Physical Health: Resetting Our Relationship with Our Bodies

Episode Transcript
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George B. Thomas (00:02):
I've learned the incredible impact of here it
comes ladies and gentlemen,consistency and making
sustainable changes. Again, it'snot just about shedding pounds,
it's about creating a lifestylethat supports overall well-being
of George b Thomas. For you,it's about creating a lifestyle

(00:24):
that supports overallwell-being, insert your name
here. And so when I shifted mymindset from losing weight to
reducing pain and enhancing myquality of life, well, shoot.
Shoot.
Everything started to fall intoplace. And so to all you
listeners, if you're facing asimilar wake up call or God
willing, you don't need a wakeup call, maybe this podcast

(00:46):
episode is a wake up call.

Liz Moorhead (00:51):
Welcome back to Beyond Your Default. I'm your
host, Liz Morehead. And asalways, I am joined by the 1,
the only, one of my favoritehumans on this planet, George b
Thomas. How are you thismorning?

I am doing absolutely wonderful. Super
excited about didn't think I wasgonna be, by the way. I was
like, here we go. Like, the kidthat probably shouldn't talk
about this is gonna try to talkabout this. But I'm actually
very excited about today.
You know, it's it was been verylike, I've been able to look
back, and it's weird to be ableto say this about yourself. And,

(01:24):
hopefully, the listeners getmoments in their life where they
can do this, but it's like, oh,wow. I've actually come a long
way. I'll talk about that as wego, but, like, physical health
is gonna be a interestingconversation today.

You know, I actually wanna tap into the
thing you just said about howfar we've come because you know
what? Usually, I have you startwith your low light and
highlight for the week. I'mgonna start things this week.
Oh. I'll admit my low light isjust beautifully on brand to the
topic that we're talking abouttoday.
You already know this. Universe.I did. Well, okay. So I love it
from a branding perspective.

(01:58):
Alright? For background, lowlight, I was sick starting on
Friday. It wasn't great. I hadto do things like cancel a
podcast recording. I had toactually sleep.
I had a whole slate of work thisweekend that I still got some of
it done, but, like, I had tospend most of it kinda, like,
quarantined and actuallyresting. Why is this a low

(02:21):
light? Well, other than the factthat I was sick, we're we'll get
into that when we have thisconversation. But the highlight
is what I wanna drill intobecause while I was bedbound,
you know, you and I were bothkind of going back and forth
this weekend working on buildingout our community,
Go

to Yep. Yep.

Out. We've got courses. We've got resources.
It's like Christmas morning forpersonal growth people. Get your
butts in there.

It's getting good.

But you know what I realized this weekend, George?
Uh-oh. We've been doing this forover a year. Think about how far
we've come in a year. It's wildto me.

It's crazy.

So that was my big highlight for the weekend is
that, you know, this started asan idea in your heart. Beyond
your default is something thathas been with you for years. And
then you and I started havinghuman conversations and thought,
well, what if we just startedrecording these?

Yeah.

And when we started recording these, I was
doing so from a short termAirbnb in New Haven,
Connecticut. I was notpsychologically in very good
shape. I was coming out of a ofa pretty brutal divorce. Getting
up in the morning was physicallyand mentally, like, running a
marathon every single day.

Interesting that we talked about mental
health last week and physicalhealth this week.

This week. Yep. And now I'm here in this
gorgeous artist studio inAnnapolis, Maryland. My biggest
problem was that, oh, I kindahave a fever, but otherwise,
life is pretty freaking awesome.Like Yeah.
It is amazing how life willcontinue to serve you little
surprises when you are staringdown at your feet, so to speak,

(04:00):
just doing the baby steppingevery day. So that was my
highlight. It's just like once aweek, we've been getting on this
mic on Monday mornings, and ithas been almost religious in
terms of, like, we don't cancelthis. This has been more
consistent than my workouthabit. You know what I mean?
Well,

it's a mental workout, so there you go.

Right. So it was just really neat to think about,
like, you baby step, you do thework, you show up once a week,
you show up for whatever thisthing is you're doing every
single day or every single week,and you'll be amazed what can
change in a year. And I thoughtthat was really cool.

It is cool because the door you're knocking
on is this idea of consistency,which, by the way, it's not the
last time you're gonna hear theword consistency in this
episode. Just a littleforeshadowing there. But it is
fun because, Liz, even beforeBeyond Your Default, the secret
to success, the secret tosignificance of where I was able

(04:54):
to get with, like, starting thebusiness, The key term was
consistency. Consistentlyshowing up on a weekly basis to
add value to humans who happento use HubSpot. And now for a
year, pretty soon well, like,maybe it's over a year, we'll be
able to say consistently showingup to add value to humans.
And that is a great purpose. I'msuper passionate about it. So,

(05:19):
really enjoying this journey.

Tell me about what you enjoyed this weekend. What's
your highlight? What's yourlowlight? What have you got
going on?

Yeah. So it's gonna sound weird, but I really
actually enjoyed going groceryshopping with my wife. Her and I
got in the van. We headed out toCostco, not sponsored. That's
just where we went.
We also went to Walmart, notsponsored. That's just the
second place we went. But I Ienjoyed being out amongst the

(05:46):
people and hanging out with herand, like, picking out, like,
different food that we're gonnaeat as a family. And I just
enjoyed that time hanging outwith her. So that was like a a
highlight, just like on thefamily side.
Now a highlight for the BeyondYour Default listeners is, Liz,
I feel like I was on, like, a 5k marathon this weekend

(06:13):
pertaining to the community.Because I got the chance to do,
like, a lot of salt and pepperstuff of, like, descriptions
here and images here and createa new plan for people who want
courses versus, like, beyondyour default light. And, like,
oh, well, then let's go aheadand build some courses and,
like, let's lay out theframework for the next four
courses we wanna do. Andamazingly, put together the

(06:36):
framework for what we've beenbouncing around and talking
about the superhuman frameworkwhere when all of a sudden I got
off my treadmill because by theway, I was walking on the
treadmill the entire time I wasworking on that part, the
superhuman framework. I sat backand looked at it, and I was
like, oh, gosh.
So I had, like, a personalfamily highlight. I had a Beyond

(06:57):
Your Default highlight. And,honestly, like, this is becoming
a theme and it scares me, But Idon't know if I had a low light.
You know? There's normal lifestuff that happens, but it's not
something that mentally,psychologically, or physically
took me down a a negative rabbithole or anything like that.
It was kinda just like smoothsailing and, like, a great

(07:19):
weekend.

I don't think there's anything wrong with
that.

Yeah. Just like I didn't think there was
anything wrong with the fact yougot rest, but you kind of, like,
demonized that you got somesleep during your part 2, but I
just didn't say anything aboutit.

You know what? I feel like you're gonna shame me
a little bit about that later. Ifeel like you're being polite
right now because you're saving.

I'd never do something like that.

I feel emotionally comfortable and not at all
concerned, which is means it'stime for us to dive into the
deep end of this conversationbecause we are back with another
episode talking about one of thepillars of the superhuman
framework. And this is part 1 of2, ladies and gentlemen. So
health overall

Yeah.

Is a pillar of the superhuman framework. Right?
Because if this little fleshytin can of our body isn't
working, we're not beyond yourdefaulting anywhere. But health
is actually broken up into 2different segments. So last time
we talked about mental health,but this time we are talking
about physical health.

(08:19):
And I'm very excited to havethis conversation with you
today, George, because we'veeven done episodes where, you
know, you will preach the gospelof health, but then also have
situations where we have to havea conversation called George had
a plan until he didn't becausewe had to go into the hospital.
Yeah. And we were just sittinghere listening to me, though,
talk about guilt of my bodysaying, hey, girl. Slow down.

(08:43):
And I have a quote here from ourinitial conversation about
health that I think really setsthings up nicely in terms of why
people with a growth mindset,where sometimes we're coming
from.
And it starts our conversationoff nicely today, and that is
this is, honestly, for me, hasbeen one that, unfortunately, I
have put in the back seat or inthe trunk or in the U Haul of

(09:06):
somebody else going in adifferent destination that I am.
And that thing we are talkingabout, ladies and gentlemen, is
health. But one of the thingsyou talk about health as is the
great equalizer. Healthy is thegreat equalizer to the other
framework elements in thesuperhuman framework. A healthy
lifestyle is crucial forsustained energy, resilience,

(09:28):
and your well-being as a human.
But, George, let's start ourconversation here today. You
call it a great equalizer. Whatthe heck does that mean?

Yeah. So first of all, let me just say this. As
I sat down to prep for thisepisode, I really was hit with
who the heck am I to talk aboutthis? I'm gonna get on the mic.
I weigh £274.
That is not the gleaming exampleof 1% body fat, running 5 k

(09:57):
marathons, you know, whateverthe nutritional, like, value of
whatever. You know? I eat morethan cardboard in a day. Like,
there were all these mentalthings in my brain of, like, who
are you to think that you shouldhave this conversation? I had to
actually get past fear.
I had to get past limitingbeliefs. I had to get past the

(10:18):
crazy narratives in my own brainto actually come to be able to
answer that question that you'reasking me, Liz, which is why is
it the great equalizer? And Iand I realized, by the way, who
are you? You're a dude who'sbeen down this journey twice.
You're a dude who takes ondifficult conversations.

(10:39):
You're a dude who can actuallymaybe simplify the complex to
what some people maybe getconfused around. And so, Liz,
where I started out withlimiting beliefs and fear, and,
like, oh, man. Like, the fatkid's gonna talk about physical
health. What is going on? Whatworld are we in right now?

(10:59):
By the way, I'm speaking aboutmyself. Right? But now I
actually get on the mic, and I'mexcited, Liz, and listeners to
actually unpack the question.Because when I say health is the
great equalizer, what I mean isthat physical and mental health
are the foundation upon whichall other elements of the

(11:20):
superhuman framework stand.Because as humans without a
solid base of health, it becomeschallenging to sustain energy,
challenging to have theresilience that we're gonna
need, the consistency that we'regonna need.
And by the way, without physicalhealth, that's what we're
talking about today, but lastweek's episode on mental health,

(11:41):
like, it's just almostimpossible to have, like, an
overall well-being as you as ahuman heading in the right
direction. So but I wanna breakit down kinda quickly by each
piece of the framework. Sohappiness or finding joy and
maintaining a positive outlook,well, if you think about that,
health is critical here becausea healthy body and mind

(12:03):
naturally foster a positivemindset and the ability to
appreciate life's moments, bothbig and small. So, like, if
you're not healthy, you're kindof cloudy. You're shrouded.
Your eyes maybe it's like yougot these, like, physical,
mental cataracts over your eyesto be able to appreciate, like,
the moments in life that areactually coming down the pipe.
If I think about the hunger orslash healthy hustle or what

(12:28):
I'll call relentless pursuit ofgrowth and improvement, well,
good health provides thestamina, the energy needed for
continuous learning. Again, theresilience mentally and
physically to, like, do thething that you're trying to do,
which is, by the way, reachingyour full potential. If I think
about helpfulness or servingothers with a genuine heart,

(12:52):
when you're healthy, you havethe physical and mental capacity
to go the extra mile. And trustme, ladies and gentlemen, there
are many times in life whereyou're gonna need you're gonna
be called to go the extra mileand truly support the other
humans around you.
When I think of humility orshowing modesty and respect in

(13:13):
the superhuman framework, like,health enables clear thinking.
It enables emotional balance,which allows, by the way, you to
interact with humility and graceas you walk this journey beyond
your default, trying to live thebest life you can live and be
the best human that you can be.When I think about humor or
bringing light hardness and fun,which, by the way, if you

(13:34):
haven't listened to the hyenaenergy episode, please, please,
by all that is holy, when thisone's over, go check out that
episode because it it's great.But a healthy lifestyle can
reduce stress, and it canenhance your mood. And, of
course, when your mood isenhanced, it makes it easier to
see the humor in life andconnect with others through
laughter.
And for me, it's a big thing of,like, just not taking myself too

(13:57):
seriously. Enabling myself to bea freaking big goofball and not
be worried about judgment or,like, by the way, judgment of
myself or judgment of others. IfI keep going down the superhuman
framework and I think of honestyor being truthful and
transparent in life, Like,mental clarity, which is a
byproduct of good physicalhealth, supports clear

(14:19):
communication and the ability touphold integrity in the
relationships that we actuallyhave. Humanity or embracing
authenticity and vulnerabilityin oneself, while good health
allows you to connect deeplywith others, showing both
strengths and weaknesses withoutthe burden of physical or mental
strain. So, like, as you cansee, like, it's let's just go

(14:42):
what it the kind of, like,overarching umbrella to the
superhuman framework, which isthis holistic approach or
holistic thinking or balancingall life areas.
Again, I called it an equalizer.I'm gonna use a different word.
Health acts as a stabilizer,ensuring that every aspect of
your well-being is consideredand maintained supporting your

(15:03):
overall stability. So equalizer,stabilizer, stability in life,
less of the peaks and valleys,more of the hills, and, like,
I'm trying to give you, like, amental, vision, to be in there.
But then last but not least,holiness or seeking spiritual
growth.

(15:24):
When I think about this, I thinkabout physical and mental
health. They both support yourspiritual journey by, again,
providing you the energy andfocus needed to pursue what is
this deeper connection with yourbeliefs, this deeper connection
with your higher purpose. Yousee, without prioritizing
physical and mental health, it'slike trying to build a house on

(15:47):
an unstable foundation. Theremight be a book that talks about
building your foundation onsand. Anyway, every other aspect
of personal and professionalgrowth becomes harder to achieve
and maintain if you don't havethis mental and physical health
foundation.
So so guess what, ladies andgentlemen? This is why it's

(16:10):
important to make health apriority and see how it
transforms every other part ofyour life. Because if you're
gonna use the superhumanframework, the 10 pieces, health
is part of every single one ofthem.

The other way I think about it too in terms of
the great equalizer, and I wannacouch what I'm about to say in
the fact that there is a bit ofprivilege here that we need to
be aware of. One of the waysthat I immediately thought of
this question because whenever Iask you a question, I always
know at some point you mightturn around and go, but Liz,
what do you think? So I alwayshave to be prepared to

answer my questions. Prepared.

One of the things that I thought of is that it is
the one thing that none of uslittle humans are exempt from.
It doesn't matter what yoursocioeconomic status is. It
doesn't matter how hard you workor do not work. You need to keep
your little flesh machinerunning. But I will say from a
place of privilege, we need tobe aware that some people will

(17:06):
have better access to resourcesin terms of how they can take
care of their health.
And I remember last year, youknow, going back to the start of
this this discussion, like, thistime last year, I was not in a
great spot. I had to make a lotof really hard decisions
financially very quickly. Andbecause of what was happening,

(17:27):
it was really intenselytraumatic. And one of the things
I had to do was cut my ownhealth insurance. And so for 3
months, I didn't have anything.
And it was really weird to wakeup every day and go, well, you
better not fall down. I know youprobably love to talk to a
therapist right now, but youcan't. Like, it would became
this thing where I thinksometimes we look at our health

(17:49):
insurance as a bill we need topay, and we can have different
discussions on a differentpodcast about whether or not our
health care system needs to beoverhauled. But the reality is
that when you do not have theability to take care of
yourself, it adds an extra levelof anxiety to what happens in
your life. You can't fall down.

(18:09):
You can't get hurt. What aboutthis? What about that? But
leaving that aside, when I thinkabout health as the great
equalizer, nobody is immortal.None of us are immune literally
and figuratively from whathappens to us from a physical
health perspective.
All of us to some degree oranother will have to deal with

(18:31):
this. We'll have moments in ourlives where we reach our
limitations, sometimes withbrute force, sometimes due to
genetics, sometimes due to lackof access, sometimes due to what
and even money can't buy you outof everything. You know? And so
when I think about health as thegreat equalizer, it is something

(18:52):
that in our rush to do andachieve and live our purpose and
do all of these things, youcan't there is no SaaS project
management platform that willallow you to circumvent or
leapfrog the fact that you haveto take care of yourself, that
you have to find a way toprioritize yourself because your
body has a funny way ofreminding you, hi. I'm in

(19:15):
charge.

Yeah. So it's funny because my brain is going
a 1000 miles an hour, and I'mtrying to remember where I watch
this. But there's one piece thatI wanna lean in of us being
careful because you mentionedthe word privilege. And
sometimes privilege can actuallybe a detractor, especially in
this conversation that we'rehaving. I think it was on

(19:37):
Netflix.
I think. K? And I'm gonna dosome research so we can get in
the show notes. But there's thisshow, and I I think it was how
to live a 100 years wherever youare in the world. And it talks
about this indigenous tribe thatthey walk everywhere.
Walk or run even. Everywhere.Walk or run. And the the life

(19:58):
expectancy, and it's, like, 2 or3 x of, like, what normal, air
quotes, human beings face orhave. And it's funny because
when I was watching that showand them walking so much, I was
transported back to when Iworked at Faith Ranch.
Again, I've talked about this onother podcast episodes. But when

(20:19):
I was a certified life guard, Iliterally had to walk every day
down into the bottom of avalley, up into the top of the
hill, down into the bottom ofthe valley, and then a it was
probably a good two and a half,maybe 3 or 4 miles of up, down,
up, down hills to go to the lakewhere I would actually
lifeguard, and I would walk itthere and back every day. The

(20:42):
amount of better physical plus Iwas swimming because I was a
lifeguard. Like, between thewalking and the swimming, I was
in a way better physical placethere. And by the way, we go to
privilege.
I'm at a $100 a month. There wasno financial privilege. I lived
in, like, old houses. There wasno, like, housing privilege. It

(21:04):
was that I was back in nature,back with the roots, back no
car, no bike, no skateboard.
2 feet and some hands for fins.Like and so I want us to be
careful because and, again, I'llI'll find what the show was
because it was fascinating, theinformation that it was
providing, and I think it mightbe another deep dive in here.

(21:24):
But I just want us to be carefulof that because don't let our
perception of privilege or thefact that we are privileged
well, here's the way I'll sayit. I think for many years,
myself personally, and maybe youlisteners, we allow our
privilege to be the hurdles thatget in our way from our physical
success. And I say that asnicely as humanly possible.

Look at you challenging with ownership.

Oh, jeez. Hate mail coming in quick. No. I'm
not. Maybe not.
Not from these listeners. Theselisteners might be like, oh, I
needed to hear that.

This is a nuanced conversation, and we're gonna
move on from it here becausethis this could literally be its
own episode. But 2 things can betrue. We can have an issue with
privilege in our country when itcomes to access to health care
and what types of treatmentspeople receive. And when given
the opportunity, we also need totake ownership of our health and
not have it be Yeah. Somethingthat is deprioritized.

(22:17):
Because I will tell you those 3it it actually, it was more like
4 or 5 months, much to thechagrin of my accountant when I
did my taxes. But it was one ofthose things where I remember
saying, like, health care was anegotiable because of just I was
triaging my life, and now I'mlike, absolutely not. There are
so many other things I would cutnow. I did the best with what I

(22:39):
could at the time. Yeah.
But, like, that was anexperience of, like, yeah, not
doing that again. Absolutelynot.

That was literally one rule that my wife
put in place. There were 2, bythe way, when I started the
business. 1, we have to havehealth care for the family.
Mhmm. And 2, there has to be apaycheck that enters the bank
like you're working somewhereelse every 2 weeks.
So health care and paying forhealth care And by the way, why
would you pay for something andnot go get the health care?

(23:07):
That's the other side of this.Like, sure. Yes. Pay for health
care.
Get health care in place, but goto your freaking checkups. Like,
you got something growing onyour side. Go to the doctor.
Like, anyway

Completely understand. So let's start
digging in a little deeper here.It's been a little over 2
months, George, since your mostrecent hospital stay.

Yeah.

Which you at the time and periodically since then
have noted as a full reset onyour relationship with your
physical health. Yeah. So justchecking in on this, how is that
going?

Yeah. I think Have there

been any new lessons you learned?

Oh. Oh, freaking master class, which, by
the way, I think we might be at,like, 3 months now, maybe. I
like it's it's if time flieswhen you're having fun. But
first of all, Liz, I see you. Ilove how you're trying to sneak
in an update on my physicalhealth journey.

I like you in 1 piece, George. Yeah. I like you
in 1 piece.

We're supposed to have special episodes where
we do this, but you're like, letme go ahead and throw this
question in there and and seehow he's doing. So, by the way,
yes, I do consider my recenthospital stay a full reset on my
relationship with my physicalhealth, but maybe even an unlock

(24:20):
of my mental health, which mightsound a little bit weird. But
I'm hard headed, And,unfortunately, this is not the
first time that I've had anmoment on this subject of
physical health. However, it isdifferent this time because you
see it's been a and, again, Ithink it's been a little over 3
months since my latest hospitalvisit. And just being completely

(24:45):
honest, it it was a serious wakeup call this time for sure.
Even more than last time becausehere's the thing. Unfortunately,
this isn't my first healthscare. It's the It's

like you knew I was gonna follow-up and say,
like, we've been here before,George.

Yeah. I was in the closet on my knees.
Everybody thought I was having aheart attack. But here's the
thing, and you can go back andlisten to an episode. We talked
about, you know, me almost dyingor thinking that I almost died.
But that time, I went on thisjourney, and it by the way, it
was, like, right around the timeof COVID, and everybody was
like, ah, we're gaining weight.And I managed to lose £79 in 7

(25:22):
months with a focus on weightloss. I was focused on weight
loss, but this time, my goalshifted to something more vital.
I'm not focused on weight loss,by the way. I'm focused on
living without pain Livingwithout pain.
You see, it's, for me, not aboutproviding to myself or to others

(25:43):
that I can lose weight, which,by the way, the first time that
I went through this, it wasproving to myself that I could
slay the ultimate demon, whichwas weight in food, and show
other people that I could,externally, that I could do the
same. Right now, it's aboutwaking up in the morning and
walking around through the dayand not being in pain. Because,
again, you can go listen to theepisode where I talk about

(26:06):
inflammation in my colon,inflammation around my heart and
lungs, the fact that I haverheumatoid arthritis and there
like, it's inflammation in mybody. And so literally just
being able to walk aroundthrough the day, wake up without
being in pain or as much pain.And in an effort to achieve that
goal, I've made significantchanges to my diet as well.

(26:27):
I've stopped eating breads,pastas, sugars, processed meats,
and other unhealthy foods andbeverages. By the way, when I
started to list that out, thisis where my brain went to, oh,
I've come a long way with what'shappening. I'll get back to that
here in a minute. Instead,though, I'm I'm focusing on more
greens, beans, fermented foods,and paying attention to gut

(26:51):
health, which is something thatI never nerded out on before.
But now it's like my YouTube,like, shorts, the amount of
doctors that are talking to meabout gut health now, I'm like,
oh, crap.
I ruined my feed, but at leastlet me listen to this
information because thesechanges have made what I'll call
a remarkable difference in how Ifeel day to day. Again, for me,

(27:13):
it's about keeping my body fromattacking itself related to
inflammation. Also, I haverealized I can treat myself here
and there with something Iusually am staying away from,
and it doesn't impact me as muchas it used to when that was all
that I was eating and drinking.Like, for instance, it was a
mind blowing experience lastweek, maybe Thursday or Friday,

(27:38):
where I poured a glass of orangesoda. I haven't drank soda, pop,
cola, whatever you call it,whatever state or whatever
country you live in, the syrupysugar carbonated drink.
Put your term on it. I hadn'tdrank any of that since my
hospital stay, but I was havinga hankering for, like, orange
soda. So I poured a glass and Idrank it. And you know what? It

(28:01):
it didn't impact me.
It tasted good. Here's the funnything. I drank half of it and
poured half of it out becausehalf was enough. I was like, no.
I'm done.
I got my fix, and now let's justmove on. I want everybody to
realize, because I did use theword diet earlier, that it's
dietary changes. It's not thatI'm on a diet, because diets
never worked for me. It's just achange of life based on wanting

(28:25):
to not have pain. Anyway, Idigress.
I've ramped up my physicalactivity as well. I've been
hitting my treadmill, like, I'vebeen hitting it hard. I've been
walking anywhere from 10,000plus to 33,000 steps a day. So
the physical transformation,it's noticeable. I've gone from

(28:45):
£311 when I was in the hospital.
And right now, as we'rerecording this podcast episode,
I'm down to 274. But moreimportant than that, because I
can't let that become the goalbecause I see success in that
metric, More importantly that,the pain I was experiencing has
diminished significantly. Heck,Liz, I used to hurt when it

(29:07):
rained. Like, I could tell mywife about 10 to 15 minutes
before it was gonna rain, andshe'd literally be like, there's
no rain in on the weatherchannel today. I'm like, it's
gonna rain in about 10 or 15minutes.
And sure as all get out, maybeit was 20, maybe it was 22, but
within a 10 to 20 minute period,there'd be rain where we were at
because I could feel it in mybody, in in the inflammation in

(29:30):
the joints. But since I've madethese changes, the weather has
dramatically decreased in theamount that it impacts my body.
Like, we had 2 rainy days in thelast week, and I was, like, I
was amazed at how it wasn'timpacting me, how much less I
hurt based on the weather. Andso to sum this kind of up,

(29:51):
through this journey, I'velearned the incredible impact
of, here it comes, ladies andgentlemen, consistency and
making sustainable changes.Again, it's not just about
shedding pounds.
It's about creating a lifestylethat supports overall well-being
of George b Thomas. For you,it's about creating a lifestyle

(30:14):
that supports overallwell-being, insert your name
here. And so when I shifted mymindset from losing weight to
reducing pain and enhancing myquality of life, well, shoot.
Everything started to fall intoplace. And so to all you
listeners, if you're facing asimilar wake up call, or, God
willing, you don't need a wakeup call.

(30:35):
Maybe this podcast episode is awake up call. Because, by the
way, I would not want you tohave rheumatoid arthritis. I
wouldn't want you to have highblood pressure. I wouldn't want
you to spend 3 and a half daysin a hospital like I've done
twice. Like, I don't want thatfor you.
But if this podcast can be yourwake up call, just know it's
never too late to reset yourrelationship. Reset. Reboot.

(30:58):
Whatever words you need to putin there, your health. And it
comes down to this, figuring outwhat your big why is and then
making small, consistent changesthat can lead to profound
transformations.
Focus on the bigger picture,your overall well-being, and let
that guide your actions as youcontinue from a physical health

(31:20):
perspective to journey down thisbeyond your default path.

I know you've already touched a bit on this
experience as well as previousexperiences, but I'd love for us
to go a little bit deeper here.Because I think this is one of
those of course. Because I thinkthis is one of those situations
where have you ever had thosemoments where you somehow paint
a picture of the best possiblecase scenario, and then the
worst possible case scenariocomes along and you go, well,

(31:47):
how did I not see this coming?And I think this is a natural
human instinct. Right?
When we don't wanna deal withsomething, we find a way to
mentally kinda leap frog over itby saying, well, that won't
happen and this will happen andit's gonna be fine and like, we
get overly idealistic, which ishilarious considering how
cynical life can be. So I wouldbe curious to hear from you what

(32:07):
are the actual nonphysicalconsequences someone can
experience when you don'tprioritize your health. And,
yes, you are welcome to put meback in the hot seat later
because I know I've beengrilling you.

Yeah. I always love when you lean in to ask me,
but but I wanna dig a little bitdeeper.

What about your dig deeper?

It's it's funny because when you're asking
this question, the first thingthat comes to mind is I have
friends slash employer, and heused to kind of say, you know,
something along the lines ofhope for the best plan for the
worst. Too many of us are, like,programmed to just hope for the
best, hope for the best, hopefor the best, hope for the best,

(32:44):
and we have blinds like,blinders on to, like, the flip
side of this. So first of all,you gotta remove the blinders,
and you gotta get a framework inplace that is, like, here's what
I'm hoping, dreaming, scheming,strategizing for, and here are
all the ways, hurdles, potholesthat I need to look out for that

(33:04):
might get in my way. So if,like, if you don't have that
mindset or that framework inplace, that's one thing that I
would suggest that we do. But,Liz, and listeners, I think it's
a great question because I thinkthis is critical to everyone who
is aiming for their best lifeever.
So when I think of nonphysicalconsequences of neglecting

(33:26):
physical health, I I want you tounderstand that when we talk
about physical health, it's notjust about looking good or
fitting into those genes fromhigh school. But if you look at
TikTok and you look at YouTubeshorts and you look at the
culture, that's kinda where thenarrative is. Right? By the way,
I'd love to fit into the jeansthat I wore when I got out of

(33:48):
boot camp. What?
19890? 1990? Yeah. I weighed£185. I probably can't even
dream about, but it would benice.
Maybe someday. We'll see. Whoknows? Like, if we keep going in
the direction that focusing onnot being in pain is headed, Who
knows? But it's about how ourbodies, minds, and souls are

(34:12):
interconnected.
And this is another piece that,like, so many folks just have
these, like, disconnected partsinstead of thinking them as one
connective being. And how tokind of take care of our
physical selves can lead to amore fulfilled, energized, and
purposeful life. But when wedon't prioritize our physical

(34:33):
health, the repercussions go farbeyond a few extra pounds,
feeling out of breath afterclimbing a flight of stairs. And
I think there's maybe 5 areasthat I'm gonna lightly touch on,
which I think you as thelistener will find a couple
where you're like, I hope heshuts up real quick. When you

(34:55):
feel that way, know that's thedirection you should be looking
because I'm literally opening upthe blinders that I said earlier
that you need to take off.
So I'm gonna talk about mentalhealth, which we did last week
as well. I'm gonna talk aboutcognitive function. I'm gonna
talk about emotional stability,spiritual health, and then we'll

(35:17):
wrap it up with socialconnections. Those are the 5
things that I wanna hit upon.And, again, they all tie to our
physical health.
Alright. So first off,neglecting physical health can
wreak havoc on our mentalwell-being. Lack of exercise,
poor diet can lead to increasedlevels of stress, anxiety, and
even depression. I can say thatbecause ladies and gentlemen,

(35:38):
been there, done that, eventhough I say that I've very,
very rarely been depressed. If Ilook back, there actually have
been times in my life where Ihave fallen into that, but
didn't know it at the moment intime.
And and a lot of it had to dowith, like, why'd you just eat
that whole cheesecake or thatwhole can of Pringles dummy, and
and the way that that would makeme feel afterwards. If you

(36:00):
haven't listened, by the way, toour episode on mental health
last week, like, if this is justit happens to be the first
podcast because you saw physicalhealth and you dove into it, it,
I suggest you do so after thisepisode. Because you see, our
bodies release endorphins duringphysical activity, which are
those lovely hormones that makeus feel good, which, by the way,

(36:21):
if you're listening to this, youcan't see what I'm about to do.
If you're watching this in thecommunity, you can. That's why I
love that machine right therebecause and by the way, I'm
pointing at my treadmill, ladiesand gentlemen, because it
releases endorphins.
It makes me feel good aboutmyself. It gets the activities
popping and snapping in thebrain. Right? What are you doing

(36:42):
on a daily basis that releasesendorphins and makes you feel
good about yourself from aphysical standpoint? Without
these endorphins kicking in,without these pops and snaps,
our moods plummet, stress takesover.
And I'm reminded of a quote fromJim Rohn, which, by the way, if
you haven't done a deep diveinto, like, his old because it's

(37:04):
old. Like, well, I gotta becareful. There might be some
folks who, like, he was new, andthey were listening. Anyway, I'm
watching the reruns. Let's justput it that way.
But if you haven't dove, like,in YouTube or or searched, like,
Jim Rohn, Earl Nightingale too,by the way. Anyway, not why
we're here. But Jim Rohn, takethere's just a lot of wisdom in
historical figures that, like,were focused on okay. But Jim

(37:27):
Rohn says, take care of yourbody. It's the only place you
have to live.
For so many years, I drove mybody like it was a rental car.
Like, if you've ever watchedthat movie with Tom Cruise, and
he's the NASCAR driver, And ifyou remember the scene where him
and Rowdy

Days of thunder.

Oh my god. And and they're racing in Rent A
Cars, that's how I was treatingmy body for so many years. We
never treat the cars or thebodies, air quotes, that we own
in the way that we do if wethought about it from this way.
It's the only place you have tolive. Yeah.
So many of us, again, myselfincluded, we smash the bumpers,

(38:09):
squeal the tires, don't get oilchecks, let the engine overheat.
Our bodies are not just ourphysical space, by the way.
They're also our mental andemotional sanctuary, if we allow
them to be, if we treat themlike they are. So let's move
forward. Let's chit chat aboutcognitive function.
When we don't move our bodies orfeed them the proper nutrients,

(38:32):
our brains suffer. If our brainssuffer, it's like a downward
spiral for everything else inour life. I don't know if you're
like me and ever had thosemoments where you just feel
sluggish or your brain feelscloudy, and you're just like, I
I call it the funk. Like, youjust have this, like, brain

(38:54):
funk. Again, listen, This is whyI believe healthy is the
greatest equalizer to the otherframework elements in the
superhuman framework, aka otherthings in our life, because all
of those things take our braincognitive functions to do.
Physical activity, however, itboosts blood flow. It boosts

(39:16):
oxygen to the brain, helping it,guess what, function better. I
mean, think about it. Withoutregular exercise, you might find
it hard to concentrate, makedecisions, or even remember
things. Which, by the way, theolder I get, the more it has
been difficult to rememberthings.
Sometimes I even went up why didI walk in this room? Just me? Am

(39:36):
I the only one? But I'mexercise, man. I find that the
more that I exercise, the morethat I hit that treadmill, the
less I've actually had thosemoments over the last 3 or so
months.
John f Kennedy said physicalfitness is not only one of the
most important keys to a healthybody, it is the basis of dynamic
and creative intellectualactivity. Somebody should just

(39:58):
print that out and put it ontheir wall or on the door or on
several places that they walkthrough during the day just to
be able to see that the key to ahealthy body, it's the basis of
dynamic and creativeintellectual activity. If you're
listening to this and you'retrying to live a life beyond
your default, if you're tryingto have your best life ever,
guess what you need? You needdynamic, and you need to be

(40:21):
creative, and you need theticker, the the brain. Ticker's
the heart.
But you need the the machine,the brain, to have that activity
that needs to have. Our mindsthrive when our bodies are in
motion. I wish I could say thatthat's my quote. I don't know
even know if if that's a quote,but ladies and gentlemen, it
should be cool. Our mind thrivewhen our bodies are in motion.
The second part to that wouldbe, so keep your body in motion.

(40:42):
Now there's also emotionalstability. Something I
personally actively seek in myown life. I despise the days of
mountain peaks and the deepestof valleys. I used to have
those.
Like, younger George, the not sogreat George. And I just like
this idea of stability. I'drather have, like, rolling hills

(41:05):
versus these, like, way up, waydown, like, type things. Right?
So so I'm actively seekingemotional stability.
And when we neglect our physicalhealth, we easily fall into a
cycle of negative thinking andpoor self esteem. You know how
many times I've said to myself,I'm not worthy, I'm stupid, I'm

(41:26):
this, I'm that, and and just,like, didn't feel like I had
anything to give to the world.Ladies and gentlemen, I freaking
explained this point at thebeginning of this podcast. I
literally had to go into selfesteem, into limiting beliefs,
into belief structure, in like,I had to battle this just to get
into this episode. So feelinggood about yourself is harder

(41:49):
when you don't care for yourbody.
I know that sounds weird, butfeeling good about yourself is
harder when you don't care foryour body. This isn't about
vanity. It's about self respect.It's about gratitude for the
vessel that we've been given,which, by the way, when I hear
vessel we've been given, itmakes me think of Corinthians 6
1920. Do you not know that ourbodies are temples of the Holy

(42:14):
Spirit who is in you, whom youhave received from God?
You are not your own. You werebought at a price. Therefore,
honor God with your bodies.Honor God, honor yourself, and
honor others around you bymaking your physical health a
priority. And as I justreferenced, there's an impact on

(42:34):
our spiritual health.
Taking care of our bodies is anact of stewardship, which by the
way, we've talked aboutstewardship in another episode.
You can go listen to it. See thethis is what I'm saying. If this
wasn't connected, I wouldn't bereferencing so many podcast
episodes that you could go diginto the connective dots or
tissues of this. When we neglectour physical health, we're not

(42:55):
just harming ourselves.
We're failing to honor the lifeand the body that we've been
entrusted with. The only placethat we have to live, as Gin
Rome said. If you want toexplore our thoughts on
stewardship, by the way, episode16 is where that bad boy is.
It's adopting an owner'smentality in your own life. In

(43:16):
that episode, we actuallyemphasize the importance of
adopting stewardship mindsetregardless of whether you're
renting, borrowing, or owningsomething, which, by the way, we
could do a whole podcast on ifyou're renting, borrowing, or
owning your body.
Anyway, there's a whole thingthere. Stewardship involves the
job of supervising or takingcare of something, be it a

(43:39):
property, an organization, or inthis case today, humans. Now if
16 doesn't get you there,episode 6 might, where we talk
about blessing bombers andgetting what you deserve, where
we discuss the idea of being asteward of blessings. It's way
easier to be a blessing bomberif you have great self esteem
and your brain is functioningfully and paying attention to

(44:02):
those people around you, AKA thehumans that need you to be the
blessing. But if your eyes areclouded and you have the
physical and mental cataractson, you can't see those moments.
Anyway, last but not least, andthen, Liz, I do wanna put you in
the hot seat and get yourthoughts because we can't forget
about social consequences. Poorphysical health can limit your

(44:23):
ability to engage in socialactivities vital for mental and
emotional health, Whetherplaying with your kids, hiking
with friends, simply enjoying awalk in the park, these
activities nourish our souls andstrengthen our bodies. They
nourish our souls, and they evenstrengthen our bonds with
others. And not to mentionourselves, but literally like,
listen. There's TV shows you cango watch of people who aren't

(44:46):
taking care of themselvesphysically, and a lot of it, you
can see how closed in sociallythey are.
We're social beings. We need tobe out amongst and interacting
with humans. With good health,we can experience these
enriching experiences that we'resupposed to have, meant to have
through life. So to all of youlistening and to myself, by the

(45:08):
way, so much of this episode Iknew I would be preaching to
myself. We have to remember thatprioritizing physical health is
about more than just thephysical side of it.
As the old saying goes, he whohas health has hope, and he who
has hope has everything, whichby the way, it could be she who

(45:28):
has health has hope, and she whohas hope has everything. It's
hard to have hope if you're nothealthy. It's about nurturing
your entire being, your mind,emotions, spirits, social
connections. It's about creatinga life where you can truly
thrive, experience joy, and liveout your purpose with energy and

(45:48):
enthusiasm and consistency. Liz,what are your thoughts?

I mean, certainly not as eloquent as yours, but
here's what I will say. Ifyou're listening to this, you
have things you want toaccomplish. You have things you
want to do. If you are notminding the shop when it comes
to your own health, you're notgonna be able to do anything.
Like, that's just the reality.
And what will happen is one dayyour health will just sneak up
on you, knock you on your backPomp, pomp. And say, hi.

(46:14):
Remember me?

How are they?

It's also something that will just run-in
the background of your mind ofthe thing that you're not taking
care of. Like, that's the thing.You know when you're not taking
care of yourself. You can feelit. I remember last year when I
didn't have health insurance,there was literally not a day
where I did not wake up duringthat 4 to 5 month period where
it's like, don't fall down.
And wouldn't it be nice if youcould go talk to somebody right
now and not have it cost you$200? Like, that would be great.

(46:38):
You have a constant reminderthat you're not taking care of
yourself, you know, and that'swhere it gets tricky. It becomes
the it's like your car. Guys,what happens if your car just
stops running?

You're in trouble.

Yeah. You're in big trouble. Like, it doesn't
really get any more simple thanthat.

The big junkyard in the sky.

But I like what you pointed out about, like, you
know, you don't have hope whenyou're not taking care of your
health because, you know, whatwill happen is that it's not
just the physicality. Right?There is a mental load toll that
will happen. Not just from theperspective, like, I was
speaking from my livedexperience of not having
insurance. That was the mentalload piece of it.
But then there was also just,like, I knew I needed to go to

(47:20):
the dentist and I couldn't. Icould feel that was not good.
And because I wasn't taking careof myself in one way, I started
not taking care of myself inother ways. Like, it's this
weird cascading effect. And Ikind of equate it to I can
always tell when I'm mentallynot okay with how disorganized
my physical living space is.

Yep. Yep.

It's very similar to that in that if I don't have
a good relationship or handle onmy physical health, like, it's
just kinda like all hell breaksloose. You know what I mean?
Like, all of a sudden, it's thiscascading effect. Well, I'm not
treating myself well, well, I'mnot eating well, well, I'm not
working out, I'm not ex like,all of a sudden, it's just this
big pile on of things I know I'mnot doing. Yeah.

(48:06):
So let me ask you something. Allyou growth mindset people who
have put your health physicallyon the back burner

Revenant.

How much mental space would you be able to free
up right now if you had a betterfocus on your physical health?
If you didn't have that 10 to20% of your brain that is
subconsciously going, well,you're not doing this and you're
eating that and this, that, andthe other and blah blah. Like,
it's a little bit of chatterthat just never quite goes away.

(48:37):
Now I will say one thing thatmade me a little bit anxious. I
finally got my health insuranceback.
Right?

Yes.

And I will admit, I wasn't immediately, like,
signing up for the dentist,signing for I had about a few
weeks of, like

A backlog.

Well, it's like, well, now do I wanna know?

Yeah. Maybe this is a bad idea.

Maybe this is a bad we we want to live in this
kind of bubble of, like,everything's fine. My body isn't
literally on fire. I can waitanother week. I can wait another
whatever. But then that becomesthe mental load of, well, what
is it that I don't know?
Like, you're you're mortal. Justget ahead of things. There you
will always have regrets if itcomes to waiting until things

(49:21):
are too late or things get tooout of hand.

Yeah.

You will never reg you may not be happy about some
things you find, but you willnever regret being ahead of
something.

Yeah. It's interesting. I gotta throw in
here because my brain goes tothis thing, and I deal with this
a lot. And I realized the more Ican battle against this, the
better. I call it the curse ofnon closed loops.
And if I leave a bunch of loopsopen, oh, I should pay that
bill. Oh, I should go to thatappointment. Oh, I should do
this thing, but I don't closethe loop. Then all of a sudden,

(49:53):
I have these, like, 12 or 24,and because they're not closed,
they're sitting there spinning,unclosed in my brain, and it
just becomes this curse ofoverload. And so I find myself
where it's like, okay.
Today is a close the loop daybecause, oh my god, my brain
can't handle no more. Like,that's where my brain was going
at

me to close the loop day. We're we're not gonna
discuss why, but that okay. I'llbe doing that this week.

Yeah. Curse of the non closed loops.

My gosh. I love that, but I also feel attacked,
which means we need to move onto the next question. We've
already started talking aboutthis, but I wanna get your take
on this. Why do you think it'sso easy for so many of us who
are super growth oriented folks?We're focused on optimizing and
being peak performers in everyother way.
But when it comes to our health,we're squirrely little

(50:42):
buttheads. Like a 3 year oldtoddler being dragged through
Crate and Barrel by their motherbeing asked to care about
spoons.

Oh.

That's how we act about our health.

Crate and Barrels. Cool place.

Yeah. I do. I love

in in other words, Liz is asking, George,
how how do you keep screwingthis up? That's, like, what this
quick that's what this questionis. George, how come you keep
screwing this up? That's what Ihear with this question. But and
I'm I'm waxing a little bitfunny, but also being a little
bit truthful because, I mean,who else better to answer this
question?
Because I have fudged it up,like, many a time. And I think

(51:15):
there are many reasons, somewhich I may not cover here. This
again, it's you are you. Youhave your story. You have your
issues.
But but out of all the manyreasons, they're often deeply
intertwined with our daily livesand our personal mindsets, our
belief structures. One of thebiggest factors and again,

(51:38):
ladies and gentlemen, remember,I'm preaching to myself here.
One of the big factors is timeor dare I say our perception of
time in our lives. We're alljuggling so many
responsibilities. We've got workand family and social
commitments that carving outtime for exercise or preparing
healthy meals, well, frankly,can seem impossible.

(52:01):
We think to ourselves, I'll getto that later. But often, later
never comes. And to be honest,this is really less of a time
issue and more if we're beinghonest with ourself, more of a
priority issue. Because you see,we make time for what is
important in our lives. We justneed to flip the switch so that
our physical health is apriority.

(52:23):
I mean, that's why I set afreaking treadmill smack in the
middle of where I need to domost of my meetings or most of
my work. I have no excuses. It'sright there. Step on it and walk
and have that meeting or step onit and walk and do that work. By
the way, that builds habits, andthat's another reason that we

(52:45):
fall short of this is ourhabits.
Many of us are stuck in routinesthat don't include healthy
behaviors. Breaking out of oldhabits and creating new
healthier ones requires effort.And sometimes, we're just too
tired or overwhelmed to make thechange. Guess why we're too
tired or overwhelmed to make thechange? Because we're not

(53:08):
getting the benefits of what wetalked about earlier in this
podcast of the actual energythat comes from fitting in the
physical exercise, the,clearness that we can now think
based on the exercise.
So it's like this never endingcycle of we don't do it because
we don't do it, and now we feellike we're tired and

(53:30):
overwhelmed. I I like this whenit comes to habits, by the way.
Romans 12:2 says, do not conformto the patterns of this world,
but be transformed by therenewing of your mind. Now let's
just take the scripture awayfrom that for a second, and I'm
not being sacrilegious here. IfI didn't tell you Romans 12:2,
and I just said, hey, man.

(53:50):
Quit conforming to your crappypatterns of your day and reboot
or reset or form your mind intothe way that it needs to be.
You'd be like, wow. That's somesound advice. Yeah. You think?
Then that's why we gotta do it.It it's about shifting our
mindset and being intentionalabout our health, prioritizing

(54:12):
our health. Again, treadmill infront of my desk, where I need
to stand to do work. Here's theother thing that's weird because
it's like a thing but not athing at the same time. We have
this, and I'm using air quotesif you're listening to this.
If you're watching it, you seeme still holding up the air
quotes. But perceived effortperceived effort, it's another
hurdle. Let's be honest. Thethought of starting a new just

(54:36):
the thought of starting a newexercise routine or regimen or
just the thought of changing ourdiet, not going on a diet.
Changing our diet can bedaunting.
We picture long hours at thegym, bland, tasteless cardboard
style meals, and thatperception, that perceived

(54:57):
effort alone by itself can beenough to deter us from even
starting down the path. Butremember, by the way, my brain
went to this when you weretalking earlier about, like,
going health doctor list othings. An ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure. By theway, it's Benjamin Franklin.
Wisely said, a ounce ofprevention is worth a pound of

(55:20):
cure.
And the reason I'm bringing thisup now is because we can't let
the perception or perceivedthoughts dictate the thing
that's actually gonna activatethe change that will then
reactivate the other things thatare important to our mind,
social, all the things thatwe've talked about in this
podcast. And, again, how do youbeat that perceived effort?

(55:44):
Small, consistent changes overtime lead to big results over
time. So lessen the perceptionof what you need to do and ease
your way into it, but ease yourway into consistency of it.
Also, the funny thing on thisone is when I've said things
like, I'm only gonna go for a 15minute walk.

(56:07):
Liz, once I'm out there, Itypically end up walking 45
minutes to an hour. But I had tofake out my brain at the start
to overcome that perceivedeffort hurdle that was getting
in the way. So just go to thegym for 5 minutes and see how
long you're there. Just eat thisone meal and see how many times

(56:29):
you can rinse and repeat it. Nowanother big one that we humans
face is ignoring mental andemotional barriers.
Stress, anxiety, depression canmake it incredibly challenging
to prioritize physical health.The funny thing is when we do,
it helps against these thingsthat are holding us back. But
when we're feeling low, themotivation to exercise or eat

(56:51):
well can, let's just call itelusive. Like, it's a very
almost invisible character inour lives because we're just not
in the place or space. Andagain, it's a vicious cycle.
And again, I'm speaking fromexperience. Neglecting our
physical health often maximizesin the worst way possible these
mental health issues. And, Liz,you alluded to this. I've

(57:12):
alluded to this with our caranalogy. The last one that I
wanna talk about is somethingthat we are really, really,
really, really bad at, and thatis a lack of understanding
immediate consequences.
Immediate consequences can trickus into complacency. By the way,
this might be the big daddy formany of us listening to or

(57:33):
recording this podcast. Unlikepoor health choices often don't
show their impact until muchlater. This delay can lull us
into a false sense of security,making it easier to ignore our
physical well-being. If someonewas standing in front of me and

(57:58):
said, every time I shove a donutin my mouth, high blood
pressure, rheumatoid arthritisor listeners, by the way, you
can insert your ailment thatcaught up to you later in life
into that.
We we may have made or at leastI know I would have made some
different decisions along theway, but I couldn't see 3 and a
half days in the hospital withhigh blood pressure. I couldn't

(58:21):
see 3 and a half days in thehospital with inflammation.
Couldn't see it. Nobody wasstanding there smacking me in
the face with a 2 by 4 sayingthese things. So I was like,
this, double whopper with cheeseand onion rings and a large Coke
won't hurt me.
I'm invincible. But here's thekicker. Taking care of our
physical health is one of themost profound acts. I'm gonna

(58:44):
say 2 things. 1, I know, Liz,you're gonna smile and get all
giddy, but our physical healthis one of the most profound acts
of self care

Yes. I knew you were gonna say I knew you were
gonna say

it. Yes. Yes. Yes. And self respect and
gratitude for who we have beencreated to be and who we can
become in the future.
So listeners, I have to ask thisquestion. I thought about not
asking it, but I have to askthis question. Are you grateful
for the life that you're livingand the person that you're able
to become? I must let that sitfor a second. Are you grateful

(59:18):
for the life you're living andthe person you're able to
become?
And I fully understand that thatmight sting a little bit
depending on where you are inyour journey, but the big
question in that is, do yourespect yourself? If I'm honest,
I'd say historically, for me,no. I didn't respect myself. No.
I probably wasn't grateful forthe life that I was living.

(59:41):
No. I didn't realize that Icould become somebody more or
better than the life that I wasliving until it all switched,
and I realized that I could. AndI realized I had to respect
myself, and I realized I had tochange my beliefs. Listen. If
you're in the same boat as me,then let's commit to breaking
these barriers.
Start small, be consistent, andremember that every little step

(01:00:05):
towards better health is a steptowards a more vibrant,
fulfilling life that is waybeyond your default. Liz, what
are your thoughts? I see youjotting down notes.

Liz Moorhead (01:00:16):
Well, first, the first note I made was we need to
do an episode on self respect.Just throwing that out there.

George B. Thomas (01:00:22):
I like that.

I think what you said that really hit me the most
that I want our listeners to tapin on because it's the most
uncomfortable thing that yousaid, which means it's the most
important, which is, you know,when we talk about our finances,
debt piles up, interest pilesup. But that idea of you can
mask and lie to yourself in waysthat you can never take back

(01:00:45):
when it comes to your physicalhealth. You have to exact your
own interest. You have to beunflinchingly honest with
yourself about your own health.And that is not something we
enjoy doing because it's thething we can deprioritize when
we're trying to focus on otherthings.
But I would be curious to hearfrom you, George, because I have
not intentionally tried toneedle you about the fact that

(01:01:07):
this is quote, unquote somethingyou think you have not done well
because

You did a great job at it.

Well, one of the reasons why I wanted to have
this conversation with you isI've been watching you over
these past 2 to 3 months. YouYeah. Really have dedicated and
devoted yourself to health in away, physically speaking, that
it's this isn't something that'sgonna slip. And I think that's
incredibly inspiring. So how doyou stay motivated to continue
to prioritize your physicalhealth?
Because it's not like your lifesuddenly got less busy or less

(01:01:34):
stressful. You run a company.You're the owner of an agency in
a consulting business in thiseconomy. And then you also have
2 different podcasts and you'rea speaker, and you're working on
a book.

It's funny to hear you say that. My my wife
asked me. She's like, I don'tget it. Why do you why do you
keep why do you keep doing? And,again, probably a totally
different podcast episode, butleaning into answering your
question, I feel called to dothe things that I'm doing.
I feel called to be on stage asa speaker and an emcee and to

(01:02:09):
impact individuals' lives inperson. I feel called to create
an agency culture that isn't atoxic waste dump that people can
actually enjoy working there andclients are like, holy crap.
This is like nothing I've everheard before. I feel called to
create beyond your defaultbecause a little behind the
scenes, and I've never said thisout loud, but I feel like this

(01:02:29):
is a great episode to do it,Beyond Your Default, the
podcast, the book, thecommunity, it's my ability to
create the church that you'llnever walk into or the therapy
couch you'll never lay on. Ifeel called to do these things,
to be this person.
The only way that I can fulfillthese callings is to stay on

(01:02:49):
this freaking planet. And theonly way that I'm gonna stay on
this planet long enough toachieve what I feel I'm called
to do is by making sure I getthis engine from a 3 cylinder to
an 8 cylinder, that I'm checkingthe oil, that I'm, like, getting
the tires rotated, whateveranalogy you wanted. Like, I have

(01:03:11):
to be hyper focused on, like,this is the only place you have
to live, George. Do you want itto be done in a year, or do you
want it to be done when you're98? I choose the latter, by the
way.
98 would be dope with multiplegrandkids, a rocking chair, a
nice doggy, and a great bourbon,and a lot of humans that we've

(01:03:31):
helped, that would be great. Sohere's the thing. I have to
answer your question, Liz, of,like, how do I stay motivated
and prioritize physical health,especially when life gets busy
or stressful? I'm probably thewrong person to answer this
freaking question because I'm alittle different than the
average bear right now. Like,everything I'm doing is to avoid

(01:03:52):
pain.
Everything I'm doing is focusedon extending my life so that I
can provide the value andpassion and purpose to the
callings that I feel have beenplaced on me as I'm on this
planet. Listen. Arthritis sucks.High blood pressure sucks. 3 and

(01:04:13):
a half days, 2 different timesin my life sucks in the
hospital.
Like but the lessons that I'velearned from them and what I
need to take from it and by theway, go listen to George Had A
Plan till He Didn't. I was aboutas raw and as transparent as I
could be through that whole,like, debacle of myself that I

(01:04:33):
put myself into. Episode 40,just go listen to it. I'm coming
from this at a different angle,but I wanna answer the question
in a way that I think thelisteners, if they haven't been
in the hospital twice for threeand a half days, and they're
just like, hey. I'm just tryingto live a better life in my job
or live a better life in mylike, I'm not trying to start 3
companies.
I'm not trying to be 98. I'm nottrying to like, I don't want all

(01:04:55):
of what is me to get in the wayof understanding that I'm
different than maybe what somepeople are focused on or trying
to do or can even hook into. SoI'm gonna start to really kinda
answer your question like this.You have to connect with your
why. Like, I gave you my why.
It's a calling. I just feel likeI'm supposed to do these things.
You as a listener Or you as Liz.Have to connect deeply with your

(01:05:20):
why. Why do you want toprioritize your health?
Whether it's to be moreenergetic for your kids, to live
a longer, more fulfilling life,to feel better in your own skin,
or in my case, just to have lesspain. Like, keeping your why
front and center can be apowerful motivator. But I also
think historically about somethings that helped along the way

(01:05:41):
when it comes to being focusedon being physically healthy even
when life gets stressful. Also,the funny thing is if if you're
physically focused, stress is alot harder to come by. I know
that's weird.
We've kind of alluded to it. Butif you're staying physically
healthy, then stress is a littlebit harder to come by because of
the endorphins and chemicalsthat are being released in your

(01:06:02):
body. But setting clear,achievable goals is key. Break
down your health objectives intomanageable steps. Instead of
aiming to lose £20, focus onlosing 1 to £2 a week.
Again, my story isn't aboutpounds. It's about pain. But for
you, if it is a certain amountof weight, then break it down.

(01:06:23):
This approach of breaking itdown makes your goal feel more
attainable and lessoverwhelming. And, by the way,
it gives you more, weehee,success moments because now it's
for every £2, and just insteadof 2 weeks, the £20.
And those wee hee moments,again, release these chemicals
in your brain that make youwanna keep going. This is

(01:06:44):
something that's baffling to me.The amount of people that will
go do something that theyfundamentally hate or sucks from
a physical regiment. Like, findactivities that you love. Like,
I love to walk.
I love to listen tomotivational, inspirational
videos while I'm walking. I liketo listen to books. Find
activities you love, whetherit's for you, it might be

(01:07:05):
dancing. It might be hiking.Shoot.
I love swimming. Like, I can'twait until we move and
potentially get, like, aswimming pool. I'll be the most
fishiest fish swimmer person onthe planet if I can just go out
my backyard, dive in. Maybe it'splaying a sport, but make
exercise, make physicalmovement, something you look
forward to rather than thischore of, like, oh, I gotta go

(01:07:29):
to the gym and lift things up,and put things down, lift things
up. Like, maybe that is excitingfor you.
Like, me, personally, I'm like,nah. I don't need go to a
building and be judged by awhole bunch of people. Like,
that's not my thing, but maybeit is for you. Buddha, by the
way, wisely said health is thegreatest gift, contentment, the

(01:07:49):
greatest wealth, andfaithfulness, the best
relationship. When we focus onthings that we enjoy, we're
getting the health.
Through the health and doingsomething we love, we're content
in the moments of the thingswe're doing. And because we're
content and because we'reenjoying it, we become faithful

(01:08:11):
to the relationship we'rebuilding with ourself and
others. By the way, that'sconsistency. Contentment in your
activities leads to consistency.Now, Liz, I wanna throw a fun
little twist to the make itenjoyable thing that we're
talking about right now.
Gamify that junk, people. Like,come on now. We live in a modern
world. Gamify your healthjourney. Use fitness apps that

(01:08:33):
track your progress, setchallenges, rewards, badges,
points, whatever you need to getthat, like, ding, like, Pavlov's
dog, whatever, like, responsethat you need of, like,
gamifying.
Heck, I just like looking at myhealth app and seeing if I can
beat the steps from the daybefore. That for me is a way
that I'm gamifying it. Competewith your friends or join online

(01:08:54):
communities. Liz, you've talkedabout how you can see, like, so
and so has walked x y z miles orran such and such today. Like,
that that should be motivators.
Now as soon as it detracts, shutit down. But if it's a motivator
to get going, then, again,compete with your friends, join
online communities, places whereyou can share milestones and

(01:09:15):
celebrate success. In fact, Liz,you know what we should do? In
the future, we should do achallenge around this in the
Beyond Your Default community.

I'm listening.

Yeah. This would be a great challenge of,
like, something around physicalhealth in the community with
certain people that wanted to bepart of it. Anyway, more to come
on that, listeners. We gotta dosome brain scheming around it,
but I think a physical healthchallenge in the community would
be pretty cool. Yeah.
I think that my mind's trying tobake it out, and I don't need to
bake it out right now. We're ona podcast. So turning your

(01:09:46):
fitness goals into, this game orgamifying it or being able to be
part of a community and andshare the successes, they make
the journey more engaging, andthey make the journey more
enjoyable. The last thing I'mgonna mention here, and maybe
this is only me. Again, I'veprefaced that I'm preaching to
myself.
You might not have this. I'velearned that I have this.

(01:10:08):
Sometimes, you just gotta tapinto your resilient
stubbornness. Resilientstubbornness. Sometimes you've
got to tap into that.
It's about fighting your ownbrain when it tries to talk you
out of working out or eatingright. Remind yourself why you
started and push through thosemoments of resistance. This

(01:10:29):
grit, this determination can beyour secret weapon. It is my
secret weapon. I have said I'mhard headed, I'm stubborn, and I
will use this resilientstubbornness to keep the toxic
thoughts in my brain away.
And you even said, Liz, thisseems like something that's not
gonna slip. No. Because I'mgonna just have stubbornness,

(01:10:53):
resilient stubbornness that'sgonna help me overcome the
mental barriers and stay ontrack. Liz, what are your
thoughts?

You know, I will say I'm gonna zig instead of zag
the way you had it. Oh, wow. Iliked what you were saying in
terms of breaking down yourhealth goals into things that
are bite sized and manageable.So I'm currently down about £65

Let's go.

From where I was this time last year, and I don't
get to make the joke now becauseit used to be like, man, people,
you you look great. Liz, thanks.Depression and divorce. Now, I'm
actually prioritizing myself.But you know what the big change
was for me?
I stopped thinking aboutnumbers.

Yep.

To be fair, the health challenges and goals that
I have, I don't need to be asmicromanagey about weight. Now
to be fair, am I overweight andplus size? Yes. But my point
more is that, like, our bodies,they don't listen and they don't
function the way we think theydo. So for example, I do, like,
a lot of strength training andlifting.
So I'm losing a lot of weight,but I'm putting on muscle mass.

(01:11:49):
And muscle mass weighs more thanfat even though I look leaner,
even though I'm healthier.Sometimes you're gonna have
weeks where you plateau.Sometimes you're gonna have
weeks where you end up taking alot off. So instead, what I did
is I said, well, I'm focusedmore on building a new
lifestyle.
And I'm gonna live thatlifestyle, and my body is going
to catch up, and my doctors aregonna tell me if I need to push
harder or do whatever it is thatI

need

to do. But I loved what you said, though, about,
like, just show to the show upat the to the gym and see what
happens. The way I actually wasable to develop a good working
out plan was just that. I don'tcare what you do for 35 minutes,
cupcake. You just you couldstare and doodle on a counter at
the gym for 35 minutes.
But you're gonna go to the gymfor 35 minutes, or you're gonna
do something.

Yeah.

So, really, for me, the the big break through
moments for me was really morethinking about my health in
terms of this is less abouthitting a goal where there is an
end and more about, like, girl,your lifestyle has to change.
Like, you just need to becomesomeone who moves where activity
is part of your daily whatever.Now does it help that I also
live in a 3rd floor walk up?

Oh, yeah.

Oh my gosh. It does really make me mindful of,
well, how much food do youreally want to carry upstairs?
How that how badly do you wantthose grocery list? How badly do
you want that cake? And theanswer is not badly enough.
Not badly enough. Yeah. But aswe round out today's
conversation, what advice wouldyou give to someone who is
struggling to find the time orenergy to focus on their

(01:13:16):
physical I already see youshaking your head. So I'm gonna
back up off the mic because Ithink we're all about to get
schooled here for a few minutes.George, don't oh, no.
No. I know that face.

No. It's just I immediately go, I I love
advice, maybe, sometimes. Like,again, the value is in some of
the advice that you can give,but people need to take the
advice that actually fits forthem. And, heck, many times I'm
giving advice to the listeners,but, honestly, sometimes I'm
giving advice to myself all atonce. Like, the listeners are

(01:13:48):
learning.
I'm learning. So some advice forthose struggling to find the
time or energy to focus on theirphysical health and without
being a butthead. Okay. I'mgonna go back to that we have to
connect deeply with the reasonthat you're wanting to be a
healthier you. Again, Imentioned why, but that's such a

(01:14:08):
a linchpin.
That's such, like, a key pieceof, like, understanding the why
and connecting deeply for thereason that you wanna be a
healthier whether it's, again,more energetic for your kids,
live a longer life, feel betterin your skin. Keeping that why
front and center can be apowerful motivator. The other
thing that we have to do andagain, hence why there's a

(01:14:31):
treadmill in the middle of mydesk area because I suck at
this, schedule your workoutslike any other important
meeting. This is when I'm goingto do this thing. I'm going to
walk in the morning, inlunchtime, and in the evening,
which I had that sitting on mycalendar for a year and a half
and never went and did it.
So I suck at this, but you haveto schedule your workouts like

(01:14:53):
any other important meeting,meaning block out time in your
calendar and treat it as anonnegotiable. A nonnegotiable.
Again, we have mentioned thisword several times. Consistency,
ladies and gentlemen, is thekey. And having a set time can
make it easier to stick to thatroutine, AKA habits that you're

(01:15:14):
trying to build around being ahealthier you.
Fundamentally, we have tounderstand that prioritizing
your health is an essential partof god. Here we go again. Self
care. K? I'm gonna say the wordagain.
It's, what, twice, maybe 3 timesin this episode. Understanding
that prioritizing your health isan essential part of self care.

(01:15:34):
Think of it as an investment inyour future well-being. Anne
Wilson Schafer has a greatquote. Good health is not
something we can buy.
However, it can be a precioussavings account. I love thinking
about every movement that I doas saving, And I think it's
because for me, that ties closeto my ripples mentality. 1 being

(01:15:59):
the outcome of my value to theworld, the other being the
income to myself and the selfrespect and the self care that
I'm investing. Another big partof this, not the biggest, but
another big part of this is and,again, the question was, if
they're challenging or beingchallenged with this, start with

(01:16:20):
small, manageable changes. Itcould be a 10 minute walk during
your lunch break, a healthysnack instead of something
sugary.
Like, small steps in the rightdirection can make a big
difference and help you buildand this is the word you're
looking for. How can youmentally build momentum for the
physical goals and challengesthat you're facing? Try

(01:16:42):
integrating physical activityinto your daily routine. So many
of us try to find the closestparking space at Walmart or
store of choice. We'll go aroundthe circle 17 times to get the
one right near handicap parking.
Park away from the entrance.Take the stairs. Liz knows what

(01:17:04):
that equals. Or stretch. Justtry even stretching during
breaks.
Like, these small activities addup and can be seamlessly
incorporated into your dailylife if you're focused on making
that a action or habit that youdo when you go to the store or
see a flight of stairs insteadof the ramp? Utilize fitness

(01:17:25):
apps or wearables to track youractivity and set reminders.
Again, I gamify the crap out ofthis. If you're listening, you
can't see me holding up myphone, but the health app, I
love it. I love paying attentionto it.
I have Apple Watch. It'll tellme as well, gamify your fitness
journey by earning rewards,setting challenges. It keeps you
active. It makes it fun. Itmakes it engaging.

(01:17:48):
And the last thing I'm gonna sayand, again, I mentioned earlier,
but I would implore you to findyour own resilient stubbornness.
Find that switch on the wall inyour brain that you can be like,
mm-mm. Nope. Not on my watch.Find that switch so you can flip
it and push through mentalbarriers and fight the urge to

(01:18:09):
skip workouts or make unhealthychanges.
This inner strength, this switchthat you can flip can help you
stay committed. And here's thething. Regularly remind yourself
of the benefits that you'rereaping. It's great to say,
like, 60 plus pounds, £40 + £40.You know what we don't say?

(01:18:32):
5 more years added to my life.New pair of pants. A few perks
that are gonna happen ofregularly reminding yourself of
the benefits for the investmentthat you're making into this
health savings account isimproved mood, better sleep,
increased energy, reducedstress. Anytime that you can

(01:18:53):
point back to one of thosethings, say to yourself, oh,
that's why I'm being healthy.That's why I'm making these
habits.
That's why I'm setting thesegoals. Keep these in mind
because they can help youmaintain your motivation. And
remember this, by the way,because so many of us get in
this trap. Habits, goals.Habits, goals.

(01:19:15):
It's okay to have a day off,ladies and gentlemen. A day off.
Now don't let a day become ayear or a day become 2 years.
Been there, done that. Butpractice self compassion and
don't let a missed workout or aday that you purposely design as
a off day derail your entireefforts.
It's it doesn't need to. Justreset, reboot, and go back after

(01:19:38):
it. Celebrate your progresses nomatter how small, and keep
pushing forward. I'm trying toincorporate all of these
strategies. If you incorporatethese strategies into your life,
you'll find that prioritizingyour physical health becomes not
just doable, but enjoyable.
That's where we wanna get well,that sounds doable. I wanna wake

(01:20:00):
up and be like, oh, that soundsenjoyable. Like, let's go. Like,
I'm excited about this. At theend of the day, listeners, I'm
here.
Liz is here. The rest of thecommunity is here. We're here to
say you got this, and we'rehere. Again, I know we don't
physically meet, but virtually,we're here to cheer you on every
freaking step of the way on whatI hope is this exhilarating

(01:20:24):
physical health journey to alife beyond your default.

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