The Perfect Outcome
John shares his personal journey following an arthritis diagnosis and the team explores the transformative power of acceptance. Discover how reframing challenges as neutral realities frees mental energy for innovation and thriving beyond sport.
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Chapter 1
The Perfect Outcome
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This is the noise from the inside of an MRI machine.
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It's a little scary.
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Which seems right given the potential consequences of it's work.
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By contrast there is a specific kind of silence that happens later in the consultant’s office.
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It’s not so much the absence of noise.
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It’s the heavy threat of a life about to change.
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A week later I was looking at a screen.
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Grey, black, and white.
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To most people, it’s just a picture of anatomy.
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To someone who has spent twenty years defining himself through his ability to move, it was much more like a map.
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A map of a territory I was no longer allowed to enter.
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"Advanced arthritis," he said.
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"Reflect and adjust."
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In that second, my brain didn't see an MRI. It saw a "cruel blow." It saw the end of an identity.
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It saw a future that was broken.
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But what if that diagnosis wasn't a tragedy?
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What if it was just...
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Well ... maths?
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What if bone-on-bone isn't a "disaster," but simply the perfect playing-out of a decades-long equation?
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Today, we’re talking about the "Perfect Outcome." We’re exploring why your brain would rather be a victim than be sane, and how "just functioning" might be the most high-performance move you’ll ever make.
Scott Lewis
We’re looking at the metabolic cost of your stories.
Emily Carter
And the radical peace of simply accepting "what is".
Scott Lewis
Today we're dedicating this episode of The MindFit Athlete Podcast to the memory of Chris Hempleman.
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I’m John and I'm delighted to be back with you.
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Today’s episode is... well … personal.
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A few weeks back I sat in a consultant’s office, staring at the images from an MRI scan of both of my knees. If you’re an endurance athlete, you can imagine the dread of that moment. The consultant pointed to the white space on the screen—or the lack of it—and said the words: "Advanced arthritis."
Unknown Speaker
This knee discomfort showed up a few weeks before the Lakesman Middle Distance Championships and I just tried to power through it. Anyway the consultant was really direct. He told me to "reflect and adjust my behaviour." There are no trap doors or parachutes out of this. No surgery will help and injections were not something he could recommend.
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In plain English... the way I’ve related to this sport for twenty years is over.
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I have to admit, as a Positive Intelligence coach my first reaction wasn't Sage-like.
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It was a total Saboteur hijack. My Judge was screaming, "This is the end. This is unfair.
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My body has let me down. What the hell do I do from here?"
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So. Maybe you have noticed a gap in our podcasts and that's on me not my two amazing co-hosts.
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If you’ve been wondering where we’ve been, the honest answer is... I’ve been drifting. I’ve been silent because, frankly, I lost my sparkle. I’ve been carrying a weight that I didn't know how to put into words until now.
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I haven't been training and could not even bring myself to look at my own TrainingPeaks dashboard. The CTL index I had taken so much pride in building now would now be in freefall.
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It seems that "just like that" the door to the 'Old John'—the guy who could grind out long miles, the guy who was "Championship ready", the guy who found his identity in the endurance world—it felt like that door slammed shut.
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I think its fair to say that I went through a time of genuine grief. I had to say goodbye to that version of myself. And in that silence, a question kept me from reconnecting with Emily and Scott.
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'If I'm not in the endurance world... how can I have credibility with the audience?'
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I thought, if I can't run the 70.3s, if I can't chase the splits, if I'm not "in the game" do I still have the right to coach?
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Do I still have a voice?
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But then I realized something. And this is the heart of what I want to share today.
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Do you download this podcast just to hear about podiums and perfect training blocks? Or do you tune in to learn how to navigate the messy, hard, beautiful reality of being human?
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I realized that credibility isn't about invincibility. A coach who has never been injured, never been scared, and never faced the void is a coach who cannot truly empathize with you.
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So, where are we now? Well, I think I'm in a new phase I’m calling "Discovery" - but more on that later.
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Right now I want to explore a concept that sounds almost offensive when you’re in pain: the idea that this diagnosis is "perfect."
Emily Carter
Thank-you for being so open John. I can see how it's been a tough few months. Can you say more about what you mean about "being perfect"?
Unknown Speaker
Sure. In coaching we often use that tactic with clients don't we? They might have had a really bad experience at work or in a race. We rock back and ask ... "What's perfect about that"?
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Now, I wouldn't be so callus as to say it about a death but I have asked that question with someone who was being fired.
Emily Carter
Yes... it's really "the nuclear" question isn't it? Kind of explosive?
Scott Lewis
I think it's a device coaches use to shock the client into reflecting that there might actually be something "good" in what seems to them to be a hopeless situation.
Emily Carter
Right, it's a bit like the question ..."What would LOVE do in this situation?" The question creates the opportunity for a radical reframe.
Unknown Speaker
It's power seems to be in it's apparent insensitivity. It certainly stops you dead in your tracks.
Scott Lewis
Yes, but when a saboteur hijacking is so deep it's like being stuck down a well. There's seemly no way out.. and this question often throws down a ladder - or at least a torch.
Scott Lewis
I like it as it immediately launches the brain into it's super-power of creative problem solving.
Scott Lewis
"Give me 3 things that might be good about that" is another way to access that creativity.
Emily Carter
For the listener I just want to say that the coach will have established such a safe, loving and supportive space with the client that it makes asking these hugely challenging questions possible. You can really only ask such questions when a high level of trust exists between client and coach.
Scott Lewis
Can I just go back a step for a moment, John, and say.. it’s great to be here and back with you and Emily.
Scott Lewis
And I want to acknowledge the courage it takes to share your story John. In PQ terms, your "Judge" has been having a field day. It’s using the MRI as a weapon to prove that your future is diminished, limited and less. But I suggest we look at the "Sage Perspective"—the idea that every circumstance can be turned into a gift or opportunity.
Emily Carter
And I’d go even deeper, John. Beyond "gift or opportunity." There are some teachers like Pema Chödrön or Byron Katie who wouldn't necessarily call it a "gift." They would simply say, "It is." And because it is... it IS perfect.
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See, that’s where I struggle, Emily. "Perfect" to me usually means a sunrise, a new born grandchild, a freshly opened flower.
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Just the right word said at just the right moment. Something beautiful. How can bone-on-bone arthritis be "perfect"?
Emily Carter
We have to strip the word "perfect" of its emotional baggage. "Perfect" has more than one aspect.
Emily Carter
As coaches we are using a specific, almost technical definition of the word. We do not mean "morally good," "pleasing," "just," or "beautiful. "We don’t mean "pleasant." If you stick to the dictionary definition or the emotional definition of perfect (meaning "ideal" or "flawless"), this coaching will incense you and drive you nuts.
Emily Carter
We mean it in the sense of a sequence of events or a logical equation.
Emily Carter
Think of the precision-made and exquisitely choreographed components of a Swiss Watch or the example of a maths equation: 2 plus 2 equals 4. 2 plus 2 is never 3 and it's never 5. It is "perfectly" 4. The skill of the craftsman and quality engineering of the watch leads to it keeping "perfect" time.
Scott Lewis
It seems to me that that's seeing "perfect" in a mechanistic or "cause and effect" sense?
Emily Carter
That's Right. That's exactly it.
Emily Carter
John, think about your knees. Decades of training, your choices of events, your aspiration for performance, your shoe choices, the terrain you trained over, the genetics your Mum and Dad gave you, the specific mechanics of your stride, your strength and conditioning choices, the aging process—all of these are the "inputs."
Emily Carter
The "output" is the current state of your cartilage. For your knees not to be arthritic right now, given all those inputs, would be a mathematical impossibility.
Emily Carter
The universe would have to be broken for 2 plus 2 to equal 5. That's how the state of your knee's, right now, are "perfect".
Scott Lewis
It's a powerful realization. When you say "it shouldn't be this way," you’re essentially arguing with the maths. You are arguing with "what is."
Scott Lewis
And, as Byron Katie famously says, when you argue with reality, you lose ...but only 100% of the time.
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So, 2 plus 2 equals 4. The arthritic condition is the "4."
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If I accept that it’s mathematically or logically inevitable, I feel a slight relief. But it feels cold. It feels like I’m just a machine running some code.
Emily Carter
Be careful with the "inevitability"... your knee condition wasn't pre-destined.
Scott Lewis
You mean if John had changed the inputs to his equation he'd also have changed the outputs?
Emily Carter
Yes. Exactly. So, for example, if John's running had been more recreational than performance focused he might have delayed or changed the progression of his condition.
Scott Lewis
But the outcome, whatever it is, is still "perfectly" matched to the inputs?
Emily Carter
Right. You must have heard the phrase that "the system is perfectly designed for the results it creates?" If you want different results then change the system that produces those results.
Unknown Speaker
So, if a person wants to run a sub-4 hour marathon and yet has never done so then you are saying that the training they have undertaken was perfectly designed to create a 4hour 10minute result.
Emily Carter
In part. It's not just the training is it? The system would include the weather on the day, their mental attitude, the stress in the rest of their lives. The whole ecology of it.
Emily Carter
But, all other things being equal, I'd say that person should at least explore a different way of training.
Emily Carter
John said it feels "cold" or clinical. It might well seem cold until you realize that the suffering isn't caused by the arthritis. The suffering is caused by what Joko Beck calls the "Extra."
Scott Lewis
That's a great catch Emily.
Scott Lewis
There is the circumstance and then there is our reaction to the circumstance?
Emily Carter
Right. There is the Event: the reality of your knee condition, the bone-on-bone sensation, a more limited range of motion. That's our 2 plus 2 equals 4.
Emily Carter
Then there is the Label: "I am old. I am a failure. Life is cruel. My life is over." This is our story about the event.
Emily Carter
The Event is objective reality. Like Scott says... it's a neutral circumstance. This Label oftentimes is our subjective Saboteur. When we say life is perfect, we are looking at the raw event before you slap the judgment on it.
Scott Lewis
Ok, this is exactly what we mean by circumstances being neutral. Your knees are just as they should be. It's not objectively good or bad it's just what happens when Emily's list of contributing inputs plays out.
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I think I get this now.
Unknown Speaker
When I get "triggered" by that word "perfect" - the triggering is what is really helping me most. It's like life shouting back "Hey ... of course this is how it is. Given everything that went before how could it be otherwise?"
Scott Lewis
Yes. And if you want things to be otherwise look at the components of the equation. Maybe it will be possible for you to change some of them?
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I want to look more at this word "cruel." Emily said it just now : "Life is cruel".
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When I got the diagnosis, a friend said to me, "John, that’s such a cruel thing to happen."
Emily Carter
It is a common thing for people to say. And if we don't say it I'm guessing we're thinking it.
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, but given our discussion so far it's starting to feel odd.
Unknown Speaker
I think if I decide life is "cruel" it somehow takes the pressure off me. After all, if life did it to me then it wasn't my fault - right?
Scott Lewis
For me it seems we often use that phrase when we're thinking about extreme events like floods, famines, wars or even terrorism.
Unknown Speaker
But given what we've just talked about ... is life actually capable of being cruel?
Scott Lewis
That's a great question. From a PQ perspective, the word "cruel" is the calling card of the Victim Saboteur. The moment you label the universe as "cruel," you have effectively resigned. You’ve handed over your power to a phantom.
Scott Lewis
Cruelty requires intent. It implies the universe went out of its way to hurt you. But as we discussed with the "maths" of your MRI, life isn't intentional; it’s neutral. It’s just 2 plus 2 playing out. There is zero intrinsic cruelty in a rain cloud, a cell or a joint.
Emily Carter
I think this is where Byron Katie’s work is so insightful. If you ask yourself, "Who would I be without the thought that... 'life is cruel'?"... what happens, John?
Unknown Speaker
I guess I feel lighter. I am less resentful. I'm probably calmer and more grounded too. Also if I don't buy into the cruel life lie then I'm far more likely to look deeply into what really is driving those events.
Emily Carter
So, if it's not just a spiteful or cruel world at work then maybe it's climate change leading to more floods?
Unknown Speaker
Good example. If life isn't "cruel," then it's just a set of conditions. And if it's a set of conditions, I can work with them.
Unknown Speaker
I move from "What’s the point of doing anything?" to the Activate Sage step "What’s Needed Now?"
Emily Carter
Exactly! "Life is cruel" is a paralyzing thought. It keeps you in the "Survival Brain," where you're just trying to hide from the risk of yet more life-created pain.
Emily Carter
But when you drop that story, you can immediately activate the Sage Power of Innovate.
Emily Carter
You can move from the dead-end of 'I can't run' to the expansive, creative space of 'What else is possible?'
Scott Lewis
That's exactly right. It unlocks your innate creativity. You realize that while you can't change the "2 plus 2 equals 4" of the arthritis, you DO have infinite ways to innovate the next equation of your life. It’s a massive energy shift.
Scott Lewis
The "cruelty" story is an energy sink—it burns metabolic fuel on resentment. Dropping that story is like finding a hidden battery. Suddenly, you are energized to Innovate and Activate. You aren't a victim of a cruel fate; you are a participant in a neutral process.
Scott Lewis
So, if climate change is driving flooding - I might ask "what's my role in that?" and "What can I do to shift the equation?"
Emily Carter
Maybe Joko Beck would say, life isn't doing anything to you. Life is just doing life. When you stop taking the universe's neutrality personally, you finally become free to actually live.
Scott Lewis
Free to live. And free to make better choices.
Scott Lewis
And from a neuroscience perspective John, that "Extra"—that Labelling of the circumstance as "cruel" or a "disaster"—is incredibly expensive for your Body Budget.
Unknown Speaker
Wait, Scott, help me out here. You've previously said the Judge is the brain's "shortcut." Usually, a shortcut saves energy. Why is it an energy leak?
Scott Lewis
You’re right—initially, the Judge is a predictive shortcut.
Scott Lewis
Following the work of neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, we know the brain is a prediction engine. It’s metabolically "cheap" for your brain to grab a pre-packaged prediction like "Life is Cruel" because it’s based on past patterns.
Scott Lewis
The brain defaults to this Survival Brain mode because it doesn't want to spend the energy required to process the actual, complex data of your MRI in real-time.
Unknown Speaker
Okay, so it’s all too easy to start the story. Especially as saboteurs are our default "Autopilot Mode." But what’s the long-term cost?
Scott Lewis
The operating cost is where you go bankrupt.
Scott Lewis
Once that "Life is Cruel" prediction is locked in, your Survival Brain keeps your entire system in a state of "high-alert prediction." Because of what is called degeneracy, your brain can use many different neural pathways to keep this stress response alive. It’s not just one spot in the brain; it’s a whole-system "threat loop." You are effectively simulating a catastrophe 24/7.
Scott Lewis
This keeps your heart rate high and your muscles tensed for a fight that isn't happening.
Scott Lewis
It’s like leaving the engine of your car red-lining in the driveway while you’re inside trying to sleep. You aren't going anywhere, but you’re burning through your fuel tank.
Unknown Speaker
So the consequence of buying into the "life is cruel" story is a never ending saboteur vigilance that drains my energy. My brain keeps trying to "solve" a threat that is actually just a neutral reality?
Emily Carter
Exactly, John. And this is where Byron Katie’s "Four Questions" act as the ultimate "Budget Management" tool. When you ask, "Who would I be without the thought that this is cruel?", you are breaking that predictive loop. You are telling the brain: "Stop. This prediction is no longer useful."
Emily Carter
Without that thought, you are just a man sitting in a chair with knees that have changed. The "Extra" is gone. The energy leak is plugged.
Scott Lewis
And that is when you finally have the fuel available to move into Sage Mode. For example choosing Innovate—asking "What else is possible?"—requires a deliberate surge of energy to your Prefrontal Cortex.
Scott Lewis
It’s a heavy lift at first. But because you’ve stopped the "Survival Brain" leak, you finally have the metabolic budget to get creative.
Scott Lewis
When you choose a Sage skill, you stop fighting the logical unfolding "Maths" of the universe. You move away from the friction of 'should' towards the peace of 'is'.
Emily Carter
That’s actually why many people are attracted to Zen meditation. We’re trying to "stop the leak". When you stop arguing with the fact that your knees hurt, you suddenly have the fuel available to actually do what the consultant suggested: reflect and adjust.
Unknown Speaker
Well, thank you both for that. Let's take a break.
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My colleague Chris loved Alice Cooper and saw him perform live many times. This two minute break with a beat of 148 is for you Chris.
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Welcome back.
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I hope you all could catch the shock-rock goth vibe in that track.
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We will miss you Chris.
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Ok... so back to our topic.
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I can certainly can see the "perfection" of the maths and the need to view the event as neutral.
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And I can see the energetic trap of judging the event as "bad" and labelling it "cruel world." But then what? There’s a gap. If I just accept "what is" and acknowledge that it's "It’s perfect," do I just sit on the couch and let my legs atrophy?
Unknown Speaker
I think, if I asked Byron Katie "what happens now?" she'd smile, lean over and say... "Well, Sweetheart, that's YOUR Work."
Emily Carter
Yes, she would. I can just hear her say that. It was her job to bring you to reality and it's your job to figure out what to do with it.
Scott Lewis
I think that's not quite all though. Both Joko and Katie would expect that knowing what to do next would simply arise. It would become obvious.
Unknown Speaker
Ok, but that sounds a little passive. How long could I be waiting?
Unknown Speaker
I’m an athlete ... I need a plan!
Emily Carter
And you want it NOW...right?
Scott Lewis
OK, so I think this is where Positive Intelligence can help bridge the gap. Byron Katie's Work "cleans the windscreen," but Positive Intelligence tells you "where to drive."
Scott Lewis
First there's the comfort and reassurance of the Sage Perspective. Knowing that any circumstance can be turned into a gift and opportunity.
Emily Carter
Yes, I think that's fair Scott. And I'd suggest that Positive Intelligence would advocate a spacious, unpressured, unrushed connection with our intuition? We don't need to force it or speed anything up.
Scott Lewis
Thank you for slowing me down. That's right.
Scott Lewis
In John's situation that spaciousness would definitely be in order.
Scott Lewis
Anyone facing a change of magnitude would do well to gift themselves time. So, it's important not to think of these steps as transactional.
Scott Lewis
Just consciously seed your mind with the questions and keep asking until the answer arises.
Unknown Speaker
That generous act of giving yourself time and space is surely "Empathy For Self", right?
Scott Lewis
It would be.
Scott Lewis
Just be gentle and compassionate.
Scott Lewis
It's like you said right at the beginning of the episode. For many situations this space offers an opportunity for grieving and needs it's own time to heal.
Emily Carter
I don't think we have ever spoken to our audience about grief...but for us grief is not a negative emotion.
Unknown Speaker
That's right! And when we think of grief were talking all forms of loss.
Unknown Speaker
For example the loss of a lifestyle, or a self-image.
Emily Carter
For me the best way to think about grief is Elizabeth David's definition. That "grief is .. love looking for a home."
Scott Lewis
Certainly grief seems uncomfortable but it's also a very human, natural and beautiful thing. As athletes we have a real life skill advantage here. We're used to this idea of discomfort having the potential to be good for us.
Scott Lewis
Anyway, back to the spaciousness.
Scott Lewis
The important thing, I think, is to keep the question in mind. For you, John, this might be "What does this situation make possible?"
Emily Carter
Or "What do I now want my relationship with triathlon to be?"
Unknown Speaker
You know, now that you've pointed this out I see that I have kind of crossed over into that self-pity Victim mindset.
Unknown Speaker
I think I spent longer than I needed to in that space.
Unknown Speaker
And if I'd more consciously asked those questions each day I think I'd have moved through this quicker.
Unknown Speaker
I should have asked one of you to coach me.
Scott Lewis
No "shoulds" John.
Emily Carter
Right, this is a "should-free" podcast.
Scott Lewis
So, when we are ready to prime our intuition. Then The Sage skills are a perfect framework.
Emily Carter
Ok, lets work up some examples.
Emily Carter
Empathy for Self. Well, that could be checking in to see if you are actually ready to move on or it's still too raw and you need more time.
Scott Lewis
Empathy for Others. That could be our audience. What's happening for them when we're not there for them? It could be that you now have a far greater understanding of the impact of injury or retirement for the lifetime athlete?
Emily Carter
Explore. Explore has so many things to offer. But top of my list is - well if you can't do high milage running what CAN you do? What is still possible for you? Do you actually know that?
Scott Lewis
Or there's technique - is there a stride length of foot strike position that makes things less impactful?
Scott Lewis
And technology - do you know what shoe design can do for you?
Scott Lewis
I think Exploring what assumptions you are making about your future is a great start.
Emily Carter
Navigate. Well, this one is perfect. "10 years from now, looking back at this situation what meaning do you want it to have?"
Scott Lewis
Boom!! That's brilliant. That's a day's reflection right there.
Scott Lewis
Innovate. Work with your coach (or even us) and play the "Yes, And" game. Really spend time on this and be outrageous. Remember it must be fun.
Emily Carter
And, after you do some or part of this, taking action.
Emily Carter
The Sage Step for Activate is "What's Needed Now?" and what might be needed is more time.
Unknown Speaker
Yes, that's true. AND I'd add that placing a scheduled time to revisit the situation would be very helpful in stopping the drift. You can decide you need more time but that's coming from an position of Sage Empathy rather than saboteur Avoider.
Unknown Speaker
That's certainly a lesson for me.
Emily Carter
I love what we have covered here and I agree that, when the time is right, the Sage skills offer a powerful constructive and positive framework to move forward.
Emily Carter
But I’d also offer a "Sharp Edge" to watch for.
Emily Carter
John, don't let "Innovate" or "Activate" become a way to escape the current pain.
Unknown Speaker
What's that Emily? I don't follow.
Emily Carter
We've talked about the creating the gift i.e. The Sage Perspective, without giving it it's proper context. The PQ step is actually called "Accept or Convert".
Scott Lewis
Yes, that's right. That really matters. We have hinted at this in our "take the time you need" but actually PQ makes it explicit.
Emily Carter
There is a time to Accept and a time to Convert - if you want to.
Emily Carter
It would be so wrong to see this like: "Oh, I got fired today - so now I've got to create a gift"
Emily Carter
When you choose the "Accept" path you are saying, "This is what is." The "generative" part—finding the gift—is completely optional, and it should only happen if and when the system is actually ready for it.
Unknown Speaker
In fact, I would say that if you rush to Innovate or Activate while your Survival Brain is still screaming "Life is Cruel!", you’re just putting a Sage mask on a Saboteur?
Emily Carter
Right. If you rush to create the gift then it's your Hyper-Achiever who wants to "win" at having a gift.
Emily Carter
I want to be crystal clear here. In PQ, you cannot Convert what you have not first Accepted.
Scott Lewis
That's so true.
Emily Carter
Notice that when you are driven by the Hyper-Achiever, the action is about you. It’s about your image, your progress, your "win."
Emily Carter
When you are simply "functioning" the action is about the situation. The knees need less impact, so the body moves to the pool. There is no "John" in the middle of that equation trying to make it look good for a podcast or a training log. The action arises naturally from the requirement of the moment.
Scott Lewis
Emily, thank you for saying that, because you’ve stumbled into the most common trap for high-achievers. They don't take the time to Accept and are trying to "Convert" before they’ve even arrived.
Emily Carter
In Zen, we say that once the war with reality ends, functioning begins. And functioning is the greatest gift there is.
Emily Carter
John, you don't need to be the "poster child" for arthritis. You just need to be a man who knows how to swim when he can no longer run.
Emily Carter
That is the "Perfect Outcome." It’s not a miraculous healing of the cartilage; it’s the healing of your relationship with reality.
Unknown Speaker
Thank you Emily.
Unknown Speaker
So, what do we think is the relationship between grieving and PQ's Accept?
Scott Lewis
I think when when you grieve, the Judge often shows up to say, "You should be stronger," or the Avoider says, "Let’s just focus on training so we don't have to feel this."
Scott Lewis
Acceptance is the act of saying: "I am feeling deep pain right now. This is the reality of my internal world."
Emily Carter
By accepting the grief, you stop the "dirty pain" (the Saboteur's commentary) and stay with the "clean pain" (the actual loss). This creates the necessary spaciousness we talked about earlier. Healing happens in that space.
Emily Carter
Without acceptance, we are in a mental war with reality, which drains the energy you need for healing.
Scott Lewis
The practice would be to use PQ Reps to stay present with the physical sensation of grief. Instead of spinning in circles of "Why me/ Poor me", you drop into the body. You feel the weight in your chest or the sting in your eyes.
Unknown Speaker
You exercise Self-Command?
Scott Lewis
Right and in that space you aren't trying to "fix" the grief; you are simply holding it.
Scott Lewis
This is really the Sage Power of Empathy applied to the self. It is the most generous thing an athlete can do for themselves—to stop demanding they be "back to peak performance" before they have actually processed the loss.
Unknown Speaker
So, to everyone listening out there who might be staring at their own MRI, or facing a business failure, or a broken down relationship. Or where life has come unexpectedly crashing onto your plans this is our invitation.
Scott Lewis
First: Check the Maths. Look at your situation and strip away the "Extra." Stop the story that life is "cruel" and realize it’s just 2 plus 2 equals 4.
Emily Carter
Remember that "Acceptance" is a high-performance move. You don’t have to "Innovate" or "Activate" a silver lining today - or ever. You are allowed to take the space you need. Simply breathe into the "peace of is."
Scott Lewis
Know that you are open to saboteur hijack and apply the PQ technique of dropping into your body and focusing on the physical sensation of the grief ...as often as you need ..for as long as it takes.
Unknown Speaker
Once it seems like the internal war stops, don't ask "How do I win?" Ask, "What’s needed now?"
Unknown Speaker
Just know that you have the power to create a gift from any circumstance and that the 5 Sage powers are all waiting for you when the moment is right.
Emily Carter
I want to finish with a Byron Katie quote.
Emily Carter
She said : "I am a lover of what is, not because I'm a spiritual person, but because it hurts when I argue with reality."
Unknown Speaker
Well, thank you both so much for today. You have very much helped with my "Discovery" phase. I don’t know if I’ll ever pin on a race number again. But I know that in this moment I feel very blessed to be a part of this team.
Unknown Speaker
This episode is specially for Chris.
Unknown Speaker
And, it's for anyone out there hurting with an unexpected and unwelcome reality.
Unknown Speaker
I really hope it has helped.
Scott Lewis
And anyone in that position should know they are never alone - this is the human condition we all share.
Unknown Speaker
Thank you for being part of our podcast today. I've been John.
Emily Carter
I'm Emily
Scott Lewis
and I'm Scott.
Unknown Speaker
In his famous Stanford graduation address Steve Jobs said "Live each day as if it is your last. Someday.. you will be right." I'd like to paraphrase that.
Unknown Speaker
Enjoy each run as if it is your last. Someday.. you will be right.
Unknown Speaker
So.. today don't zone out on your run. Zone in.
Unknown Speaker
PQ Rep like crazy on all the rich visuals that come your way.
Unknown Speaker
And the amazing physical sensations of your body as it moves you. Each run is a blessing - a gift. Experience it fully.
Emily Carter
And when it is that LAST run just remember that this is life unfolding ...exactly as it should.
Emily Carter
Perfectly.