you going to put your shoeson and go walk outside and
maybe listen to a book, whileyou're going to make a different
decision?
Are you going to put your shoeson and go walk outside and
maybe listen to a book whileyou're outside?
Or maybe, hell, take it a stepfurther and go to the gym.
Your body will thank you.
Maybe not immediately.
You're probably going to be abit sore if you do anything you
(21:38):
know, if you do a workout in thegym, but in two weeks that
soreness is going to feel reallygood because you're going to
start to change.
And when you start to change,your body starts to change, your
mind starts to change, andthat's when I mean that's where
it's at.
That's where it's at At least,that's been where it's been for
(22:00):
me and I would just encourageyou look, make a better decision
today.
My goal here is to talk to youabout things that I've done in
my own life that have made mylife significantly better, and
the last thing I'll say is keepthose promises to yourself,
because there's nothing worsethan waking up and saying, or
(22:24):
going to bed and saying I'mgoing to the gym tomorrow and,
knowing you're not going to thegym tomorrow, you wake up in a
lie, and maybe you've been doingthat for so long that you don't
even see it.
So keep your promises toyourself.
(22:44):
Listen, thank you for listening.
We'll see you next Friday.
I appreciate it If you couldleave us a review Apple Podcasts
or Spotify either, or.
I'm grateful for you and Iappreciate you.
Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast.
I'm your host, Corey Berrier,and today we're talking about
rewiring the reward, escapingthe dopamine trap, and building
the life you crave.
So right now, as you listen,you might notice you've been
(00:22):
reaching for something lately.
Maybe it's food, maybe it'salcohol, maybe it's your phone,
or maybe it's all of them.
You even wake up one day,addicted to any of these things
that happen.
One choice at a time, onelittle escape at a time, until
(00:44):
the escape became your life.
And it happens to all of us.
You know overeating, drinking,drugs, porn, endless scrolling.
It's the same dopamine circuit.
It hits the exact same circuits.
All of them hit the samecircuits.
(01:05):
And as you realize how muchthese moments have cost you, you
can start to imagine whathappens when you break the loop.
This is the numbness beneaththe noise.
Think of the last time youreach for it.
Whatever that thing is.
(01:27):
You might remember the taste,the buzz, the distraction, but
if you look just a little bitcloser, you'll remember the
emptiness that came out of it.
Listen, we've all doom-scrolledfor an hour and looked up and
said what the hell just happened.
I'm sure a lot of us have satin a bar for two hours and
(01:53):
didn't know what had happened.
Or maybe you sat in front ofthe television or maybe with
your phone and scrolled whileyou ate a whole bag of potato
chips.
Right, these things are easy,they're simple things that we
(02:14):
overlook.
So if you think about, if youlook at your screen at 2 am, it
keeps you up at night.
It keeps you up at night.
And if you feel fat afteryou've eaten that bag of potato
chips, that's a real feeling.
Or if you get to the pointwhere you drink too much and
(02:41):
you're dizzy or you're spinning,those are all real feelings,
but you don't realize they'rehappening until it's already
done.
Feelings, but you don't realizethey're happening until it's
already done.
And you can notice that, nomatter how many times you try it
, never really.
It never really gives you whatyou're looking for.
Does it?
I don't think so.
You just think it does.
(03:02):
Or better, yet maybe you'rejust so potentially unconscious
that you don't even realize it'shappening.
And if you really think aboutthat, that's a pretty scary
thing.
Imagine if you've been drivingfor a while.
If you remember when you were16 years old, you looked at
around every corner, you lookedat every stop sign.
(03:23):
Now you probably can't name onesingle thing that you saw going
to work because you're onautopilot, just like you are
with the phone or the drink orthe food.
It's the same thing.
Your brain is essentiallyhijacked.
You know, your brain doesn'tcare if the hit comes from
(03:48):
whiskey or a cupcake orInstagram or sex.
Your brain just wants thatdopamine spike.
Let me dive into what the kindof the dopamine loop looks like.
It's anticipation.
If you're a drug addict, it'sthat anticipation before you go
(04:10):
and pick up the drugs, like youcan almost feel the high before
you ever get there.
And then you get the hit Boom,and now you're high.
What comes next?
Crash, just like you ran into awall.
And then the fourth part of thatis the craving.
Now, this is the same thing ifyou're going out to get dessert,
(04:34):
if you're going out to get icecream, if you're going to go out
to get whatever your favoritesweet food is.
It's the same thing, right?
You anticipate the experienceand you say it's an experience,
but really it's a hit ofdopamine.
You get the ice cream, you eatit, oh, it's so good.
Five minutes it's gone.
Or, if you're me, two minutes.
(04:55):
Then an hour later you crashand then you're looking for
something else to fill that void.
And the more you feed it, themore it demands.
You know you've seen yourselfpromise just one more drink and
(05:16):
then you watch it turn intoanother one, and another one,
and another one.
But what if you learned?
What if you learned how to giveyour brain something deeper,
something it didn't want to runfrom?
Imagine that you know sobrietyis really just the doorway, and
(05:42):
that could be sobriety from food, alcohol, weed, drugs, sex,
social media.
It's just the doorway andstopping is powerful.
And it is the first step.
Right, you got to stop doingthe thing that you're doing.
In order to recover, it'snecessary that you have to stop
that thing, but stopping is justthe key.
(06:05):
The life you really want is onthe other side of that door.
So you got to stick the key inand open the door.
And quitting a substance, any ofthose things that I've named it
doesn't remove the reason thatyou used it.
(06:26):
Unfortunately, I thought forsure it was just about quitting
the drink, or it was just aboutputting down the sugar, or it
was just about not having sexwith multiple people not
necessarily me.
I'm just giving you an example.
There was a time when I was abit more promiscuous, but not
(06:48):
these days.
So you got to think about whyyou're doing these things.
What are you running from?
What are you numbing out from?
And here's the deal the momentthat you see this clearly, you
can step through that doorwayand start building something
better.
But you got to put thesubstance down first and then
(07:12):
step through the doorway.
You can't get to recovery justby quitting.
Trust me, I tried that.
You know, today I haven't drankin 16 years today, but I didn't
say sober that whole time.
I just didn't drink.
And there's a big difference inbeing in recovery and just not
(07:34):
drinking.
I was just as nuts when Iwasn't drinking than I was when
I was drinking, and that soundsnuts to some people, but it's
the God's honest truth.
I made the same stupiddecisions, I justified things
the exact same way, and I alsodidn't have a program of
recovery at that moment.
(07:56):
I was just a dry drunk, and soI needed structure, I needed
structure.
I needed structure that wouldhold me together.
Right.
Structure isn't a prison, it'sreally the scaffolding, for
freedom is the best way I canput it, because there's a level
(08:18):
of freedom that comes with beingable to rely on somebody else
for answers.
Maybe that you don't know.
Maybe it's a situation whereyou rely on that higher power,
like I do, and those thingsallow me to feel free today.
(08:41):
I have some dailynon-negotiables and I go to
several at minimum threerecovery meetings a week.
I send out a gratitude listevery day.
I work out every single day andI pay attention to my nutrition
every day.
I do my best to not doom scroll.
(09:04):
I don't watch reelsspecifically because I get
sucked in, just like you do.
So just imagine waking up everyday knowing exactly what today
will include, because that's howI start my day and it feels
(09:24):
like I'm in a safe place in thatplan.
And discipline and structure isthe thing that makes sure you
don't have to keep starting over.
Whether it be any of thosevices that I mentioned.
Starting over is a nightmare,you know, for no other reason
than not wanting to start overJust if you put a little bit of
(09:46):
structure and discipline in yourlife and I'm not saying it's
easy, but it is doable.
If I can do it, anybody can doit.
So the other thing that I do isI feed my mind.
So the other thing that I do isI feed my mind and feeding my
mind.
Instead of feeding it, I feedmy mind with good stuff.
(10:07):
I feed my mind with books andpodcasts and you know it's very
fulfilling to know that I wouldmuch rather learn something than
I would doom scroll or watch afunny video.
(10:28):
Now don't get me wrong.
Sometimes I enjoy thatdistraction and I think it's
healthy to do that occasionally,but every scroll is a micro hit
.
Every hit is like a microdistraction from where you're
meant to be and sometimes youneed that distraction, but a lot
of times it sucks you in.
You're meant to be andsometimes you need that
distraction, but a lot of timesit sucks you in.
And some of the things that Ireplace social media doom
scrolling with is, like I saidbefore, podcasts, whether it be
(10:49):
about business or sales orrecovery or audiobooks.
I don't do a lot of actualreading, but I do listen to a
ton of audiobooks and you mighteven start to notice that you
feel different after learningthan you do after scrolling.
I know I do.
I feel so much different.
(11:10):
I feel smarter, believe it ornot, whether I am or not, that's
a whole different story, but Icertainly feel smarter if I'm
not scrolling social media.
And one of the things that Ilike to do.
I'm currently doing carnivorediet.
I think I'm about three monthsin and it's mind blowing how
(11:33):
clear I am every day, how clearmy body feels, how clear my body
feels.
And your mind can only be asclear as the body it lives in.
And so if you're putting junkin your body alcohol, drugs, sex
(11:53):
, food, you know, what do youthink your brain, how do you
think your brain is going toreact to those things?
Or weed, it's not good.
Garbage in, garbage out, it'sjust like.
You know, we've all heard that,but it's the truth.
And then if you have to look inthe mirror and you go God, dang
it, dude, I just can't loseweight, but yet I ate a bag of
(12:14):
potato chips last night, or 14cupcakes.
Yeah well, you're putting crapin your body.
That's not what you're supposedto be putting in your body.
Listen, the food industry don'teven be started.
You know they're the rapaciouscreditor at this point.
They're the people that justwant your soul.
Um, and quite honestly, theyhave it for most people.
(12:38):
You know that's the reason youcan only eat.
You can't eat but one potatochip.
There's a freaking reason forthat, and that reason is so.
They've designed these productsfor you to continue to consume
them.
Alcohol, potato chips, cake,sugars, sugars in every damn
thing.
It's ridiculous, it's nuts.
(13:00):
It should be illegal, to behonest.
So get out in the morning airand breathe.
You know, breathe some freshair.
It makes such a difference inhow you think.
You know the way your musclesfeel after you do a hard lift
(13:22):
and you know that ache,especially that first week or
two, is tough.
But you know for sure you'remaking progress.
It makes all the difference inthe world.
But you just got to start inthe world.
But you just got to start andyou know the light's brighter
(13:45):
outside because you're thinkingclearer.
And as you, you know, as youtake care of your body, you'll
find your mind thinking you inways that you never really
expected.
But you have to look out fortriggers and use those triggers.
As a teacher, every craving isa clue.
(14:08):
If you follow it and when youfollow it, you find the wound
right.
You find what you're reallytrying to cover up.
And this is deep shit and Idon't expect everybody to
understand what I'm saying, butbelieve me, this is all my
experience with all those thingsI listed.
(14:34):
So the next time that you feelan urge, instead of reaching for
that old thing, whatever it is,just take a deep breath.
Get curious about why you'rereaching for that thing.
Are you bored?
Are you in pain?
Are you lonely?
All of those things make usgrab for things that we don't
(14:55):
really want.
Don't really want and so,listen, one of the most, one of
the times that I had the worst,the worst times that I had, were
when I was isolated.
(15:16):
You know, isolated.
The opposite of isolation isconnection, and today connection
over isolation beats everysingle time.
Addiction thrives when it'salone and recovery thrives in
connection.
So visualize this for a secondthe circle of a recovery meeting
(15:39):
, the shared nod.
When you see someone who's beenthere, let people in, speak up.
Even when you want to hide,that's the time you want to say
or you want to introduceyourself.
Almost said something Ishouldn't have, so you just got
to let people in.
Said something I shouldn't have, so you just got to let people
(16:04):
in.
And the times that you don'twant to let people in is
probably the time that youshould and you're not going to
be judged.
You know there's a time and aplace to let people in, and
there's certain people that youwant to let in.
But when you're in the recoverycommunity, that's the place.
You're not going to go to yourboss and say, hey, I'm
struggling, that's probably notthe right time.
But when you're surrounded witha community of people that are
(16:30):
like-minded, that have the samegoals, that are striving to do
the same thing and God onlyknows they've been exactly where
you are that's the guy you needto talk to, or the woman you
need to talk to.
If you're a woman and you knowthe amount of integrity that
(16:50):
comes from just speaking up andsaying I'm struggling is the
fastest way to like yourself andto keep the promises you make
to yourself.
You break more promises toyourself than anybody else.
You wouldn't break as manypromises to your best friend as
(17:12):
you do to yourself, and that'sthe truth.
Think about that.
I'm sure you've gone to bedbefore with regret in your gut.
No question about it, I know Ihave Now.
Imagine lying down at night andknowing you did exactly what you
(17:33):
said you would do today andfeeling your breath breathing
normally not, your heart rate'snot racing because you forgot to
do something or you lied tothis person.
And your pride your pride whichwill drag you straight down.
(17:53):
There's a different kind ofpride here.
There's a pride in knowing youdid the thing you said you were
going to do.
There's a pride in knowing thatyou kept your word to yourself.
Just try to keep in yourpromises to yourself, man,
because that's powerful stuff.
So you know what, if your lifewasn't about avoiding these
(18:19):
things, avoiding the pain, butabout actually creating a life
of joy, can you even imaginethat, waking up with energy,
loving your reflection in themirror, you know, moving through
the day without needing a hitof whatever that thing is
(18:40):
whatever that thing is, I meancan you see that and feel it
Like?
Step into it.
Step into it now.
But it's all about the choicesthat you make every morning.
You know, when you open youreyes tomorrow, you'll have a
choice.
Do you want to feed theaddiction or feed the recovery?
(19:04):
That is 100% on you and it's100% your choice.
We all have choices.
Nobody forced me to eat a donut.
Nobody forced me to haveanother drink or have the first
drink.
Nobody forced me to smoke weed.
Nobody forced me to doom scrollfor two hours.
(19:25):
That was a choice, and so ifthe choices that I make, I have
to pay the consequences for that.
So why do you want to pay theconsequences?
I got tired of paying theconsequences.
Personally, it was a pain in theass to wake up, knowing you
know, waking up with anxiety andknowing like I'm not sure what
(19:54):
I did last night.
Who do I need to apologize to?
Whose feelings have I hurt?
Who did I text?
And I shouldn't have what I sayto that person?
You know, can you imaginewaking up and not having those
feelings of anxiety and fear?
(20:14):
Well, if you're listening tothis show, you've either made
that choice or, hopefully, afterthis show, you will make that
choice tomorrow.
Just make a choice Today.
I'm going to do what's rightfor me.
I'm not going to care whatanybody else thinks.
I don't care what anybodyelse's opinion is.
I'm going to do the right thingfor me today and that's what I
(20:34):
have to do.
As selfish as that may sound, Ihave to make sure my oxygen mask
is on.
If the plane's going down or Ican't help somebody else, it's
the same difference.
If you can survive addiction,you can survive discomfort, and
if you can survive discomfort,you can build a life that makes
(20:56):
dopamine hits feel cheap.
So choose the thing today thattomorrow you'll thank yourself
for.
So I just want to ask you whatare you going to do today?
What are you going to dotomorrow morning?
Are you going to choose tocontinue on this cycle of
(21:16):
whatever the thing is you'reabusing, or are you going to
make a different decision?
Are you going to put your shoeson and go walk outside and
maybe listen to a book, whileyou're going to make a different
decision?
Are you going to put your shoeson and go walk outside and
maybe listen to a book whileyou're outside?
Or maybe, hell, take it a stepfurther and go to the gym.
Your body will thank you.
Maybe not immediately.
You're probably going to be abit sore if you do anything you
(21:38):
know, if you do a workout in thegym, but in two weeks that
soreness is going to feel reallygood because you're going to
start to change.
And when you start to change,your body starts to change, your
mind starts to change, andthat's when I mean that's where
it's at.
That's where it's at At least,that's been where it's been for
(22:00):
me and I would just encourageyou look, make a better decision
today.
My goal here is to talk to youabout things that I've done in
my own life that have made mylife significantly better, and
the last thing I'll say is keepthose promises to yourself,
because there's nothing worsethan waking up and saying, or
(22:24):
going to bed and saying I'mgoing to the gym tomorrow and,
knowing you're not going to thegym tomorrow, you wake up in a
lie, and maybe you've been doingthat for so long that you don't
even see it.
So keep your promises toyourself.
(22:44):
Listen, thank you for listening.
We'll see you next Friday.
I appreciate it If you couldleave us a review Apple Podcasts
or Spotify either, or.
I'm grateful for you and Iappreciate you.
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